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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2019 Jan 6;16(1):131.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph16010131.

Action 3:30R: Results of a Cluster Randomised Feasibility Study of a Revised Teaching Assistant-Led Extracurricular Physical Activity Intervention for 8 to 10 Year Olds

Russell Jago  1   2 , Byron Tibbitts  3 , Emily Sanderson  4 , Emma L Bird  5 , Alice Porter  6 , Chris Metcalfe  7 , Jane E Powell  8 , Darren Gillett  9 , Simon J Sebire  10
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Action 3:30R: Results of a Cluster Randomised Feasibility Study of a Revised Teaching Assistant-Led Extracurricular Physical Activity Intervention for 8 to 10 Year Olds

Russell Jago et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Many children are not sufficiently physically active. We conducted a cluster-randomised feasibility trial of a revised after-school physical activity (PA) programme delivered by trained teaching assistants (TAs) to assess the potential evidence of promise for increasing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Participants (n = 335) aged 8⁻10 years were recruited from 12 primary schools in South West England. Six schools were randomised to receive the intervention and six acted as non-intervention controls. In intervention schools, TAs were trained to deliver an after-school programme for 15 weeks. The difference in mean accelerometer-assessed MVPA between intervention and control schools was assessed at follow-up (T1). The cost of programme delivery was estimated. Two schools did not deliver the intervention, meaning four intervention and six control schools were analysed at T1. There was no evidence for a difference in MVPA at T1 between intervention and control groups. Programme delivery cost was estimated at £2.06 per pupil per session. Existing provision in the 12 schools cost £5.91 per pupil per session. Action 3:30 was feasible to deliver and considerably cheaper than existing after-school provision. No difference in weekday MVPA was observed at T1 between the two groups, thus progression to a full trial is not warranted.

Keywords: Keywords: physical activity; after-school; children; feasibility; intervention; teaching assistants.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram for Action 3:30R trial (based on CONSORT 2010 flow diagram).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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