Previously submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research (no longer under consideration since Nov 07, 2023)
Date Submitted: Jun 12, 2023
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Effects of Web-based Physical Activity on Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their Caregivers:A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
ABSTRACT
Background:
Physical activity is a promising nonpharmacological therapy for individuals with autism spectrum disorder(ASD), but it is unclear the effects of web-based physical activity for them and their caregivers.
Objective:
To determine the effectiveness of web-based physical activity on individuals with ASD and their caregivers.
Methods:
We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, The Cochrane Library, SPORTDiscus, and PsycInfo from inception to 31 January 2023 that examined the effectiveness of web-based physical activity in individuals with ASD or their caregivers. Two reviewers independently assessed methodological quality and extracted information from the included studies. The outcome measures used for individuals with ASD is physical activity level, for caregivers of children with ASD included mental health and perceptions and/or satisfaction regarding the web-based physical activity intervention.
Results:
A total of 10 articles with 158 individuals with ASD and 200 caregivers of them were included. Five studies reported positive intervention effect on physical activity level of individuals with ASD whereas one study found the changes were not significant and one study reported negative intervention effects. Large intervention effects were found for physical activity level (Hedges’ g=1.064, 95% CI [0.749,1.379], p=0.000) of individuals with ASD. Two studies reported the effects of web-based physical activity intervention on mental health in parents of children with ASD, all of these two studies reported a significantly greater improvement on anxiey level (Hedges’g=0.491, 95%CI [0.209, 0.772],p=0.001), depression level (Hedges’ g=0.534, 95%CI [0.251, 0.816],p=0.000) and stress level (Hedges’ g=0.68, 95%CI [0.212, 1.148],p=0.004) in the web-based physical activity group than in the control group. Six studies assessed how caregivers of individuals with ASD perceived the web-based physical activity intervention, overall, most caregivers of individuals with ASD were satisfied with this type of intervention.
Conclusions:
The findings provided preliminary evidence for the web-based physical activities to increase the physical activity level of individuals with ASD and improving mental health in parents of children with ASD.
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