Fields neighboring the disciplines of kinesiology and sports science have called for more interdisciplinary work, including the adoption of critical approaches to research. This scoping review explored the degree to which critically-aligned research has developed within these disciplines. The goal was to identify who this research studied, what methods were used, and which theoretical and conceptual frameworks were adopted. Publications between 2010-2022 in six top kinesiology and sports science journals using four databases were searched using keywords to identify critically-aligned research. A multi-step screening process was used to identify and sort articles that adequately fit the criteria of critically-aligned research. The scoping review identified 5666 entries of which 3300 were unique publications. 76 articles were assessed to be critically-aligned. Four themes regarding demographics emerged: Geographic area, gender, race/ethnicity/indigeneity, and inequality/inequity. Regarding methodology, three major theoretical and conceptual frameworks emerged: ecological, socio-economic, and cultural. Overall, a relatively small number of studies fit our search criteria, suggesting that critically-aligned research remains at the margins of the disciplines. For the studies that were critically-aligned, they often centered the Global North and were inconsistent in their application of categories such as race, ethnicity, inequality and equity. These studies were diverse in their methodological approach while relying on ecological, socio-economic, and cultural frameworks. To heed the calls for a more interdisciplinary approach, and to advance the disciplines more generally, kinesiology and sports science should expand their adoption of critical approaches to research.
MULTIFILE
Objective: To examine the prevalence of sarcopenia and its association with protein intake in men and women in a multi-ethnic population. Design: We used cross-sectional data from the HELIUS (Healthy Life in an Urban Setting) study, which includes nearly 25,000 participants (aged 18–70 years) of Dutch, South-Asian Surinamese, African Surinamese, Turkish, Moroccan, and Ghanaian ethnic origin. For the current study, we included 5161 individuals aged 55 years and older. Sarcopenia was defined according to the EWGSOP2. In a subsample (N = 1371), protein intake was measured using ethnic-specific Food Frequency Questionnaires. Descriptive analyses were performed to study sarcopenia prevalence across ethnic groups in men and women, and logistic regression analyses were used to study associations between protein intake and sarcopenia. Results: Sarcopenia prevalence was found to be sex- and ethnic-specific, varying from 29.8% in Turkish to 61.3% in South-Asian Surinamese men and ranging from 2.4% in Turkish up to 30.5% in South-Asian Surinamese women. Higher protein intake was associated with a 4% lower odds of sarcopenia in the subsample (OR = 0.96, 95%-CI: 0.92–0.99) and across ethnic groups, being only significant in the South-Asian Surinamese group. Conclusion: Ethnic differences in the prevalence of sarcopenia and its association with protein intake suggest the need to target specific ethnic groups for prevention or treatment of sarcopenia.
Background Ethnic differences in colon cancer (CC) care were shown in the United States, but results are not directly applicable to European countries due to fundamental healthcare system differences. This is the first study addressing ethnic differences in treatment and survival for CC in the Netherlands. Methods Data of 101,882 patients diagnosed with CC in 1996–2011 were selected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry and linked to databases from Statistics Netherlands. Ethnic differences in lymph node (LN) evaluation, anastomotic leakage and adjuvant chemotherapy were analysed using stepwise logistic regression models. Stepwise Cox regression was used to examine the influence of ethnic differences in adjuvant chemotherapy on 5-year all-cause and colorectal cancer-specific survival. Results Adequate LN evaluation was significantly more likely for patients from ‘other Western’ countries than for the Dutch (OR 1.09; 95% CI 1.01–1.16). ‘Other Western’ patients had a significantly higher risk of anastomotic leakage after resection (OR 1.24; 95% CI 1.05–1.47). Patients of Moroccan origin were significantly less likely to receive adjuvant chemotherapy (OR 0.27; 95% CI 0.13–0.59). Ethnic differences were not fully explained by differences in socioeconomic and hospital-related characteristics. The higher 5-year all-cause mortality of Moroccan patients (HR 1.64; 95% CI 1.03–2.61) was statistically explained by differences in adjuvant chemotherapy receipt. Conclusion These results suggest the presence of ethnic inequalities in CC care in the Netherlands. We recommend further analysis of the role of comorbidity, communication in patient-provider interaction and patients’ health literacy when looking at ethnic differences in treatment for CC.
LINK
