Development of an intervention to optimise preschoolers’ 24-hour movement behaviours: a co-creation process with parents

Background Establishing healthy 24-hour movement behaviours from an early age is essential for long-term health. Yet, few preschoolers comply with the 24-hour movement behaviour guidelines. As parents play a central role in shaping their children’s health habits, parent-focused interventions may help to optimise these behaviours in preschoolers. This study describes the co-creation process and feasibility testing with parents to develop the ‘Move ARound And Get Active’ (MARGA) intervention. The aim of the intervention is to optimise 24-hour movement behaviours in preschoolers, with attention to specific needs of preschoolers with overweight and obesity. Methods Two co-creation groups with 11 and 10 parents and one group to test the feasibility of the co-created intervention with 7 parents were recruited through a hospital and school. The development of the intervention was guided by the Intervention Mapping (IM) Approach. The Self-Determination Theory was used as a framework for conceptualizing parenting practices related to preschoolers’ 24-hour movement behaviours. The content of the sessions and working methods are described. Results The results describe 1) the key general findings per co-creation session and the final decisions per IM step; 2) how the feasibility group perceived the co-created intervention and which of the group’s comments led to adaptations; 3) the final MARGA intervention program consisting of seven group sessions for parents and preschoolers spread over 15 weeks with four types of sessions: Information sessions, Planning sessions, Support groups, and physical activity games for parents and preschoolers together. Conclusion The transparent and detailed development process presented in this study serves as a blueprint for future research and practice, demonstrating how IM can be pragmatically combined with co-creation to create behavioural change interventions. A key next step is to evaluate the intervention’s effectiveness in improving 24-hour movement behaviours in preschoolers.