Leisure Activity Implementation and Mental Well-being of Children and Adolescents with Prader-Willi Syndrome and Children with Trauma

Background: Children and adolescents with trauma or Prader-Willi Syndrome lack leisure-based activities within programming supporting development. Sustaining engagement in leisure-based activities enhances mental health. Implementation of leisure activities will consistently enhance the personal growth and psychological well-being of both populations. Methods: Latham’s facility will implement leisure activities with self-report measures. Scales include the (WHO-5) Well-being Scale, The Zones of Regulation Scale, and four qualitative follow-up questions. Aim: The intention of the implementation of leisure-based activities within Latham Centers is to provide improvements in mental well-being. The need for leisure activities is increasingly evident for children and adolescents with trauma or Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) especially following the mental health implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. The implementation of leisure activities will foster engagement, facilitate learning experiences, promote personal growth, and work to enhance psychological well-being. Design: The facilitator will use the mixed methods approach to incorporate both qualitative and quantitative data. Method: The facilitator will collect all data outcomes and evaluate them through the following scales including the World Health Organization (WHO-5) Well-being Scale and The Zones of Regulation scale. The quantitative data will be collected by a series of follow-up questions following the leisure activity sessions. Limitations: The potential barriers to the implementation of leisure activities within Latham’s facility includes programming within a set timeframe and limited activity selection due to the safety protocols of the COVID-19 pandemic. Impact: Increased mental well-being of both populations suggests promising future results and can have implications for other residential or non-residential facilities housing similar populations. This project can assist future occupational therapy practitioners in maximizing health, well-being, and quality of life for children and adolescents with PWS, trauma, or similar diagnoses to support their overall human development and function

Leisure Adjustments of Older Finnish Adults during the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The current approach to “aging well” emphasizes the importance of active leisure participation in late adulthood. This relates to the view that leisure activities enable older adults to stay physically, mentally, and socially active, and they thereby contribute to wellbeing. In spring 2020, leisure activity engagement was significantly hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores leisure-related experiences and adaptation strategies among Finnish older adults during the period of strict physical distancing. The data comprises letters (N = 77) written by Finnish people (aged 70–93) that were analyzed using content analysis. The study suggests that the reorganization of leisure was particularly influenced by the social significance of leisure activities, the age identities of the participants, and the prevailing ideals of active aging. The paper introduces three strategies of leisure adjustment: building new routines, maintaining activeness, and enjoying slow leisure. The article highlights the importance of investing in older adults’ leisure participation in the aftercare of the pandemic.The current approach to “aging well” emphasizes the importance of active leisure participation in late adulthood. This relates to the view that leisure activities en- able older adults to stay physically, mentally, and socially active, and they thereby contribute to wellbeing. In spring 2020, leisure activity engagement was significantly hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores leisure-related experiences and adaptation strategies among Finnish older adults during the period of strict physical distancing. The data comprises letters (N = 77) written by Finnish people (aged 70–93) that were analyzed using content analysis. The study suggests that the reorganization of leisure was particularly influenced by the social significance of leisure activities, the age identities of the participants, and the prevailing ideals of active aging. The paper introduces three strategies of leisure adjustment:building new routines, maintaining activeness, and enjoying slow leisure. The article highlights the importance of investing in older adults’ leisure participation in the aftercare of the pandemic.Peer reviewe

Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Access to Education and Social Participation in Children and Adolescents with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in Switzerland.

BACKGROUND  Two-thirds of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) have cognitive and neuropsychiatric problems. Concerning their quality of life, negative factors are the lack of qualifying education and social participation in sporting and leisure activities. Adapted assistance in education and participation in social life are thus important. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the pediatric population was less severely impacted by the disease, but by the restrictions associated. AIM  The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic regarding access to education and social participation for young patients with DMD in Switzerland. METHODS  We conducted a survey study from May to August 2021 assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to education and social participation in 8 to 18 years old patients with DMD in Switzerland. RESULTS  Of 60 sent surveys, 40 were returned and included. Mean age of participants was 13.5 years (±3.1 standard deviation); 23/40 of the participants were wheelchair bound, 21/40 attended a special school, and 19/40 a regular school. Of the 22/40 participants receiving assistance at school, 7/40 reported a change caused by the pandemic: for 5/7, the assistance was paused. Of the 12 boys and adolescents attending sporting activities, 10 had to suspend these. Nine attended other leisure activities; for 3/9, these activities were paused. CONCLUSION  The COVID-19 pandemic had direct effects on school assistance, sporting, and leisure activities in young patients with DMD in Switzerland. It is important to ensure that school assistance and leisure activities are rapidly resumed

The Effects of Active Social leisure Activities on Communicative Skills and their Role on Mental Health of the Employees of Education Organization of Hamedan

Introduction and objective It is obvious that leisure time has very important role in mental and physical improvement of the members of society; thus, the aim of the present study is to analyze the effect of active social leisure activities on communicative skills and its role on mental health of employees. Methodology The present study is descriptive correlative. The statistical population includes 400 employees of education organization of Hamedan city. According to Cohen formula (2000), the sample size includes 196 members who were selected through stratified random sampling from the statistical population. For data collection, active social leisure activities, communicative skills and mental health of employees with reliability of 0.71, 0.90 and 0.92 were used. Moreover, the face and content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by the experts. The statistical analyses have been done through statistical software packages of social sciences, version 19 and Lizrel (version 8.54) in descriptive and referential levels (p≤ 0.05). Findings Findings have shown that the active social leisure activities directly influence communicative skills and mental health. Conclusion It seems necessary to pay enough attention to physical, mental and social health of individuals. Thus, having active social leisure time is recommended as an effective factor in increased efficacy and sufficiency of individuals and social and working transactions as leisure strategy. Keywords: mental health, active leisure activities, social activities, employees, communicative skill

