None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Health-related fitness and wellbeing among youth populations internationally have declined. Although it is well established participation in vigorous activity can enhance both fitness and mental wellbeing, it is clear that the majority of youth are not sufficiently active. Because health behaviours in youth track into adulthood, it is imperative to identify scalable efficacious approaches that have the potential to influence lifelong fitness and wellbeing. Higher intensity activity and ‘fitness’ provide a protective effect against future impairments in physical and mental wellbeing. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is an effective and expedient exercise option for youth. Recent reviews and meta-analyses have illustrated that HIIT improves cardiorespiratory fitness, body fat, and cardio-metabolic risk in youth by clinically relevant amounts, and most importantly beyond other forms of exercise. However, limitations identified in the HIIT research to-date include: most has been conducted in laboratories rather than in real-world settings; most has been delivered by specialist research teams and conducted over relatively short periods of time; rarely have interventions drawn upon cultural knowledge relevant to the participating populations, and; no interventions have been aligned with educational curricula. Each of these limitations contribute to reduced sustainability and scalability of HIIT-based initiatives. Although schools represent an ideal setting for sustainable scale up, very few interventions achieve such outcomes, most likely owing to insufficient attention to future implementation in the design process or support for teachers to deliver interventions confidently. In an Aotearoa New Zealand setting, interventions might benefit by utilising a matauranga Maori framework in schools, providing cultural relevance and curriculum integration to exercise.
Interventions
This research is defined in two phases: Phase 1 is a cluster-randomised controlled trial. Phase 2 is the Implementation phase. Phase 1 involves working with school teachers (students age 8-13) to train them to deliver an exercise programme (high intensity interval training) intervention in their class as part of their physical education curriculum delivery. We then conduct a cluster-randomised controlled trial over one school term (9 weeks) to determine the effect of the intervention on a range
This research is defined in two phases: Phase 1 is a cluster-randomised controlled trial. Phase 2 is the Implementation phase. Phase 1 involves working with school teachers (students age 8-13) to train them to deliver an exercise programme (high intensity interval training) intervention in their class as part of their physical education curriculum delivery. We then conduct a cluster-randomised controlled trial over one school term (9 weeks) to determine the effect of the intervention on a range of outcomes on the student participants in comparison to usual practice physical education. We will also seek feedback from the teachers and participating school students on their perceptions of the exercise. The control group classes from different schools would simply continue with their standard physical education curriculum delivery. The training module consists of sessions regarding the research on HIIT, how to use the app and heart rate monitors provided, how to incorporate curriculum components, and explanation of the Maori components. The module is comprised of a series of workshop activities including interactive learning, and lectures. All the training occurs on one day. In Phase 2, we will then follow-up with a further one year of schools implementing the exercise as they see fit (or not), and subsequently conduct an evaluation of that implementation phase in terms of the extent and nature of the teachers’ use of the exercise in their classes. We won’t collect any data from the student participants in the implementation phase, only the teachers. There are no new specific exercises prescribed in this phase. The cluster-randomised controlled trial will be conducted within 14-16 intermediate and primary level schools. Total number of participants is therefore expected to be 850 school students. The schools will be randomly allocated to either high intensity interval training (HIIT) intervention, or control who will continue with usual practice Physical Education (PE) class delivery. Assessments will be conducted at baseline and post intervention period (9 weeks). WHO The professional development session will be delivered by the research team (all full-time academic staff members, PhD’s) to the teachers of the intervention class. The HIIT sessions will be delivered by the teachers to the participant students in class. INTERVENTION MODE The HIIT sessions delivered by the teachers will be structured to fit within 10-15 minutes, twice per week, and involve a variety of work to rest ratios based on existing HIIT protocols. Participants will wear heart rate monitors and have their de-identified heart rate displayed on screen for them to target at least 90% of predicted heart rate maximum as a guideline intensity towards the end of each work phase. The sessions will be deliverable in a variety of settings such that specialist space is not required, and with no requisite equipment. Our matauranga Maori approach to HIIT sessions will be designed around cultural narratives and histories, such as the discovery of Aotearoa by Kupe, or the ascension of Tane through the 12 heavens to provide cultural context. These narratives facilitate cultural relevance and provide innovative opportunities to utilise Maori knowledge in a contemporary education setting and integrate cultural aspects of the curriculum into exercise sessions. The format of sessions will require a setting specific approach, and some variation in delivery is inevitable given different teacher delivery. Brief reflective questions at the end of each HIIT session will prompt critical thinking around the participant’s own relationship with vigorous physical activity and how that evolves over the course of the intervention period. NUMBER OF TIMES FOR INTERVENTION DELIVERY Over one school terms (9 weeks), ~18 sessions in total will be delivered in class by the teachers. The adherence to this frequency, and the target intensity is via a report that is uploaded to the researchers via the heart rate monitoring app provided. LOCATION All HIIT sessions will be delivered in school (Year 5-8 level) during usual PE class times. The professional development session will be delivered to the teachers involved with the intervention class at the University facility of the research team. ADHERENCE Will be assessed via recording of class attendance, and heart rates achieved by participants. No strategy will be employed to enhance adherence as it is reliant on usual attendance to class. The physical activity levels and classroom behaviour sampling are not sub-studies. The physical activity levels will be assessed in a group randomly selected by excel random function, and incorporated as an outcome measure for the main trial. The classroom behaviour sub-sample are also randomly selected within the intervention group by excel randomisation function. The observations are used to describe the acute effects of the intervention, within the main cluster-randomised controlled trial.
Sponsors
Auckland University of Technology
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
8 Years to 13 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
All students in Year 5 - Year 8 able to participate in normal Physical Eduction class activity
Exclusion criteria
None
Outcome results
None listed