ReviewBMJ open sport & exercise medicine2017
Recruiting adult participants to physical activity intervention studies using sport: a systematic review.
Review in BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Strategies for recruitment of adolescent girls into physical activity programmes: a systematic review and regression analysis.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of dietary supplements on sports performance outcomes: a systematic review of evidence in elite athletes.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Recruitment and characteristics of participants in trials of physical activity for adults aged 45 years and above in general practice: a systematic review.Family practice · 2023Pooled it
- Recruiting and retaining young adults: what can we learn from behavioural interventions targeting nutrition, physical activity and/or obesity? A systematic review of the literature.Public health nutrition · 2021Pooled it
- The effect of a programme to improve men's sedentary time and physical activity: The European Fans in Training (EuroFIT) randomised controlled trial.PLoS medicine · 2019Trial
- Do adults with cardiovascular disease risk show meaningful reactivity to physical activity measurement? Coordinated analysis across six studies.British journal of health psychology · 2026Article
- Physical Activity Measurement Reactivity Among Midlife Adults With Elevated Risk for Cardiovascular Disease: Protocol for Coordinated Analyses Across Six Studies.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Social network characteristics associated with mid-to-older aged adults' co-engagement in physical activity.PloS one · 2025Article
- Comparison of time-matched aerobic, resistance or combined exercise training in women living with obesity: The EXOFFIT study.Obesity science & practice · 2024Article
- Engaging adults in organized physical activity: a scoping review of recruitment strategies.Health promotion international · 2023Article
- A pragmatic strength and conditioning intervention for firefighters: Feasibility of the Tactical Athlete Resilience Program (TARP).Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals · 2023Article
- Mechanistic evidence and exercise interventions: Causal claims, extrapolation, and implementation.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2022Article
- Exercise Interventions for Women with Ovarian Cancer: A Realist Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- A scoping review of behavior change techniques used to promote physical activity among women in midlife.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Strengthening sense of coherence: Evidence from a physical activity intervention targeting vulnerable adults.Preventive medicine reports · 2021Article
- How to recruit inactive residents for lifestyle interventions: participants' characteristics based on various recruitment strategies.Health promotion international · 2021Article
- Article
- Early detection of type 2 diabetes in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas in Stockholm - comparing reach of community and facility-based screening.Global health action · 2020Article
- Exploring Supports and Barriers to Physical Activity in Catholic Priests.The journal of primary prevention · 2020Article
- Exercise Intervention Outcomes with Cannabis Users and Nonusers Aged 60 and Older.American journal of health behavior · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo undertake a systematic review of the effectiveness of recruitment mechanisms for engaging and retaining target participants in sports interventions to promote physical activity behaviour change in adults.
designA narrative systematic review of published studies providing details of the effectiveness of recruitment techniques used in interventions aimed at increasing physical activity via sport in adults. DATA SOURCES: Searches were conducted using five electronic databases, clinical trial registers, grey literature and snowballing from reference lists. All papers published in the English language were considered. The search was completed in November 2015. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: All articles providing information on the recruitment of adults into interventions involving sport and reporting physical activity or participation outcomes were included.
resultsTwenty-three studies met the inclusion criteria. The quality of recruitment reporting across included studies was generally classified as poor, lacking detailed descriptions of recruitment processes and providing insufficient reporting of recruitment outcomes. There was a distinct recruitment bias for more affluent, white, middle-aged women. Active-only recruitment techniques appeared to achieve a participant sample with more representative demographic characteristics than passive approaches.
conclusionsDue to inadequate reporting and evaluation, the mechanisms for achieving effective recruitment and engagement in sport, particularly in hard-to-reach groups, are still unclear. Independent of recruitment mode, creating an intervention and context that reflect the interests and motivations of the target audience presents a promising area. There is an urgent need for more robust evaluation design and reporting of sports interventions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.