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Activity Program (activity + program)
Kinds of Activity Program Selected AbstractsA Group-Mediated Cognitive-Behavioral intervention for Increasing Adherence to Physical Activity in Older Adults,JOURNAL OF APPLIED BIOBEHAVIORAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2000Lawrence R. Brawley This study examined the efficacy of a group-mediated cognitive behavioral intervention (GMCB) on adherence rates to physically active lifestyles in older adults. Sixty older adults were randomized to I of 3 groups: waiting list control (WLC), a standard physical activity program (SPA), or GMCB. The SPA and GMCB involved 6 months of combined center- and home-based activity. Contact with participants was then terminated with a follow-up assessment at 9 months. Results revealed that, at the 9-month follow-up the GMCB group had a higher frequency of weekly physical activity than the SPA group. At 6 months, both groups were more active, had higher aerobic power, and improved HRQL when compared with the control group. [source] Daily differences in patterns of physical activity among overweight/obese children engaged in a physical activity programAMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2007Luísa Aires The aim of this study was to compare the physical activity of overweight/obese children during days when they attended a physical activity program, and days when they did not. This is a cross-sectional intervention study of daily physical activity. The participants were referred by family, doctors, or hospital pediatricians to take part in a 10-month interdisciplinary, outpatient obesity intervention program for children. The subjects included 41 overweight and obese children aged 8,16 years, 19 boys (46%) and 22 girls (54%); BMI: 25.7 + 3.3 kg m,2. The MTI Actigraph was used as an objective measure of daily physical activity over seven consecutive days. Physical activity program days presented a significantly higher percentage of time (4.68%) spent in moderate-to-vigorous activity compared with no physical activity program days (3.16%) and weekend (2.7%). The results of this study suggest that a physical activity program can help increasing daily physical activity in obese children, with a special focus on MVPA level. Our data point that obese children are less active at weekend than during weekdays. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Active for Life After Cancer: a randomized trial examining a lifestyle physical activity program for prostate cancer patientsPSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 10 2006Cindy L. Carmack Taylor Abstract Background: Active for Life After Cancer is a randomized trial evaluating the efficacy of a 6-month group-based lifestyle physical activity program (Lifestyle) for prostate cancer patients to improve quality of life (QOL) including physical and emotional functioning compared to a group-based Educational Support Program and a Standard Care Program (no group). Method: A total of 134 prostate cancer patients receiving continuous androgen-ablation were randomly assigned to one of the three study conditions. Results: Results indicated no significant improvements in QOL at 6 or 12 months. Both group-based programs were positively received and yielded good attendance and retention. Lifestyle participants demonstrated significant improvements in most theoretical mediators proposed by the Transtheoretical Model and Social Cognitive Theory to affect physical activity. Despite these improvements, no significant changes were found for most physical activity measures. Conclusions: Results suggest a lifestyle program focusing on cognitive-behavioral skills training alone is insufficient for promoting routine physical activity in these patients. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] School-Based Obesity Interventions: A Literature ReviewJOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 4 2008Fadia T. Shaya PhD ABSTRACT Background:, Childhood obesity is an impending epidemic. This article is an overview of different interventions conducted in school settings so as to guide efforts for an effective management of obesity in children, thus minimizing the risk of adult obesity and related cardiovascular risk. Methods:, PubMed and OVID Medline databases were searched for school-based obesity interventions with anthropometric measures in children and adolescents between the ages of 7 and 19 years from June 1986 to June 2006. Studies were reviewed by duration, type of intervention, and defined qualitative and quantitative measures, resulting in a yield of 51 intervention studies. Results:, The interventions ranged from 4 weeks in length to as long as 8 continuing years. In total, 15 of the intervention studies exclusively utilized physical activity programs, 16 studies exclusively utilized educational models and behavior modification strategies, and 20 studies utilized both. In addition, 31 studies utilized exclusively quantitative variables like body mass indices and waist-to-hip ratios to measure the efficacy of the intervention programs, and another 20 studies utilized a combination of quantitative and qualitative measures that included self-reported physical activity and attitude toward physical activity and the tested knowledge of nutrition, cardiovascular health, and physical fitness. A total of 40 studies achieved positive statistically significant results between the baseline and the follow-up quantitative