Physical Activity of Children with Physical Disabilities: Associations with Environmental and Behavioral Variables at Home and School

Cindy Sit, Ru Li, Thomas L. McKenzie, Ester Cerin, Stephen Wong, Raymond Sum and Elean Leung
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Cindy Sit: Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
Ru Li: Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
Thomas L. McKenzie: School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA
Ester Cerin: Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne 3000, Australia
Stephen Wong: Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
Raymond Sum: Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
Elean Leung: Physical Education Unit, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 8, 1-10

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the physical activity (PA) of children with physical disabilities (PD) and its associated environmental and behavioral factors at home and at school. One hundred and forty-seven Hong Kong children (mean age = 13.5 ± 2.5 years) with PD from three special schools participated. We used BEACHES (Behaviors of Eating and Activity for Children’s Health: Evaluation System) to assess their PA and associated variables at home (before dinner) and during four school settings (before classes, recess, lunch breaks, after classes) on four school days. Overall, the children were typically inactive and spent little time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), range = 6.3% to 17.0% across settings. At home, children were more active when fathers were present ( p < 0.001). At school, prompts to be active contributed to their MVPA% before classes ( p < 0.01) and during recess and lunch breaks (both p < 0.001). The presence of a child’s mother was positively associated with MVPA% before classes ( p < 0.001) and the presence of other children was associated with MVPA% during recess and lunch breaks (both p < 0.05). With children with PD accruing small amounts of MVPA in both home and school settings, multifaceted interventions reflecting both contextual and personal factors should be considered in order to increase the health-enhancing PA of this population.

Keywords: youth; sedentary behavior; observation; family; peers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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