A scientific journal publication in Discover Public Health was published by the CSPPA research team. The paper lead by Dr Kwok Ng on the perceived impact of COVID-19 on physical activity of Irish adolescents.
CSPPA 2022 data were collected after the majority of restrictions were removed from COVID-19 however, some remained in place. This timely research outlined the way students perceived the impact COVID-19 had on their physical activity levels and participation. As the instrument was designed specifically for CSPPA, the instrument underwent Rasch analyses to confirm its construct fit. Following this analyses, the researchers were then happy to report the results from the items in relation to how Irish adolescents perceived overally impact from COVID-19 and its associations with physical activity.
The comprehensive paper also reported associations with gender, disabilities, family affluence, home location, school location and jurisdiction of Ireland. Impact on school sport and extra-curriculum were signficantly associated with the majority of these factors. Furthermore for individuals who reported more days of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in a week, the perceived impact of COVID-19 was, generally, greater. Particularly with the impact of fitness levels for individuals who reported daily 60mins of MPVA in a week.
This paper provided a retrospective view of the lasting impact of COVID-19 on Irish adolescents’ PA and PA participation. Following the Rasch analyses, the measures used were also suitable for use, and may be used in case of future circumstances.