Clustered randomised controlled trial of two education interventions designed to increase physical activity and well-being of secondary school students: The MOVE Project

Tymms, Peter; Curtis, Sarah E.; Routen, Ash C.; Thomson, Katie H.; Bolden, David S.; Bock, Susan; Dunn, Christine E.; Cooper, Ashley R.; Elliott, Julian G.; Moore, Helen J.; Summerbell, Carolyn D.; Tiffin, Paul A.; Kasim Adetayo, S.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of two interventions in improving the physical activity and wellbeing of secondary school children. Design: A clustered randomised controlled trial; classes, one per school, were assigned to one of three intervention arms or a control group based on a 2x2 factorial design. The interventions were Peer-Mentoring and Participative Learning. Year 7 children (aged 11-12) in the Peer-Mentoring intervention were paired with Year 9 children for six weekly mentoring meetings. Year 7 children in the Participative Learning arm took part in six weekly geography lessons using personalised physical activity and GPS data. Year 7 children in the combined intervention received both interventions, with the Year 9 children only participating in the mentoring sessions. Participants: 1,494 Year 7 students from 60 schools in North-East England took part in the trial. Of these, 43 students opted out of taking part in the evaluation measurements, two moved teaching group and 58 changed school. Valid accelerometry outcome data were collected for 892 students from 53 schools; and wellbeing outcome data were available for 927 students from 52 schools. Main outcome measures The primary outcomes were mean minutes of accelerometer-measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day, and wellbeing as evaluated by the KIDSCREEN-27 questionnaire. These data were collected 6 weeks after the intervention; 12 month follow up is planned. Results: No significant effects (main or interaction) were observed for the outcomes. However, small positive differences were found for both outcomes for the Participative Learning intervention. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the two school-based interventions did not modify levels of physical activity or wellbeing within the period monitored. Change in physical activity may require more comprehensive individual behavioural intervention, and/or more systems based efforts to address wider environmental influences such as family, peers, physical environment, transport and educational policy.

Citation

Tymms, P., Curtis, S. E., Routen, A. C., Thomson, K. H., Bolden, D. S., Bock, S., Dunn, C. E., Cooper, A. R., Elliott, J. G., Moore, H. J., Summerbell, C. D., Tiffin, P. A., & Kasim Adetayo, S. (2016). Clustered randomised controlled trial of two education interventions designed to increase physical activity and well-being of secondary school students: The MOVE Project. BMJ Open, 6(1), Article e009318. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2015-009318

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 30, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Jan 6, 2016
• Publication Date: Jan 6, 2016
• Deposit Date: Nov 30, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 8, 2016
• Journal: BMJ Open
• Electronic ISSN: 2044-6055
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: e009318
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2015-009318
• Keywords: Physical activity, Wellbeing, Intervention, Children, School.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1397089