SynthesisJournal of medical Internet research2024
Effectiveness of Digital Health Interventions in Promoting Physical Activity Among College Students: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of medical Internet research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Digital Health Interventions to Promote Physical Activity Among Adolescents: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- Digital health interventions for promoting adults lifestyle behaviors: who is being left behind? An evidence synthesis of social inequality.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of Digital Health Interventions on College Students' Lifestyle Behaviors: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Mobile Health Application-Based Interventions for Fall Prevention in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Pooled it
- Film education and art therapy for mental health in college students: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Enhancing Postsecondary Students' Dietary Behaviours: A Systematic Review of Mobile Health Interventions.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2025Pooled it
- How do digital technologies improve the physical health of higher education students? A systematic scoping review.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Facilitators and barriers affecting healthy lifestyle behaviors among suburban Javanese women living in Indonesia: a qualitative study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Personalized Insights Derived from Wearable Device Data and Large Language Models to Improve Well-Being.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Digital engagement and physical activity patterns across Chinese populations: a secondary analysis of national survey data.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Digital communication tools used to promote healthy lifestyles: an overview of reviews from the BRIDGE project.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Review
- A three group randomised controlled trial on effectiveness of mobile application based performance feedback interventions on cardiovascular risk factors among Nigerian university staff.Discover public health · 2026Article
- Comparison of Lockdown Practices and COVID-19 Beliefs Among Public-Facing Bankers and Work-From-Home Teachers.Cureus · 2025Article
- Measurement of the Prescription of Physical Exercise in Chronic Diseases: A Proposal of a Scale for Physicians of Second-Level Hospital Practitioners.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Evaluation of the utility of group-based physical activity among university students: a systematic review protocol.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Physical activity prevalence and associated factors among Zimbabwean undergraduate students: A cross-sectional study.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Digital-based physical activity interventions implemented across the League of Arab States: a scoping review.Oxford open digital health · 2025Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRecent studies offer conflicting conclusions about the effectiveness of digital health interventions in changing physical activity behaviors. In addition, research focusing on digital health interventions for college students remains relatively scarce.
objectiveThis study aims to examine the impact of digital health interventions on physical activity behaviors among college students, using objective measures as outcome indicators.
methodsIn accordance with the 2020 PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, a comprehensive literature search was conducted across several databases, including MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and EBSCO (CINAHL Plus with full text), to identify relevant intervention studies published up to June 6, 2023. The inclusion criteria specified studies that examined the quantitative relationships between digital health interventions and physical activity among adults aged 18 years to 29 years, focusing on light physical activity (LPA), moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sedentary time (ST), or steps. Non-randomized controlled trials were excluded. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Results were synthesized both narratively and quantitatively, where applicable. When sufficient homogeneity was found among studies, a random-effects model was used for meta-analysis to account for variability.
resultsIn total, 8 studies, encompassing 569 participants, were included in the analysis. The primary outcomes measured were LPA, MVPA, ST, and steps. Among these studies, 3 reported on LPA, 5 on MVPA, 5 on ST, and 3 on steps. The meta-analysis revealed a significant increase in steps for the intervention group compared with the control group (standardized mean difference [SMD] 0.64, 95% CI 0.37-0.92; P<.001). However, no significant differences were observed between the intervention and control groups regarding LPA (SMD -0.08, 95% CI -0.32 to 0.16; P=.51), MVPA (SMD 0.02, 95% CI -0.19 to 0.22; P=.88), and ST (SMD 0.03, 95% CI -0.18 to 0.24; P=.78).
conclusionsDigital health interventions are effective in increasing steps among college students; however, their effects on LPA, MVPA, and sedentary behavior are limited.
trial registrationPROSPERO CRD42024533180; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=533180.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
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 Socratic graph.