Active Play in After-school Programmes: development of an intervention and description of a matched-pair cluster-randomised trial assessing physical activity play in after-school programmes

Abstract

IntroductionInterventions delivered in after-school programmes (ASPs) have the potential to become a means of ensuring adequate physical activity among schoolchildren. This requires a motivational climate, allowing for self-determined play. If trained, ASP staff may represent a valuable resource for supporting such play. Increasing knowledge and supportive skills among ASP staff may also potentially increase their motivation for work. The purpose of this article is to describe the development of the ‘Active Play in ASP’ intervention, which aims to promote physical activity among first graders attending ASP, and to present a protocol for a matched-pair cluster-randomised trial to evaluate the intervention.Methods and analysisInformed by experiences from practice, evidence-based knowledge and theory, the intervention was developed in a stepwise process including focus group meetings and a small-scale pilot test. The intervention contains a course programme for ASP staff to increase their skills in how to support physical activity through play. In a cluster randomised controlled trial, the ASPs will be matched and randomly allocated to receive the 7-month intervention or to a control group. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, after 7 and 19 months. First graders attending the ASPs included are eligible. The primary outcome will be accelerometer-determined minutes in moderate to vigorous physical activity in the ASP. The study uses a mixed methods approach including observations and interviews to provide rich descriptions of the concept of children's physical activity in ASP. Moreover, the trial will assess whether the ASP staff benefits from participation in the intervention in terms of increased work motivation. Lastly, process evaluations of programme fidelity, satisfaction and suggestions on improvement will be performed.Ethics and disseminationThe study is approved by the Data Protection Official for Research (reference no 46008). Results will be presented in conferences and peer-reviewed journals.Trial registration numberClinical Trials (NCT02954614), pre-results.

Physical Activity in Young Schoolchildren in After School Programs

“…The data included in this article were collected in October 2016 at baseline of a cluster randomized controlled trial assessing the effect of an intervention to support young children's PA play in ASP (ClinicalTrials; NCT02954614). The protocol is previously described . Municipalities in three counties in eastern parts of Norway were requested to participate.…”

“…The protocol is previously described. 27 Municipalities in three counties in eastern parts of Norway were requested to participate. School physiotherapists assisted in recruitment of ASPs within their area of responsibility.…”

Active play in ASP –a matched-pair cluster-randomized trial investigating the effectiveness of an intervention in after-school programs for supporting children’s physical activity

“…This study has previously been described in detail elsewhere [22]. It followed the recommendations of the CONSORT statement and was registered with Clinical-Trials.gov (registration number NCT02954614).…”

“…The names of the ASPs were put in sealed envelopes and randomly allocated to either the intervention or control group. The person revealing the allocation was not involved in the study [22].…”

“…Figure 1 shows the flow of the participants in the study. Sample size calculation was performed based on previous studies and on the pilot study, and we assumed that a 6-min increase in MVPA during ASP opening hours in the intervention compared to the control (common SD = 12) would be of clinical importance [18,19,22], which represents 10% of the 60 MVPA minutes recommended by the guidelines. We estimated N to be 121 in each group, without accounting for cluster effects, and planned to enroll a minimum of 200 children in each group to secure sufficient power for additional analysis at the cluster level.…”