Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
The aim of this study is to measure the effect and cost effectiveness of Well London, a complex 3.5-year intervention to promote healthy physical activity, healthy eating and mental health/wellbeing in 20 of London’s most deprived communities.
Who can participate?
Residents in the participating areas of London
What does the study involve?
The 20 boroughs each select two deprived communities as candidates, and one community is selected at random to receive the Well London intervention, while the other community receives no intervention (the comparison or ‘control’ community). The intervention communities participate in designing, delivering and evaluating interventions to meet their needs. Interventions are drawn from a set of possible projects. The exact mix is decided upon in each area depending on what local people identify as priorities and what facilities and services are already provided. Possible projects include improving public spaces to encourage physical activity, supporting local cultural projects, improving access to healthy food choices in the local area, and raising awareness of mental health. We compare physical activity, healthy eating and mental health/wellbeing between the intervention and control communities by carrying out surveys before the health promotion activities start and again after four years.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Not provided at time of registration
Where is the study run from?
Massey University (New Zealand)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
March 2008 to December 2012
Who is funding the study?
1. Big Lottery Fund (UK)
2. The Wellcome Trust (UK) (grant ref: 083679)
Who is the main contact?
Dr Martin Wall
Trial website
Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Protocol/serial number
WT083679AIA
Study information
Scientific title
A randomised cluster controlled trial of community level interventions to address social and structural determinants of physical activity, diet and mental wellbeing
Acronym
WLRCCT
Study hypothesis
Are community designed interventions at Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) level effective in securing improvements in levels of healthy eating, healthy physical activity and mental health?
Ethics approval
University of East London Research Ethics Committee, 15/10/2007, ref: ETH/07/96/0 UEL
Study design
Randomised cluster controlled trial
Primary study design
Interventional
Secondary study design
Cluster randomised trial
Trial setting
Community
Trial type
Quality of life
Patient information sheet
Not available in web format, please use the contact details below to request a patient information sheet
Condition
Healthy behaviours related to diet, exercise and positive mental wellbeing
Intervention
Target number of participants:
In each wave of the adult survey (at the start and end of the project) there will be 4000 participants (100 in each of the 20 intervention and 20 control areas). In the adolescent survey there will be 60 children in each of the 40 areas in each wave.
Interventions:
Well London (WL) is the Greater London Authority's flagship project on health supported by NHS London and 20 primary care trusts (PCTs) and boroughs. The project commenced in March 2008 in 20 of the most deprived communities in London with £9.42 million funding from Big Lottery "Wellbeing" Fund (BLF) delivering complex interventions over 3.5 years to address poor diet, insufficient physical activity and poor mental wellbeing. Interventions are based on existing best practice, designed and implemented with community participation.
Initially two areas (LSOAs) in each of 20 London boroughs were chosen as being in the most deprived 10% of all London LSOAs using the Index of Multiple Deprivation. One of the two was then randomly chosen for interventions and the remaining area was left as control with no spending. The two areas do not adjoin each other to avoid any 'spill-over' of the intervention. The control cluster is therefore 'matched' to the intervention area in that it is in the same borough and that it is similarly deprived.
Health indicators in matched clusters will be compared at start and end of WL. Quantitative surveys will take place in both intervention and control clusters to evaluate interventions and the approach taken to participatory design and provide evidence on appropriateness of extending this model to other deprived areas.
Interventions are drawn from a set of possible projects. The exact mix will be decided upon in each area depending on what local people identify as priorities and what facilities and services are already provided. The set of possible projects include:
1. Healthy Spaces a project to improve the quality of public space in the area to encourage physical activity
2. Active Living, residents will be provided with maps informing them of local resources for making healthy choices e.g. farmer's markets, open space
3. Be Creative Be Well, supporting and facilitating local cultural projects to foster social networks and social capital
4. Buywell, a set of interventions to improve access to healthy food choices in the local area
5. Changing Minds, people with experience of mental ill-health will be recruited to raise awareness of mental health and promote understanding of its impact
6. DIY Happiness, using humour and creativity and based on positive psychology theories activities will aim to reduce impact of stress and increase psychological resources
7. Eatwell aims to improve diet and nutrition by raising awareness of importance of diet to physical and mental health and making healthy eating easier and more attractive
Full details of the projects are on the Well London website at http://www.londonshealth.gov.uk/well_london.htm.
The interventions are due to start in all intervention areas in 2008 and continue throughout the four year period with roughly equal spend on project activity in each year. The follow-up is a repeat of the adult and adolescent surveys at the end of the interventions in 2012. The surveys will be of a randomly selected sample of addresses within the intervention and control areas. We are not attempting in 2012 to re-contact those who took part in the survey in 2008.
