Children’s outdoor play in Poland. The scoping review to fill the gap in the world literature

Abstract Background The research evidence on the importance of outdoor play for children's health is strong but literature reviews indicate their uneven geographical representation. As cultural context affects many health behaviours, this may be a significant bias. This study aims to identify and map the available evidence on Polish children's outdoor activity and its determinants. Methods The scoping review included peer-reviewed publications (in English or Polish), available in electronic databases and added by snowball search. Selection was based on the key words (e.g. “outdoor play” and “Poland") with no restrictions regarding e.g. the year of publication. Results Most of the studies were descriptive, published in the past two decades. The main topics identified include: 1. Presentation of the experiences of other countries (especially Scandinavian and English-speaking); 2. Description of outdoor play facilities in a specific location in Poland; 3. A decreasing trend of time children spent outdoors; 4. Attitudes towards outdoor play among children, parents and educators (e.g. comparisons between urban and rural areas, good and bad weather or children's with specific health needs); 5. Benefits (mainly health-related) and risks (e.g. air pollution, falling trees) associated with outdoor play; 6 Outdoor games as a form of tourism (e.g. questing). Conclusions Although the literature on Polish children's outdoor play is not extensive, it has been developing in recent years. Since cultural factors significantly determine the subjective assessment of the facilitators and barriers to outdoor play, more cross-country comparative studies are needed to better understanding, planning, implementing and evaluating interventions aimed at increasing the time children spend outdoors. Key messages • Outdoor play is important for children's health, but available data are geographically skewed. • A review of Polish literature highlights the complexity of cultural factors related to outdoor play.