Background:Childcare providers’ work demands have been associated with high rates of stress and health conditions. Physical activity (PA) may help to alleviate some of these issues, yet few studies have explored this topic. The purpose of the study was to assess childcare providers’ PA levels and to explore their perceived barriers and facilitators to PA.Methods:This was a mixed-methods concurrent triangulation study with childcare providers ( n = 27) from both family childcare homes and childcare centres from urban ( n = 14) and rural ( n = 13) areas. Accelerometers and the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) measured the amount of PA (leisure, transport-related, occupational), and a semi-structured interview explored barriers and facilitators to PA. Descriptive statistics were calculated for PA data. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic content analysis.Results:For accelerometer data, on average per day, childcare providers accumulated 199.5 ± 62.5 minutes of light activity, 125.9 ± 68.1 minutes of moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) and 666.3 ± 23.7 minutes of sedentary time. For GPAQ data, childcare providers reported 114.5 ± 48.4 minutes/day of MVPA and 295.6 ± 141.4 minutes/day of sedentary time. Common barriers included time constraints and health issues, while common facilitators included knowledge of PA health benefits and family/peer support.Conclusion:The study suggests an estimated 92% of childcare providers met the US national PA guidelines of 150 minutes of MVPA per week. However, they exhibited prolonged periods of sedentary behaviour (~11 hours). Programmes and interventions could address barriers to PA such as providing short movement breaks to decrease sedentary time and improve childcare providers’ health.

中文翻译：

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儿童保育提供者身体活动的感知障碍和促进因素：混合方法研究

背景：托儿服务提供者的工作要求与高压力和健康状况有关。体力活动（PA）可能有助于缓解其中一些问题，但很少有研究探讨这一主题。本研究的目的是评估儿童保育提供者的 PA 水平，并探讨他们感知到的 PA 障碍和促进因素。方法：这是一项混合方法同步三角测量研究，涉及来自家庭儿童保育院和儿童保育机构的儿童保育提供者 (n = 27)中心来自城市 ( n = 14) 和农村 ( n = 13) 地区。加速度计和全球体育活动问卷 (GPAQ) 测量了 PA 的量（休闲、交通相关、职业），半结构化访谈探讨了 PA 的障碍和促进因素。计算 PA 数据的描述性统计。使用主题内容分析对定性数据进行分析。 结果：对于加速度计数据，儿童保育提供者平均每天累计 199.5 ± 62.5 分钟的轻度活动、125.9 ± 68.1 分钟的中度至剧烈 PA (MVPA) 和 666.3 ± 23.7 分钟的久坐时间时间。对于 GPAQ 数据，儿童保育提供者报告的 MVPA 为 114.5 ± 48.4 分钟/天，久坐时间为 295.6 ± 141.4 分钟/天。常见的障碍包括时间限制和健康问题，而常见的促进因素包括 PA 健康福利知识和家庭/同伴支持。结论：研究表明，估计 92% 的儿童保育提供者符合美国国家 PA 指南，即每周 150 分钟 MVPA。然而，他们表现出长时间的久坐行为（约 11 小时）。计划和干预措施可以解决 PA 的障碍，例如提供短暂的运动休息以减少久坐时间并改善托儿服务提供者的健康。