Table 3.
Research Priorities for Early Care and Education
| Research area and research gap priority rating | Priority score (%) |
|---|---|
| Measurement of Child Diet and Physical Activity | |
| Develop standard and valid measures of the quality of children's meals and snacks while in ECE programs. | 74 |
| Enhance measures of diet and physical activity at ECE programs for 0- to 2-year-old children. | 55 |
| Develop valid and reliable measure of ECE provider behaviors related to children's dietary intake, physical activity, and obesity risk. | 54 |
| Explore use of technology to create an objective measure of dietary intake as well as feeding behaviors in ECE settings. | 53 |
| Apply pattern recognition approaches to accelerometer data from children under 5 years to predict sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity and energy expenditure. | 53 |
| Explore optimal cut points for accelerometer data, particularly for sedentary behaviors (e.g., television viewing, other media use). | 47 |
| Measurement of Policy and Environment | |
| Develop a standard measure or rating system for ECE nutrition and physical activity policies. | 54 |
| Develop a set of indicators (e.g., checklist) that would predict if the ECE facility was complying with the best diet and physical activity practices for all age groups. | 44 |
| Examine the environmental and policy characteristics of ECE programs to determine those characteristics that provide optimal diet and physical activity opportunities for preschoolers. | 42 |
| Develop better measures for constructs within the ECE nutrition and physical activity environment (e.g., pressuring kids to eat, responsive feeding, family style, second servings, using food or physical activity as punishment or reward). | 41 |
| Develop guidelines or recommendations for what outcomes to measure when assessing policy impact. | 40 |
| Interventions | |
| Explore how finances and financial incentives impact intervention and policy efforts. | 68 |
| Develop and evaluate child obesity intervention strategies that include collaboration of health care providers as well as ECE programs to deliver key messages to families and their children. | 66 |
| Explore the relationship between screen time (passive, interactive, educational, and noneducational) and children's physical activity. | 65 |
| Conduct multilevel interventions using statistical methods to evaluate impact of the components at different socioecological levels (ECE facility, staff, community, parents, individual child) both individually and collectively. | 61 |
| Explore differences in dietary and physical activity behaviors of children in home care settings compared to child care center or relative care. | 49 |
| Explore strategies for engaging parents, including fathers, as partners in ECE-based promotion of healthy behaviors. | 45 |
| Explore the minimal level of intervention needed to change BMI or other health outcomes. | 42 |
| Design interventions that are cost-effective and have potential to be sustainable and generalizable. | 40 |
| Policy | |
| Evaluate the effectiveness of ECE standards across states. | 58 |
| Evaluate the cost-benefit associated with ECE policies and identify which components are necessary to effect change. | 52 |
| Assess burdens associated with existing and/or new policies and regulations on ECE and determine at what point regulations become too burdensome for ECE providers to remain in business or licensed. | 43 |
| Capacity Building | |
| Translate and simplify measurement tools for use at the local level. | 44 |
| Develop strategies for measuring the effectiveness of ECE staff training on child obesity prevention. | 44 |
Abbreviation: ECE, early care and education.