Evaluation of Skipping Rope and Informational Pamphlet Among Adolescents in South Africa

Summary

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the impact of providing a skipping rope and informational pamphlet to adolescents aged 10-14 years on their physical activity intentions and behaviors from baseline to 12-month follow-up when compared with adolescents of the same age who are not provided with any intervention. This study comprises a two-arm randomized controlled trial nested within an adolescent cohort, i.e. a 'randomized trial-within-cohort'. The intervention will include providing each participant with a skipping rope and a pamphlet with general instructions for skipping the rope and messages about the importance of physical activity. The investigators hypothesize that adolescents in a South African community who are provided with a skipping rope and an informational pamphlet on physical activity will engage in more physical activity behaviors and will report greater intentions to be physically active at a 12-month follow-up, compared to a control group of adolescents who do not receive the intervention.

Conditions

• Moderate-vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA)

Interventions

OTHER

Skipping rope and informational pamphlet

The provision of a skipping rope and an informational pamphlet to the intervention arm participants will happen during the participant interview within the overall DASH cohort study. The enumerator conducting the survey interview will provide each participant in the intervention group with a skipping rope and pamphlet and will read a short script explaining how to use the rope, outlining the main benefits of physical activity for adolescents, and asking participants to read the pamphlet in their own time.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)

  collaborator OTHER

• Africa Academy for Public Health

  collaborator OTHER

• Heidelberg University

  collaborator OTHER

• Technical University of Munich

  collaborator OTHER

• USINGA Health and Demographic Surveillance System

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• University of KwaZulu

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Jabulani Ncayiyana, Ph.D. · University of KwaZulu

• Mosa Moshabela · University of KwaZulu

• Mary Mwanyika-Sando · Africa Academy of Public Health

• Michael Laxi · Technical University of Munich

• Till Bärnighausen · Heidelberg University

• Jacob Burns · Technical University of Munich

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

10 Years

Max Age

14 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-10-01

Primary Completion

2025-12-30

Completion

2025-12-30

Countries

• South Africa

Study Locations