15 research outputs found
Evaluating the olympic education program: A qualitative approach
No full textThis study was conducted to provide further information regarding factors associated with educational evaluation, using a qualitative approach. Fifty-five interviews were carried out with school principals. The results of the present study supported the notion that the qualitative methods could provide information that quantitative procedures could not. Additionally, the findings also provided useful information for solving problems in OEP implementation and enhanced decision-making by indicating points of the program that should be improved. © 2005 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd
Assessing the Impact of a Health Education Anti-Smoking Program for Students: A Follow-Up Investigation
No full textIn this follow-up study, we aimed to assess the effectiveness of the “I do not smoke, I exercise” anti-smoking preventive health education program. The program was based on the theory of planned behavior supplemented with life skills teaching and targeted at high school students. The intervention comprised ten one-hour online sessions, administered by physical education instructors. The study cohort comprised 222 students (109 boys, 113 girls) from 11 secondary schools, with an average age of 16.42 ± 1.36 years. Data collection involved pre- and post-intervention self-assessment questionnaires. The examined variables included attitudes towards smoking, intention to smoke, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control (PBC), knowledge about smoking, smoking behavior, exercise behavior, attitudes toward the program’s implementation, and satisfaction with the program. A separate paired samples t-test revealed a significant improvement in students’ knowledge about smoking (t217 = −5.605, p t220 = −2.166, p M = 5.72 ± 1.39). These findings suggest that the health education smoking prevention intervention incorporates techniques and strategies that influence the perceived behavioral control variable, emphasizing students’ strong interest in educationally theorized programs integrating technology into their design. Future studies should consider further examination of tobacco control strategies within the high school context
Implementation and Evaluation of a School-Based Educational Program Targeting Healthy Diet and Exercise (DIEX) for Greek High School Students
No full textThe present study examined the effectiveness of a school-based health education program promoting healthy diet and exercise, named DIEX, implemented on adolescents. The program is based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and is supported by life skills training. The recipients of the program were high school students (n = 367; 168 boys and 199 girls) from 14 schools in Greece who attended 10 1 h sessions implemented by their schoolteachers. Data were collected before and after the program implementation through online questionnaires for: a. attitude, intention, subjective norms, and PBC toward healthy eating; b. knowledge about healthy eating; c. exercise behavior and attitude toward the DIEX program; and d. satisfaction with the DIEX program (only post-program). The results showed that there were significant differences among the pre- and post-measures of students’ knowledge and behavior about healthy diet, as well as attitudes and satisfaction toward the program’s application. The results show that the DIEX program may have improved nutrition behavior variables. Conclusively, a theory-based behavioral intervention with skills training may result in positive behavioral changes for young students during health education in school settings with the assistance of new technologies
Intercultural education and the development of responsibility: from physical education to the school classroom
No full textΑ virtual reality app for physical and cognitive training of older people with mild cognitive impairment: Mixed methods feasibility study
No full textBackground: Therapeutic virtual reality (VR) has emerged as an effective treatment modality for cognitive and physical training in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, to replace existing nonpharmaceutical treatment training protocols, VR platforms need significant improvement if they are to appeal to older people with symptoms of cognitive decline and meet their specific needs. Objective: This study aims to design and test the acceptability, usability, and tolerability of an immersive VR platform that allows older people with MCI symptoms to simultaneously practice physical and cognitive skills on a dual task. Methods: On the basis of interviews with 20 older people with MCI symptoms (15 females; mean age 76.25, SD 5.03 years) and inputs from their health care providers (formative study VR1), an interdisciplinary group of experts developed a VR system called VRADA (VR Exercise App for Dementia and Alzheimer’s Patients). Using an identical training protocol, the VRADA system was first tested with a group of 30 university students (16 females; mean age 20.86, SD 1.17 years) and then with 27 older people (19 females; mean age 73.22, SD 9.26 years) who had been diagnosed with MCI (feasibility studies VR2a and VR2b). Those in the latter group attended two Hellenic Association Day Care Centers for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders. Participants in both groups were asked to perform a dual task training protocol that combined physical and cognitive exercises in two different training conditions. In condition A, participants performed a cycling task in a lab environment while being asked by the researcher to perform oral math calculations (single-digit additions and subtractions). In condition B, participants performed a cycling task in the virtual environment while performing calculations that appeared within the VR app. Participants in both groups were assessed in the same way; this included questionnaires and semistructured interviews immediately after the experiment to capture perceptions of acceptability, usability, and tolerability, and to determine which of the two training conditions each participant preferred. Results: Participants in both groups showed a significant preference for the VR condition (students: mean 0.66, SD 0.41, t29=8.74, P<.001; patients with MCI: mean 0.72, SD 0.51, t26=7.36, P<.001), as well as high acceptance scores for intended future use, attitude toward VR training, and enjoyment. System usability scale scores (82.66 for the students and 77.96 for the older group) were well above the acceptability threshold (75/100). The perceived adverse effects were minimal, indicating a satisfactory tolerability. Conclusions: The findings suggest that VRADA is an acceptable, usable, and tolerable system for physical and cognitive training of older people with MCI and university students. Randomized controlled trial studies are needed to assess the efficacy of VRADA as a tool to promote physical and cognitive health in patients with MCI. © Mary Hassandra, Evangelos Galanis, Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis, Marios Goudas, Christos Mouzakidis, Eleni Maria Karathanasi, Niki Petridou, Magda Tsolaki, Paul Zikas, Giannis Evangelou, George Papagiannakis, George Bellis, Christos Kokkotis, Spyridon Rafail Panagiotopoulos, Giannis Giakas, Yannis Theodorakis
