Middle School Physical Activity Intervention for Girls
Condition: Physical Activity
Study type: Interventional
Phase: Phase 1/Phase 2

Summary: 
      Specific aims are:

        1. Evaluate the feasibility of the intervention related to (1) girls' participation; (2)
           adherence to protocols; and (3) user and provider (nurse and PA Club instructors)
           satisfaction.

        2. Explore if participants in the intervention group, compared to those in the control
           group, show improvement in the primary outcome of minutes of moderate to vigorous
           physical activity (MVPA; measured by accelerometer), and also secondary outcomes of
           self-report of MVPA, cardiovascular fitness, body mass index, percent body fat, and
           waist circumference at 6 months.

        3. Explore if the primary outcome is mediated by cognitive (perceived benefits of PA,
           perceived barriers to PA,PA self-efficacy, social support, norms, models) and affective
           (enjoyment of PA) variables.

        4. Explore if participants in the intervention group, compared to those in the control
           group, have greater minutes of MVPA at 7 months.
    

Detailed description: 
      The purpose of this study is to test the feasibility of and obtain preliminary evidence of
      efficacy for a 6-month "Girls on the Move" intervention (guided by the Health Promotion Model
      and Social Cognitive Theory). The intervention involves motivational, individually tailored
      counseling plus after-school physical activity (PA) to increase moderate to vigorous physical
      activity (MVPA) and cardiovascular (CV) fitness, as well as improve body composition and
      cognition and affective responses related to MVPA among 6th-grade girls. Specifically, it
      consists of a 90-minute after-school PA Club that includes MVPA and 6 one-on-one monthly
      motivational, individually tailored counseling sessions with a registered (school) nurse
      during the school day to support each girl's continued MVPA. Applying the motivational
      interviewing communication style, the school nurse will individually tailor the counseling
      based upon each girl's key responses gleaned from computerized questionnaires assessing
      cognitive and affective variables related to MVPA. One middle school will be randomly
      assigned to receive the intervention and another to serve as attention control.
    

Intervention name(s): middle school physical activity intervention for girls
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Both the "Girls on the Move" intervention and attention control conditions will involve 2 components: face-to-face (individual) counseling sessions with a school nurse and an after-school (group) program. The intervention for the attention control group will not address physical activity. Both groups will respond to questionnaires at 0 (baseline) and 6 mos. Our "Girls on the Move" intervention is designed to help girls achieve physical activity recommendations (≥ 60 min. ≥ 5 days/wk.). The motivational, individually tailored counseling sessions with a school nurse and after-school physical activity club (3-5 times a wk. for 6 mos.) are designed to positively influence all cognitive and affective mediating variables of the Health Promotion Model.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: exercise; adolescent; intervention; female; counseling