{
  "abstract": "Introduction Physical inactivity among children and adolescents is an increasing public health concern in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), contributing to the growing burden of non-communicable diseases and poor psychosocial outcomes. Although several physical activity (PA) interventions have been implemented across SSA, limited evidence exists regarding their implementation quality, sustainability and real-world applicability. This scoping review evaluated PA intervention studies among children and adolescents in SSA using the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance) framework.Methods PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost (SportDiscus and CINAHL) and Google Scholar were searched for peer-reviewed and grey literature published between January 2010 and July 2025. Studies were included if they reported on PA interventions targeting children and adolescents aged 6–18 years in SSA and addressed at least one RE-AIM dimension. Three reviewers independently conducted screening and data extraction using Covidence and a standardised RE-AIM framework. Data were synthesised using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis.Results 27 studies met the inclusion criteria. All studies reported on Reach, including participant populations and intervention settings; however, only 33.3% described recruitment strategies and 25.9% addressed participant representativeness. Effectiveness outcomes were mainly physiological (85.2%), while psychosocial (66.7%) and academic outcomes (22.2%) were less frequently reported. Only 14.8% reported adverse events. Adoption was reported in 88.9% of studies, although representativeness and reasons for adoption were poorly described. Implementation fidelity (25.9%), intervention dose (37.0%) and programme cost (11.1%) were inconsistently reported. Maintenance was the least reported dimension (22.2%).Conclusions PA interventions in SSA frequently report reach and effectiveness outcomes, but implementation fidelity, cost and sustainability remain underreported. Improved use of implementation frameworks such as RE-AIM is needed to strengthen the scalability, sustainability and policy relevance of PA interventions in SSA.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Human Movement Sciences, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa"
      ],
      "name": "Patrick Mkhanyiseli Zimu"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Biokinetics, Recreation and Sport Science, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa"
      ],
      "name": "Zethembiso Mabaso"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Human Movement Sciences, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa"
      ],
      "name": "Avela Mathe"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Biokinetics, Exercise and Leisure Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa"
      ],
      "name": "Jeanne Martin Grace"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Evaluation of physical activity intervention studies among children and adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa using the RE-AIM framework: a scoping review",
  "uid": "544f8b98-a083-529d-98e9-9bbfc936e1b0"
}