Physical Activity in Children With Hearing Loss: A Systematic Review

Purpose: This systematic review follows the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and aims to examine physical activity in children with hearing loss. Research questions aimed to compare physical activity levels and participation in organized sports in children with hearing loss relative to peers with no hearing loss. A second aim was to examine the impact of the degree of hearing loss and identify modifiable barriers to physical activity. Method: Three databases were utilized to identify relevant studies: PubMed, Human Kinetics, and Science Direct. All peer-reviewed studies included in the systematic review focused on physical activity of children with hearing loss ages 0–18 years and were published in English in 2010 or later. Data extraction and verification of the extracted data were completed by the first author, and the data were discussed between authors. Nine peer-reviewed studies with varying research designs and sample sizes were included in the systematic review. Each study was assessed using the adapted McMaster Critical Review Form-Quantitative Studies to establish the quality level; ratings across studies were good ( n = 1) or excellent ( n = 7). Results: Results of the systematic review suggest that children with hearing loss have substantially lower physical activity and participation in organized sports due to the influence of social inclusion and support, parent-related issues, gender, and the presence of other disabilities. Conclusions: All research questions were addressed in some capacity. Given that physical activity is vital to the health and development of children, the results of this study support the need for future research focused on mitigation of these and other barriers.