Feasibility Study of the Pilot Post-primary Active School Flag (PPASF) Program

Physical Activity Clinical Trial

— PPASF  

Official title:

Postprimary Active School Flag Feasibility

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Enrolling by invitation

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03847831
• Other study ID #: Postprimary Active School Flag
• Status: Enrolling by invitation
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: September 1, 2018
• Est. completion date: June 1, 2025

Study information

• Verified date: November 2022
• Source: University of Limerick
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The Feasibility of the post-primary Active School Flag (PPASF) programme. The PPASF is an initative from the Department of Education and Skills in a whole-school program to increase physical activity opportunities involving the students in second level education schools in Ireland. Various actors involved in the process include admin, teachers, and students to create more physical activity opportunities for the students in the school. Process evaluation and fidelity of the program are carried out during the year long process for certificate and two years for achieving the flag. Results of this study will inform the design and implementation of the PPASF in a national roll out across Irish second level education schools.

Description:

This is a feasibility study of the post-primary Active School Flag (PPASF) programme. Schools in Ireland that meet the eligibility criteria of; 1) second level education school, 2) has not already achieved the Active School Flag, 3) volunteered to be in the study were selected to take part in this pilot study. Schools not in the programme were matched to provide a comparison data set. Schools involved in the study are given resources to support the year long program so the school may achieve the PPASF certificate. To achieve the certificate, the schools needed to complete 17 tasks throughout the school year; 1) a staff slideshow, 2) an PPASF team slideshow, 3) class time slideshow 4) PPASF training day, 5) an PPASF awareness week (towards the beginning of the year), 6) website showcase, 7) PPASF whole school questionnaire, 8) PPASF launch event, 9) PPASF action plan, 10) 'Did You Know?' campaign, 11) PA module as part of Social, personal and health education (SPHE) subject for junior cycle students, 12) Active School WALKWAY, 13) Community Mapping of extra curriculum activities, 14) Community Event, 5) Active School Week, 16) PPASF accreditation visit, and 17) school PA space audits. The PPASF is part of the developing Healthy Ireland Demonstration Project, and the feasibility to collect data in the form of accelerometers, physical health measures and self-perceptions of health are also included in the feasilibility study. The feasibility study will be monitored quantitatively through a custom design fidelity check list, and in depth process evaluation that includes qualitative methods such as one to one interviews and focus group interviews throughout the academic year. The secondary outcomes are based on the hypotheses that 1) intervention schools will have more physical activity opportunities and thus 2) more physically active students, especially during the school day. Furthermore, there would be 3) a decrease in sitting time, 4) positive associations between academic related behaviours with physical activity behaviours, 5) and no increase in BMI.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Enrolling by invitation
• Enrollment: 9000
• Est. completion date: June 1, 2025
• Est. primary completion date: June 1, 2024
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 12 Years to 19 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• students and teachers in the enrolled schools

Exclusion Criteria:

• students and teachers not enrolled in the schools
• students who did not provide consent or assent to take part in the study

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Educational Problems
• Health Behavior
• Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
• Physical Activity

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Active School Flag Program
Schools enrolled in the program take part in the 17 actions described in the PPASF.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Ireland	University of Limerick	Limerick

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Limerick

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Ireland, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Adherence to the PPASF programme's components in the schools	Customized fidelity check list based on the 17 program elements.	up to 9 months
Secondary	Number of participants in designated areas of school assessed through a modified version of the SOPLAY protocol	A modified version of the "System for Observing Play and Leisure Active In Youth (SOPLAY)" protocol in pre-specified designed areas of the school grounds. The protocol is carried out once a month, carried out by trained students in the school, with assistance of teachers and researchers. Trained students scan the designed area of the school ground from left to right and tally the number of people they encounter that are sedentary, walking or very active. Additional information is collected about the accessibility of the area, the suitability for physical activity, whether there is staff supervision in the area, if the activities are organized physical activity, and if there is any equipment. The count data is marked for each observation period and monitored over time.	up to 9 months
Secondary	Changes in physical activity opportunities through questionnaires	Survey items to state the opportunities in school lessons, recess and after-school activities. A check box of sport and physical activities is counted and compared between time points.	up to 9 months
Secondary	Changes in physical activity levels by accelerometer	Accelerometers placed on the thigh for a minimum of 4 days (1 weekend day) and at least 10h of wear time per day	up to 9 months
Secondary	Changes in physical activity levels by self-reported physical activity through questionnaires	Self-report PA by questionnaire. Two short measures (Prochaska et al, 2001). Both response scales are from 0-7days. Q1 based on the past 7 days. Q2 is based on the average week. Results are averaged and rounded up.	up to 9 months
Secondary	Changes in (accelerometer based) sedentary time during the school day	Accelerometers placed on the thigh to measure inclination and algorithm to detect sitting and lying time.	up to 9 months
Secondary	Changes to self-reported academic performance	Self-report surveys of perceived academic performance. A four point scale of 'below average' 'average' 'good', 'excellent'.	up to 9 months
Secondary	Changes to self-reported academic performance behaviours	Self-report surveys of Harter's self-perception scale for adolescents. Only the Scholastic Competence domain items are used through a structured alternative format. Items grouped into the subscale of Scholastic competence in accordance to the master list of items to produce a summed score.	up to 9 months
Secondary	Changes to school records of Academic behaviours	School records of behavours, including absences and behavioural sanctions at the school level, in comparison to previous 5 years records.	up to 9 months
Secondary	Changes in BMI	Weight measured in kilograms and height in meters to combine to report BMI in kg/m^2	up to 9 months

External Links

•   Open Science Framework Link