Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29587402›Full record

SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2018

Understanding Outdoor Gyms in Public Open Spaces: A Systematic Review and Integrative Synthesis of Qualitative and Quantitative Evidence.

Janet Lok Chun Lee, Temmy Lee Ting Lo, Rainbow Tin Hung Ho

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Observational
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Build and they will come: A follow-up evaluation of outdoor exercise equipment in Western Australia.Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals · 2022
    Observational
  11. Article
  12. Physical Activity Participation in Rural Areas: A Case Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Article
  13. Review
  14. Guidance about age-friendly outdoor exercise equipment and associated strategies to maximise usability for older people.Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals · 2021
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Observational
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Janet Lok Chun LeeDepartment of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. janet_lee@hku.hk.
Temmy Lee Ting LoDepartment of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. temllt@connect.hku.hk.
Rainbow Tin Hung HoDepartment of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. tinho@hku.hk.ORCID 0000-0002-6173-621X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

(1) Background: An outdoor gym (OG) is environmental infrastructure built in a public open space to promote structured physical activity. The provision of OGs is increasingly seen as an important strategy to realize public health agendas promoting habitual physical activity. A systematic review was conducted to synthesize characteristics of OG and OG users' experiences and perceptions in different cultural contexts; (2) Methods: Online searches of multidisciplinary databases were conducted in health, sport and recreation, and urban planning disciplines. Characteristics of OGs were synthesized by integrating evidence from quantitative, qualitative, and mix-methods studies. The experiences and perceptions of OG users from both qualitative data and survey responses were synthesized through framework analysis; (3) Results: Nine studies met the inclusion criteria (three quantitative studies, four mixed-methods studies, and two pure qualitative studies). None were excluded on the basis of quality. OGs mainly serve adult and older adult population groups. Their size, design, and instructional support vary across studies. The inclusion of functional types of equipment did not have a unified standard. Regarding experiences and perceptions of OGs, five major themes emerged: "health", "social connectedness", "affordable", "support", and "design and promotion"; (4) Conclusions: The OG characteristics synthesis guides the direction in further studies regarding exploration of design parameters. The qualitative and quantitative synthesis revealed that health was a central theme of users' experiences. OGs are also spaces where community-dwellers can find social connectedness while participating in structured physical activity at no cost. Findings from this review create knowledge support for OG as environmental infrastructure for further research and facilitate the understanding of users' experiences and perceptions of OGs in different cultural contexts.

Indexed as

ExercisePublic FacilitiesCommunity ParticipationHealth PromotionHumansQualitative ResearchRecreationenvironmental infrastructureoutdoor gymphysical activitypublic health

Identifiers

PMID29587402
PMCPMC5923632

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.