Whole family-based physical activity promotion intervention: the Families Reporting Every Step to Health pilot randomised controlled trial protocol

Introduction Family-based physical activity (PA) interventions present a promising avenue to promote children’s activity; however, high-quality experimental research is lacking. This paper describes the protocol for the FRESH (Families Reporting Every Step to Health) pilot trial, a child-led family-...

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Main Authors: Esther van Sluijs, Helen Elizabeth Brown, Justin M Guagliano, Emma Coombes, Elizabeth S Haines, Claire Hughes, Andrew P Jones, Katie L Morton
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2019-10-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/10/e030902.full
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author Esther van Sluijs
Helen Elizabeth Brown
Justin M Guagliano
Emma Coombes
Elizabeth S Haines
Claire Hughes
Andrew P Jones
Katie L Morton
author_facet Esther van Sluijs
Helen Elizabeth Brown
Justin M Guagliano
Emma Coombes
Elizabeth S Haines
Claire Hughes
Andrew P Jones
Katie L Morton
author_sort Esther van Sluijs
collection DOAJ
description Introduction Family-based physical activity (PA) interventions present a promising avenue to promote children’s activity; however, high-quality experimental research is lacking. This paper describes the protocol for the FRESH (Families Reporting Every Step to Health) pilot trial, a child-led family-based PA intervention delivered online.Methods and analysis FRESH is a three-armed, parallel-group, randomised controlled pilot trial using a 1:1:1 allocation ratio with follow-up assessments at 8 and 52 weeks postbaseline. Families will be eligible if a minimum of one child in school Years 3–6 (aged 7–11 years) and at least one adult responsible for that child are willing to participate. Family members can take part in the intervention irrespective of their participation in the accompanying evaluation and vice versa.Following baseline assessment, families will be randomly allocated to one of three arms: (1) FRESH; (2) pedometer-only or (3) no-intervention control. All family members in the pedometer-only and FRESH arms receive pedometers and generic PA promotion information. FRESH families additionally receive access to the intervention website; allowing participants to select step challenges to ‘travel’ to target cities around the world, log steps and track progress as they virtually globetrot. Control families will receive no treatment. All family members will be eligible to participate in the evaluation with two follow-ups (8 and 52 weeks). Physical (eg, fitness and blood pressure), psychosocial (eg, social support) and behavioural (eg, objectively measured family PA) measures will be collected at each time point. At 8-week follow-up, a mixed methods process evaluation will be conducted (questionnaires and family focus groups) assessing acceptability of the intervention and evaluation. FRESH families’ website engagement will also be explored.Ethics and dissemination This study received ethical approval from the Ethics Committee for the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Cambridge. Findings will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications, conferences and to participating families.Trial registration number ISRCTN12789422
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spelling doaj-art-0911b6cfbef9410a8627d3adf4e39fa22025-08-20T01:58:55ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552019-10-0191010.1136/bmjopen-2019-030902Whole family-based physical activity promotion intervention: the Families Reporting Every Step to Health pilot randomised controlled trial protocolEsther van Sluijs0Helen Elizabeth Brown1Justin M Guagliano2Emma Coombes3Elizabeth S Haines4Claire Hughes5Andrew P Jones6Katie L Morton72 MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK1 MRC Epidemiology Unit and UKCRC Centre for Diet and Activity Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK1 MRC Epidemiology Unit and UKCRC Centre for Diet and Activity Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK2 Norwich Medical School and UKCRC Centre for Diet and Activity Research, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK1 MRC Epidemiology Unit and UKCRC Centre for Diet and Activity Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UKCentre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK1 Neurology, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK1 MRC Epidemiology Unit and UKCRC Centre for Diet and Activity Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UKIntroduction Family-based physical activity (PA) interventions present a promising avenue to promote children’s activity; however, high-quality experimental research is lacking. This paper describes the protocol for the FRESH (Families Reporting Every Step to Health) pilot trial, a child-led family-based PA intervention delivered online.Methods and analysis FRESH is a three-armed, parallel-group, randomised controlled pilot trial using a 1:1:1 allocation ratio with follow-up assessments at 8 and 52 weeks postbaseline. Families will be eligible if a minimum of one child in school Years 3–6 (aged 7–11 years) and at least one adult responsible for that child are willing to participate. Family members can take part in the intervention irrespective of their participation in the accompanying evaluation and vice versa.Following baseline assessment, families will be randomly allocated to one of three arms: (1) FRESH; (2) pedometer-only or (3) no-intervention control. All family members in the pedometer-only and FRESH arms receive pedometers and generic PA promotion information. FRESH families additionally receive access to the intervention website; allowing participants to select step challenges to ‘travel’ to target cities around the world, log steps and track progress as they virtually globetrot. Control families will receive no treatment. All family members will be eligible to participate in the evaluation with two follow-ups (8 and 52 weeks). Physical (eg, fitness and blood pressure), psychosocial (eg, social support) and behavioural (eg, objectively measured family PA) measures will be collected at each time point. At 8-week follow-up, a mixed methods process evaluation will be conducted (questionnaires and family focus groups) assessing acceptability of the intervention and evaluation. FRESH families’ website engagement will also be explored.Ethics and dissemination This study received ethical approval from the Ethics Committee for the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Cambridge. Findings will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications, conferences and to participating families.Trial registration number ISRCTN12789422https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/10/e030902.full
spellingShingle Esther van Sluijs
Helen Elizabeth Brown
Justin M Guagliano
Emma Coombes
Elizabeth S Haines
Claire Hughes
Andrew P Jones
Katie L Morton
Whole family-based physical activity promotion intervention: the Families Reporting Every Step to Health pilot randomised controlled trial protocol
BMJ Open
title Whole family-based physical activity promotion intervention: the Families Reporting Every Step to Health pilot randomised controlled trial protocol
title_full Whole family-based physical activity promotion intervention: the Families Reporting Every Step to Health pilot randomised controlled trial protocol
title_fullStr Whole family-based physical activity promotion intervention: the Families Reporting Every Step to Health pilot randomised controlled trial protocol
title_full_unstemmed Whole family-based physical activity promotion intervention: the Families Reporting Every Step to Health pilot randomised controlled trial protocol
title_short Whole family-based physical activity promotion intervention: the Families Reporting Every Step to Health pilot randomised controlled trial protocol
title_sort whole family based physical activity promotion intervention the families reporting every step to health pilot randomised controlled trial protocol
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/10/e030902.full
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