scholarly journals What do we know about physical activity interventions in vocational education and training? A systematic review

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Grüne ◽  
Johanna Popp ◽  
Johannes Carl ◽  
Klaus Pfeifer

Abstract Background: Although the health benefits of physical activity are well known, young people’s level of physical activity is often insufficient and tends to decline in adolescence. Numerous studies have investigated the effectiveness of physical activity-promoting interventions among young people, but none have reviewed the effectiveness of physical activity interventions in the vocational education and training (VET) setting. This systematic review aims to (1) synthesize and review the available literature on physical activity-promoting interventions in VET and (2) examine the effects of these interventions on physical activity-related outcomes such as physical activity level, physical fitness, physiological parameters, or psychological factors. Methods: Five electronic databases were searched for studies involving adolescents aged 15 to 20 years that took place in VET settings and evaluated the effects of interventions with a physical activity component on physical activity-related outcomes such as PA level, physical fitness, physiological parameters, or psychological factors. The screening process and the quality assessment were conducted by two independent reviewers; data extraction was conducted by one reviewer and verified by another. Results: The literature search identified 18,959 articles and 11,282 unique records. After the screening process, nine studies met the pre-defined eligibility criteria and were included in qualitative analyses. All but two studies reported significant improvements for at least one physical activity-related outcome. The interventions substantially differed in their development approaches (top-down vs. bottom-up approaches), complexity (multi- vs. single-component), and addressed behavior (multi-behavioral vs. single-behavioral). The most conspicuous finding was that bottom-up approaches tend to improve outcomes at the psychological level and top-down approaches at the physical level. Regarding the interventions’ complexity and addressed behavior, we did not reveal any conclusive results. Conclusion: This systematic review highlights the varying effects of physical activity-promoting interventions in VET. Nevertheless, heterogeneous effects and overall weak study quality limited our ability to draw clear conclusions about the potentially most effective intervention strategies. Therefore, future research should focus on high-quality studies with long-term follow-ups to make recommendations for practical use. Trial registration: PROSPERO CRD42018109845

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Grüne ◽  
Johanna Popp ◽  
Johannes Carl ◽  
Klaus Pfeifer

Abstract Background Although the health benefits of physical activity are well known, young people’s physical activity behavior often is insufficient and declines in adolescence. Numerous studies have investigated the effectiveness of physical activity promoting interventions among young people, but none has reviewed the effectiveness of physical activity interventions in the vocational education and training (VET) setting. This systematic review aims to (1) synthesize and review the available literature on physical activity promoting interventions in VET and (2) examine their effects on physical activity-related outcomes, such as physical activity level, physical fitness, physiological parameters, or psychological factors. Methods Five electronic databases were searched for studies involving adolescents aged 15 to 20 years that took place in a VET setting and evaluated the effects from an intervention, which had to comprise a physical activity component, on a physical activity-related outcome, such as PA level, physical fitness, physiological parameters, or psychological factors. The screening process and the quality assessment were conducted by two independent reviewer; data extraction was conducted by one reviewer and verified by another. Results The literature search identified 18,959 articles and 11,282 unique records. After the screening process, nine studies met the pre-defined eligibility criteria and were included in qualitative analyses. All but two studies reported significant improvements for at least one physical activity-related outcome. The interventions substantially differed in their development approaches (top-down vs. bottom-up approaches), complexity (multi- vs. single-component), and addressed behavior (multi-behavioral vs. single-behavioral). The most conspicuous finding was that bottom-up approaches tend to improve outcomes at the psychological level and top-down approaches at the physical level. Regarding the interventions’ complexity and addressed behavior, we could not reveal any conclusive results.Conclusion This systematic review highlights the varying effects of physical activity promoting interventions in VET. Nevertheless, heterogeneous effects and overall weak study quality limited our ability to draw clear conclusions about the potentially most effective intervention strategies. Therefore, future research should focus on high quality studies with long-term follow-ups to make recommendations for practical use. Trial registration: PROSPERO CRD42018109845 Keywords: Physical Activity; Health Promotion; Adolescence; Apprenticeship; Students; School; Workplace