Effects of an Individualized Active Aging Counseling Intervention on Mobility and Physical Activity: Secondary Analyses of a Randomized Controlled Trial
No full textObjectives: The aim of this study was to report preplanned secondary analyses of the effects of a 12-month individualized active aging counseling intervention on six mobility and physical activity outcomes. Methods: A two-arm, single-blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted among 75- and 80-year-old community-dwelling people. The intervention group (IG, n = 101) received counseling aimed at increasing self-selected, primarily out-of-home activity. The control group (CG, n = 103) received general health information. Data were analyzed with generalized estimating equations. Results: Physical performance improved in the IG more than that in the CG (group by time p =.022), self-reported physical activity increased in both groups (time p =.012), and autonomy in outdoor mobility declined in the IG and was enhanced in the CG (group by time p =.011). No change was observed for life-space mobility, proportion of persons perceiving difficulty walking 2 km, or monitored physical activity. Discussion: Individualized counseling aiming at increasing self-selected out-of-home activity had nonsystematic effects on mobility and positively affected physical performance only. © The Author(s) 2020
Activity Trackers Influencing Motivation and Awareness: Study Among Fitness Centre Members
No full textConsumer fitness technology products are becoming increasingly
popular. This leads to interesting questions about the influence of activity
trackers on a person’s motivation to exercise. This study explored the role
of activity trackers in motivating fitness centre members towards
exercising and in increasing their awareness regarding their own health and
physical activity. The study included 100 fitness centre members divided
into a test group and a control group and three sub-groups: OLD, NEW,
and personal trainer (PT) members. The focus was on gym visit frequency
during a 10-week test period and on tracking the consistency of activity
levels. Participants also completed a pre and post study questionnaire
assessing changes in their health and physical activity awareness. The
results suggest that an activity tracker does not significantly influence
fitness centre members’ gym attendance or overall physical activity levels.
Group comparisons reveal no statistically significant differences between
groups, but observations of the descriptive statistics indicated that an
activity tracker can bring some inspiration and other benefits, especially for
PT clients and people who are just starting their new more physically active
lifestyle. Using an activity tracker increased participants’ perceived
awareness of their own wellbeing, daily sitting time, and amount of sleep.peerReviewe
Training programme for novice physical activity instructors using Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) model: A programme development and protocol
No full textPrevious research indicates that programmes employing Hellison’s Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) model in physical activity have had a positive impact on youth development by increasing participants’ positive values, autonomy, life skills, and prosocial behaviour. Despite encouraging results of the effects of TPSR-based programmes, there remains lack of research on the effective content of these programmes, and their implementation and evaluation. The current protocol article describes the development of a TPSR-based instructor training programme and a plan for an intervention study in which novice instructors learn to understand and apply the TPSR model in practice. The participants of the TPSR-based training intervention study are novice instructors who are matched and randomly allocated to a 20-hour TPSR-based training intervention and a six-hour control instructor training without the TPSR content. The proposed study examines whether the intervention is effective in teaching novice physical activity instructors to understand and apply the TPSR model, whether the instructors’ personal and social responsibility develops, and whether the training intervention is feasible. © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
Motivação e aderência de mulheres ativas: um estudo dos fatores determinantes da atividade física
No full textDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Desportos. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação Física.Os objetivos deste estudo, de natureza quase experimental, foram: a) analisar a influência dos fatores determinantes da atividade física sobre a motivação e a aderência de mulheres participantes de um programa de atividades físicas na Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina e b) verificar a inter-relação entre o nível de aptidão física, motivação e aderência ao programa. A amostra foi constituída de 61 mulheres divididas em dois grupos de maneira aleatória. Os dados foram coletados através de questionários e de medidas funcionais e antropométricas. O questionário foi composto de quatro partes com questões relativas aos determinantes pessoais, sócio-ambientais, comportamentais e características do programa de atividades físicas. A avaliação funcional foi realizada através de testes da aptidão aeróbica, flexibilidade de tronco e de ombro. Foram coletadas as medidas de peso e estatura. Na análise dos dados foram utilizadas as estatísticas descritiva (freqüências, média, medianas e desvio padrão) e inferencial (correlação linear de Spearmann, testes #U# de Mann-Whitney e de Wilcoxon) utilizando-se o programa SPSS, versão 11.0. O nível d
