ReviewEvaluation of physical activity interventions in children via the reach, efficacy/effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance (RE-AIM) framework: A systematic review of randomized and non-randomized trials

- This paper reviews physical activity interventions targeting children, ages 5-11.
- RE-AIM was used to report on the existence of internal and external validity measures.
- On average, the reviewed studies reported on only 52.6% of the RE-AIM components.
- RE-AIM components least likely to be reported included those related to external validity.
- Future interventions should be designed to highlight translatability of evidence-based results.

ContextExisting reviews of physical activity (PA) interventions designed to increase PA behavior exclusively in children (ages 5 to 11 years) focus primarily on the efficacy (e.g., internal validity) of the interventions without addressing the applicability of the results in terms of generalizability and translatability (e.g., external validity).ObjectiveThis review used the RE-AIM (Reach, Efficacy/Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) framework to measure the degree to which randomized and non-randomized PA interventions in children report on internal and external validity factors.Methods and resultsA systematic search for controlled interventions conducted within the past 12 years identified 78 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Based on the RE-AIM criteria, most of the studies focused on elements of internal validity (e.g., sample size, intervention location and efficacy/effectiveness) with minimal reporting of external validity indicators (e.g., representativeness of participants, start-up costs, protocol fidelity and sustainability).ConclusionsResults of this RE-AIM review emphasize the need for future PA interventions in children to report on real-world challenges and limitations, and to highlight considerations for translating evidence-based results into health promotion practice.