2.3. Intervention Program Staff
The trained program staff (n = 25) were an integral
component of the six month intervention. They were recruited
via universities and health associations. They
were required to have good interpersonal communication
skills, an ability to work with minimal supervision in a
team environment and previous experience conducting
group education sessions or workshops. They were provided
with intensive training about the application of the physical activity guidelines [26,27], nutrition guidelines
[25], motivational interviewing [24], and Social Cognitive
Theory [23]. The program staff members were responsible
for implementing the program in the playgroups,
and providing the link between the researchers
and the playgroup participants. They kept detailed
records, provided participant feedback and helped coordinate
the process evaluation data collection.