Musculoskeletal Problems in School Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sponsor

Gaziosmanpasa Research and Education Hospital (Other)

Overall Status

Enrolling by invitation

CT.gov ID

NCT04954612

Collaborator

(none)

1,225

Enrollment

Location

Anticipated Duration (Months)

245.3

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

During COVID-19 pandemic, in the lockdown period, reduced physical activity and obesity were reported in children.

In Turkey, face to face education was ceased after March 16, till the end of the previous academic year and education was tried to be substituted remotely.

A temporary lockdown was implemented for children and young people under the age of 20, between April 3 and June 5 2020. At 45 days following the lockdown of children, 72% of the parents with children aged 6-13 years stated that their screen time had increased to a mean of 6.4 hours per day.

Engaging more time in physical activity, and less in sedentary and leisure screen time was found to be associated with less anxiety during pandemic.

Before 2020-2021 academic year, government and educators increased their preparedness for the second and third waves and improved the technological infrastructure. Depending on grades, preferences of the family, primary education continued remotely between November 2020 and July 2021.

The aim of this study is to investigate whether musculoskeletal complaints are increased in school-age children during the pandemics and whether there is a relationship between the decreased level of physical activity, increased screen time, poor posture and musculoskeletal complaints.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Children Musculoskeletal Disorder	Other: Questionnaire study (Cross-sectional analytical clinical research)

Detailed Description

A survey assessing musculoskeletal pain in children in the last 1 month, and associated factors including presence of non-ergonomic postures during online education was structured by two physiatrists and a public health specialist after the review of the relevant literature. Several paediatric pain and musculoskeletal assessment tools were reviewed.

The survey consisted of a total of 66 questions including sociodemographic characteristics of the children and family (17 items), education hours, used technological device (7 items), screen time and physical activity (5 items), presence of musculoskeletal pain (27 items) and ergonomics (10 items).

Questions regarding the musculoskeletal pain were constructed based on The Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire extended version (NMQ-E) which was translated and validated into Turkish. Pain or discomfort questions experienced in the nine body parts with binary choices (yes or no) were used. The figure in NMQ-E was used to describe body regions (the neck, shoulder, upper back, elbow, wrist/hand, low back, hip/ thigh, knee, ankle/foot) and pain questions were structured accordingly on this body diagram.

The questionnaire was created using the Qualtrics program. The survey was piloted among ten participants to ensure its readability and ease of completion. After obtaining permissions from Ministry of National Education of Turkey, survey link was shared with the school principles so that they distributed the survey to the guardians of children via smart phones or email. The survey will be available during two months and a reminder will be sent once a week.

Study Design

Study Type:

Observational

Anticipated Enrollment :

1225 participants

Observational Model:

Other

Time Perspective:

Cross-Sectional

Official Title:

Musculoskeletal Problems and Associated Factors in Children Aged Between 6-13 Years During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Actual Study Start Date :

May 1, 2021

Anticipated Primary Completion Date :

Jul 9, 2021

Anticipated Study Completion Date :

Sep 30, 2021

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Presence of musculoskeletal pain [One day]
Presence of musculoskeletal pain in one of the nine body parts

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

6 Years to 13 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Inclusion Criteria:

Being parent or guardian of a child between the ages of 6-13 years
Having access to the Internet
Being literate
Giving consent to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

Children going to special education school

Contacts and Locations

Locations

	Site	City	State	Country	Postal Code
1	Gaziosmanpasa Training and Research Hospital	Istanbul	Gaziosmanpasa	Turkey	34255

Sponsors and Collaborators

Gaziosmanpasa Research and Education Hospital

Investigators

Principal Investigator: Özden Özyemişçi Taşkıran, Prof, Koc University School of Medicine Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Study Director: Sibel Sakarya, Prof, Koc University School of Medicine Department of Infectious Disease
Study Chair: Zeynep Turan, Koc University School of Medicine Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Study Chair: Esra Giray, Assoc Prof, Koc University School of Medicine Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation