The impact of Traffic-Related air pollution on child and adolescent academic Performance: A systematic review

Educational gamification consists of the use of game elements and game design techniques in the educational context. The objective of this study is to examine the existing evidence on the impact of educational gamification on student motivation and academic performance in the last five years in order to analyze its distribution over time, educational level, variables, and most used game elements, and know the advantages of its implementation in the classroom. For this, a systematic review is proposed through the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology in three multidisciplinary databases, through an exhaustive search with inclusion and exclusion criteria on quantitative experimental studies that explore gamification in educational centers, which provide information about the most current lines of research. Fourteen studies were included in this review. These used experimental or quasi-experimental designs. Most of them report gamification as a valid learning strategy. The results support the conclusion that educational gamification has a potential impact on the academic performance, commitment, and motivation of students. Therefore, this study implies the need to expand research on the needs and challenges of students when learning with gamified techniques.

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The Impact of COVID-19 School Closure on Child and Adolescent Health: A Rapid Systematic Review

Children ◽

10.3390/children8050415 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (5) ◽

pp. 415

Author(s):

Sonia Chaabane ◽

Sathyanarayanan Doraiswamy ◽

Karima Chaabna ◽

Ravinder Mamtani ◽

Sohaila Cheema

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Adolescent Health ◽

Children With Disabilities ◽

Child And Adolescent ◽

Emergency Department Visits ◽

School Closure ◽

School Closures ◽

Child And Adolescent Health ◽

The Impact

School closures during pandemics raise important concerns for children and adolescents. Our aim is synthesizing available data on the impact of school closure during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on child and adolescent health globally. We conducted a rapid systematic review by searching PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar for any study published between January and September 2020. We included a total of ten primary studies. COVID-19-related school closure was associated with a significant decline in the number of hospital admissions and pediatric emergency department visits. However, a number of children and adolescents lost access to school-based healthcare services, special services for children with disabilities, and nutrition programs. A greater risk of widening educational disparities due to lack of support and resources for remote learning were also reported among poorer families and children with disabilities. School closure also contributed to increased anxiety and loneliness in young people and child stress, sadness, frustration, indiscipline, and hyperactivity. The longer the duration of school closure and reduction of daily physical activity, the higher was the predicted increase of Body Mass Index and childhood obesity prevalence. There is a need to identify children and adolescents at higher risk of learning and mental health impairments and support them during school closures.

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Systematic review of acute physically active learning and classroom movement breaks on children’s physical activity, cognition, academic performance and classroom behaviour: understanding critical design features

BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine ◽

10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000341 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. e000341 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

Andy J Daly-Smith ◽

Stephen Zwolinsky ◽

Jim McKenna ◽

Phillip D Tomporowski ◽

Margaret Anne Defeyter ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Academic Performance ◽

Active Learning ◽

Good Practice ◽

Risk Of Bias ◽

Eligibility Criteria ◽

Physically Active ◽

Classroom Behaviour ◽

The Impact

ObjectiveTo examine the impact of acute classroom movement break (CMB) and physically active learning (PAL) interventions on physical activity (PA), cognition, academic performance and classroom behaviour.DesignSystematic review.Data sourcesPubMed, EBSCO, Academic Search Complete, Education Resources Information Center, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, SCOPUS and Web of Science.Eligibility criteria for selecting studiesStudies investigating school-based acute bouts of CMB or PAL on (PA), cognition, academic performance and classroom behaviour. The Downs and Black checklist assessed risk of bias.ResultsTen PAL and eight CMB studies were identified from 2929 potentially relevant articles. Risk of bias scores ranged from 33% to 64.3%. Variation in study designs drove specific, but differing, outcomes. Three studies assessed PA using objective measures. Interventions replaced sedentary time with either light PA or moderate-to-vigorous PA dependent on design characteristics (mode, duration and intensity). Only one study factored individual PA outcomes into analyses. Classroom behaviour improved after longer moderate-to-vigorous (>10 min), or shorter more intense (5 min), CMB/PAL bouts (9 out of 11 interventions). There was no support for enhanced cognition or academic performance due to limited repeated studies.ConclusionLow-to-medium quality designs predominate in investigations of the acute impacts of CMB and PAL on PA, cognition, academic performance and classroom behaviour. Variable quality in experimental designs, outcome measures and intervention characteristics impact outcomes making conclusions problematic. CMB and PAL increased PA and enhanced time on task. To improve confidence in study outcomes, future investigations should combine examples of good practice observed in current studies.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42017070981.

