The StepSmart Project: A Pedometer Based Phased Intervention to Encourage Physical Activity in Schools

Queen's University, Belfast240 enrolled

Overview

A school based pedometer competition among Year 9 pupils (12 - 14 years old) to promote physical activity (PA).

The intervention is separated into three main phases. Phase One: A 10-week school competition using pedometers and a range of non-financial incentives e.g. t-shirts, pens, badges etc. (April - June 2015). Phase Two: End of school competition but participants will still keep the pedometers. We will set them various challenges over the summer to keep active (July - Oct 2015). Phase Three: Removal of all extrinsically motivation factors. Focus on PA maintenance.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

240

Conditions

Physical Activity Health Behavior Competitive Behavior Incentives

Interventions

The StepSmart ChallengeBEHAVIORAL

A six month pedometer based intervention designed to increase Physical Activity in school children

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 12 YearsMax age: 14 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria * aged 12-14 years * enrolled in participating school Exclusion Criteria * Unable to give informed consent * Presence of an underlying medical conditions * Already enrolled in a physical activity intervention

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change from baseline in physical activity as assessed by Actigraph accelerometer

Actigraph accelerometer counts per minute and minutes of moderate and vigorous physical activity

Time frame: Baseline, 6 months and 1 year

Secondary Outcomes

Change in mental wellbeing measured by the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale

Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale is a validated, self-report instrument assessing mental wellbeing. Possible scores range from range from 14-70, with higher scores indicating higher mental well-being

Time frame: Baseline, 6 months and 1 year

Change in social support for physical activity measured by the social support for physical activity scale

Social support for physical activity scale is a validated 5-item scale. Social support is measured as tghe sum of responses to four sub-scales including parental social support (3 items), parental encouragement (2 items), peer support (3 items), and teacher support (3 items). Each question is answered with a 4-point response format ranging from 1 (hardly ever or never) to 4 (every day).

Time frame: Baseline, 6 months and 1 year

Change in future orientation and impulsivity measured using 8-item time preference scale

A previously validated 8-item time preference scale is included. Responses are summed to obtain a a future orientation and impulsivity score. High scores reflect future time orientation and greater impulsivity in decision making.

Time frame: Baseline, 6 months and 1 year

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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