Nurse facilitated 5000 m running at Parkrun improves vulnerable adolescent health in a high deprivation area: A matched pair randomized control trial.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the effect of weekly nurse facilitated 5000 m running at Parkrun on markers of health in vulnerable adolescents from a high deprivation area.

DESIGN

A matched pair randomized control trial.

SAMPLE: Twenty-five adolescents aged 13-18, 90% identifying as Māori/Pasifika ethnicity.

INTERVENTION: The intervention (INT) group participated in 6-10 Parkruns within 10 weeks, and a control group (CON) participated in one Parkrun only. A nurse facilitated the intervention offering support and encouragement at each Parkrun.

MEASUREMENTS: Pre- and post-intervention testing sessions for cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), glycated hemoglobin, body mass index (BMI), skeletal muscle mass (SMM), body fat, and hand grip strength (STR) were conducted.

RESULTS

Parkrun improved CRF (F = 5.308, p = 0.035) and 5000 m time (t = 2.850, p = 0.019) by 5.5 ± 4.9 min (11.2%). Parkrun conferred a large beneficial effect on CRF (η2 = 0.249) a moderate beneficial effect on glycated hemoglobin levels (η2 = 0.119), and small beneficial effects upon SMM (η2 = 0.037) and body fat (η2 = 0.017).

CONCLUSION

A weekly dose of nurse facilitated Parkrun can be recommended as a simple, accessible intervention that confers multiple beneficial effects on markers for health in adolescents from a high deprivation area.