Feasibility of an Implementation Strategy for a Physical Activity Program in Rural Middle Schools

Feasibility of a Multilevel Implementation Strategy for a Sport-based Youth Development Physical Activity Program in Rural Middle Schools

The investigators aim to build on the pilot study data looking at the feasibility of implementation of Goal Setting alongside Hoosier Sport at two schools (Eastern Greene Middle School and White River Valley Middle School). The investigators plan to assess the effect of goal setting on physical activity engagement and psychological measures across the two schools. One school will receive the goal setting intervention in Fall while the other will receive it in Spring.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Goal-Setting
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Goal-Setting in Sport-Based Youth Development; Behavioral: No Goal-Setting Program

Detailed Description

The study will assess the effect of goal setting on physical activity implementation strategy through a comparison of two rural middle schools: White River Valley (WRV) and Eastern Greene (EG). This will be a quasi-experimental, school-level crossover design. There will be an intervention semester and control semester at each school. For the intervention semester, Students will receive the 6-weeks of 30-minute small group sessions spent establishing and checking in on goals on a goal-setting worksheet. The program will be delivered during the school's lunch period. Students will get 15 minutes to eat prior to getting into their small groups to complete the goal-setting worksheet. The subjects will be able to eat throughout the group time as well. During this 6-week timeframe, participants will receive pedometers (step trackers) that the participants can wear throughout the duration of the goal setting program. Participants are not required to wear or use the pedometers to set their goals; however, participants will be encouraged to use the pedometer as a potential physical activity to set goals around (steps). At the end of the 6 weeks, participants will be asked to return the pedometer. With the goal setting worksheets, participants will set physical activity goals, track their progress, and check in on their goals throughout the program with members of the study team. Students will also complete all required data collection related to the study. Data collection will include both quantitative and qualitative measures and occur as follows: once the week before the group sessions start (with a survey inquiring about how participants feel toward physical activity and wearing an accelerometer for a 7 day period), the 6th week of the goal-setting sessions (students will wear the accelerometer for one more week), and the week after week 6 (students will complete a survey that includes questions about their experience with the goal-setting sessions and how participants feel toward physical activity). White River Valley will be the intervention school in Fall 2026 and Eastern Greene will be the intervention school in Spring 2027. Study procedures include an initial meeting to collect demographic information, introduce the intervention, and complete baseline assessments.

The non-intervention semester will be the control semester. During the control semester, participating students will receive a small health pamphlet with information on the benefits of physical activity and setting goals around physical activity. The participants will fill out two surveys during this semester (one at the beginning and one at the end) at a time chosen by the school and study team. This will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. Subjects will also wear accelerometers to track physical activity for 1 week around the time that each survey is completed. During the weeks in which participants are wearing the accelerometers, there will be a 'compliance check' once per week to ensure the accelerometers are actively being worn. This design ensures that data collected from both schools will inform the effectiveness of the implementation strategy and its impact on key clinical outcomes, such as physical activity levels and psychological health indicators. By comparing outcomes between WRV and EG, the study will evaluate whether goal setting alongside sport-based youth development programming improves children's physical activity levels and related health metrics in rural middle school settings.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 80
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Indiana
    • Bloomfield, Indiana, United States, 47424
      • Recruiting
      • Eastern Greene Middle School
      • Contact: Nathan Martindale Athletic Director; Phone Number: (812) 825-5010; Email: nmartindale@egreene.k12.in.us
    • Lyons, Indiana, United States, 47443
      • Recruiting
      • White River Valley Middle School
      • Contact: Zack Waggoner Principal; Phone Number: 812-659-3915; Email: zwaggoner@wrv.k12.in.us