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Grüne ◽  
Johanna Popp ◽  
Johannes Carl ◽  
Klaus Pfeifer

Abstract Background: Although the health benefits of physical activity (PA) are well known, young people’s level of PA is often insufficient and tends to decline in adolescence. Numerous studies have investigated the effectiveness of PA-promoting interventions among young people, but none have reviewed the effectiveness of PA interventions in the vocational education and training (VET) setting. This systematic review aims to (1) synthesize and review the available literature on PA-promoting interventions in VET and (2) examine the effects of these interventions on PA-related outcomes such as PA level, physical fitness, physiological parameters, or psychological factors. Methods: Five electronic databases were searched for studies involving adolescents aged 15 to 20 years that took place in VET settings and evaluated the effects of interventions with a PA component on PA-related outcomes such as PA level, physical fitness, physiological parameters, or psychological factors. The screening process and the quality assessment were conducted by two independent reviewers; data extraction was conducted by one reviewer and verified by another. Results: The literature search identified 18,959 articles and 11,282 unique records. After the screening process, nine studies, all coming from European or Asian countries, met the pre-defined eligibility criteria and were included in qualitative analyses. All but two studies reported significant improvements for at least one PA-related outcome. The interventions substantially differed in their development approaches (top-down vs. bottom-up approaches), complexity (multi- vs. single-component), and addressed behavior (multi-behavioral vs. single-behavioral). The most conspicuous finding was that bottom-up approaches tend to improve outcomes at the psychological level and top-down approaches at the physical level. Regarding the interventions’ complexity and addressed behavior, we did not reveal any conclusive results.Conclusion: This systematic review highlights the varying effects of PA-promoting interventions in VET. Nevertheless, heterogeneous effects, overall weak study quality and availability of studies only from two continents limited our ability to draw clear conclusions about the potentially most effective intervention strategies. Therefore, future research should focus on high-quality studies with long-term follow-ups to make recommendations for practical use. Trial registration: PROSPERO CRD42018109845


Gerontology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 443-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanna Notthoff ◽  
Peter Reisch ◽  
Denis Gerstorf

Background: People aged 50 years and older are regularly identified as the most sedentary group in the population. However, even within this group, there are considerable interindividual variations in physical activity (PA) levels. They have been the subject of many studies. Based on single studies, no clear picture as to which characteristics are important has emerged. Objective: The goal of our contribution was to identify which individual characteristics are consistently linked to high PA levels in older adults. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the literature considering demographic characteristics (gender, education, marital status, employment), health (subjective, health problems), and psychological factors (motivation, self-efficacy, locus of control). A systematic search of abstracts in the database Web of Science and a thorough screening process according to a priori specified criteria yielded 63 studies for inclusion in this review. Results: Two psychological factors - motivation and self-efficacy - and the perception of one's health seem to be consistently linked to higher PA levels in older adults. Selected demographic variables - gender and education - may be important for some types of PA. Conclusion: Our review suggests that differentiation of PA by domains is important for identifying and understanding which individual characteristics are associated with PA levels and how. Pinpointing what reliably distinguishes older adults who are active from those who are not is essential for designing effective interventions to promote PA in later life.


Author(s):  
Danielle Newton ◽  
Andrew Day ◽  
Margaret Giles ◽  
Joanne Wodak ◽  
Joe Graffam ◽  
...  

Although the association between unemployment and offending is well established, relatively little is known about the impact of vocational education and training programs on re-offending, with much of the previous work in this area failing to control for, or correct, selection bias. This article reports the findings of a systematic review, which considers the findings of only those studies that have used experimental or quasi-experimental designs to evaluate vocational training and employment program outcomes for adult offenders. The analysis identifies key features, based on these studies, of those programs associated with the best outcomes and recommends selection criteria for those who are most likely to benefit from prison vocational education and training.


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