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Interventions targeting children and young people's physical activity behavior at home: A systematic review
Amanda L Seims1,2, Jennifer Hall1,2, Daniel D Bingham1,2,3
1Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford Royal Infirmary, Bradford, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
Insights
Home-based physical activity interventions for children during COVID-19 showed limited effectiveness. Future interventions should focus on building social support and self-efficacy to enhance children's physical activity levels.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Exercise Science
- Public Health
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic led to increased time spent at home, significantly reducing children's physical activity.
- This highlights the critical role of the home environment in maintaining children's physical activity levels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review the effectiveness of home-based physical activity interventions for children.
- To identify the key components ('active ingredients') that contribute to the success of these interventions.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive systematic review was conducted, searching multiple databases from inception to June 2022.
- Included studies involved children aged 2-16 years, targeted home-based physical activity, had a control group, and measured physical activity pre- and post-intervention.
- Data were extracted and analyzed using narrative synthesis, adhering to PRISMA guidelines and assessing study quality.
Main Results:
- 13 studies with 1,182 participants were included. Interventions often featured active video games, with some incorporating coaching or telehealth.
- Only three studies demonstrated a significant increase in children's physical activity (moderate-to-vigorous or total volume).
- The most effective intervention utilized telehealth coaching and common Behavior Change Techniques (BCTs), such as environmental modifications.
Conclusions:
- Home-based physical activity interventions during the pandemic had limited effectiveness.
- Future research should explore mechanisms like social support and self-efficacy to improve intervention design.
- Recommendations are provided for enhancing the design and evaluation of future home-based physical activity interventions for children.
Background And Purpose:
Increased time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly decreased children's physical activity. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of children's home-based physical activity interventions, and identify 'active ingredients' underpinning these.
Methods:
Databases searched-AMED, PsychINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane, EMBASE, PubMed/Medline, Scopus, SPORTDiscus and Web of Science, from inception until June 2022. Eligibility criteria-children aged 2-16 years, targeting home-based physical activity, a control group, and physical activity measured pre- and post- intervention. Studies were excluded if it was not possible to identify change in physical activity at home. The review was written following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidance. Study quality was evaluated using the quality assessment tool for quantitative studies. Study design, intervention characteristics, outcome data, behavior change theory, Behavior Change Techniques (BCTs) and process evaluation data were extracted and discussed using narrative syntheses.
Results:
13 studies (including 1,182 participants) from 25,967 were included. Interventions primarily involved active video games, with the addition of coaching or telehealth support (n = 5). Three of the 13 studies significantly increased children's physical activity (1 = Moderate to vigorous physical activity, 2 = total volume, P<0.05). The largest effect size (d = 3.45) was for moderate to vigorous physical activity. 29% of BCTs were identified across included interventions; the most common being adding objects to the environment. The most effective intervention scored strong for design quality, incorporated telehealth coaching, and included the most commonly coded BCTs. Variation among studies and insufficient reporting of data made a meta-analysis unfeasible.
Conclusion:
COVID-19 emphasized the importance of the home for physical activity. Whilst effectiveness of interventions was limited, building social support and self-efficacy are mechanisms that should be explored further. The review provides recommendations to improve the design and evaluation of future interventions.
Trial Registration:
Prospero registration number: CRD42020193110.
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