The value of (pre)school playgrounds for children’s physical activity level: a systematic review

Broekhuizen, Karen; Scholten, Anne-Marie; de Vries, Sanne I

doi:10.1186/1479-5868-11-59

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

Table 4 Summary of associations between playground characteristics and physical activity in (pre)school children, according to included observational studies

From: The value of (pre)school playgrounds for children’s physical activity level: a systematic review

	Preschool				Primary, secondary, mixed school				Total
	Studies that investigated the playground characteristic	Number of studies	Studies that found significant positive or negative associations (n (%))	Summary code of association	Studies that investigated the playground characteristic	Number of studies	Studies that found significant positive or negative associations (n (%))	Summary code of association	Summary code of association
HARDWARE
Playground size	Boldemann, 2006 [58]	2	2 (100)	++	Fairclough, 2012 [50]	5	1 (20)	0	?
	Dowda, 2009 [45]				Nielsen, 2010 [55]
					Nielsen, 2012 [59]
					Ridgers, 2010 [30, 49]
					Sallis, 2001 [44]
Surface type	Cardon, 2008 [57]	1	0 (0)	0	Willenberg, 2010 [51]	1	0 (0)	0	0
Surface with vegetation/green	Boldemann, 2006 [58]	2	1 (50)	?	Haug, 2008 [54]	2	0 (0)	0	0
	Cardon, 2008 [57]				Haug, 2010 [53]
SOFTWARE
Coverage/shade		0	0 (0)	0	Colabianchi, 2011 [40, 46]	1	0 (0)	0	0
Play equipment (unspecified)		0	0 (0)	0	McKenzie, 2010 [48]	7	6 (86)	++	++
					McKenzie, 2010^♂[48]
					Haug, 2008 [54]
					Haug, 2010^♂[53]
					Haug, 2010 [53]
					Sallis, 2001 [44]
					Colabianchi, 2011 [40, 46]
Lack of cleanliness		0	0 (0)	0	Colabianchi, 2011 [40, 46]	1	0 (0)	0	0
Safety		0	0 (0)	0	Colabianchi, 2011 [40, 46]	1	0 (0)	0	0
Quality		0	0 (0)	0	Colabianchi, 2011 [40, 46]	1	0 (0)	0	0
Balls	Brown, 2009 [37, 47]	2	1 (50)	?	Zask, 2001 [52]	1	1 (100)	+++	+++
	Gubbels, 2012 [60]
Climbing structures	Gubbels, 2012 [60]	1	0 (0)	0		0	0 (0)	0	0
Floor play equipment	Gubbels, 2012 [60]	1	0 (0)	0		0	0 (0)	0	0
Jumping equipment	Gubbels, 2012 [60]	1	0 (0)	0		0	0 (0)	0	0
Portable equipment (unspecified)	Dowda, 2009 [45]	2	1 (50)	?	Willenberg, 2010 [51]	1	1 (100)	++	++
	Cardon, 2008 [57]
Push/pull toys	Gubbels, 2012 [60]	1	0 (0)	0		0	0 (0)	0	0
Riding toys	Gubbels, 2012 [60]	2	0 (0)	0		0	0 (0)	0	0
	Brown, 2009 [37, 47]
Sand/water toys	Gubbels, 2012 [60]	1	0 (0)	0		0	0 (0)	0	0
Slides	Gubbels, 2012 [60]	1	1 (100)	- - -		0	0 (0)	0	- - -
Sociodramatic props	Brown, 2009 [37;47]	1	0 (0)	0		0	0 (0)	0	0
Twirling equipment	Gubbels, 2012 [60]	1	0 (0)	0		0	0 (0)	0	0
Balancing surfaces	Gubbels, 2012 [60]	1	0 (0)	0		0	0 (0)	0	0
Benches and seating		0	0 (0)	0	Ridgers, 2010 [30, 49]	2	0 (0)	0	0
					Colabianchi, 2011 [40, 46]
Climbing structures	Gubbels, 2012 [60]	1	0 (0)	0	Haug, 2008 [54]	1	0 (0)	0	0
Fixed equipment (unspecified)	Brown, 2009 [37, 47]	2	1 (50)	?	Taylor, 2011 [56]	7	6 (86)	+++	+++
