Co-Creating and Implementing Contextually Responsive Physical Activity Interventions With Middle School Adolescents
Deanna Hoelscher
Summary
The purpose of this study is to identify community-level barriers and facilitators for active transport and leisure physical activity and to co-create and test the effectiveness and longer-term sustainability of community-based physical activity intervention strategies in middle schools. Participation in this study may help the investigators and scientific community better understand and address child physical activity and health. This study will collect information about middle school children's physical activity behaviors, habits, knowledge, and activity. The UTHealth School of Public Health is leading the study together with the University of Texas at Austin.
Description
Early adolescence is a critical window of opportunity for establishing lifelong physically active lifestyles. During this stage, youth seek autonomy and experience independent mobility. However, steep declines in physical activity occur in adolescence, a trend that continues into adulthood. This is partly due to reduced opportunities for structured exercise and sports in later life relative to childhood. Despite this, most school-based interventions heavily focus on physical education, sports participation, and active recess strategies (i.e., leisure), with less emphasis on promoting utilitari…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 11–99 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * Parent/guardian and child/adolescent dyads * Child/adolescent must be enrolled in the 6th grade at participating schools at baseline * Parent/guardian and child/adolescent must reside in the same household * Parent/guardian and child/adolescent must reside within the school catchment area (school community) * Parent/guardian must speak English or Spanish * Child/adolescent must speak English Exclusion Criteria: * Child/adolescent has a condition that precludes or decreases participation in physical activity * Child/adolescent cannot complete a written survey
Interventions
- BehavioralActive Middle School Communities
This intervention will engage multi-sectoral and multi-generational community members and middle school students to co-produce (co-design, co-implementation, and co-evaluation) contextually-responsive intervention strategies to improve access to active transport and leisure, resulting in increased physical activity and decreased risk for chronic disease in middle school communities. This intervention will use community-based participatory methods, with resources provided for changes in the built environment around the school catchment area.
Location
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at HoustonAustin, Texas