Social exercise interventions for children who have complex developmental needs: A systematic review.
Kate Freire, Rod Pope, Isabella Size and 3 others
PMID 37471588WHAT IT FOUND
Group exercise with social elements produced motor skill gains after intervention in children with developmental needs, but total physical activity effects are unknown.
Evidence for social, emotional, and thinking outcomes remains unclear.
Key findings
01Motor skill improvements were found in 11 of 16 lower-quality studies where social participation was integral, and in all five high-quality studies where social participation was likely incidental.
02Physical activity levels did not improve significantly in the studies that measured them.
03Two lower-quality studies reported adverse findings, including increased anxiety and decreased enjoyment in one task-oriented group and lower perceived athletic competence in children with intellectual disability who swam with typically developing peers.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The review could not combine results statistically because the studies differed too much in participants, interventions, and outcomes. Many included studies were low or moderate quality, with problems in randomisation, blinding, adherence, or accounting for confounders. Intervention groups were often small, which may have contributed to null findings. Only seven of the 49 included studies assessed total physical activity post intervention. Many studies did not assess social, psychological, or executive function outcomes, so the effect on these areas is unclear. The review included only English publications from 2000 to 2021, so publication bias and missing studies are possible. Children's own views were rarely sought, and long-term effects were not studied.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The work was supported by the Three Rivers Department of Rural Health, Charles Sturt University, which is funded by the Australian Government under the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training Program.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the social element caused the motor gains or that these interventions reliably increase total physical activity. The review did not isolate social participation, many studies were low or moderate quality, and studies that measured total physical activity found no significant increases.