STEP: Enhanced Physical Activity in Children and Youth With Epilepsy

McMaster University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Epilepsy

Treatments: Behavioral: Physical activity behavior-change counselling

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01550874

REB 12-035

Details and patient eligibility

About

Epilepsy is common in childhood. Children with epilepsy are at increased risk of impaired health, functioning, psychological well-being, and quality of life. There is compelling evidence that physical activity improves the medical and psychosocial aspects of health in adults with epilepsy - but there are no such studies in children. This study is to see if increased levels of physical activity can influence children's functioning, psychological well-being, and quality of life.

Full description

There are many unfounded assumptions about the dangers of exercise in children with epilepsy - assumptions that may be seriously detrimental to children's health, and that we have good reason to challenge. This project explores the innovative idea that enhancing physical activity in children with epilepsy will have a positive effect on medical and psychosocial outcomes. The primary purpose of this study is to examine whether increasing physical activity levels through a six-month walking program, that includes behavioral counselling and self-monitoring of physical activity, as compared to varied un-standardized current practices, positively influences health and quality of life over one year. The secondary purposes are to (i) determine which environmental and personal facilitators and barriers to physical activity are experienced when increasing physical activity levels through a six-month walking program; (ii) determine if physical activity levels established during the six-month program will be sustained over a subsequent six-month period that includes self-monitoring of physical activity only; (iii) identify aspects of health that are amendable to change with enhanced physical activity, and explore the relationships among physical activity and impairments, functioning, psychological well-being and quality of life; and (iv) assess if there is a dose-response relationship between physical activity and a variety of health and social factors and quality of life.

Enrollment: 122 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 8 to 14 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Has epilepsy, as confirmed by a pediatric neurologist, with at least 1 seizure in the previous 12 months
• Ambulatory
• Fluency English or French
• Intellectual functioning at or greater than grade 3 level, as judged by parents
• Access to a computer

Exclusion criteria

• Additional diagnoses of psychogenic seizures or autism
• Enrolled in a potentially confounding trial

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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122 participants in 2 patient groups

Control Group

No Intervention group

Description:

Wear the pedometer provided by study everyday with weekly charging and syncing of data.

Experimental Group

Experimental group

Description:

Wear the pedometer provided by the study everyday and also participate in phone-based physical activity behavior-change counselling for 6 months and then check sustainability without further motivational support for another 6 months.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Physical activity behavior-change counselling