Effect of intervention on screen time in preschoolers: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Abstract Background This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions on screen time (ST) in preschool children and identify potential moderators of intervention effects. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to assess interventions on ST in preschool children. Databases searched included CNKI, Wanfang, SinoMed, Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane library, until December 31, 2022. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using the risk of bias tool, and the effect size was evaluated by standardized mean difference (SMD) between intervention and control group. Results A total of 26 studies with 7944 participants were included in the meta-analysis. The overall SMD (95%CI) of interventions on ST in preschoolers was − 0.61 (-0.92,-0.31). Subgroup analysis showed that the intervention effect was moderated by gender of child (X2 = 3.74, P = 0.05) and treatment received by the control group (X2 = 8.54, P = 0.003). Conclusion While these interventions have shown promise, there is still much to learn about their efficacy and applicability across diverse populations and intervention characteristics. This study is registered on the PROSPERO database (CRD42023402518).