Barriers to Students’ Physical Activity: A Systematic Review Protocol

Abstract

Background Physical inactivity is a prevalent issue affecting both adolescents and adults, and the factors that negatively influence engagement in physical activities are called barriers. To our knowledge, no systematic review has been conducted on the most common barriers to physical activity among students. Therefore, this study defines a systematic review protocol to map the existing evidence on the prevalence of barriers to physical activity among high school and college students. Methods The protocol will be based on PRISMA items. The studies will be obtained from four electronic databases (CINAHL, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus), regardless of restrictions per year. Only those studies shall be considered that are published in English. Studies that have identified barriers to physical activity among high school and university students will be included. The studies will be selected based on their titles and abstracts, and then two independent reviewers will review them carefully. Disagreements will be resolved by a third reviewer. All the steps will be performed in Rayyan software. Methodological quality will be assessed by the GRADE methodology, and the risk of bias will be assessed using the Downs and Black checklist. Discussion This systematic review will synthesize the evidence concerning the barriers to physical activity among adolescents and adults, high school, and college students. The findings of this systematic review may stimulate the development of actions, programs, and public policies aimed at overcoming or mitigating these barriers. This intervention will improve physical activity levels and decrease sedentariness. Registration The registration of this systematic review has been requested to the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) database but is still pending approval.