Physical activity and sedentary behaviour research in Ghana: A systematic review protocol

Abstract

IntroductionMortality caused by preventable non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer, stroke and cardiovascular disease is on the increase. In 2016, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) caused 41 million of the world's 57 million deaths. Two modifiable behavioural health risk factors namely physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour are associated with many of these NCDs. In Ghana, several studies have reported the prevalence of physical activity and/or sedentary behaviours. However, to date no systematic review has synthesised the findings from these studies. The aim of this systematic review is to synthesise studies that reported the prevalence of physical activity and/or sedentary behaviours in Ghana. MethodsThe Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) guideline will be followed to conduct and report the outcomes of this systematic review. EMBASE, MEDLINE (OVID), PsycINFO, PsychARTICLES, CINAHL and SCOPUS are electronic databases that will be searched to identify eligible studies. Only quantitative studies that reported the prevalence of physical activity and/or sedentary behaviours using cross-sectional design, observational cohort design and case-control design will be included. Two members of the review team will independently screen the articles to determine eligibility, ascertain the quality of eligible studies, and extract data. Any discrepancy that arise at any stage of the review will be resolved through discussion between the two. The outcome of the review will be reported as a narrative synthesis if there is no homogeneity across studies and a meta-analyses will be conducted if there sufficient homogeneity across studies. DiscussionThis systematic review will synthesise the available literature on prevalence of physical activity and/or sedentary behaviours in Ghana. It is expected that the outcome of this systematic review will provide an understanding of the trend of these two health risk factors among Ghanaians. Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42019119574