(P02-022-25) A Path Analysis Examination of Factors Affecting Early Childhood Educators’ Health: Identifying Avenues for Improvement

Objectives: To discern associative pathways between health behaviors (diet, physical activity (PA), sleep and stress), physical health (BMI and hypertension), psychological health (burnout and depression), and job retention in Early Childhood Educators, so as to identify opportunities for improving health outcomes.

Methods: The StayWell ECE Survey (110 items) was distributed electronically to New York licensed ECE educators via REDCap, measuring health behaviors (diet, PA, sleep, stress management), physical health (BMI, hypertension), and psychological health (burnout, depression), along with job and demographic characteristics. A path analysis model was constructed to examine our objective, controlling for income, age, and education. Analyses were performed using R (v4.3.2, 2023); α < 0.05.

Results: Of survey respondents (n=1,423), 44% were low-income, 71% had overweight/obesity, and 21% had hypertension. Psychologically, 54% experienced burnout, and 44% faced depression or mental health issues. Regarding health behaviors, 74% consumed < 2 daily servings of whole grains, vegetables, or fruit; 28% did not exercise; 31% slept < 7 hours/night, 34% reported poor sleep quality; and 74% had moderate/high stress. Path analysis revealed significant associations: diet to BMI (β=-0.67, p=0.02) and hypertension (β=0.08, p< 0.01); PA to BMI (β=0.86, p=0.03); sleep to depression (β=1.43, p< 0.01); and stress to hypertension (β=-0.01, p=0.03), burnout (β=1.00, p< 0.01), and depression (β=0.53, p< 0.01). Burnout also significantly related to job retention (β=0.059, p< 0.01).

Conclusions: ECE providers struggle with physical and psychological health and poor health behaviors. These demonstrated associations between diet and PA to physical health, and between stress management to psychological health, suggest that interventions targeting modifiable health behaviors could improve their overall health and wellbeing. Notably, improving diet quality may reduce both BMI and hypertension in ECE providers. Further, associations between stress, burnout, and job retention suggest that improving stress management may improve retention rates. Overall, health behaviors represent a promising opportunity to enhance ECE workforce health.

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