Clinical trial NCT03575923: Evaluating the Impact of Improvements in Urban Green Space on Older Adults' Physical Activity and Wellbeing: a Natural Experimental Study
Official title: Evaluating the Impact of Improvements in Urban Green Space on Older Adults' Physical Activity and Wellbeing: a Natural Experimental Study
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: Physical Activity and Wellbeing
Keywords: Physical activity
Wellbeing
Urban green space
Older adults
Natural experiment
Protocol
GHIA
Lead sponsor: University of Manchester
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2018-07-03
Enrollment: 1200
Sex: ALL
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Observational model: OTHER
Time perspective: PROSPECTIVE
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: This study is focused on older adults and therefore primary analyses will only consider data from older adults. Secondary analyses will consider data from adults.

Brief summary: Background: Creating or improving urban green space has the potential to be an effective and sustainable way to increase physical activity and improve other aspects of wellbeing in older adults. However, the size and quality of the existing evidence base is weak. There is particularly a lack of studies on older adults and in the United Kingdom. This study aims to evaluate the effect of four small local street greening intervention projects on older adults' physical activity and wellbeing over a one-year period. The street greening includes tree and flower planting, and artificial tree decorations. These projects are based in a deprived urban neighbourhood in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom.

Methods: Eight unimproved comparison sites were selected to compare with the intervention sites. The researchers will measure physical activity and two other behavioural indicators of wellbeing (Connect: connecting with other people; and Take Notice: taking notice of the environment) using a newly developed observation tool. It is thought that the largest effect of the interventions will be on Take Notice behaviour due to improvements in the aesthetic quality of green space at the intervention sites. Baseline data collection occurred in September 2017 before the interventions were installed in November 2017. Follow-up data collection will be repeated in February/ March 2018 (6 months) and September 2018 (12 months).

Discussion: The present study offers a rare opportunity to evaluate the before-and-after effects of small-scale changes in urban green space, in an understudied population (older adults) and setting (United Kingdom). Although the interventions are expected to have small effects on peoples' behaviour, this study will address key weaknesses in previous studies.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

° All individuals (infants, children, teens, adults, older adults) entering the target area during observation periods

Exclusion Criteria:

° Any individuals that request their data to be removed from the study

Primary outcomes:
measure: Take Notice behaviour
timeFrame: 12 months
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Take Notice behaviour
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: Overall count of older adults
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: Overall count of older adults
timeFrame: 12 months
Other outcomes:
measure: Sedentary behaviour
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: Sedentary behaviour
timeFrame: 12 months
measure: Walking behaviour
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: Walking behaviour
timeFrame: 12 months
measure: Vigorous physical activity
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: Vigorous physical activity
timeFrame: 12 months
measure: Connect behaviour
timeFrame: 6 months
measure: Connect behaviour
timeFrame: 12 months
Locations:
city: Multiple Locations
country: United Kingdom
facility: Greater Manchester
state: Greater Manchester
Study officials:
References:
citation: Benton JS, Anderson J, Cotterill S, Dennis M, Lindley SJ, French DP. Evaluating the impact of improvements in urban green space on older adults' physical activity and wellbeing: protocol for a natural experimental study. BMC Public Health. 2018 Jul 27;18(1):923. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-5812-z.