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A systematic review of the evidence of outdoor air pollution on asthma hospital visits in children and adolescents in South Asia – a call for data

Wellcome Open Research ◽

10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16991.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 174

Author(s):

Sowmya Malamardi ◽

Katrina A. Lambert ◽

Mehak Batra ◽

Rachel Tham ◽

Mahesh Padukudru Anand ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Air Pollution ◽

South Asia ◽

Childhood Asthma ◽

Hospital Treatment ◽

Childhood And Adolescence ◽

Outdoor Air ◽

Qualitative Synthesis ◽

Outdoor Air Pollution ◽

The Impact

Background: Outdoor air pollution and childhood asthma are increasing problems in South Asian countries. However, little is known about the associations between levels of air pollution and severe childhood asthma requiring hospital treatment in these regions. Methods: We undertook a systematic review to assess the evidence between outdoor air pollution exposure and childhood and adolescent asthma hospitalization in South Asia. MEDLINE, Web of Science, Google Scholar, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus, ProQuest Central databases were searched for peer-reviewed papers, and examination of reference lists was conducted for additional studies. We identified all the literature published in English up to January 2021 for the study population comprised of children aged less than 19 years. The search strategy was designed to identify all the studies and screen them as per the inclusion criteria. The method of qualitative synthesis using the standard tool determined the comprehensiveness of the assessment of bias. Results: Of the original 367 studies screened three studies were ultimately included from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and a narrative synthesis was conducted. Although studies reported adverse effects of outdoor pollution on asthma hospitalizations, limitations in exposure assessments, varying definitions of asthma hospitalizations and limited data analysis were identified. Conclusions: There is currently limited evidence that can provide meaningful risk estimates of the impact of outdoor air pollution on asthma hospitalizations during childhood and adolescence. Studies with comparable outcome definitions, appropriate exposure assessments and study designs are needed to inform future public and environmental health policy. PROSPERO registration: CRD42020156714 (28/04/2020)

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The Impact of Study and Learning Strategies On Post-Secondary Student Academic Achievement: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review

10.31234/osf.io/7ng5y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Joy Xu ◽

Jeffrey Ong ◽

Tam Tran ◽

Yasmine Kollar ◽

Alyssa Wu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Academic Performance ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Learning Styles ◽

Time Management ◽

Concept Maps ◽

Study Strategies ◽

Self Testing ◽

Motivation For Learning ◽

The Impact

BACKGROUNDWithin academic development, it is important for students to use effective study strategies to facilitate learning. Techniques used for long-term information retention include note taking strategies, time management, methods of self-testing and active recall. These strategies are explored to help students learn more effectively to attain their academic goals.METHODA mixed-methods systematic review of peer-review articles and grey literature was conducted with a predetermined criteria for a convergent integrated synthesis approach. PsychInfo (Ovid), Web of Science, and ProQuest databases were searched with guidance of a PICO-P logic grid and search strategy using keywords of student, study strategies, and achievement alongside filters. Initial studies were screened and reconciled by two independent authors with the use of a piloted screening tool. Using the Mixed Methods Assessment Tool (MMAT), included studies were assessed for quality. Two authors independently performed data extraction. Heterogeneity in study designs, outcomes, and measurements precluded meta and statistical analyses; thus, a qualitative analysis of studies was provided.RESULTSFour major themes contributing to academic performance were identified among the appraised articles. These themes were self-testing, scheduling/time management, concept maps, and learning styles. Self-testing, scheduling, and concept maps were positively correlated with increased academic performance, while no correlation was found with learning styles and academic performance.CONCLUSIONIncluded studies provided evidence for significant differences in study strategies implemented by high and low achieving students, such as areas of motivation for learning, efficiency, active recall, retrieval practices, and concept maps. Understanding the effectiveness of certain study strategies is critical for students and educational facilitators to maximize learning.

