Exercise Is Medicine On Campus (EIM-OC): Impact Since Inception

Abstract

Exercise is Medicine On Campus (EIM-OC) was founded in 2009 and has had over 300 participating universities worldwide. In addition to its impact on campuses, EIM-OC outcomes and research findings have been disseminated broadly. PURPOSE: The purpose of this systematic review was to quantify the impact EIM-OC has had through all published peer-reviewed venues since inception. METHODS: This review followed PRIMSA guidelines with a stepwise verification process to identify all articles and published abstracts. Search terms included: ( "Exercise is Medicine" ) AND ( (campus* OR universit* OR colleg* OR academ*) ), with variations as required by databases. Year limits were set 2009 to 2020. Databases included: EBSCO, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Web of Science. Assessment included manual review of the following journals: ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal, Translational Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, Current Sports Medicine Reports, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, and Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews. Reference lists of relevant articles were searched for possible additional articles to review. Additionally, all of the published content from the ACSM annual and regional meetings was reviewed. RESULTS: After full review, 9 scholarly articles and 35 published abstracts were included. Scholarly articles have garnered: 23 citations, 970 usages, 21 Tweets, and 47 shares on social media. When reported, average 5-year impact factor of journals was 1.29. Published abstracts have been presented at 8 international conferences with a total attendance of 44,884. CONCLUSIONS: EIM-OC has a successful record of substantial peer-reviewed, published works over the first decade of existence. When programs are assessed, outcomes improve; when programs are assessed and reported, the rate of improvement increases. Therefore, EIM-OC encourages its members to proactively gather data and publish high-quality articles to: 1) improve program efficacy at the campus level, 2) disseminate findings for the benefit of others, and 3) provide feedback on how to advance EIM-OC as a whole.