Plain English Summary
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
Trial website
Contact information
Type
Public
Primary contact
Prof Judy Robertson
ORCID ID
Contact details
School of Education
Simon Laurie House
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
EH8 8AQ
United Kingdom
Type
Scientific
Additional contact
Prof Judy Robertson
ORCID ID
Contact details
School of Education
Simon Laurie House
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
EH8 8AQ
United Kingdom
Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Protocol/serial number
F12R10074
Study information
Scientific title
A cluster randomised trial and qualitative study of the effectiveness of a location-based exergame on school children’s physical activity
Acronym
Study hypothesis
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
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).
Study design
Single centre interventional trial with a cluster randomised control design
Primary study design
Interventional
Secondary study design
Cluster randomised trial
Trial setting
Schools
Trial type
Prevention
Patient information sheet
Condition
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
Phase
Drug names
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 trial start date
01/05/2013
Overall trial end date
01/05/2014
Reason abandoned (if study stopped)
Eligibility
Participant 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
Participant type
Other
Age group
Child
Gender
Both
Target number of participants
10 clusters (5 intervention, 5 control), 30 participants per cluster.
Participant exclusion criteria
Lack of parental consent
Recruitment start date
01/06/2013
Recruitment end date
01/09/2014
Locations
Countries of recruitment
United Kingdom
Trial participating centre
Heriot-Watt University
Earl Mounbatten Building
Heriot Watt University
Edinburgh
EH14 4AS
United Kingdom
Funders
Funder type
Research council
Funder name
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Alternative name(s)
Funding Body Type
Funding Body Subtype
Location
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
The results of the cluster RCT and qualitative study will be submitted to Public Library of Science
Intention to publish date
01/04/2015
Participant level data
Other
Basic results (scientific)
Publication list
2016 results in https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27548504