BackgroundThe aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness and cost of an after-school dance intervention at increasing the physical activity levels of Year 7 girls (age 11–12).MethodsA cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted in 18 secondary schools. Participants were Year 7 girls attending a study school. The Bristol Girls Dance Project (BGDP) intervention consisted of up to forty, 75-minute dance sessions delivered in the period immediately after school by experienced dance instructors over 20-weeks. The pre-specified primary outcome was accelerometer assessed mean minutes of weekday moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) at time 2 (52 weeks are T0 baseline assessments). Secondary outcomes included accelerometer assessed mean minutes of weekday MVPA at time 1 (while the intervention was still running) and psychosocial outcomes. Intervention costs were assessed.Results571 girls participated. Valid accelerometer data were collected from 549 girls at baseline with 508 girls providing valid accelerometer data at baseline and time 2. There were no differences between the intervention and control group for accelerometer assessed physical activity at either time 1 or time 2. Only one third of the girls in the intervention arm met the pre-set adherence criteria of attending two thirds of the dance sessions that were available to them. Instrumental variable regression analyses using complier average causal effects provided no evidence of a difference between girls who attended the sessions and the control group. The average cost of the intervention was £73 per girl, which was reduced to £63 when dance instructor travel expenses were excluded.ConclusionThis trial showed no evidence that an after-school dance programme can increase the physical activity of Year 7 girls. The trial highlighted the difficulty encountered in maintaining attendance in physical activity programmes delivered in secondary schools. There is a need to find new ways to help adolescent girls to be physically active via identifying ways to support and encourage sustained engagement in physical activity over the life course.Trial registrationISRCTN52882523Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12966-015-0289-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

ObjectivesAdolescents and young adults have been greatly affected by quarantine measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, but little is understood about how restrictions have affected their well-being, mental health, and social life. We therefore aimed to learn more about how UK quarantine measures affected the social lives, mental health and well-being of adolescents and young adults.DesignQualitative interview study. The data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, with particular attention paid to contextual factors (such as age, gender, ethnicity and health status) when analysing each individual transcript.SettingData collection took place remotely across the UK via audio or video call, between June 2020 and January 2021.ParticipantsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with 37 participants (aged 13–24 years) to elicit their views.ResultsAuthors generated four themes during the qualitative analysis: (a) concerns about disruption to education, (b) missing social contact during lockdown, (c) changes to social relationships and (d) improved well-being during lockdown. Many participants said they struggled with a decline in mental health during the pandemic, lack of support and concern about socialising after the pandemic. However, some participants described experiences and changes brought on by the pandemic as helpful, including an increased awareness of mental health and feeling more at ease when talking about it, as well as stronger relationship ties with family members.ConclusionsFindings suggest that young people may have felt more comfortable when talking about their mental health compared with prepandemic, in part facilitated by initiatives through schools, universities and employers. However, many were worried about how the pandemic has affected their education and social connections, and support for young people should be tailored accordingly around some of these concerns.

The Olympic Legacy Plan has been a governmental concern prior to the London 2012 Games, particularly, the aspiration to use the event to inspire participation in sport. However, scant attention has been directed towards the voluntary sector and its role as a delivery agent of the legacy aspirations. New policies for community sport set out a clear focus on using national governing bodies and voluntary sports clubs (VSCs) to deliver growth in adult sports participation and to reduce the proportion of participants dropping out of sport by the age of 25.How far voluntary organizations are aware of and comply with top-down approaches to policy implementation is debatable, particularly when considering the origins and motives of voluntary clubs, their heterogeneous characteristics and their general indifference towards national sport-related policy. This relationship forms the basis of this enquiry. It draws from implementation theory and seeks to explore how far VSCs are aware of policy goals and to understand club management practices and their likely impact on the role of the VSC in delivering community sport policy goals. The findings identify a variety of management practices that can be broadly categorized into three 'cluster types'. Each VSC cluster has a distinct set of aims, support needs and policy outputs. This article concludes by suggesting that more work is required in segmenting club types to identify their diverse support needs and the roles that they may be able to play in increasing participation and reducing the proportion of young people dropping out of sport. IntroductionAt its core, this article is concerned with the relationship between national, highly professionalized organizations who make policy (Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Sport England and national governing bodies (NGBs)) and the local, relatively informal sport-related organizations run by volunteers who, at some distance, are expected to implement it (see Figure 1). Specifically, it will evaluate the role of sports clubs in delivering national community sport policy, particularly in relation to increasing participation in sport and reducing the proportion of young people dropping out of sport. We seek to research this vexed issue by (i) categorizing voluntary sports club (VSC) types based on their typical management practices and (ii) revealing the perceptions of VSC volunteers towards national sport policy and the expectation of VSCs as policy implementers.

ObjectivesNon-healthcare keyworkers face distinct occupational vulnerabilities that have received little consideration within broader debates about ‘essential’ work and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was therefore to explore the impact of the pandemic on the working lives and mental health and well-being of non-healthcare keyworkers in the UK.DesignIn-depth, qualitative interviews, analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis.SettingTelephone or video call interviews, conducted in the UK between September 2020 and January 2021.Participants23 participants aged 26–61 (mean age=47.2) years employed in a range of non-healthcare keyworker occupations, including transport, retail, education, postal services, the police and fire services, waste collection, finance and religious services.ResultsKeyworkers experienced adverse psychological effects during the COVID-19 pandemic, including fears of COVID-19 exposure, contagion and subsequent transmission to others, especially their families. These concerns were often experienced in the context of multiple exposure risks, including insufficient personal protective equipment and a lack of workplace mitigation practices. Keyworkers also described multiple work-related challenges, including increased workload, a lack of public and organisational recognition and feelings of disempowerment.ConclusionsIn efforts to reduce psychosocial concerns among non-healthcare keyworkers, there is a need for appropriate support during the COVID-19 pandemic and in preparation for other infections (eg, seasonal influenza) in the future. This includes the provision of psychological and workplace measures attending to the intersections of personal vulnerability and work conditions that cause unique risks and challenges among those in frontline keyworker occupations.