Cohen 2015.
| Study characteristics | ||
| Methods | Study design: cluster‐RCT | |
| Participants |
School inclusion criteria: 16 government primary schools located within 30 minutes' drive from the University of Newcastle, with a Socio‐Economic Indexes for Areas ≤ 5 (lowest 50%) School exclusion criteria: — Student inclusion criteria: all students in Grades 3 and 4 (stage 2) at study schools Student exclusion criteria: — Setting: school Age group: children Gender distribution: females and males Country/Countries where trial was performed: Australia |
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| Interventions |
Intervention: implemented in 3 phases. Phase 1 focused on teacher professional learning, student leadership workshops, and PA promotion tasks to achieve awards. Examples of tasks included acting as equipment monitor, organising games during recess and lunch, and writing a PA promotion article for the school newsletter. Equipment was provided to the school during this phase, and the school committee was established. In phase 2, schools were encouraged to implement 6 PA policies to support the promotion of PA and fundamental movement skill competency within the school. A member of the research team met with the principal at the intervention schools to explain the policies. The member of the research team then conducted a meeting with all staff members to explain the policies and to provide strategies for implementation of the policies. In addition, the research team used a range of strategies targeting the home environment (newsletters, parent evening, and fundamental movement skill homework) to engage parents and encourage them to support their children’s PA. Phase 3 addressed strategies to improve school–community links (e.g. inviting local sporting organisations to assist with school sport programmes) Comparator: control group followed the usual PE and school sport programmes. The New South Wales Department of Education and Communities requires by policy that all schools provide students with 120 minutes/week of planned PA. In government primary schools, sports programmes are similar among schools Duration of intervention: 12 months Duration of follow‐up: 12 months Number of schools: 8 Theoretical framework: socioecological model |
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| Outcomes | PA duration Fitness |
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| Study registration | ACTRN12611001080910 | |
| Publication details |
Language of publication: English Funding: non‐commercial funding (research funding body) Publication status: peer‐reviewed journal |
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| Stated aim for study | "Supporting Children's Outcomes using Rewards, Exercise, and Skills is a multi‐component school‐based intervention that combines a range of evidence‐based behavior change strategies to promote PA and fundamental movement skills competency among primary school aged children from low‐income communities" | |
| Notes | ||
| Risk of bias | ||
| Bias | Authors' judgement | Support for judgement |
| Random sequence generation (selection bias) | Low risk | Quote from publication: "randomly allocated to the intervention or control group using a computer‐based random number producing algorithm by a researcher not involved in the current study" |
| Allocation concealment (selection bias) | Low risk | Comment: randomisation occurred after baseline assessment [author communication] |
| Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes | High risk | Comment: participants not blinded to intervention |
| Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes | High risk | Comment: assessors were blind to treatment allocation at baseline but not at follow‐up assessments |
| Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) Anthropometrics, Fitness | High risk | Comment: large loss to follow‐up; different by group |
| Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) Physical activity and sedentary time | High risk | Comment: large loss to follow‐up; different by group |
| Selective reporting (reporting bias) | Low risk | Comment: all outcomes in protocol reported |
| Cluster RCT ‐ Recruitment bias | Low risk | Comment: baseline assessments were conducted prior to randomisation |
| Cluster RCT ‐ Baseline imbalance | Low risk | Comment: baseline imbalance adjusted for statistically |
| Cluster RCT ‐ Loss of clusters | Low risk | Comment: no loss of clusters reported |
| Cluster RCT ‐ Incorrect analysis | Low risk | Comment: analysis accounted for clustered design |