Clinical Research Directory

Children's Cooperation Denmark: a 3-year System Dynamics Trial

Sponsor: Aarhus University Hospital

Summary

Lack of physical activity (PA) and sedentary lifestyle in Danish children is a major challenge. New strategies are needed to combat this development. Early awareness is important, as PA behaviour in childhood often is manifested across adolescence and into adulthood. The three-year Child-COOP trial aims to explore if a participatory system dynamics approach can promote (increase and sustain) healthy PA behaviour in schoolchildren aged 6-12 years through changes at the local system level. The five Danish municipalities will each participate with an intervention community and a comparison community. First, local health profiles of children will be collected and used to engage key leaders and stakeholders from intervention communities and municipal administrations in participatory processes. These will be used to develop a systems map of drivers of PA behaviour in schoolchildren aged 6-12 years in the local communities. Second, based on the systems map, stakeholders from the civic and private sectors will be involved in developing and implementing actions to promote healthy PA behaviour through system changes. The trial will be evaluated in a pre-post design to compare intervention effects between the communities and identify outcomes at individual level and systems level. A process evaluation will be made to map the activities in a final systems program theory on "what works for whom under what circumstances". Results will be used in future recommendations and to assess the potential for upscaling to national level. Child-COOP will be based on a collaboration between the five Danish municipalities, the Steno Diabetes Centres in Aarhus, Copenhagen and Zealand, Aarhus University and Deakin University, Australia. Centre for Health Promotion in Practice, Local Government Denmark (KL) and the Danish Healthy Cities Network (Sund By Netværket) will contribute with feedback on project progress and dissemination of project results.

Official title: Children's Cooperation Denmark (Child-COOP): Promoting Healthy Physical Activity Behaviour in Children Aged 6-12 Years: a 3-year System Dynamics Trial

Key Details

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Interventions

Locations (5)