Extended reality as a health education strategy of adolescents at school: protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION: Extended reality (XR) is the ensemble of interactive experiences based on a computer-simulated environment that encompasses virtual reality and augmented reality and has been proven to be potentially innovative in the field of health education with adolescents. The objective of this study is to present a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol that seeks to evaluate the main effects of interventions that use XR on health parameters (food intake, sound quality and physical activity) of adolescent students. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The literature search will be performed in the following databases: MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, ERIC, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Cochrane, LILACS, APA and ADOLEC. Intervention studies (clinical trials—randomised or non-randomised) and quasi-experimental studies will be included. The risk of bias will be assessed using the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions tool for randomised controlled trials (RCTs), non-RCTs and quasi-experimental trials. Two independent researchers will conduct all the assessments, and any disagreements will be consulted with a third reviewer. Data analysis and synthesis will be performed using RevMan V.5.4.1 software. The study will be conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols guideline. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval and human consent were not required, as this is a protocol for a systematic review and only secondary data will be used. The findings will be published in a journal and presented at conferences. In case of any changes to this protocol, it will be updated in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses website, and the modifications will be explained in the final report of this review. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022373876.