JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

A consistent finding in literature is the decline of Physical Activity during adolescence resulting in activity levels below recommended guidelines. Therefore, promotion of physical activity within the school context is recommended. Although some school based intervention are theoretically well-founded, data on effectiveness are missing. That also counts for interventions specifically aimed at prevocational students.

Objective:

This protocol article describes the background and design of an asset-based physical activity promotion intervention study in which prevocational students from 13-15-year-old are invited to participate in the design and implementation of an intervention mix.

Methods:

The effectiveness of the intervention is evaluated by a two-group cluster randomised trial with assessments at baseline and two-yearly follow ups. The research population consists of 3003, 13-15-year-old prevocational students. The outcome measures are self-reported physical activity levels and direct assessment of the physical fitness. An intervention-control group comparison is presented for baseline results. The intervention is tailored to the assets of the students in the intervention schools: Assets of the prevocational adolescents of each participating intervention school are mapped using Motivational Interviewing in the Structured Interview Matrix (SIM) and the PhotoVoice (PV) method. In addition, during focus group sessions, students, school employees and researchers co-create and implement an intervention plan that optimally meets the students’ assets and opportunities in the school context. The degree of participation of students is evaluated by means of interviews and questionnaires.

Results:

The SALVO study was funded in May 2015. Data collection started in October 2015 and was completed in December 2017. Data analyses will be completed in 2021.

Conclusions:

This study assesses the effects of a participatory intervention on physical activity and fitness levels in the prevocational school context. The results of this study may lead to a new understanding of the effectiveness of school-based physical activity interventions when students are invited to participate and co-create an intervention. This process would provide structured health promotion for future public health. Clinical Trial: The study was approved by the ethics committee of the HAN University of Applied Sciences with number ACPO 34.05/16 and registered as number 50-54600-98-105 of the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development