Return to Play | Child Lab

Return to Play Study

In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, many children’s opportunities for physical activity and play have changed. Schools, outdoor playgrounds, and sports facilities that previously supported movement opportunities have been deemed inaccessible. The purpose of this study is to explore Ontario parents’ perspectives regarding their children's return to play opportunities that support physical activity during and post-pandemic. In addition, children's (< 12 years) voices regarding the COVID-19 pandemic on their play opportunities are being explored. The findings from this work will share import insights regarding Ontario families Return to Play/Sport plans during and post the COVID-19 pandemic.

Szpunar, M., Bourke, M., Vanderloo, L. M., Bruijns, B. A., Truelove, S., Burke, S. M., Gilliland, J., Irwin, J. D., & Tucker, P. (2023). Association Between Children's and Parents' Physical Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Lagged Analysis. Journal of physical activity & health, 21(1), 68–76. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2023-0356
Szpunar, M., Bourke, M., Vanderloo, L. M., Bruijns, B. A., Truelove, S., Burke, S. M., Gilliland, J., Irwin, J. D., & Tucker, P. Parent-Reported Changes in Ontario Children’s Physical Activity Levels During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Children. 2023; 10(2):221. https://doi.org/10.3390/children10020221
Szpunar, M., Saravanamuttoo, K., Vanderloo, L.M., Bruijns, B.A., Truelove, S., Burke, S.M., Gilliland, J., Irwin, J.D., Tucker, P. Children’s Physical Activity during COVID-19 in Ontario, Canada: Parents’ Perspectives. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(22):15061. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192215061
Szpunar, M., Vanderloo, L. M., Bruijns, B. A., Truelove, S., Burke, S. M., Gillilland, J., Irwin, J. D., & Tucker, P. Parents’ Attitudes regarding their Children’s Play and Sport During COVID-19. Health Education & Behavior; 2022; 49(6):934-948. doi:10.1177/10901981221116789
Szpunar, M., Vanderloo, L. M., Bruijns, B. A., Truelove, S., Burke, S. M., Gillilland, J., Irwin, J. D., & Tucker, P. 2021. Children and Parents' Views of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Ontario Children's Physical Activity, Play and Sport Behaviours. BMC Public Health 21, 2271 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12344-w

Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Human Development, Child, and Youth Health (CIHR-IHDCYH) Talks Video Competition - Special Commendation (2023)

Title: Children’s and Parents’ Activity During COVID-19 in Ontario

Amount Awarded: $500

Description: We submitted a video to educate parents and children on how to get active during stay-at-home periods because of COVID-19.

The video can be seen here.

NDRIO Portage COVID 19 Data Curation Funding (2021-2022)

Title: Parents' Perspectives of their Child(ren)'s "Return to Play" Post-Covid

Amount Awarded: $20,840

Description: The Digital Research Alliance of Canada awarded me this funding to create an open-access dataset and deposit it to Western’s Dataverse – a data repository. I anonymized the dataset to protect confidentiality of participants, and data was made to align with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable).

The completed project can be found online here.

Western Faculty Research Development Fund (FRDF) (2021-2022)

Title: Knowledge Dissemination of Parents' Perspectives of their Child(ren)'s "Return to Play" Post COVID-19 Pandemic: Infographic

Amount Awarded: $3,000

Description: Funds awarded to produce infographics and videos.

Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Explore Grant (2021)

Title: Parents' Perspectives of their Child(ren)'s "Return to Play" Post-CovidAmount Awarded: $7,000

Description: This funding was used for my doctoral research project, that assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on parents and children’s physical activity. Given that parents are gatekeepers to children’s activity (e.g., they provide transportation, finances, etc.), their plans to return (or not) their children to physical activity and sport were also examined in detail.