measurements. Conclusions:, No persistence of positive results in reducing obesity in school-age children has been observed. Studies employing long-term follow-up of quantitative and qualitative measurements of short-term interventions in particular are warranted. [source] Faculty and Staff Health Promotion: Results From the School Health Policies and Programs Study 2006JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 8 2007Danice K. Eaton PhD ABSTRACT Background:, US schools employ an estimated 6.7 million workers and are thus an ideal setting for employee wellness programs. This article describes the characteristics of school employee wellness programs in the United States, including state-, district-, and school-level policies and programs. Methods:, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducts the School Health Policies and Programs Study every 6 years. In 2006, computer-assisted telephone interviews or self-administered mail questionnaires were completed by state education agency personnel in 49 states plus the District of Columbia and among a nationally representative sample of school districts (n = 445). Computer-assisted personal interviews were conducted with personnel in a nationally representative sample of elementary, middle, and high schools (n = 873). Results:, During the 2 years preceding the study, 67.3% of states provided assistance to districts or schools on how to develop or implement faculty and staff health promotion activities or services. Although nearly all schools offered at least 1 health promotion service or activity, few schools offered coordinated activities and services within a comprehensive employee wellness program. During the 12 months preceding the study, none of the health screenings were offered by more than one third of schools; only a few of the health promotion activities and services were offered by more than one third of schools; about one third of schools offered physical activity programs, employee assistance programs, and subsidies or discounts for off-site health promotion activities; and only 1 in 10 schools provided health-risk appraisals for faculty and staff. Conclusions:, More schools should implement comprehensive employee wellness programs to improve faculty and staff health behaviors and health status. [source] Applying the Systematic Screening and Assessment Method to childhood obesity preventionNEW DIRECTIONS FOR EVALUATION, Issue 125 2010Nicola Dawkins The authors describe application of the Systematic Screening and Assessment (SSA) Method to an initiative called the Early Assessment of Programs and Policies to Prevent Childhood Obesity. Over a 2-year period, a national network of practitioners, policy makers, and funders nominated programs and policies across five substantive areas: school district local wellness policies, school-based comprehensive physical activity programs, day care and after-school programs, access to healthy foods in low-income communities, and changes in the built environment to promote physical activity. The role of an expert panel in selecting innovations for evaluability assessment on the basis of the likelihood for a positive health impact is described. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc., and the American Evaluation Association. [source] Contemporary Financial Issues in Student Unions and Campus ActivitiesNEW DIRECTIONS FOR STUDENT SERVICES, Issue 103 2003Tim Schroer Although they vary a great deal in size and scope, student unions and activity programs share several financial constraints and challenges. [source] Perceptions of older people about falls injury prevention and physical activityAUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL ON AGEING, Issue 2 2005Suzanne J Snodgrass Objectives:,The purpose of this study was to explore the beliefs and perceptions of older people about falls injury prevention services, and to identify incentives and barriers to attending falls prevention services, including programs targeting physical activity. Methods:,Seventy-five people over age 60 years who were members of community groups completed a 23-item survey that was returned by mail. Survey items included self-reported falls and confidence when walking, awareness of falls prevention strategies, desirable programs for a falls prevention service, and incentives and barriers to participation in physical activity programs. Results:,Twenty-eight per cent of respondents had fallen within the previous 6 months, yet just over half (54%) were aware there were strategies to prevent falling, despite the majority of the sample being physically active (81%) and at least reasonably confident about walking (84%). The features that were considered most desirable for a falls prevention service were group exercise programs (61%), educational talks about health issues (57%), and vision/eye glasses assessment (52%). The most commonly reported incentives for attending a physical activity group included having a doctor advise them to attend (61%) or having a friend who attended the group (55%), and the most common barrier to attending a physical activity group was transportation (43%). Conclusions:,Despite consistent numbers of older people experiencing falls, there is little awareness among older people that strategies exist to prevent falling. It appears that motivating older people to participate in physical activity with the aim of falls prevention will largely depend on the encouragement of their doctor or their peers. [source] |