Needs Assessment for Physical Activity Information During COVID-19 Among a Nationally Representative Sample of Parents and Children Ages 6-17 in the United States: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic presented novel barriers to physical activity engagement for children and their families. Identifying what resources parents and children are interested in receiving can support efforts to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on youth physical activity behavior. This study aimed to identify physical activity-related information needs during the COVID-19 pandemic among a nationally representative sample of parents of children ages 6-10 and parent-child dyads of children ages 11-17.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted by a market research company (YouGov) in October-November 2020. Weighted percentages and corresponding 95% confidence intervals were calculated for information needs around physical activity, overall and by parent and child demographics. Parents were asked about their interest in information about helping their family be physically active during the pandemic, and children were asked about their own interest in information about being physically active.

Results: Final analytic sample was 1000 parents (55.4% female; 74.7% White; 74.0% non-Hispanic); 500 children ages 11-17 (52.1% male; 77.6% White; 77.4% non-Hispanic). Over 40% of parents and children were interested in information about being active during the pandemic [41.9% (95% CI: 38.9%-45.5%) and 41.5% (95% CI: 36.5%-46.7%), respectively]. Parents were more likely to be interested in information if they worked from home compared to outside the home [53.3% (95% CI: 43.3%-63.0%) versus 22.0% (95% CI: 14.9%-31.3%), respectively]; had children attending school remotely compared to in-person [47.3% (95% CI: 40.2%-54.5%) versus 27.5% (95% CI: 19.6%-37.1%), respectively]; and lived in a big city (66.5%; 95% CI: 54.5%-76.7%) compared to a suburban area (42.5%; 95% CI: 34.2%-51.2%), small town (34.6%; 95% CI: 22.8%-48.8%), or rural area (34.1%; 95% CI: 22.8%-47.6%). Children most interested were those who did not have resources for online activity engagement (65.3%; 95% CI: 51.8%-76.7%), and those worried about their safety (55.2%; 95% CI: 44.4%-65.6%) or getting infected with COVID-19 (57.8%; 95% CI: 49.5%-65.6%). Children were also more likely to be interested in information if their parents worked full-time compared to not working [48.6% (95% CI: 41.7%-55.6%) versus 31.5% (95% CI:24.1%-39.9%), respectively], and lived in big city compared to a rural area [57.2% (95% CI: 45.3%-68.3%) versus 27.8% (95% CI: 17.8%-40.7%)].

Conclusion: Families most interested in physical activity-related resources were those whose organized activity opportunities may have been disrupted by the pandemic. Identifying felt needs is an important step in developing tailored interventions that effectively and sustainably support families in promoting activity among youth. Behavioral interventions oriented around increasing youth physical activity should provide guidance that resonates with families and accounts for setting-specific constraints and stressors.