ArticlePilot and feasibility studies2016
Assessing the feasibility of evaluating and delivering a physical activity intervention for pre-school children: a pilot randomised controlled trial.
Article in Pilot and feasibility studies, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Interventions to prevent obesity in children aged 2 to 4 years old.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Measuring Early Childhood Educators' Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior-Related Self-Efficacy: A Systematic Review of Tools.Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education · 2021Pooled it
- Evaluating the Sustaining Play, Sustaining Health programme in Australian early childhood education and care services: a pilot randomized controlled trial.Health promotion international · 2025Trial
- Pre-school-based behaviour change intervention to increase physical activity levels amongst young children: a feasibility cluster randomised controlled trial.Frontiers in public health · 2024Trial
- Stand Out in Class: restructuring the classroom environment to reduce sitting time - findings from a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2020Trial
- Early Years Physical Activity and Motor Skills Intervention-A Feasibility Study to Evaluate an Existing Training Programme for Early Years Educators.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Systematic review of the characteristics of school-based feasibility cluster randomised trials of interventions for improving the health of pupils in the UK.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2022Review
- Parental Views on the Acceptability and Feasibility of Measurement Tools Used to Assess Movement Behaviour of Pre-School Children: A Qualitative Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Cluster randomised controlled feasibility study of HENRY: a community-based intervention aimed at reducing obesity rates in preschool children.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2021Article
- Integration of Oral Health Interventions in the Health Promoting Schools Program in Iran: A Multi-Stakeholder Feasibility Assessment.Frontiers in dentistry · 2021Article
- Results from a pre-post, uncontrolled pilot study of a mindfulness-based program for early elementary school teachers.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2020Article
- Intervention to Improve Preschool Children's Fundamental Motor Skills: Protocol for a Parent-Focused, Mobile App-Based Comparative Effectiveness Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2020Article
- Objectively-measured sedentary time and physical activity in a bi-ethnic sample of young children: variation by socio-demographic, temporal and perinatal factors.BMC public health · 2020Observational
- A feasibility cluster randomised controlled trial of a preschool obesity prevention intervention: ToyBox-Scotland.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2019Article
- Physical Activity, Sedentary Time, and Fatness in a Biethnic Sample of Young Children.Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2017Article
- Unsupervised progressive elastic band exercises for frail geriatric inpatients objectively monitored by new exercise-integrated technology-a feasibility trial with an embedded qualitative study.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFew evidence-based physical activity interventions for pre-school children are available. This two-armed pilot cluster randomised controlled trial aimed to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a full-scale trial and of delivering an outdoor physical activity intervention for pre-school children.
methodsSchool was the unit of randomisation, and follow-up occurred at 10 and 52 weeks. Trial feasibility was assessed by recruitment, retention and completion rates of primary (daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA)) and secondary (anthropometric, quality of life, self-efficacy) outcomes. Potential effectiveness was assessed for the primary outcome using a linear regression model comparing MVPA between trial arms adjusting for clustering by school. Feasibility of delivering the intervention was assessed by intervention fidelity and attendance. Semi-structured interviews with parents, intervention facilitators, and head teachers explored acceptability and capability to deliver the intervention as well as acceptability of the study design.
resultsRecruitment rates were 37 % of schools (
conclusionsRecruitment and retention rates suggest a trial in this outdoor setting with this population was feasible but is weather sensitive. However, strategies to increase accelerometer wear-time would need to be implemented for reliable primary outcome data to be obtained. There was high implementation fidelity by facilitators, and the intervention was seen as acceptable and deliverable. However, attendance was low and preliminary data showed no evidence of intervention effectiveness. A revised intervention, building on the successful elements of this pilot alongside adapting implementation strategies to improve attendance, should therefore be considered.
trial registrationTrial registry name and number: Current Controlled Trials, ISRCTN54165860. Date of registration: 4 September 2012.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.