Feasibility Study of the Secondary Level Active School Flag Programme: Study Protocol.

Kwok W Ng,Catherine Woods,Fiona Mchale,Karen Cotter,Donal O’Shea

doi:10.3390/jfmk4010016

Abstract

Taking part in regular physical activity (PA) is important for young adolescents to maintain physical, social and mental health. Schools are vibrant settings for health promotion and the complexity of driving a whole-school approach to PA has not been tested in the Irish school context. The feasibility of the pilot programme of the Department of Education and Skills second level Active School Flag (SLASF) is needed. SLASF is a two year process that consists of the Active School Flag (ASF) certificate programme (year 1) and the ASF flag programme (year 2). This protocol paper is specific to the first year certificate process. Three schools around Ireland were recruited as pilot schools to carry out the year-long SLASF programme with 17 planned actions involving the entire school. Students in the transition year programme have a particular role in the promotion of PA in SLASF. Data collection consists of physical measures, accelerometers, survey data and interviews at the beginning and the end of the academic year. The primary focus on the feasibility of the programme is through process evaluation tools and fidelity checks consisting of implementation of the SLASF programme through whole-school surveys, focus group discussions of key stakeholder groups, as well as one-to-one interviews with a member of management at each school and the SLASF coordinator of the school. Secondary outcomes include PA levels and its social cognitive theories based correlates through physical health measures, surveys carried out pre- and post-intervention, as well as focus group discussions of the students. The results of this study are needed to improve the development of the SLASF through a predetermined stopping criteria and inclusion into systems thinking approaches such as the Healthy Ireland Demonstration Project.

Highlights

There are multiple reasons—physical, psychological, social, environmental—health for adolescents to take part in regular physical activity (PA)
Data from the Children’s Sport Participation and Physical Activity (CSPPA) study highlighted a decline in meeting the PA guidelines, at least 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA) per day, from 18% among 12y olds to 6% among 18y olds [3]
The second level Active School Flag (SLASF) programme is in its pilot phase as part of a larger systems based Healthy Ireland Demonstration Project. It is a feasibility study, because we aim to investigate whether it is suitable in secondary level schools and if so, how to do that [39]

Summary

Introduction

There are multiple reasons—physical, psychological, social, environmental—health for adolescents to take part in regular physical activity (PA). Adolescence forms a highly volatile stage in life where transitional periods can influence behaviour [1] and is a critical time for PA participation where habits—good or bad—developed, later persist into adulthood [2]. Data from the Children’s Sport Participation and Physical Activity (CSPPA) study highlighted a decline in meeting the PA guidelines, at least 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA) per day, from 18% among 12y olds (first year of second level education in Ireland) to 6% among 18y olds (last year of second level education in Ireland) [3]. By the age of 15y, on average, across 42 countries in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study, only 11% of girls and 21% of boys self-reported sufficient MVPA levels [6]. Action is needed to reduce the drop in PA levels

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