FitQuest: Does an active mobile phone game encourage children to take more exercise at school?
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN11693550 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN11693550 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | F12R10074 |
- Submission date
- 23/02/2015
- Registration date
- 04/03/2015
- Last edited
- 04/04/2023
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
Physical activity has important health benefits for children, but many children do not meet recommended guidelines for the amount of physical activity they take each day. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether an active smart phone game (called FitQuest) which involves running in a playground can motivate children to become more enthusiastic about exercising, and whether that enthusiasm might change their behaviour.
Who can participate?
Year 7 pupils attending a state-funded primary school in Edinburgh, Scotland.
What does the study involve?
Schools are randomly allocated to one of two groups: Exergame group or no exergame group. Pupils from the schools in the exergame group play the FitQuest game during Physical Education lessons in their school for five weeks. Pupils from the schoos in the no exergame group take part in the normal Physical Education classes as provided by the school.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
The potential benefits are improvements in confidence towards exercise and possibly increased levels of physical activity. The potential risks are very low - minor risk of tripping and falling similar to any out of door Physical Education class.
Where is the study run from?
Selected Edinburgh primary schools were invited to take part by development officers within Edinburgh City Council.
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
From May 2013 to May 2014.
Who is funding the study?
Funded by an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
(EPSRC) Impact Acceleration Account at Heriot-Watt University. Note that the Principal Investigator has now moved to University of Edinburgh.
Who is the main contact?
Dr Judy Robertson
judy.robertson@ed.ac.uk
Contact information
Public
School of Education
Simon Laurie House
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
EH8 8AQ
United Kingdom
Scientific
School of Education
Simon Laurie House
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
EH8 8AQ
United Kingdom
Study information
| Study design | Single centre interventional trial with a cluster randomised control design |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Cluster randomised trial |
| Study setting(s) | School |
| Study type | Prevention |
| Participant information sheet | http://judyrobertson.typepad.com/judy_robertson/data-for-exergame-for-childrens-activity-rct-and-qualitative-study-paper.html |
| Scientific title | A cluster randomised trial and qualitative study of the effectiveness of a location-based exergame on school children’s physical activity |
| Study objectives | Participants who use FitQuest (an exergame) for a 5 week intervention (for one hour per week during Physical Education lessons) will have increased step count, time spent in MVPA and self-efficacy scores post-test than participants who take part in normal Physical Education lessons as provided by the school. |
| Ethics approval(s) | This study was approved by the School of Life Sciences Ethics Committee at Heriot-Watt University, Scotland on 04/09/13. Written permission to conduct a study in the schools was given by Edinburgh City Council, Scotland (25/06/2013). |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | This study is about the promotion of sustained physical activity in children. |
| Intervention | Participants in the intervention arm played an exergame for one hour per week during Physical Education Lessons. Control arm participants took part in the normal Physical Education classes as provided by the school. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | 1. Step count (as measured by NL1000 accelerometer) 2. Minutes spent in MVPA (as measured by NL1000 accelerometer) 3. Self-Efficacy for physical activity, as measured by Pender questionnaire All measures will be taken in the weeks immediately before and after the intervention (or equivalent time elapsed for control) |
| Secondary outcome measures | Qualitative data will be gathered from interviews with children, teachers. Observation notes will be recorded at each session. |
| Overall study start date | 01/05/2013 |
| Completion date | 01/05/2014 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Other |
|---|---|
| Age group | Child |
| Lower age limit | 10 Years |
| Upper age limit | 11 Years |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 10 clusters (5 intervention, 5 control), 30 participants per cluster. |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Primary seven pupils (usually aged 10-11) 2. Attending a state-funded primary school in Edinburgh, Scotland. 3. The school head teacher and PE must have agreed to take part. 4. Both male or female participants are eligible |
| Key exclusion criteria | Lack of parental consent |
| Date of first enrolment | 01/06/2013 |
| Date of final enrolment | 01/09/2014 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Scotland
- United Kingdom
Study participating centre
Heriot Watt University
Edinburgh
EH14 4AS
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
University/education
Research Enterprise Services
Riccarton Campus
Edinburgh
EH14 4AS
Scotland
United Kingdom
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/04mghma93 |
|---|
Funders
Funder type
Research council
No information available
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 01/04/2015 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Other |
| Publication and dissemination plan | The results of the cluster RCT and qualitative study will be submitted to Public Library of Science |
| IPD sharing plan | Not provided at time of registration |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results article | results | 22/08/2016 | Yes | No | |
| Dataset | FitQuest Qualitative DataSet | 09/05/2016 | 04/04/2023 | No | No |
Editorial Notes
04/04/2023: Link to dataset added.
08/06/2017: Publication reference added.
