Abstract

Physical literacy is used to promote physical activity participation in children. When children increase participation in physical activities and sports they increase exposure to musculoskeletal injury. The concepts of physical literacy do not address injury prevention concerns. The results of multiple projects support a new process-based assessment of physical literacy to assess movement competence and potential for injury risk in 8–12 year old children. The Child Focused Injury Risk Screening Tool (ChildFIRST) includes ten movements with four evaluation criteria associated to each movement skill. Chapter one orients the reader to the major concepts within the document and states the objectives and hypotheses of each chapter. Chapter two describes the connection between physical literacy and injury prevention, forming the theoretical framework for the development of the ChildFIRST. Chapter three discusses the inter- and intra-rater reliability for the ChildFIRST. Eight movement skills achieved good-to-excellent inter-rater reliability (ICC=0.75-1.00), one movement achieved moderate (ICC=0.50-0.75), and one skill achieved poor (ICC=0.00-0.50). One skill achieved good intra-rater reliability, four skills achieved moderate, and five skill achieved poor. Evaluation criteria inter-rater reliability ranged from −0.04-0.835 Kα and 52–100% agreement, intra-rater reliability ranged from −0.328-0.303 Cohen’s K and 45.8–98.6% agreement. The ChildFIRST can inform users about movement competence and be used to conduct cross-sectional studies in the 8-12 age group. Chapter four presents normative data, sex differences, and correlations. No significant differences between sexes were identified except in one movement. Higher levels of physical activity participation were associated with higher scores on the ChildFIRST, and higher BMI was associated with lower scores. This normative data can help users of the ChildFIRST compare their individual data to a larger sample. Chapter five explores new literature after the publication of chapters two and three, discussing future directions, and offering recommendations for future research.