Effects of a Peer-led Walking In ScHools Intervention (WISH project)

Effects of a Peer-led Walking In ScHools Intervention on Physical Activity Levels of Adolescent Girls: a School-based Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial

Children and young people are recommended to undertake at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity each day. However recent findings have indicated that only 51% of children aged 7 years were meeting these guidelines. Previous research has also highlighted girls are significantly less active than. Furthermore, children living in Northern Ireland are least likely to meet the guidelines, with only 43.4% of children here reaching the recommended ≥ 60 minutes a day. The development of interventions which can successfully increase levels of physical activity in adolescent girls in Northern Ireland is of key importance. The aim of this intervention is to investigate whether or not girls (aged 11-13 years) can increase their daily levels of physical activity over a 12 week period by taking part in a school-based brisk walking intervention. The impact of participating in a school-based brisk walking intervention on a range of other outcome measures will also be investigated. A total sample of 200 adolescent females will be recruited onto the study, with recruitment of participants taking place at the school level. Following written consent from parents/guardians and assent from participants, participants will be randomised at the school level to either participate in the walking intervention or to act as controls. Objective physical activity will be assessed at 3 time points using an Actigraph accelerometer. At baseline, post-intervention (12 weeks) and follow up (4 months post-intervention) participants will also undergo measurements of height, weight, waist and hip circumference, bloody pressure, and cardiorespiratory fitness. Participants will also complete questionnaires assessing levels of physical activity and a number of psychosocial variables at each time point. Following completion of follow up measurements, a sub-sample of participants (n=45) will be invited to take part in focus groups to evaluate their experiences of the intervention.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Physical Activity
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Physical Activity

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 200
• Phase: Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 11 years to 13 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 11-13 years old
• Female
• Attend a school selected to take part in the study
• Healthy and free from any medical condition that limits their participation in a brisk walking intervention, for example, a musculoskeletal injury

Exclusion Criteria:

• Male pupils
• Those who are unable to walk or for whom walking is contraindicated will not be eligible for inclusion

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control group
Experimental: Physical activity intervention group	Behavioral: Physical Activity; 15 mins physical activity per day within the school setting.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Total daily physical activity	Measured for 7 consecutive days using Actigraph accelerometer at each time-point	Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Physical activity intensity	Measured for 7 consecutive days using Actigraph accelerometer at each time-point	Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention
Self-reported physical activity	Measured using Physical Activity Questionnaire for children	Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention
Weight		Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention
Blood pressure		Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention
Cardiorespiratory fitness	Measured using the Queens College Step test	Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention
Self-efficacy for physical activity	Psychosocial questionnaire - Children's physical activity self-efficacy scale	Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention
Self-efficacy for walking	Psychosocial questionnaire - adapted walking self-efficacy scale	Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention
Social support for physical activity and walking	Social support for physical activity and walking from male and female parents/guardians and friends scale	Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention
Attitude to exercise	Psychosocial questionnaire - perceived benefits and barriers to exercise scale	Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention
Waist hip ratio		Change between baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and 4-months post-intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Ulster

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Carlin A, Murphy MH, Nevill A, Gallagher AM. Effects of a peer-led Walking In ScHools intervention (the WISH study) on physical activity levels of adolescent girls: a cluster randomised pilot study. Trials. 2018 Jan 11;19(1):31. doi: 10.1186/s13063-017-2415-4.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 1, 2015
• Study Completion (Actual): October 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 10, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 15, 2016
• First Posted (Estimate): August 18, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): August 18, 2016
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 15, 2016
• Last Verified: August 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Physical activity; Walking; Intervention; Randomised trial; Adolescent girls
• Other Study ID Numbers: REC/11/0236

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO