Physical activity and physical fitness among children and adolescents after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the WHO European Region: a systematic review protocol

The implementation of COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions resulted in limitations for physical activity (PA) opportunities, which may have initiated a longer-term behavioural change. The protocol describes the methodology for a planned systematic review that aims to summarise changes in PA and ph...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMJ open 2023-09, Vol.13 (9), p.e073397-e073397
Main Authors: Ludwig-Walz, Helena, Siemens, Waldemar, Heinisch, Sarah, Dannheim, Indra, Loss, Julika, Bujard, Martin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Child
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
COVID-19 - prevention & control
Exercise
Humans
Meta-Analysis as Topic
Pandemics
Pediatrics
Physical Fitness
Sports and Exercise Medicine
Systematic review
Systematic Reviews as Topic
Teenagers
World Health Organization
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Summary:The implementation of COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions resulted in limitations for physical activity (PA) opportunities, which may have initiated a longer-term behavioural change. The protocol describes the methodology for a planned systematic review that aims to summarise changes in PA and physical fitness (PF) in children and adolescents in the WHO European Region after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The protocol adheres to the 'Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis for Protocols' (PRISMA-P) statement. Using a peer-reviewed search strategy according to the evidence-based checklist 'Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies' (PRESS), we will perform a systematic literature search in seven databases. Inclusion criteria are all primary studies that gathered data on children and adolescents ≤19 years living in the WHO European Region and made a comparison to pre-pandemic data. Primary outcomes are PA and PF. We will assess the risk of bias with the 'Risk of Bias Instrument for Non-Randomized Studies of Exposures' (ROBINS-E). The 'Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation' (GRADE) approach will be used for the evaluation of the certainty of evidence. Also, subgroup analyses will be performed (eg, for gender, age, stringency of pandemic restrictions). Ethical approval is not required, as primary data will not be collected in this study. The results will be presented in a peer-reviewed publication and at congresses relevant to the research field. CRD42023395871.
ISSN:2044-6055
2044-6055
DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2023-073397