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Pneumothorax and the environment: a systematic review of the impact of air pollution and meteorology, and a meta-analysis on meteorology factors

Environmental Pollution ◽

10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117089 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 117089

Author(s):

Tania Marx ◽

Nadine Bernard ◽

Sabrina Kepka ◽

Aurelie Gérazime ◽

Frédéric Mauny ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Air Pollution ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

The Impact

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Exposure to Particulate Matter Air Pollution and the Incidence and Mortality of GI Cancers: A Systematic Review

JCO Global Oncology ◽

10.1200/go.20.15000 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 20-20

Author(s):

Emily Spangler ◽

Rena Jones ◽

Alicia Livinski ◽

Sanford Dawsey ◽

Natalie Haley

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Air Pollution ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

Positive Association ◽

Chemical Components ◽

Specific Chemical ◽

Incidence And Mortality ◽

Gi Cancers ◽

The Impact

PURPOSE High levels of particulate matter (PM) air pollution increase the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, asthma, and cancer. Outdoor air pollution, especially PM, is classified as a human carcinogen on the basis of associations with lung cancer, but research investigating other cancer sites is limited. This systematic review investigates the scope and quality of existing literature on PM and the incidence and mortality of GI cancers. METHODS This review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA protocol guidelines and submitted under PROSPERO ID: 139597. Initial searches of 5 databases yielded 2,041 articles, of which 762 duplicates were removed. Eligible studies evaluated an association between PM and at least one GI cancer. The titles and abstracts of 1,279 articles were screened independently and 102 articles were selected for additional screening. Ten studies were included in the final analysis. We evaluated the overall quality of included studies using GRADE criteria. RESULTS All articles meeting the criteria for inclusion were of cohort study design and published in 2015 or later. Methods for assessing PM exposure varied. More than one half (n = 6) of the studies investigated liver cancer. Most met the GRADE criteria for moderate certainty or greater. Six studies found a statistically significant positive association, and none found evidence of a negative association. CONCLUSION Evidence of a positive association between the incidence and mortality of GI cancers exists; however, few studies have evaluated this association. Methods of assessing exposure are highly variable. Future researchers should strive to conduct more studies in the most affected geographic areas to evaluate the impact of different PM exposure assessment approaches on observed associations, and include the evaluation of cancer subtypes and specific chemical components of PM.

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School Performance among Children and Adolescents during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

Children ◽

10.3390/children8121134 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (12) ◽

pp. 1134

Author(s):

Eleni Panagouli ◽

Androniki Stavridou ◽

Christina Savvidi ◽

Anastasia Kourti ◽

Theodora Psaltopoulou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Online Learning ◽

Academic Performance ◽

Educational Process ◽

Digital Competence ◽

Virtual Courses ◽

Special Education Needs ◽

Learning Platforms ◽

Education Needs ◽

The Impact

As a result of COVID-19 restrictions, conventional ways of schooling were not possible, and in order to continue the educational process new digital resources, such as online learning platforms, were imposed. Although virtual courses provided high-quality educational material, the efficiency in children’s and adolescents’ academic performance in general is yet to be known. The purpose of this systematic review is to examine whether the academic performance of school-aged students was impacted or not through online learning and modified educational methods during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. According to the studies, either students suffered from learning losses comparing to pre-pandemic years or, in some cases, they benefited from online learning, especially in mathematics. Younger students and students with neurodevelopmental disorders or special education needs seemed to suffer more. Parents/caregivers reported that their children’s performance deteriorated, while others thought that online learning was beneficial. Teachers also reported that students presented academic gaps and difficulties in mathematics and reading compared to typical years. Consequently, the new ways of schooling imposed by the restrictions have not been fully tested and the impact cannot be described thoroughly. The investment in technological equipment in schools for the majority of students, along with the training of teachers in digital competence, should be a priority.

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The Effects of Household Air Pollution (HAP) on Lung Function in Children: A Systematic Review

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph182211973 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (22) ◽

pp. 11973

Author(s):

Sathya Swarup Aithal ◽

Shireen Gill ◽

Imran Satia ◽

Sudhir Kumar Tyagi ◽

Charlotte E. Bolton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Air Pollution ◽

Growth Rate ◽

Lung Function ◽

Solid Fuel ◽

Household Air Pollution ◽

World Health ◽

Solid Fuels ◽

Inverse Association ◽

The Impact

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 3 billion people today are exposed to smoke from the household combustion of solid fuels. While the household use of solid fuels has decreased over the last few decades, it remains a leading modifiable risk factor for the global burden of disease. This systematic review analyzed the impact of Household Air Pollution (HAP) on lung function in children (under 18 years of age), as this is the time period of accelerated growth rate until full skeletal maturity. Data from 11 published studies demonstrated that exposure to smoke from solid fuel was associated with a lower growth rate of several lung function indices (FVC, FEV1, FEF25–75) in children. However, there was no observed association between HAP and the FEV1/FVC ratio over time. Although the evidence suggests an inverse association between high exposure to HAP and lung function indices, there is a lack of longitudinal data describing this association. Therefore, precaution is needed to reduce the smoke exposure from solid fuel burning.

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