An Online Physical Activity Intervention for Youth With Physical Disabilities: A Pilot Study.
Ritu Sharma, Amy E Latimer-Cheung, John Cairney and 1 others
PMID 36188870WHAT IT FOUND
Youth with physical disabilities completed a 4-week online physical activity program with high feasibility.
Task and barrier self-efficacy, planning behavior, and self-reported activity increased, but there was no control group, so the study cannot show the program caused change.
Key findings
01Of 16 participants analysed, 13 completed all online sessions and 15 completed all independent activities.
02Task self-efficacy, barrier self-efficacy, goal-setting behavior, planning and scheduling behavior, and self-reported physical activity minutes showed significant increases between baseline and 1 month.
03The study had no control group and did not test hypotheses, so observed changes cannot be attributed to the intervention.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study had no control group, so changes could reflect time, natural development, or other factors. It was a pilot with no power analysis and hypotheses were not tested, so it cannot determine whether the intervention works. Four of 20 enrolled participants were lost to follow-up, and analyses included 16, so results may not apply to youth who did not complete it. Physical activity was self-reported, and participants may have known the goal was to increase activity, which could bias reports. Participants with self-reported visual, hearing, or cognitive impairment were excluded, so findings do not address those groups. The online format assumes access to a computer, Internet, and software, which can be a barrier. The same researcher delivered the intervention and collected open-ended feedback, which may have influenced responses.
Declared interests
The authors declared no commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Funding came from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, including a Canada Graduate Scholarship and grant #895-2013-1021.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the increases in self-reported physical activity as proof the online program caused them. The study had no control group, and participants knew the goal was to increase activity, so response bias could explain the change.