Blog

Wellbeing and Fitness Study NHS Grampian

Have you ever wondered how the Step Count Challenge actually benefits you and your health - both physically and mentally?

Published:21/12/2023

NHS Grampian - Step Count Challenge Research

Thank you for your interest in this study.

What is this study about and who is running it?

This study is about how participation in the Step Count Challenge impacts people’s health and wellbeing. It's being conducted by researchers at the University of St Andrews and University of Stirling in collaboration with Paths for All and NHS Grampian.

Do I have to take part?

No - it's completely up to you to decide. This information is to help you decide if you would like to take part. You are welcome to choose to participate in both the Mental Wellbeing and Physical Fitness components of the study or just one of the two, should you choose to participate at all.

How long does it take to complete?

Each task should take no more than 5 minutes, but repeated a number of times. You will be asked you to complete a physical task twice during the challenge, and the mental wellbeing scale three times (fortnightly throughout).

What does it involve?

The first component of the research is about physical fitness, and requires you to stand on the spot and march as quickly as you can for two minutes, raising your knees to almost hip height, counting the number of times that your right foot touches the floor as a way of scoring. Secondly, for the mental wellbeing component, we will ask you to complete the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (Short) - a questionnaire consisting of 7 statements, rating each one from 1-5 based on how you feel.

Will my participation be confidential and anonymous?

Yes. Your participation will only be known to yourself and those at Paths for All. To participate you will have to be logged into your Step Count Challenge account, but the researchers will not have access to your name or contact information. Your responses will be anonymised by Paths for All before the researchers receive the data listed below, so it would be impossible by any simple means for us to link responses to specific individuals.

What data will you collect from me, and why?

The research team will be recording and receiving the following data:

Your reported Step Counts
Your Age Category and Gender
Your Mental Wellbeing Scale results
Your Physical Fitness Test results
Your Pre-Challenge activity level answers

These will be used to help answer our research questions, by looking at how engagement with the Step Count Challenge and number of steps taken has a relationship with health and wellbeing.

How will my data be securely stored, who will have access to it?

Paths for All will provide the research team with an anonymised dataset consisting of the information listed above, which will be stored in secure university servers only accessible to the research team. The anonymised data will be kept indefinitely on University servers, and may be placed in a publicly accessible research data depository, allowing other researchers access to the anonymised datasets.

Can I withdraw my data?

All participants are free to withdraw at any time by not completing any further tasks, and if you wish to remove any data provided until that point, you can request this action by getting in touch with Paths for All by email at walkatwork@pathsforall.org.uk, before midday on 23/02/2024. This will be the final point for withdrawal.

Are there any risks?

The physical fitness component of this research will require two minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Please only participate in this element of the research if you are comfortable with that and remember you can stop at any stage and withdraw from that element of the study. The other component of the study is mental wellbeing. Using a scale, we will ask you to think about aspects of your own mental wellbeing, which you may feel incite negative memories, thoughts or feelings. Again, you can withdraw at any stage if you feel uncomfortable without providing a reason. This research has been approved by the University of St Andrews School of Psychology and Neuroscience Ethics Committee (Approval Code: PS15433).

What should I do if I have concerns about this study?

In the first instance you are encouraged to raise your concerns with the researcher and if you do not feel comfortable doing so, then you should contact Paths for All at walkatwork@pathsforall.org.uk. A full outline of the procedures governed by the University Teaching and Research Ethics Committee is available at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/utrec/Guidelines/complaints/  