Abstract
BackgroundEuroFIT is a gender-sensitised, health and lifestyle program targeting physical activity, sedentary time and dietary behaviours in men. The delivery of the program in football clubs, led by the clubs’ community coaches, is designed to both attract and engage men in lifestyle change through an interest in football or loyalty to the club they support. The EuroFIT program will be evaluated in a multicentre pragmatic randomised controlled trial (RCT), for which ~1000 overweight men, aged 30–65 years, will be recruited in 15 top professional football clubs in the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the UK. The process evaluation is designed to investigate how implementation within the RCT is achieved in the various football clubs and countries and the processes through which EuroFIT affects outcomes.MethodsThis mixed methods evaluation is guided by the Medical Research Council (MRC) guidance for conducting process evaluations of complex interventions. Data will be collected in the intervention arm of the EuroFIT trial through: participant questionnaires (n = 500); attendance sheets and coach logs (n = 360); observations of sessions (n = 30); coach questionnaires (n = 30); usage logs from a novel device for self-monitoring physical activity and non-sedentary behaviour (SitFIT); an app-based game to promote social support for physical activity outside program sessions (MatchFIT); interviews with coaches (n = 15); football club representatives (n = 15); and focus groups with participants (n = 30). Written standard operating procedures are used to ensure quality and consistency in data collection and analysis across the participating countries. Data will be analysed thematically within datasets and overall synthesis of findings will address the processes through which the program is implemented in various countries and clubs and through which it affects outcomes, with careful attention to the context of the football club.DiscussionThe process evaluation will provide a comprehensive account of what was necessary to implement the EuroFIT program in professional football clubs within a trial setting and how outcomes were affected by the program. This will allow us to re-appraise the program’s conceptual base, optimise the program for post-trial implementation and roll out, and offer suggestions for the development and implementation of future initiatives to promote health and wellbeing through professional sports clubs.Trial RegistrationISRCTN81935608. Registered on 16 June 2015.
Highlights
European Fans in Training (EuroFIT) is a gender-sensitised, health and lifestyle program targeting physical activity, sedentary time and dietary behaviours in men
The overall aim of the process evaluation is to investigate: (1) how the implementation is achieved in the various football clubs and countries; and (2) the processes through which the EuroFIT program affects outcomes
This paper describes the design of a mixed methods process evaluation embedded within a multicentre pragmatic trial, for which 1000 overweight men, aged 30–65 years, will be recruited in 15 top professional football clubs across the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the UK
Summary
EuroFIT is a gender-sensitised, health and lifestyle program targeting physical activity, sedentary time and dietary behaviours in men. The EuroFIT program will be evaluated in a multicentre pragmatic randomised controlled trial (RCT), for which ~1000 overweight men, aged 30–65 years, will be recruited in 15 top professional football clubs in the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the UK. A process evaluation can provide detailed examination of the barriers and facilitators that influence the delivery of the program within different organisational settings and cultural contexts. It can describe what is necessary or desirable to set up a program within organisations and maximise its uptake in the target population; this is essential for planning for wider dissemination and implementation of a program should it prove successful
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