THERAPEUTIC SWIMMING PROGRAM IN SPORTS FOR ALL SETTINGS AND ITS EFFECT ON THE AQUATIC READINESS AND EMOTIONAL SATISFACTION OF CHILDREN WITH ID AND ASD

Children with intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are participating more and more actively in exercise programs, with swimming being one of the most popular ways to improve motor and psychosocial skills for these children. The Sports for All program, led internationally under the central responsibility of each Ministry through the General Secretariat for Sport in cooperation with Local Authorities, promotes the global effort to adopt this model of sport for citizens with and without disabilities of all ages. However, research has not yet been conducted to investigate the effect of exercise on Sports for All environments for people with disabilities, even more so on therapeutic swimming programs in Sports for All settings. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a therapeutic swimming program within the Sport for All Program setting on the aquatic readiness and emotional satisfaction of children with ID and ASD. The sample consisted of 13 children with ID and ASD, participating in a therapeutic swimming program for a duration of 10 weeks at a frequency of 3 sessions per week, 60 minutes per session. Instruments included the use of pre- and post-measures of HAAR and WOTA1 for aquatic readiness and the SSI questionnaire completed at the end of the program to assess children’s satisfaction. Non-parametric analyses (Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney) that were used, identified statistically significant differences in aquatic readiness for both children with ID and ASD, whereas satisfaction of all children from their participation in the program was completely positive. In conclusion, the therapeutic swimming program produced significant improvements in aquatic readiness and emotional satisfaction for children with ΙD and ASD within a Sport for All setting that provides important services to children with disabilities and low socio-economic status, as in this case.  Article visualizations

The effects of exercise and psychological counselling in smoking cessation

Αim: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of participants in a smoking cessation counseling program, which integrated physical activity as a cessation aid, in relation to the effectiveness of their effort. Sample: The participants were 80 totally. Fifty of them composed the experimental group (12 men and 29 women with mean of age 45.6 years) and 30 participants composed the control group (17 men and 13 women with mean of age 38.9 years). In the beginning and at the end of the intervention, both groups completed: a) the Greek edition of the «leisure-time exercise questionnaire» , b) the questionnaire of smoking behavior (Sorensen, et al., 2004), c) the Greek edition of the questionnaire of habit, d) the self efficacy scale for smoking, e) the social desirability scale. The experimental group was interviewed at the end of the 10-week smoking cessation program. The analysis of qualitative data were analyzed according to the thematic analysis and the quantitative data were analyzed with the repeated measures analysis of variance in order to examine the differences between the two measures. Results: 56% out of the participants, who completed the program, quit smoking and 36% out of the participants, succeeded to quit smoking for one year. At the end of the program, the habit for smoking had reduced and the self efficacy for quit smoking was increased. Also, they increased their self-efficacy to abstain from smoking and decreased their scores on habit of smoking compared to their initial scores before they enrolled to the program. Overall, it could be suggested that people who try to quit smoking should be encouraged to be more physically active. In conclusion, according to the results of this study, physical activity promotion in combination with psychological support to a smoking cessation program can have positive results on the participants effort to quit.Σκοπός της παρούσας μελέτης ήταν να εξετάσει τις εμπειρίες των συμμετεχόντων ενός συμβουλευτικού προγράμματος διακοπής καπνίσματος μέσω της ψυχολογικής υποστήριξης, στο οποίο συμπεριλαμβανόταν και η άσκηση ως βοηθητικό μέσο καθώς επίσης να εξετάσει και τις απόψεις των συμμετεχόντων για τη χρησιμότητα του προγράμματος, της αποτελεσματικότητάς του καθώς και της αξιολόγησής του. Δείγμα: Συμμετείχαν συνολικά 80 άτομα, 50 εκ των οποίων συμμετείχαν στην πειραματική ομάδα (41 άτομα, 12 άντρες και 29 γυναίκες με Μ.Ο. ηλικίας 45.6 χρόνια ολοκλήρωσαν την παρέμβαση) και τα υπόλοιπα 30 τριάντα άτομα, (17 άντρες και 13 γυναίκες με Μ.Ο. ηλικίας 38.9 χρόνια) στην ομάδα ελέγχου. Στην αρχή και στο τέλος της παρέμβασης και οι 2 ομάδες συμπλήρωσαν: α) την ελληνική έκδοση της Κλίμακας Συμμετοχής σε Φυσικές Δραστηριότητες, β) το ερωτηματολόγιο της Συμπεριφοράς Καπνίσματος, γ) την ελληνική έκδοση της Κλίμακας Συνήθειας του Καπνίσματος, δ) την κλίμακα της αυτο-αποτελεσματικότητας για το κάπνισμα και ε) την ελληνική έκδοση της κλίμακας Κοινωνικής Αποδοχής. Επίσης μετά το πέρας της παρέμβασης η πειραματική ομάδα έδωσε συνέντευξη. Η ανάλυση των δεδομένων που συλλέχθηκαν από τις συνεντεύξεις έγινε με τη μέθοδο της θεματικής ανάλυσης ενώ για την ανάλυση των διαφορών μεταξύ της αρχικής και των μετά την παρέμβαση μετρήσεων εκτελέστηκαν επαναλαμβανόμενες μετρήσεις ανάλυσης διακύμανσης. Αποτελέσματα – συμπεράσματα: Τόσο τα ποιοτικά όσο και τα ποσοτικά αποτελέσματα ανέδειξαν την αποτελεσματικότητα του προγράμματος διακοπής του καπνίσματος. Το 56,1% των συμμετεχόντων που ολοκλήρωσε την παρέμβαση διέκοψε το κάπνισμα ενώ το 36% των συμμετεχόντων κατάφερε να κρατηθεί μακριά από το τσιγάρο για έναν ολόκληρο χρόνο. Μετά το πέρας της παρέμβασης υπάρχει μείωση της συνήθειας για κάπνισμα, ενώ υπάρχει αύξηση της αυτο-αποτελεσματικότητας για διακοπή του. Η άσκηση φαίνεται να επιδρά θετικά στην προσπάθεια των καπνιστών να μειώσουν ή να διακόψουν το κάπνισμα

Initial Evaluation of a Smoking Cessation Program Incorporating Physical Activity Promotion to Greek Adults in Antismoking Clinics

The purpose of this study was to evaluate an initial application of a smoking cessation program that integrated the promotion of physical activity (PA) as a cessation aid to Greek adults in antismoking clinics. From an initial pool of 50, 12 men and 28 women from Central Greece completed the program, and 18 of them succeeded in quitting for 1 year after the program. Additionally, after the program, they increased their PA. Suggestions for future applications of the program are further discussed.peerReviewe