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A Method to Quantify Visual Information Processing in Children Using Eye Tracking
Published on: July 9, 2016
Quantifying physical activity, physical education and active travel in children and adolescents with visual
Lisa Flynn1, Kristina Millar2, Sarahjane Belton1
1Dublin City University, Collins Ave Ext, Whitehall, Dublin 9, Ireland.
Insights
Physical activity levels are low in children who are blind or vision impaired (BVI) in Ireland, with few meeting guidelines. Barriers include tiredness and busy schedules, highlighting a need for targeted interventions.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Ophthalmology
Background:
- Meeting physical activity (PA) guidelines offers significant physical and mental health benefits for children.
- For children who are blind or vision impaired (BVI), PA also promotes social inclusion and reduces falls risk.
- Little research quantifies PA in BVI children within the Irish context, and active travel (AT) and physical education (PE) in this group remain unassessed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify physical activity (PA) levels in children who are blind or vision impaired (BVI) in Ireland.
- To assess participation in active travel (AT) and physical education (PE) among BVI children.
- To identify barriers to physical activity in this population.
Main Methods:
- A questionnaire was administered to consenting parents of 53 children who are BVI (55% boys, mean age 12.92 years).
- The questionnaire collected data on PA levels, AT participation, and PE engagement.
- Data analysis focused on PA adherence to World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines and differences between genders.
Main Results:
- Only 9.6% of BVI children met the WHO PA guidelines (60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity/day).
- 14.4% of BVI children used AT to commute to school, and mean PE time was lower than the general population (58.63 min/week).
- Key barriers included feeling 'too tired after school' (17.0%) and 'too busy to make time for PA' (13.5%).
Conclusions:
- This study highlights alarmingly low physical activity levels among BVI children in Ireland.
- Increasing PA in this cohort can yield individual health benefits and broader population health cost reductions.
- Future qualitative research is recommended to explore PA motivators and facilitators in BVI children.
Background:
Meeting the physical activity (PA) guidelines for children, as set out by the World Health Organisation (WHO), has a range of physical and mental health benefits. For children who are blind or vision impaired (BVI), additional benefits include social inclusion and reduced falls risk. While previous research has demonstrated low PA levels across most demographics, little research has been done in the Irish context to quantify PA in children who are BVI. Two potential methods of increasing PA levels, active travel (AT) and physical education (PE), have additionally never been assessed in this group.
Methods:
Consenting parents of children who are BVI (n = 53, 55 % boys, mean age of children 12.92 ± 2.76 years) completed a questionnaire regarding PA levels, and participation in AT and PE.
Results:
PA levels were low, with 9.6 % achieving WHO guidelines (60 min MVPA/day). There was no statistically significant differences between genders completing either no PA in the last week (p = 1.00) or MVPA on each of the last 7 days (p = 0.157). 14.4 % used AT to get to school. Mean PE times in minutes/week were lower than the general population (58.63 min), with a low proportion of respondents meeting PE guidelines (32.1 %). Regarding barriers to PA, 17.0 % of respondents stated they were very likely to be "too tired after school to be active". 13.5 % stated they were very likely to feel "my day is so busy now I just do not think I can make time to include PA in my regular schedule".
Conclusion:
This study provides a valuable insight into the low levels of PA that prevail amongst BVI children. Increasing PA levels would provide individual benefits (including physical and mental health benefits) as well as population benefits (including reduced health expenditure). Future qualitative research should seek to gain a deeper understanding of the PA barriers, motivators and facilitators in this cohort.
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