1 Maternity services across Europe during the pandemic has undergone changes to limit virus transmission; however, many changes are not evidence-based. 2 Although these changes were introduced to keep women, babies and healthcare staff safe, the exclusion of companions and the separation of mothers and babies is particularly antithetical to a human rights-based approach to quality care. 3 A poll of COST Action 18211 network members showed that inconsistency in the application of restrictions was high, and there were significant deviations from the recommendations of authoritative bodies. 4 Concerns have emerged that restrictions in practice may have longer term negative impacts on mothers and their families and, in particular, may impact on the long-term health of babies. 5 When practice changes deviate from evidence-based frameworks that underpin quality care, they must be monitored, appraised and evaluated to minimise unintended iatrogenic effects.
BACKGROUND: In typically developing children, participation in sports has been proven to be positively correlated to both physical and psychosocial health outcomes. In children and adolescents with a physical disability or chronic disease participation in both recreational and competitive sports is often reduced, while for this population an active lifestyle may be even more important in reaching optimal levels of physical and psychosocial health. Therefore, the aim of the Health in Adapted Youth Sports (HAYS) Study is to determine both negative and positive effects of sports on children and adolescents with a chronic disease or physical disability. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study differences will be compared in regards to physical and psychosocial health, cognitive functioning, school performance, daily physical activity and injuries between children and adolescents with a chronic disease or physical disability who participate in sports and those who do not. Children and adolescents, both ambulatory and wheelchair dependent, in the age of 10-19 years with a physical disability or chronic disease will be included. "Sports" is defined as participation in an organized sport at least two times a week for a duration of 3 months or more prior to the assessment. Parametric and non-parametric statistics will be used to determine the differences between the two groups. DISCUSSION: This study provides insight in the effects of sports participation in relation to health, psychosocial functioning, physical activity and school performance in children and adolescents (10-19 years) with a chronic disease or physical disability. Results will guide healthcare professionals working with these children to better guide this population in reaching optimal levels of health and physical activity levels.
Dit project beoogt kennisontwikkeling over randvoorwaarden voor het ontwerp van een (blended) scholingsprogramma voor eerstelijns fysiotherapeuten die toegerust worden voor de inzet van de recent ontwikkelde innovatieve Backing Approach bij patiënten met chronische lage rugpijn (CLRP). De Backing Approach beoogt het (her)nemen van eigen regie over dagelijks functioneren met lage rugpijn en berust op twee pijlers: i) een cognitieve gedragstherapeutische benadering die patiënten inzicht verschaft in beïnvloedende factoren op lage rugpijn en ii) de inzet van eHealth om patiënten te kunnen e-coachen in hun eigen leefomgeving. Anders dan de traditionele biomedische benadering waarbij de therapeut doorgaans de regie heeft, is de Backing Approach gebaseerd op het biopsychosociale model, waarbij expliciet de behoeften van de patiënt worden betrokken ten behoeve van zorg-op-maat. Dat vergt andere kennis en een andere attitude van fysiotherapeuten ten aanzien van ‘rugzorg’. Educatie kan bijdragen aan de cultuuromslag ten behoeve van transitie naar persoonsgerichte zorg. Een reeds ontwikkelde blended Backing-training bleek niet te voorzien in benodigde kennis en kunde van eerstelijns fysiotherapeuten om de Backing Approach te kunnen inzetten in trials met patiënten. De betrokken fysiotherapeuten gaven aan dat inhoud, technologie, toetsing en wijze van feedback van het initieel ontwikkelde blended trainingsprogramma onvoldoende bijdroeg aan educatie ten behoeve van het vereiste kennis- en vaardigheidsniveau. Temeer daar de innovatieve interventie een andere kijk op zorginhoud en een bepaalde mate van digitale vaardigheden vergt. In dit project wordt participatief actie-onderzoek gebruikt: eerstelijns fysiotherapeuten onderzoeken samen met docent-onderzoeker en ontwikkelaars in een cyclisch proces wat randvoorwaarden zijn voor een gebruiksvriendelijke, toegankelijke en effectieve training. De deliverables van het project betreffen kennis over randvoorwaarden voor een blended trainingsprogramma voor fysiotherapeuten en een concepttrainingsprogramma dat aan deze voorwaarden voldoet. De uitkomsten vormen een onderlegger voor een beoogde RAAK-mkb aanvraag gericht op randvoorwaarden voor effectieve blended scholingsprogramma’s voor eerstelijns fysiotherapeuten.
Worldwide, a third of all adults is suffering from feelings of loneliness, with a peak at young adulthood (15-25 years old). Loneliness has serious consequences for mental and physical health and should therefore be urgently addressed. However, existing interventions targeting loneliness mainly focus on older adults [1], and rarely consider the physical living environment, while studies prove that the physical environment (e.g. amenities, green, walkability, liveliness) has a significant impact on loneliness. Collaboration between the psychosocial and physical domains is key, to gain insight into the mechanisms and pathways linking characteristics of the physical living environment and loneliness among young adults and which spatial interventions are effective in managing loneliness. The main research questions are thus: how are physical environment and loneliness related, and which interventions should be implemented? The I BELONG proposal aims to build a European consortium that will address these questions. WP1 encompasses collaboration and networking activities that will form the basis for future collaboration, for instance a European research grant application. WP2 will provide insight in the pathways linking spatial attributes and loneliness. This will be achieved by doing a systematic literature review, a photovoice and interview study to collect data on specific locations that affect young people’s experiences with loneliness, and Group Model Building with experts. Building on this, WP3 aims to co-create spatial interventions with partners and young adults, and test ‘proof of concept’ interventions with virtual environments among young adults. WP3 will result in a spatial intervention toolkit. This project has both societal and scientific impact, as it will provide knowledge on pathways between physical environment characteristics and feelings of loneliness among young people, evidence of what spatial interventions work, and design guidelines that can be used in urban design and management that can contribute to managing loneliness and related health risks.
Psychosocial problems related to social isolation are a growing issue for wellbeing and health and have become a significant societal problem. This is especially relevant for children and adults with chronic illnesses and disabilities, and those spending extended periods in hospitals or permanently living in assisted living facilities. A lack of social relationships, social connectivity, and the inability to travel freely leads to feelings of isolation and loneliness. Loneliness interventions often use mediated environments to improve the feeling of connectedness. It has been proven that the utilization of haptic technologies enhances realism and the sense of presence in both virtual environments and telepresence in physical places by allowing the user to experience interaction through the sense of touch. However, the technology application is mostly limited to the experiences of serious games in professional environments and for-entertainment-gaming. This project aims to explore how haptic technologies can support the storytelling of semi-scripted experiences in VR to improve participants’ sense of presence and, therefore, the feeling of connectedness. By designing and prototyping the experience, the project aims to obtain insights and offer a better understanding of designing haptic-technology-supported storytelling and its potential to improve connectedness and become a useful tool in isolation interventions. The project will be conducted through the process of participants’ co-creation.
