Background/Purpose Regular physical activity (PA) is positively associated with overall well-being for children. The benefits of PA can also apply to children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN); however, insufficient research studies on PA in CSHCN were performed. The purpose of this study was to, by using a modified Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1985, 1991), explore the determinants related to PA participation among CSHCN.
Method Data from the latest National Survey of Children Health were used with 14,813 children aged 6-17 who passed the CSHCN screener. PA participation was the dependent variable dichotomized as recommended by McKay et al. (2007). A binary logistic regression was used to determine the association between determinants and PA participation among CSHCN.
Analysis/Results Controlled for other variables, the Odds Ratios (OR) for males CSHCN (OR=1.65) suggested that boys were more active than girls. Hispanic CSHCN (OR=0.71) were less active than White CSHCN. CSHCN with developmental disability (DD; OR=0.70), mental health conditions (MH; OR=0.65) and multiple condition (OR=0.72) were less active compared with CSHCN with physical conditions. CSHCN spent over three hours on screen time were less active (OR=0.77). CSHCN with active parents (OR=1.98), living in a family with two parents (OR=1.15), and feel safe about the neighborhood community (OR=1.12) were more likely to be physically active.
Conclusions Existing PA programs for CSHCN should be evaluated to improve services for female CSHCN, Hispanic and children with DD and MH. Promoting an active lifestyle among family members is also crucial to encourage PA among CSHCN.
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