Playground Inclusivity for Children With a Disability: Protocol for a Scoping Review

Leah G Taylor; Leigh M Vanderloo; Kelly P Arbour-Nicitopoulos; Jennifer Leo; Jason Gilliland; Patricia Tucker

doi:10.2196/37312

Playground Inclusivity for Children With a Disability: Protocol for a Scoping Review

JMIR Res Protoc. 2022 Jul 22;11(7):e37312. doi: 10.2196/37312.

Authors

Leah G Taylor¹, Leigh M Vanderloo^{2

3}, Kelly P Arbour-Nicitopoulos⁴, Jennifer Leo⁵, Jason Gilliland^{6

7

8

9}, Patricia Tucker^{2

9}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
² School of Occupational Therapy, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
³ ParticipACTION, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁴ Mental Health and Physical Activity Research Centre, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁵ Steadward Centre for Personal and Physical Achievement, Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
⁶ Department of Geography and Environment, Faculty of Social Sciences, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
⁷ Department of Paediatrics, Schulich School of Medicine, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
⁸ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Schulich School of Medicine, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
⁹ Children's Health Research Institute, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada.

PMID: 35867380
PMCID: PMC9356326
DOI: 10.2196/37312

Abstract

Background: Although playgrounds are designed to promote outdoor play, children with disabilities may be unable to engage in these spaces due to intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Previous research has examined inclusive/accessible playground design when developing new playgrounds; however, it is unclear if there is a best-practice tool for evaluating the inclusivity of existing playground structures.

Objective: A scoping review of both peer-reviewed and grey literature will be employed to explore evaluation tools for playground inclusivity, to enable the participation of children with disabilities.

Methods: The conduct of this study will adhere to the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines. A search for peer-reviewed research studies will be conducted in the following electronic databases: MEDLINE, Scopus, CINAHL, and Embase. Grey literature will be examined via a three-step process: (1) a search in the Canadian Health Research Collection Database; (2) a targeted Google search; and (3) reference list searching. Titles, abstracts, keywords, and full texts of identified studies will be independently screened for inclusion by two reviewers. A synthesis of included articles will describe the publication and auditing tool details. A summary of the findings will highlight the types of playgrounds measured, types of disability considered, measures of inclusion used, and psychometric properties.

Results: Database searches for peer-reviewed articles were completed in December 2021. A total of 1471 unique records were returned after the removal of 559 duplicate records. Full texts of 167 studies meeting eligibility criteria will be reviewed. The peer-reviewed research search will guide the grey literature search. The scoping review is planned for completion in 2022.

Conclusions: A rigorous search of the literature will determine the availability of tools for evaluating existing playground structures for the inclusivity of children with disabilities. The results will inform recommendations on tool applications, and applicable knowledge translation activities.

International registered report identifier (irrid): DERR1-10.2196/37312.

Keywords: accessibility; application; children; design; disability; inclusion; inclusivity; participation; playground; protocol; scoping review; structure; young; youth.

©Leah G Taylor, Leigh M Vanderloo, Kelly P Arbour-Nicitopoulos, Jennifer Leo, Jason Gilliland, Patricia Tucker. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (https://www.researchprotocols.org), 22.07.2022.