The Integration of a Data Sharing Process to Address Out-of-School Time Physical Activity, Locomotor Skills, and Program Leader Behavior: A Pilot Study.

This article focuses on the implementation and impact of a data sharing intervention with out-of-school time (OST) program leaders aimed at improving staff physical activity (PA) promoting behaviors, child PA minutes, and locomotor skills. Conducted in a Midwestern U.S. elementary school district, the study involved five OST sites and 45 children, using accelerometers to measure PA, the Test for Gross Motor Development-3rd Edition (TGMD-3) to assess locomotor skills, and the System for Observing Promotion of Activity and Nutrition (SOSPAN) to observe staff behaviors. Results showed a statistically significant improvement in boys’ locomotor skills and increased staff PA-promoting behaviors following the intervention, though no significant change was observed in children’s moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) minutes. The study suggests that sharing real-time, site-level data with OST leaders is a feasible and promising strategy to enhance staff facilitation practices and support child motor skill development, while recommending further research with larger, controlled designs to confirm these findings.