The Effect of an After-School Physical Activity Program on Children’s Cognitive, Social, and Emotional Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Nova Scotia

Hilary A. T. Caldwell, Matthew B. Miller, Constance Tweedie, Jeffery B. L. Zahavich, Ella Cockett and Laurene Rehman
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Hilary A. T. Caldwell: School of Health and Human Performance, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Matthew B. Miller: School of Health and Human Performance, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Constance Tweedie: School of Health and Human Performance, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Jeffery B. L. Zahavich: School of Health and Human Performance, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Ella Cockett: School of Health and Human Performance, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Laurene Rehman: School of Health and Human Performance, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 4, 1-8

Abstract: Children’s physical activity participation declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, and these negative changes could lead to longer-term impacts on children’s cognitive, social, and emotional health. Purpose: To determine parent/caregivers’ perceptions of their children’s cognitive function, peer and family relationships, life satisfaction, physical activity, sleep, positive affect, and global health, before and after participating in the Build Our Kids’ Success (BOKS) programming at after-school programs in Fall 2020. Methods: Parents of children participating in the BOKS programming at after-school programs in Nova Scotia, Canada, were recruited. At baseline, 159 parents completed the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Patient-Reported Outcomes Measures Information System (PROMIS) parent-proxy questionnaire, and 75 parents completed the measures at follow-up. Independent t-tests were used to determine if there were differences between baseline and follow-up Parent Proxy Questionnaire data. Results: All NIH PROMIS outcome variables at baseline and follow-up were within normal limits (Adjusted T-Scores: 46.67 ± 7.15 to 50.04 ± 7.13). There were no significant differences in life satisfaction (t(188) = −1.05, p = 0.30), family relationships (t(189) = 0.31, p = 0.76), cognitive function (t(199) = −1.16, p = 0.25), peer relationships (t(192) = −1.86, p = 0.06), positive affect (t(195) = 0.25, p = 0.81), global health (t(216) = −0.43, p = 0.67), physical activity (t(202) = 0.787, p = 0.732), sleep disturbance (t(193) = 1.72, p = 0.087), or psychological stress (t(196) = 1.896, p = 0.059), from baseline to follow-up. Conclusions: Parent-proxy questionnaires suggested that the BOKS programming had a protective effect on children’s health behaviours and cognitive, social, and emotional health as values remained within normal limits and were not impacted by the public health restrictions during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nova Scotia.

Keywords: physical activity; PROMIS; children; COVID-19 pandemic; public health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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