(P20-017-24) StayWell ECE: A Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding New York Early Childhood Providers’ Health and Wellbeing

Objectives: To examine the physical and mental wellbeing of Early Childhood Education (ECE) providers.

Methods: A sequential, explanatory mixed methods design (quan -> QUAL) was employed with New York licensed ECE providers. The StayWell ECE Survey (110 items) was distributed electronically via REDCap and measured diet, physical activity (PA), sleep, stress and weight status. A sub-sample completed virtual semi-structured interviews to further examine these domains. Quantitatively, multiple linear regressions tested associations between physical and mental wellbeing, controlling for age and income. Analyses were performed using R (v4.3.2, 2023); α < 0.05. Qualitatively, content analysis was performed with debrief sessions.

Results: Survey respondents (n=1,423) worked in a variety of ECE settings; 44% were low-income, 36% were food insecure, and 71% had overweight/obesity. Interview participants (n=37) mirrored the full sample. A majority (74%) consumed < 2 daily servings of whole grains, vegetables, and/or fruit and cited work-based barriers to healthy eating as busy schedules, limited lunch times, and regulations restricting ‘where’ and ‘what’ food can be eaten. For PA, 28% did not exercise in the past month, noting difficulties with finding time and motivation to exercise at home, but work-based PA was satisfactory. On average, 31% slept < 7 hours/night and 34% rated their sleep quality as poor; stress was cited to greatly affect sleep quality. For stress, 74% had moderate/high levels of stress and noted a variety of work-based (e.g., long hours, staff shortages) and home-based (e.g., balancing work and family) stressors. Limited resources to manage stress, and a desire for more stress-management resources was noted. Higher stress was associated with higher BMI (β=0.14, p=0.00), lower consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains (β=-0.02, p=0.00), and fewer hours slept (β=-0.02, p=0.00).

Conclusions: ECE providers are in poor health and experience high levels of stress. Structural barriers, such as limited lunch times and staff shortages, and stress-induced poor sleep, pose challenges to their overall wellbeing and may lead to burnout and retention issues. These findings have implications for the development of policies and intervention strategies to improve the health of the ECE workforce.

Funding Sources: USDA-NIFA NYC-199404; NICHD 2T32HD087137-06