Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
The training of practitioners and undergraduate students of the health professions in communication skills to support lifestyle behavioural change related to chronic disease prevention and management is a national priority for Ireland’s Health Service and higher education institutions. An e-learning training programme in behavioural change skills related to self-management behaviours for chronic musculoskeletal pain (E-SOLAS) has been developed by the interdisciplinary UCD research team and shown to be acceptable to physiotherapists and effective in guiding delivery of a group-based intervention for clients with chronic musculoskeletal pain with high fidelity using a needs supportive communication style underpinned by self-determination theory. The behavioural change skills component of the E-SOLAS training programme has potential for integration into the education programmes of health professional students beyond physiotherapy. The original E-SOLAS training programme was adapted for students of clinical nutrition and dietetics who currently receive four hours face-to-face training in behavioural change skills. The aims of this study are to explore the effects of the E-SOLAS behaviour change skills training programme to prepare students in Human Nutrition and Dietetics to develop knowledge, confidence and skills in needs supportive communication to support behavioural change, as well as any necessary modifications to improve the acceptability and appropriateness of this e-learning training programme for application to UCD students.
Who can participate?
Students registered on the MSc Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics programme at University College Dublin
What does the study involve?
Participants are randomly allocated to one of two groups. One group receives E-SOLAS behaviour change skills training and the usual face-to-face behavioural change skills training. The other group receives the usual face-to-face behavioural change skills training only. On completion of the study each participant is invited to complete a questionnaire and submit an audio-recording of their practice of behaviour change skills for rating by two members of the research team.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Participants receive training to support their learning of behavioural change skills and provide feedback on the training programme to improve its acceptability and effectiveness for students in health professional programmes. There are no risks involved in participating in this study.
Where is the study run from?
University College Dublin (Ireland)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
January 2018 to June 2018
Who is funding the study?
University College Dublin (Ireland)
Who is the main contact?
Prof. Deirdre Hurley
deirdre.hurleyosing@ucd.ie
Study website
Contact information
Type
Scientific
Contact name
Prof Deirdre Hurley
ORCID ID
Contact details
Room A102
Health Sciences Centre
University College Dublin
Belfield
Dublin
D4
Ireland
+353 (0)17166524
deirdre.hurleyosing@ucd.ie
Additional identifiers
EudraCT/CTIS number
IRAS number
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Protocol/serial number
LS-E-18-23-Hurley
Study information
Scientific title
Evaluation of theory-driven behavioural change skills training in clinical nutrition and dietetics students: a pilot trial comparing blended learning and face-to-face educational approaches
Acronym
Study hypothesis
1. Blended learning will have larger effects on participants' knowledge, self-efficacy and skills (competence) in the use of behavioural change skills than face-to-face training only
2. There will be comparable levels of student satisfaction with the education provided
Ethics approval(s)
University College Dublin, Human Research Ethics Committee - Sciences (HREC-LS), 31/01/2018, ref: LS-E-18-23-Hurley
Study design
Single-centre pilot randomized controlled trial
Primary study design
Interventional
Secondary study design
Randomised controlled trial
Study setting(s)
Other
Study type
Other
Patient information sheet
Not available in web format, please use the contact details to request a patient information sheet
Condition
Education of pre-registration students in clinical nutrition and dietetics in behavioural change skills
Intervention
Consenting participants (i.e. students registered on the MSc Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics programme) will be randomly allocated to the experimental arm (usual face-to-face behavioural change skills training + E-learning behaviour change skills training; n=10) or the control arm (usual face-to-face behavioural change skills training only; n=10). Following provision of written, informed consent and completion of the baseline questionnaires all participants will be randomized. Concealed randomization will be conducted by the Principal Investigator using a random numbers table.
Experimental arm: 4 hours Group-Based Face-to-Face Training + Individual E-learning Training in Behavioural Change Skills
Control arm: 4 hours Group-Based Face-to-Face Training in Behavioural Change Skills
All participants will receive usual face-to-face training in behavioural change skills and in addition, experimental arm participants will be given access to the E-SOLAS training programme to complete independently over a 4-week period. On completion of the study each participant will be invited to complete the post-training questionnaire and submit an audio-recording of their practice of behaviour change skills for blinded rating by two members of the research team.
Intervention type
Behavioural
Primary outcome measure
Measured at baseline and post-training:
1. Knowledge of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) strategies will be assessed by students narratively describing how they would work to motivate a disengaged client case study that will be coded by a blinded expert rater
2. Confidence (self-efficacy) in the use of the above SDT behavioural change strategies will be assessed using a researcher devised questionnaire (10 items, 7-point Likert Scale)
3. Competence in applying the above SDT behavioural change strategies will be assessed by each student audio-recording a role play with a colleague that will involve each participants use of the SDT strategies to support the 'client' to change their behaviour related to healthy eating, which will be rated by a blinded expert rater
Secondary outcome measures
Satisfaction and acceptability of each educational training programme will be assessed using a researcher devised questionnaire (5-point Likert Scale) post training
Overall study start date
26/01/2018
Overall study end date
30/06/2018
Reason abandoned (if study stopped)
Eligibility
Participant inclusion criteria
Students registered on the MSc Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics programme at University College Dublin
Participant type(s)
Other
Age group
Adult
Sex
Both
Target number of participants
20
Participant exclusion criteria
Students registered on any other programme at University College Dublin
Recruitment start date
08/02/2018
Recruitment end date
27/02/2018
Locations
Countries of recruitment
Ireland
Study participating centre
University College Dublin
School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science
Health Sciences Centre
Belfield
Dublin
D4
Ireland
Sponsor information
Organisation
University College Dublin
Sponsor details
School of Public Health
Physiotherapy and Sports Science
Belfield
Dublin
D4
Ireland
+353 (0)17166524
deirdre.hurleyosing@ucd.ie
Sponsor type
University/education
Website
ROR
Funders
Funder type
University/education
Funder name
University College Dublin
Alternative name(s)
UCD
Funding Body Type
private sector organisation
Funding Body Subtype
Universities (academic only)
Location
Ireland
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
Planned publication in a high-impact peer reviewed journal one year after trial end date.
Intention to publish date
30/06/2019
Individual participant data (IPD) sharing plan
The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study during this study will be included in the subsequent results publication.
IPD sharing plan summary
Other
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|