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Review
. 2022 Mar 15;19(6):3445.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063445.

The Effects of Playground Interventions on Accelerometer-Assessed Physical Activity in Pediatric Populations: A Meta-Analysis

Christopher D Pfledderer  1 , Sunku Kwon  2 , Ildiko Strehli  2 , Wonwoo Byun  2 , Ryan D Burns  2
Affiliations
Review

The Effects of Playground Interventions on Accelerometer-Assessed Physical Activity in Pediatric Populations: A Meta-Analysis

Christopher D Pfledderer et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Playgrounds are designed to be a safe, enjoyable, and effective means to promote physical activity in children and adolescents. The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis to determine the effectiveness of playground interventions for improving accelerometer-assessed ambulatory moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and to identify common aspects of playground interventions that may be beneficial to promote behavior change. An internet database search was performed. The final analyzed sample of studies was obtained from several criteria, including being a playground-based intervention targeting children or adolescents, having a control or comparison group, having an accelerometer-assessed MVPA outcome target variable, and reporting of the mean difference scores' variability. A random-effects model meta-analysis was employed to obtain pooled effect sizes. Ten studies (n = 10) were analyzed from the internet search. The weighted pooled effect (Hedges' g) across all studies was Hedges' g = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.02-0.24, p = 0.023. There was moderate study heterogeneity (I2 = 55.3%) but no evidence for publication bias (p = 0.230). These results suggest that school-based playground interventions have a small effect on increasing accelerometer-assessed MVPA within the pediatric population. The playground should still be an environmental target during school or community-based interventions aimed at providing opportunities to promote MVPA.

Keywords: adolescents; children; environment; physical activity; schools.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of study extraction and inclusion.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A forest plot showing the individual and pooled standardized mean differences. Note: SMD stands for standardized mean difference.
Figure 3
Figure 3
A funnel plot showing the association between standardized mean differences and standard error.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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