Centre for Exercise, Nutrition & Health Sciences, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 ITZ, UK.
Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2PS, UK.
Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2023 Oct 5;20(1):120. doi: 10.1186/s12966-023-01499-x.
Children's physical activity in England is more dependent on active clubs after the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is unclear how the COVID-19 pandemic and related cost-of-living crisis have impacted on active club participation, costs and provision. This mixed-methods natural experiment explored school-based and community-based active clubs after lockdowns, using a unique combination of data sources to highlight implications for policy and practice post-COVID-19.
Cross-sectional questionnaire data on school and community active clubs were collected from 10-11-year-old children pre-COVID-19 in 2017-18 (N = 1,296; 50 schools), in 2021 (N = 393; 23 schools), and 2022 (N = 463; 27 schools). Club participation and attendance frequency were modelled using logistic and Poisson mixed effects models, adjusted for child age, gender and household education. In 2021 and 2022, parents reported expenditure on community-based clubs and schools provided data on school-based club provision, with data summarised descriptively. Qualitative data were collected in 2021 and 2022, with one-to-one interviews with school staff (N = 18) and parents (N = 43), and twelve child focus groups (N = 92), and analysed using the framework method.
School-based active club participation was higher in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic (50% /43%), while community-based club participation was lower (74%/80%). Children attended 0.3 fewer clubs per week. Those from lower education households were less likely to participate in both types of active clubs, and girls less likely to attend community clubs. In 2022, the median cost of community and school club sessions were £6.67 and £3.88 respectively, with 52% of school-based clubs free to parents. Schools offered an average of 3.4 active clubs per week for 10-11-year-olds in 2022, with 34% partly/wholly subsidised. Qualitative analysis highlighted the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and COVID-19 pandemic on family resources, encouraging a shift to more affordable and convenient school-based active clubs, which negatively impacted the community-based active club environment. However, many schools struggled to meet this increased demand.
Findings emphasise the importance for policymakers to support schools to meet increased demand for clubs and community clubs to increase affordable and convenient physical activity opportunities. Targeted support is needed to prevent socioeconomic and gender inequalities.
在新冠疫情之后，英格兰儿童的身体活动更多地依赖于活跃的俱乐部。然而，目前尚不清楚新冠疫情和相关的生活成本危机如何影响活跃俱乐部的参与度、费用和提供情况。本混合方法自然实验在封锁后对基于学校和社区的活跃俱乐部进行了研究，使用独特的数据源组合来突出新冠疫情后的政策和实践意义。
在新冠疫情前的 2017-18 年（N=1296；50 所学校）、2021 年（N=393；23 所学校）和 2022 年（N=463；27 所学校），使用横断面问卷收集了 10-11 岁儿童的学校和社区活跃俱乐部的数据。使用逻辑回归和泊松混合效应模型对俱乐部参与度和出勤率进行建模，模型调整了儿童年龄、性别和家庭教育因素。在 2021 年和 2022 年，家长报告了社区俱乐部的支出，学校提供了学校俱乐部提供情况的数据，数据以描述性方式进行总结。2021 年和 2022 年收集了定性数据，对学校工作人员（N=18）和家长（N=43）进行了一对一访谈，并进行了 12 个儿童焦点小组（N=92），使用框架方法进行分析。
与疫情前相比，2022 年学校的活跃俱乐部参与度更高（50%/43%），而社区俱乐部的参与度更低（74%/80%）。儿童每周参加的俱乐部数量减少了 0.3 个。来自低教育程度家庭的儿童更不可能参加这两种类型的活跃俱乐部，而女孩更不可能参加社区俱乐部。2022 年，社区和学校俱乐部课程的中位数费用分别为 6.67 英镑和 3.88 英镑，52%的学校俱乐部对家长免费。2022 年，学校每周为 10-11 岁儿童提供 3.4 个活跃俱乐部，其中 34%部分/全部由学校补贴。定性分析强调了生活成本危机和新冠疫情对家庭资源的影响，鼓励向更实惠和便捷的学校活跃俱乐部转移，这对社区活跃俱乐部环境产生了负面影响。然而，许多学校难以满足这种需求的增长。
研究结果强调了政策制定者支持学校满足俱乐部需求增加和社区俱乐部提供更多实惠和便捷的体育活动机会的重要性。需要有针对性的支持，以防止社会经济和性别不平等。