The relationship between leisure activities and subjective wellbeing among middle-aged chinese people

This study investigated and analyzed the relationship between leisure activities and subjective wellbeing among middle-aged people in China. Specifically, we conducted a web-based questionnaire survey of men living in Shanghai, one of the cities directly under the jurisdiction of the Chinese government, which did not show any significant change in the frequency of participation in leisure activities before and during COVID-19. Based on the survey results, we used SEM(Structural Equation Modeling) to analyze the relationship between the three categories of leisure activities and subjective wellbeing. The results showed that the disciplines classified as hobbies and sports sectors had a significant positive impact on positive emotions, one of the elements of subjective wellbeing

Self-Perception of Young University Students About Their Leisure Time Before, During and After COVID-19. An Approach to the Spanish Context

The aim of this research is to explore and analyse the self-perception of a group of young Spanish university students in relation to their leisure activities, in a temporal space defined in three moments: before the COVID-19 pandemic, during the confinement and after the confinement (return to normality). Information was collected with a self-administered questionnaire to 54 young Spaniards. The results show that before the pandemic, leisure was in person with activities shared with friends. During confinement, leisure was non-face-to-face, significantly increasing family and individual activities. After the confinement, the time that young people spent with their family was reduced, and the time with friends in person and outdoors with “post-COVID” concerns increased. It is concluded that young people have changed their guidelines, activities and with whom they spend their leisure time in comparison to their experience before and during confinement. The return to normality has also changed how young people spend their leisure time, and with whom, by adopting preventive behaviors.This publication is part of the research project entitled Development of Youth COVID 19 programmes –“Delve into the improvement of the lives of social service workers and their degree of motivation to help improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable families and groups, as well as to know and understand the needs of young people in the CAM for the year 2022”, funded by theInstitute Department of Districts, Youth and Citizen Participation of the Autonomous City of Melilla (BOME-BX-2022-60)

Consultation on draft revised statutory guidance for local authorities on services and activities to improve young people's wellbeing

"The Government has confirmed that it will retain the duty on local authorities set out in section 507B of the Education 2006 to secure sufficient educational and recreational leisure-time activities for the improvement of the wellbeing of 13 to 19 year olds, so far as is reasonably practicable. This duty also requires local authorities to ascertain and take into account young people's views and to publicise information about the local offer of all available provision. The purpose of this consultation is to gather views on draft revised statutory guidance to which local authorities must have regard in fulfilling their obligations under this duty" - front cover (Consultation)

Post-pandemic mobility patterns in London

Understanding human mobility is crucial for urban and transport studies in cities. People's daily activities provide valuable insight, such as where people live, work, shop, leisure or eat during midday or after-work hours. However, such activities are changed due to travel behaviours after COVID-19 in cities. This study examines the mobility patterns captured from mobile phone apps to explore the behavioural patterns established since the COVID-19 lockdowns triggered a series of changes in urban environments.Comment: version

Should We Cheer Together? Gender Differences in Instantaneous Well-being: An Application to COVID-19 Lockdowns

The COVID-19 pandemic has confined millions in their homes, an unprecedented opportunity to spend more time together with family members. This paper explores subjective well-being in the uses of time for US and UK workers, differentiating between solo activities and activities done with family members, at home and outside the home. Using American and British time use surveys, we compute the instant utility associated with paid work, unpaid work, leisure, and childcare activities. OLS regressions on both men and women show that workers prefer joint leisure to solo leisure, and that significant differences exist for solo and joint market work and housework, between the sexes. Despite that, the effect magnitudes are relatively low. Furthermore, we simulate a strict lockdown situation by replacing where and with whom worker episodes would be, based on mid-2020 strict confinements. Results suggest diverging effects, since more time with the spouse/partner and children, and less time with others, seems to increase the experienced wellbeing of women, compared to that of men. The simulation exercise also reveals asymmetric effects in the US and in the UK. The conclusions of this paper may help in assessing the psychological consequences of COVID-19 lockdowns, beyond the negative economic and labour market consequences

Creativity and Leisure During COVID-19: Examining the Relationship Between Leisure Activities, Motivations, and Psychological Well-Being

Social distancing policies have been implemented around the world to reduce the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These measures have included temporary restrictions on mass gatherings and the closure of public facilities, limiting the pursuit of leisure activities such as travel while allowing more time for at-home pursuits, including creative activities such as gardening and painting. Previous research has demonstrated the benefits of physical activity for psychological well-being during COVID-19, but less attention has been given to the potential benefits of creative pursuits, such as arts and music. The present study investigated changes in the pursuit of creative, non-creative,and physical leisure activities and the relationship between engaging in leisure, the motivations for and barriers to pursuing these activities, and psychological well-being during COVID-19. A total of 3,827 participants from 74 countries completed an online leisure activities questionnaire and the World Health Organization Five Well-Being Index. Logistic regression indicated that gender, age, social distancing adherence, and employment status significantly predicted leisure engagement during COVID-19. Compared to sports and outdoor pursuits, participation in creative activities was generally more likely to increase during this period, while participation in non-creative activities was less likely to increase. Multiple linear regression indicated that maintaining or increasing time on leisure activities significantly predicted well-being during COVID-19, with increased time spent on home crafts and artisanship, fine arts, musical and performing arts engagement, sports and outdoor pursuits, niche and IT interests, and language activities each predicting higher well-being outcomes. Motivations such as seeking creative expression and mental stimulation, keeping fit, and maintaining social connections also predicted higher well-being. These findings suggest that participation in both physical and creative leisure activities may offer protective benefits for well-being during COVID-19, and that strategies to promote engagement in creative activities should also be considered in future guidance for mental health during periods of lockdown or isolation