Intervention type
Behavioural
Phase
Drug names
Primary outcome measure
Adult survey:
Changes in levels of mental health (MH), physical activity, healthy eating between baseline and follow up. MH is measured using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and positive psychology scale. Also questions on social networks and social capital are drawn from the UK Government Harmonised question set on social capital. Physical activity is measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Diet is measured using questions from the Health Survey for England on items consumed in the previous 24-hour period. Other questions on healthy quality of life and demographic and social characteristics are also collected.
Child survey:
Adolescent questionnaire measures emotional behavioural status using 2001 Child Behaviour checklist, self -esteem will be measured using Rosenberg self-esteem scale, the Child Health and Illness Profile - adolescent edition will be used to measure overall health status and the Child's Attitudes to Physical Activity Scale will assess attitudes to PA. Again the measures will be taken at baseline and follow-up in control and intervention areas.
Secondary outcome measures
Questionnaires will not only measure levels of healthy behaviour around diet, physical activities and mental well being but perceived barriers or constraints to identify areas where resources can be targeted.
Overall trial start date
01/03/2008
Overall trial end date
01/12/2012
Reason abandoned (if study stopped)
Eligibility
Participant inclusion criteria
1. Adult survey, resident in a sampled address within intervention or control areas over age of 16, either sex
2. Child survey, resident of the area and at school participating in survey, between 13 and 16 years old, either sex
Participant type
Other
Age group
Mixed
Gender
Both
Target number of participants
4000
Participant exclusion criteria
1. No participants under 13
2. No one who lives outside of the area
3. No residents whose addresses have not been randomly chosen
Recruitment start date
01/03/2008
Recruitment end date
01/12/2012
Locations
Countries of recruitment
United Kingdom
Trial participating centre
Massey University
Auckland
1010
New Zealand
Sponsor information
Organisation
University of East London (UK)
Sponsor details
c/o Tim Brooks
The Graduate School
Docklands Campus
4 - 6 University Way
London
E16 2RD
United Kingdom
+44 (0)20 8223 2421
t.brooks@uel.ac.uk
Sponsor type
University/education
Website
Funders
Funder type
Charity
Funder name
Big Lottery Fund - funding interventions
Alternative name(s)
Funding Body Type
private sector organisation
Funding Body Subtype
other non-profit
Location
United Kingdom
Funder name
Wellcome Trust (grant ref: 083679) - funding evaluations and full randomised cluster trial
Alternative name(s)
Wellcome
Funding Body Type
private sector organisation
Funding Body Subtype
international
Location
United Kingdom
Funder name
University of East London
Alternative name(s)
UEL
Funding Body Type
private sector organisation
Funding Body Subtype
academic
Location
United Kingdom
Funder name
University of Westminster (UK)
Alternative name(s)
Funding Body Type
private sector organisation
Funding Body Subtype
academic
Location
United Kingdom
Funder name
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) (UK)
Alternative name(s)
Funding Body Type
Funding Body Subtype
Location
Funder name
Loughborough University (UK)
Alternative name(s)
Funding Body Type
private sector organisation
Funding Body Subtype
academic
Location
United Kingdom
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
Not provided at time of registration
Intention to publish date
Participant level data
Not provided at time of registration
Basic results (scientific)
Publication list
2009 protocol in: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19558712
2012 results in: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22769971
2013 results in: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24312459
Publication citations
-
Protocol
Wall M, Hayes R, Moore D, Petticrew M, Clow A, Schmidt E, Draper A, Lock K, Lynch R, Renton A, Evaluation of community level interventions to address social and structural determinants of health: a cluster randomised controlled trial., BMC Public Health, 2009, 9, 207, doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-9-207.
-
Results
Phillips G, Renton A, Moore DG, Bottomley C, Schmidt E, Lais S, Yu G, Wall M, Tobi P, Frostick C, Clow A, Lock K, Petticrew M, Hayes R, The Well London program--a cluster randomized trial of community engagement for improving health behaviors and mental wellbeing: baseline survey results., Trials, 2012, 13, 105, doi: 10.1186/1745-6215-13-105.
-
Results
Bertotti M, Watts P, Netuveli G, Yu G, Schmidt E, Tobi P, Lais S, Renton A, Types of social capital and mental disorder in deprived urban areas: a multilevel study of 40 disadvantaged London neighbourhoods., PLoS ONE, 2013, 8, 12, e80127, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0080127.