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We propose that writing can be employed to foster the kind of career learning required in the twenty-first century. The article offers insights into how writing exercises and approaches can be applied to help students construct their career stories in a way that allows them to engage in a dialogical learning process and work in a self-directed way. Creative, expressive and reflective writing practices are described and parallels are drawn between these and existing practices and theories in narrative career counselling. Key exercises in graduate courses for writing for personal development are discussed and a theoretical explanation is given as to why a particular order of approaches and exercises works best to promote career learning.
Accidental allergic reactions to food are one of the major problems in adult patients diagnosed with food allergy. Such reactions occur frequently, are often severe and are associated with higher medical and non-medical costs. The aim of this Perspective is to provide insight into the different factors involved in the occurrence of accidental allergic reactions and to present an overview of practical implications for effective preventive measures. Several factors affect the occurrence of accidental reactions. These factors are related to the patient, health care, or food. The most important patient-related factors are age, social barriers to disclosing their allergy and non-adherence to the elimination diet. With regards to healthcare, the degree to which clinical practice is tailored to the individual patient is an important factor. The major food-related factor is the absence of adequate precautionary allergen labeling (PAL) guidelines. Since many factors are involved in accidental allergic reactions, different preventive strategies are needed. It is highly recommended that health care be tailored to the individual patient, with regard to education about the elimination diet, support on behavioral and psychosocial aspects, usage of shared decision-making and taking into account health literacy. In addition, it is crucial that steps are taken to improve policies and guidelines for PAL.
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For children with asthma, physical activity (PA) can decrease the impact of their asthma. Thus far, effective PA promoting interventions for this group are lacking. To develop an intervention, the current study aimed to identify perspectives on physical activity of children with asthma, their parents, and healthcare providers. Children with asthma between 8 and 12 years old (n = 25), their parents (n = 17), and healthcare providers (n = 21) participated in a concept mapping study. Participants generated ideas that would help children with asthma to become more physically active. They sorted all ideas and rated their importance on influencing PA. Clusters were created with multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. The researchers labelled the clusters as either environmental or personal factors using the Physical Activity for people with a Disability model. In total, 26 unique clusters were generated, of which 17 were labelled as environmental factors and 9 as personal factors. Important factors that promote physical activity in children with asthma according to all participating groups are asthma control, stimulating environments and relatives, and adapted facilities suiting the child’s needs. These factors, supported by the future users, enable developing an intervention that helps healthcare providers to promote PA in children with asthma.
Background:Children with asthma can decrease the impact of their disease by improving their physical activity (PA). However, health care providers lack interventions for children with asthma that effectively increase their PA levels and achieve behavior change. A technology-supported approach can positively influence PA and physical functioning in children.Objective:The aims of this study were to develop a technology-supported intervention that facilitates health care providers in promoting PA for children (aged 8 to 12 years) with asthma and to systematically describe this developmental process.Methods:Intervention mapping (IM) was applied to develop a blended and technology-supported intervention in cocreation with children with asthma, their parents, and health care providers. In accordance with the IM framework, the following steps were performed: conduct a needs assessment; define the intervention outcome, performance objectives, and change objectives; select theory-based intervention methods and strategies; create components of the intervention and conduct pilot tests; create an implementation plan; and create an evaluation plan.Results:We developed the blended intervention Foxfit that consists of an app with a PA monitor for children (aged 8 to 12 years) with asthma and a web-based dashboard for their health care provider. The intervention focuses on PA in everyday life to improve social participation. Foxfit contains components based on behavior change principles and gamification, including goal setting, rewards, action planning, monitoring, shaping knowledge, a gamified story, personal coaching and feedback, and a tailored approach. An evaluation plan was created to assess the intervention’s usability and feasibility for both children and health care providers.Conclusions:The IM framework was very useful for systematically developing a technology-supported intervention and for describing the translational process from scientific evidence, the needs and wishes of future users, and behavior change principles into this intervention. This has led to the technology-supported intervention Foxfit that facilitates health care providers in promoting PA in children with asthma. The structured description of the development process and functional components shows the way behavior change techniques are incorporated in the intervention.Trial Registration:International Clinical Trial Registry Platform NTR6658; https://tinyurl.com/3rxejksf
CHI PLAY '20, November 2–4, 2020, Virtual Event, Canada We have built and implemented a set of metaphors for breathing games by involving children and experts. These games are made to facilitate prevention of asthma exacerbation via regular monitoring of children with asthma through spirometry at home. To instruct and trigger children to execute the (unsupervised) spirometry correctly, we have created interactive metaphors that respond in real-time to the child’s inhalation and exhalation. Eleven metaphors have been developed in detail. Three metaphors have been fully implemented based on current guidelines for spirometry and were tested with 30 asthmatic children. Each includes multi-target incentives, responding to three different target values (inhalation, peak expiration, and complete exhalation). We postulate that the metaphors should use separate goals for these targets, have independent responses, and allow to also go beyond expected values for each of these targets. From the selected metaphors, most children preferred a dragon breathing fire and a soccer player kicking a ball into a goal as a metaphor; least liked were blowing seeds of a dandelion and applying lotion to a dog to grow its hair. Based on this project we discuss the potential and benefits of a suite-of-games approach: multiple games that each can be selected and adapted depending on personal capabilities and interests.
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The present study examined efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment in Dutch children with asthma in areas with differing air pollution. The study results indicate that TCM treatment of children living in more polluted urban area is less successful then that of children living in cleaner air area. http://dx.doi.org/10.5402/2012/547534 https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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Although many publications have documented the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in children and adolescents, the recent review showed that there are only few well-controlled studies that support the efficacy of CAM in the treatment and clinical improvement of children with asthma. However, some evidence has been found that specific CAM techniques are differentially associated with psychosocial outcomes, indicating the importance of examining CAM modalities individually, as well as within culturally specific contexts. Based on the previous study of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treatment in children’s asthma, this study examined the efficacy of TCM in areas with differing air pollution. This study is based on a longitudinal qualitative data and observations of families of children with asthma collected between 2009 and 2012 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The study results indicate that while TCM treatment of children can be beneficial to treatment of asthma, environmental pollution renders positive effects of alternative treatment largely ineffective. https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
