This study provides an illustration of a research design complementary to randomized controlled trial to evaluate program effects, namely, participatory peer research (PPR). The PPR described in current study was carried out in a small sample (N = 10) of young adults with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) and severe behavioral problems. During the PPR intervention, control and feedback to individuals is restored by training them to become participant-researchers, who collaborate in a small group of people with MID. Their research is aimed at the problems the young adults perceive and/or specific subjects of their interest. The study was designed as a multiple case study with an experimental and comparison group. Questionnaires and a semistructured interview were administered before and after the PPR project. Results of Reliable Change Index (RCI) analyses showed a decrease in self-serving cognitive distortions in the PPR group, but not in the comparison group. These results indicate that PPR helps to compensate for a lack of adequate feedback and control, and in turn may decrease distorted thinking and thereby possibly later challenging behavior.
Rationale: Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients often have adverse changes in body composition. Loss of muscle mass and strength frequently occur, even when dietary intake is adequate. Nascent evidence suggests that a healthy lifestyle, including adequate physical activity (PA) and diet, may prevent muscle wasting. HNC patients often show suboptimal health behavior pre-diagnosis, and additional barriers to PA can arise from cancer treatment. Better understanding of the behavioral mechanisms of PA in this mostly sedentary group is needed to design effective individualized PA-supporting interventions. This qualitative study explored the perspective of HNC patients on PA.Methods: We conducted 9 semi-structured interviews in HNC patients, 6-8 weeks after treatment (surgery +/-(chemo)radiation). The interviews were guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) key concepts, including: attitude; social norm (with emphasis on role of healthcare professionals); self-efficacy; intention; barriers/facilitators, knowledge/skills; and current PA behaviour. Interviews were analysed by directed content analysis.Results: Important themes identified for PA were: physical barriers, health as stimulus, role of habits, and lack of interest. While all themes could be fitted within the key concepts of TBP, there was little interaction between intention and other concepts. In fact, PA intention was not an explicit consideration for most patients.Conclusion: HNC patients perceived physical barriers, health, habits, and lack of interest as important themes with regard to PA. Our tentative results suggest that the TPB may not be the most appropriate model for explaining PA in HNC patients. For future research aiming to understand PA in HNC patients, theories less focused on rational reasoning and more on autonomy, such as Self Determination Theory, may be better suited.
SOCIO-BEE proposes that community engagement and social innovation combined with Citizen Science (CS) through emerging technologies and playful interaction can bridge the gap between the capacity of communities to adopt more sustainable behaviours aligned with environmental policy objectives and between the citizen intentions and the real behaviour to act in favour of the environment (in this project, to reduce air pollution). Furthermore, community engagement can raise other citizens’ awareness of climate change and their own responses to it, through experimentation, better monitoring, and observation of the environment. This idea is emphasised in this project through the metaphor of bees’ behaviour (with queens, working and drone bees as main CS actors), interested stakeholders that aim at learning from results of CS evidence-based research (honey bears) and the Citizen Science hives as incubators of CS ideas and projects that will be tested in three different pilot sites (Ancona, Marousi and Ancona) and with different population: elderly people, everyday commuters and young adults, respectively. The SOCIO-BEE project ambitions the scalable activation of changes in citizens’ behaviour in support of pro-environment action groups, local sponsors, voluntary sector and policies in cities. This process will be carried out through low-cost technological innovations (CS enablers within the SOCIO BEE platform), together with the creation of proper instruments for institutions (Whitebook and toolkits with recommendations) that will contribute to the replication, upscaling, massive adoption and to the duration of the SOCIO-BEE project. The solution sustainability and maximum outreach will be ensured by proposing a set of public-private partnerships.For more information see the EU-website.
