A quasi-experimental examination of how changes in school-level intramurals are associated with physical activity among a sample of Canadian secondary school students from the COMPASS study

Burns, Kathleen E.; Chaurasia, Ashok; Carson, Valerie; Leatherdale, Scott T.

doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100805

Cited by 1 publication

(8 citation statements)

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“…In line with our previous research [ 33 , 38 ], changes in gender-specific and co-ed intramurals were measured in the Ontario schools by comparing intramural data from Y5 to Y6. School administrators were asked in Y5 and Y6 to select the intramural programs/club activities involving PA that were offered to students at their school over the past 12 months.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…This study used school-and student-level data from the COMPASS host study and builds on our previous research examining intramural changes and youth MVPA [ 33 , 38 ]. Students who were in grade 9 (13–14 years old) and 10 (14–15 years old) at the baseline time point for this study (Y5), with linked data across all three years were included in the study.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consistent with our previous research [ 33 , 38 ], data on student-level sport participation and sociodemographic factors that were known to associate with the predictor and/or outcome were measured by the Cq and included in the analyses. These variables include intramural sport participation, varsity sport participation, community and sport participation.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Intramurals are considered inclusive and accessible, especially compared to other school-based programs (e.g., varsity sports), which typically require a higher level of skill and involve competition against students from other schools [ 28 ]. The positive association between participation in intramurals and PA among youth has been well-documented [ 21 , 29 – 31 ], and their impact on youth MVPA over time has been previously explored [ 32 , 33 ]. Specifically, previous studies have explored how real-world changes in intramurals affect youth MVPA over time, and although general changes in intramurals were not associated with youth MVPA over time [ 33 ], adding a combination of individual (e.g., running) and team (e.g., soccer) intramurals was positively associated with female MVPA [ 32 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The positive association between participation in intramurals and PA among youth has been well-documented [ 21 , 29 – 31 ], and their impact on youth MVPA over time has been previously explored [ 32 , 33 ]. Specifically, previous studies have explored how real-world changes in intramurals affect youth MVPA over time, and although general changes in intramurals were not associated with youth MVPA over time [ 33 ], adding a combination of individual (e.g., running) and team (e.g., soccer) intramurals was positively associated with female MVPA [ 32 ]. Our earlier evidence suggested that adding a variety of intramurals had a positive effect on female MVPA regardless of intramural participation, highlighting the positive and indirect relationship between changes in intramurals and MVPA [ 32 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Examining if changes in gender-specific and co-ed intramural programs affect youth physical activity over time: a natural experiment evaluation using school- and student-level data from the COMPASS study

et al. 2021

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Background Despite the benefits of physical activity (PA), the majority of Canadian youth are falling short of the recommended 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day. School-based physical activity programs such as intramurals, are important opportunities for youth to be physically active. There is limited evidence available on the impact of gender-specific (e.g., female-only, male-only) and co-ed intramurals on youth PA over time, however, evidence suggests female-only intramurals may be important for female MVPA. This research aims to capitalize on a natural experiment to generate practice-based evidence on the impact of changes in gender-specific and co-ed intramurals on youth MVPA over time. Methods This study used linked longitudinal school- and student-level data from Ontario secondary schools in year 5 (Y5:2016–2017), year 6 (Y6: 2017–2018) and year 7 (Y7: 2018–2019) of the COMPASS study. Data on intramurals from 55 schools were used to determine the changes to gender-specific and co-ed intramurals that occurred from Y5 to Y6. Baseline demographic characteristics were measured and data on PA and sport participation were collected in Y5, Y6 and Y7 on a sample of 4417 students. Hierarchical linear mixed regression models were used to estimate how changes in gender-specific and co-ed intramurals were associated with youth MVPA over time. Results Participation in intramural, varsity and community sport were all positively and significantly associated with youth MVPA. Changes in gender-specific and co-ed intramurals were not significantly associated with youth MVPA in Y6 or Y7. However, the positive association between maintaining the addition of gender-specific intramurals on female MVPA in Y7 was on par with the significance level of α = 0.05, suggesting that adding gender-specific intramurals may be important for female MVPA. Conclusions Adding gender-specific and co-ed intramurals may not be sufficient strategies to increase PA among youth. Further research should explore the effect of gender-specific intramurals on youth PA, as this study may have been underpowered at the school-level. Gender-specific intramurals may promote a supportive PA environment that promotes MVPA, especially among females. These intramurals may be an important component of more comprehensive strategies to increase youth MVPA.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%