This paper introduces a creative approach aimed at empowering desk-bound occupational groups to address the issue of physical inactivity at workplaces. The approach involves a gamified toolkit called Workplace Vitality Mapping (WVM) (see Figure 1) designed to encourage self-reflection in sedentary contexts and foster the envision of physical vitality scenarios. This hybrid toolkit comprises two main components: A Card Game (on-site) for context reflection and a Co-design Canvas (Online) for co-designing vitality solutions. Through the card games, participants reflect on key sedentary contexts, contemplating their preferable physical vitality scenarios with relevant requirements. The co-design canvas facilitates the collaborative construction and discussion of vitality scenarios’ development. The perceptions and interactions of the proposed toolkit from the target group were studied and observed through a hybrid workshop, which demonstrated promising results in terms of promoting participants’ engagement experience in contextual reflections and deepening their systemic understanding to tackle the physical inactivity issue. As physical inactivity becomes an increasingly pressing concern, this approach offers a promising participatory way for gaining empathetic insights toward community-level solutions.
Children with spina bifida who are wheelchair-users are less physically active than their typically developing peers. It is important to understand relations between physical activity and other factors, so approriate interventions can be developed. We explored relations between physical activity and fitness, age, sex and severity of disability in children that were 5–19 years of age who were diagnosed with spina bifida and who are wheelchair-users. We found that older age and the inability to walk negatively influence physical activity. We did not find a relation between physical activity and fitness or physical activity and sex.
In this thesis we analyzed clinimetric measurement properties of physical fitness tests in wheelchair-using youth with SB. Furthermore, the amount of physical behavior in wheelchair-using youth with SB was quantified and associations with age, gender, VO2peak and Hoffer classification were evaluated. Finally, we described the factors associated with physical behavior in youth with SB and youth with physical disabilities, after which the evidence of interventions to improve physical behavior in youth with physical disabilities was analyzed. This last chapter presents the theoretical and clinical implications. At the end, methodological considerations and directions for further research will be discussed after which the overall conclusion is presented.
