Nasruddin Nur Izzatun Nasriah, Murphy Joey, Armstrong Miranda Elaine Glynis
Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
JMIR Pediatr Parent. 2023 Mar 29;6:e42461. doi: 10.2196/42461.
Self-reported physical activity (PA) questionnaires have traditionally been used for PA surveillance in children and adolescents, especially in free-living conditions. Objective measures are more accurate at measuring PA, but high cost often creates a barrier for their use in low- and middle-income settings. The advent of smartphone technology has greatly influenced mobile health and has offered new opportunities in health research, including PA surveillance.
This review aimed to systematically explore the use of smartphone technology for PA surveillance in children and adolescents, specifically focusing on the use of smartphone apps.
A literature search was conducted using 5 databases (PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, MEDLINE, and Web of Science) and Google Scholar to identify articles relevant to the topic that were published from 2008 to 2023. Articles were included if they included children and adolescents within the age range of 5 to 18 years; used smartphone technology as PA surveillance; had PA behavioral outcomes such as energy expenditure, step count, and PA levels; were written in English; and were published between 2008 and 2023.
We identified and analyzed 8 studies (5 cross-sectional studies and 3 cohort studies). All participants were aged 12-18 years, and all studies were conducted in high-income countries only. Participants were recruited from schools, primary care facilities, and voluntarily. Five studies used mobile apps specifically and purposely developed for the study, whereas 3 studies used mobile apps downloadable from the Apple App Store and Android Play Store. PA surveillance using these apps was conducted from 24 hours to 4 weeks.
Evidence of PA surveillance using smartphone technology in children and adolescents was insufficient, which demonstrated the knowledge gap. Additional research is needed to further study the feasibility and validity of smartphone apps for PA surveillance among children and adolescents, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
自我报告的身体活动（PA）问卷传统上一直用于儿童和青少年的PA监测，尤其是在自由生活条件下。客观测量在测量PA方面更准确，但高成本常常阻碍其在低收入和中等收入环境中的使用。智能手机技术的出现极大地影响了移动健康，并为健康研究提供了新机会，包括PA监测。
本综述旨在系统地探索智能手机技术在儿童和青少年PA监测中的应用，特别关注智能手机应用程序的使用。
使用5个数据库（PubMed、Scopus、CINAHL、MEDLINE和Web of Science）以及谷歌学术进行文献检索，以识别2008年至2023年发表的与该主题相关的文章。如果文章纳入了5至18岁的儿童和青少年；使用智能手机技术进行PA监测；具有PA行为结果，如能量消耗、步数和PA水平；用英语撰写；且在2008年至2023年之间发表，则将其纳入。
我们识别并分析了8项研究（5项横断面研究和3项队列研究）。所有参与者年龄在12 - 18岁之间，且所有研究仅在高收入国家进行。参与者从学校、初级保健机构招募，也有自愿参与的。5项研究专门使用了为该研究特意开发的移动应用程序，而3项研究使用了可从苹果应用商店和安卓应用商店下载的移动应用程序。使用这些应用程序进行PA监测的时间为24小时至4周。
在儿童和青少年中使用智能手机技术进行PA监测的证据不足，这表明存在知识差距。需要进一步研究以探讨智能手机应用程序在儿童和青少年PA监测中的可行性和有效性，尤其是在低收入和中等收入国家。