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Currently enrolled in 6th - 7th grade at White River Valley Middle School or Eastern Greene Middle School
• Have parental consent to participate
• Agree to study participation [verbal assent]
• Planning to attend all school days during the program period
• Be available for baseline and post-intervention measurement.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Have a medical condition that would interfere with the goal-setting program plan
• In treatment for a psychiatric disorder such that the intervention materials will not be appropriate.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Goal-Setting; The experimental group will participate in the Hoosier Sport program during their school's physical education class, which consists of sport curricula, leadership development, and health lessons. This group will complete this program with additional goal-setting programming.	Behavioral: Goal-Setting in Sport-Based Youth Development; The intervention being tested is the addition of a goal-setting program during Hoosier Sport lessons. Students will receive 6-weeks of 30-minute small group sessions spent establishing and checking in on goals on a goal-setting worksheet
Active Comparator: No Goal-Setting/Control; The control group will participate in the Hoosier Sport program during their school's physical education class, which consists of sport curricula, leadership development, and health lessons. Participants will receive a goal-setting pamphlet; however, participants will not actively receive the goal-setting programming.	Behavioral: No Goal-Setting Program; This group will participate in Hoosier Sport lessons without goal-setting programming. Instead, students will receive a small health pamphlet with information on the benefits of physical activity and setting goals around physical activity.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Total Physical Activity	Total physical activity measured by AX3 accelerometer at week 0 and week 6 of the goal-setting semester, reported in minutes per day.	7 days, prior to the start of the intervention & end of intervention. The same timeline occurs in the control semester.
Self-Reported Physical Activity	Self-reported physical activity using the Global Student-Based Health Survey data at week 0. There are 9 questions. Each question is individually scored as follows: Sport team participation: Score ranges from 0 to 3 or more. Higher value indicates participation on more sports teams; Stretching: Score ranges from 0 to 7. Higher value indicate stretching on more days during the past week; Physical activity breaks during school: Yes or no answer, reported as percentage of students selecting each response.; Physical activity via sports or games at school: Yes or no answer, reported as percentage of students selecting each response.; Exposure to physical activity advertisements: Score ranges from 1 (Never) to 5 (Daily). Higher value indicates more frequent advertisement exposure; Questions 6-9: Answers range from yes or no or I do not know, reported as percentage of students selecting each response.	7 days, at the start of the control semester
Self-Reported Physical Activity	Self-reported physical activity using the Global Student-Based Health Survey data at week 6. There are 9 questions. Each question is individually scored as follows: Sport team participation: Score ranges from 0 to 3 or more. Higher value indicates participation on more sports teams; Stretching: Score ranges from 0 to 7. Higher value indicate stretching on more days during the past week; Physical activity breaks during school: Yes or no answer, reported as percentage of students selecting each response.; Physical activity via sports or games at school: Yes or no answer, reported as percentage of students selecting each response.; Exposure to physical activity advertisements: Score ranges from 1 (Never) to 5 (Daily). Higher value indicates more frequent advertisement exposure; Questions 6-9: Answers range from yes or no or I do not know, reported as percentage of students selecting each response.	7 days, 6 weeks after the start of the intervention
Light Physical Activity	Light-intensity physical activity measured by AX3 accelerometer at week 0 and week 6 of the goal-setting semester, reported in minutes per day.	7 days, prior to the start of the intervention & end of intervention. The same timeline occurs in the control semester.
Moderate Physical Activity	Moderate-intensity physical activity measured by AX3 accelerometer at week 0 and week 6 of the goal-setting semester, reported in minutes per day.	7 days, prior to the start of the intervention & end of intervention. The same timeline occurs in the control semester.
Vigorous Physical Activity	Vigorous-intensity physical activity measured by AX3 accelerometer at week 0 and week 6 of the goal-setting semester, reported in minutes per day.	7 days, prior to the start of the intervention & end of intervention. The same timeline occurs in the control semester.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Enjoyment of Physical Activity	Participants will complete the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale Short Version pre and post-intervention to determine how much participants enjoy physical activity. This is a 5-point Likert scale with 4 items, with answers ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly agree). Possible scores range from 1 to 5 with higher scores indicating greater physical activity enjoyment.	8 weeks
Commitment to Physical Activity	Participants will fill out the Commitment to Physical Activity Scale for Adolescents pre and post-intervention to determine their commitment to physical activity.	8 weeks
Social Support for Exercise	Participants will complete the Social Support and Exercise Survey pre and post intervention to assess perceived support from family and friends for physical activity participation. This is a 26 item 5-point Likert scale that ranges from 1 (Never) to 5 (Very Often). There are 3 subscales.; Family Participation: Possible scores range from 10-50 with higher scores indicating greater participation-based support from parents and family.; Family Rewards & Punishment: Possible Scores range from 3 to 15, with higher scores indicating more frequent rewards and punishment behaviors related to physical activity.; Friend Participation: Possible scores range from 10-50 with higher scores indicating greater participation-based support from friends	8 weeks
Athletic Identity	Participants will complete the Athletic Identity Questionnaire (AIQ) pre and post intervention to assess their perception of themselves as physically active, including appearance, competence, and importance of physical activity. This is a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly agree). There are 6 subscales. For each subscale, higher scores indicate the following: Athletic Appearance: higher score = stronger perceptions of athletic appearance.; Athletic Competence: higher score = stronger perceptions of athletic competence.; Importance of Physical Activity: higher score = physical activity and sport are more important; Encouragement from Parent/Family: higher score = more encouragement from parents/family; Encouragement from Best-Friend: higher score = more encouragement from best friends; Encouragement from Teacher/Outside Adult: higher score = more encouragement from teacher/outside adult	8 weeks
Motivation to Exercise	Participants will complete the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory pre and post intervention to determine their levels of motivation to exercise. This includes 22 items with 7 different subscales. The minimum value is 1 and maximum value is 7. For subscales: Interest/Enjoyment, Perceived Competence, Perceived Choice, Effort/Importance, Value/Usefulness, and Relatedness - the higher the value, the greater intrinsic motivation. For subscale Pressure/Tension, the higher the value, the more anxiety present.	8 weeks
Goal Attainment	Participants will respond to a single-item Goal Attainment Scale post-intervention to assess how successful the subject feels in achieving their personal goals from 0% to 100%. Closer to 100% reflects greater attainment.	8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Indiana University
• Collaborators: American Heart Association

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): October 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 29, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 29, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): October 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 8, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 5, 2026
• Last Verified: October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Adolescents; Children; Rural; Behavior Change Techniques; Goal-Setting; Sport Based Youth Development
• Other Study ID Numbers: 31209; 24CDA1038890 (Other Grant/Funding Number: American Heart Association)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

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

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No