TAPESTRY Dublin 2003.
Methods | Design: Controlled before‐after study Duration of follow‐up:1 month |
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Participants | Country: Ireland Setting: Urban and rural primary schools Intervention group: 4 schools, 230 baseline responses Control group: 2 schools, 38 baseline responses Age 11‐12 years. Gender not reported |
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Interventions | Walk to school week ‐ information packs for students and parents ‐ other promotional material on walking to school (posters etc.) ‐ children walking or cycling to school were eligible for prizes, as were schools ‐ additional infrastructure for walking/cycling in conjunction with campaign Duration of intervention: 1 week |
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Outcomes | Usual mode of travel to school Effects on inequalities not reported. Adverse effects not reported. |
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Notes | Parts of report very poorly written and structured, and difficult to interpret | |
Risk of bias | ||
Bias | Authors' judgement | Support for judgement |
Adequate sequence generation? | High risk | Not randomised |
Allocation concealment? | High risk | Not randomised |
Blinding? All outcomes | High risk | Not feasible. Could have influenced outcomes |
Incomplete outcome data addressed? All outcomes | Low risk | 100% response rate at follow up survey |
Free of selective reporting? | Unclear risk | Not clear that all pre‐specified outcomes were included |
Free of other bias? | High risk | Apparently inconsistent results reported in paper without clear explanation. Possible errors in data or reporting. A further school class was added at the time of the follow up survey |
Adequate matching of intervention / control groups? | High risk | Baseline travel mode differed substantially between intervention and control groups. Baseline car use was 44% in intervention schools and 78% in control schools. Intervention schools were within the city limits, while control schools were outside the jurisdiction of the city council and appeared to be rural. |