Permanent play facilities/improvements	Dowda, 2009 [45]				Willenberg, 2010 [51]
					Nielsen, 2010 [55]
					Nielsen, 2012 [59]
					Ridgers, 2010 [30, 49]
					Sallis, 2001 [44]
					Colabianchi, 2011[40, 46]
Hopscotch/skipping rope area		0	0 (0)	0	Haug, 2010 ^♂[53]	1	1 (100)	+++	+++
Merry-go-round	Gubbels, 2012 [60]	1	0 (0)	0		0	0 (0)	0	0
Obstacle course		0	0 (0)	0	Haug, 2008 [54]	2	1 (50)	?	?
					Haug, 2010 [53]
Open field with no markings	Brown, 2009 [37, 47]	1	1 (100)	++	Haug, 2008 [54]	2	1 (50)	?	++
					Sallis, 2001 [44]
Room for cardio/weightlifting		0	0 (0)	0	Haug, 2008 [54]	2	0 (0)	0	0
Gym/sports hall					Sallis, 2001 [44]
Sandbox	Gubbels, 2012 [60]	1	1 (100)	- - -		0	0 (0)	0	- - -
See-saw	Gubbels, 2012 [60]	1	0 (0)	0		0	0 (0)	0	0
Ski/skateboard/skating facilities		0	0 (0)	0	Haug, 2010 [53]	3	1 (33)	0	0
Sledding hill					Haug, 2008 [54]
					Haug, 2010 [53]
Slides	Gubbels, 2012 [60]	1	0 (0)	0		0	0 (0)	0	0
Soccer fields	Cardon, 2008 57]	1	0 (0)	0	Haug, 2010^♂[53]	6	2 (33)	0	0
Areas with markings					Willenberg, 2010 [51]
					Haug, 2008 [54]
					Sallis, 2001 [44]
					Haug, 2010 [53]
					Ridgers, 2010 [30, 49]
Structured track	Gubbels, 2012 [60]	1	1 (100)	+++		0	0 (0)	0	+++
Swinging equipment	Gubbels, 2012 [60]	1	1 (100)	- - -		0	0 (0)	0	- - -
Tunnels	Gubbels, 2012 [60]	1	0 (0)	0		0	0 (0)	0	0
Trash cans		0	0 (0)	0	Colabianchi, 2011 [40, 46]	1	1 (100)	- - -	- - -
Water and swimming facilities		0	0 (0)	0	Haug, 2008 [54]	1	1 (100)	- -	- -
ORGWARE
Decreased playground density (m²/child)	Cardon, 2008^♂[57]	1	1 (100)	++	Ridgers, 2010 [30, 49]	1	1 (100)	++	++
Increased recess duration	Cardon, 2008 [57]	1	1 (100)	++	Ridgers, 2010 [30, 49]	1	0 (0)	0	?
No organized activities		0	0 (0)	0	McKenzie, 2010^♀[48]	1	1 (100)	++	++
Supervision	Cardon, 2008^♀[57]	1	1 (100)	- -	McKenzie, 2010 [48]	6	2 (33)	0	?
					McKenzie, 2010^♂[48]
					Willenberg, 2010 [51]
					Sallis, 2001 [44]
					Zask, 2001 [52]
					Ridgers, 2010 [30, 49]

Studies with a + symbol indicate a significant positive association, studies with a - symbol indicate a significant negative association, and studies with a 0 symbol indicate no significant association; ♀/♂ in superscript indicates an association that only accounts for girls/boys. Summary codes: a 0 symbol as summary code indicates no association; a ? symbol as summary code indicates indeterminate/inconclusive association; a + symbol as summary code indicates a positive association and a – symbol as summary code indicates a negative association. The number of characters relate to the quality of the studies; one + or – for studies of poor quality (≤5.0 points), ++ or - for studies of moderate quality (5.5-8.0 points), and +++ or - - - for studies of high quality (≥8.5 points). Note: if ≥ 4 studies an additional + or – was also assigned [13].

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ISSN: 1479-5868

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