Adult outdoor group sport play during a pandemic: Feasibility, acceptability, and program adherence results from a study of modifications to mitigate COVID-19 risk

• Published in: Preventive medicine reports 2021-09, Vol.23, p.101476-101476, Article 101476
• Main Authors: Ladwig, Matthew A., Sciamanna, Christopher N., Rutt, Kayla N., Blaker, Joshua M., Kearcher, Kalen, Auer, Brandon J., Rovniak, Liza S., Conroy, David E., Gottschall, Jinger S., Silvis, Matthew L., Smyth, Joshua M., Wang, Ming
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adherence; Adults; COVID-19; Enjoyment; Pandemic; Physical activity; Regular; Safety
• ISSN: 2211-3355; 2211-3355
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101476

•Attendance to an outdoor sport play program was high, despite COVID-19 precautions.•Masking did not cause notable discomfort or problems socializing among participants.•No new COVID symptoms/diagnoses were reported during or 10-days after 2-week study.•All participants desired to continue program participation, if held in the future. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility, acceptability, and short-term adherence to an adult outdoor group sport play program designed to maximize enjoyment that was modified to incorporate COVID-19 risk mitigation strategies. We enrolled 17 healthy, but sedentary, central Pennsylvania adults (meanage = 31.6 ± 7.3) without obesity via mail advertisements to participate in four, 60-minute sessions of instructor-led modified sport games (e.g., handball, Ultimate Frisbee, soccer) over a two-week period in October 2020. Durign recrutiment and the study period, there were approximately 1000–2000 new cases of COVID-19 daily in central Pennsylvania . The overall adherence rate to the sessions was 91%, and no participants reported new or existing COVID-19 symptoms or diagnoses during the two-week study period or 10-days following the final session. Despite enforcing mandatory COVID-19 safety measures (e.g., universal masking, social distancing), the participants reported enjoying the program and feeling socially connected with one another, while perceiving the program to be safe. Additionally, all participants expressed a desire to participate again, if the program were offered in the future. These results suggest that an outdoor group sport play program for adults can be feasible, acceptable, and well-adhered to despite enforcing mandatory COVID-19 safety precautions. Physical activity programs similar to the one presented here may provide an easily-adaptable approach to outdoor physical activity during the current and potential future pandemics that have viral transmission characteristics similar to COVID-19.