60 research outputs found

    Resettled Refugee Families: Parenting Practices and Educational Involvement

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    In 2020, there are 25.9 million refugees worldwide. With the rapidly rising refugee population (over 600,000 from 2010 to 2020) in the United States, supporting resettled refugee families is a pressing issue, in which a comprehensive understanding of the refugee families is sorely needed. The purpose of this paper was to identify the challenges of resettled refugee families in their parenting practices and educational involvement. Entering a country with a different language and culture than their own, refugees, parents in particular, face numerous challenges upon relocation (e.g., refugee parents who raise their children in a new and unfamiliar environment have to balance between the new adaptation and the preservation of their original culture). This obstacle is manifested in their parenting practices and involvement in their children’s education and schooling as well as language barrier. We provided an overview of the parenting challenges and explored the cultural dissonance in parenting and its impact on family dynamics. Implications were provided to address the challenges refugee families face in the areas of systemic and personnel support, effective strategies, and family-school relations

    Predominant Coaching Leadership Behaviors of High School Head Basketball Coaches: A Pilot Study

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    Coaching leadership in sport was important because the coach-athlete relationship was considered as a crucial factor in the sport setting. Though leadership theories have been developed for a few decades, research topics related to leadership behaviors in high school settings are understudied. The purpose of the study was to examine the coaching leadership behaviors of high school head basketball coaches in Hong Kong utilizing the Leadership Scale for Sports. One hundred and twelve basketball coaches were invited to participate in the study: 56 coaches from the winning teams and another 56 coaches from the losing teams. Mixed-design 2 × 5 ANOVA indicated there was significant (p \u3c .001) main effect for the coaching behaviors. Both the top-ranking and low-ranking head basketball coaches exhibited significantly (p \u3c .001) higher level of Teaching and Instruction as well as Positive Feedback than Social Support, Democratic Behavior, and Autocratic Behavior. The mean scores as determined by the five dimensions of the LSS were in the following descending order: Positive Feedback, Training and Instruction, Social Support, Democratic Behavior, and Autocratic Behavior. The importance and application of these five coaching behaviors were discussed in detail

    Effectiveness of Isometric Handgrip Devices for Assessing Blood Pressure

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    Effectiveness of Isometric Handgrip Devices for Assessing Blood Pressure Gurpreet K. Dhillon, Eddie T.C. Lam, Ph.D., Cheryl Delgado, Ph.D., RN, C-ANP, James Ward, Dionna Kennedy, & Sohinee Kadylak Institution: Cleveland State University Gurpreet K. Dhillon (undergraduate, McNair Scholar) Many health issues are associated with high blood pressure (e.g., arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis). Some suggestions to control high blood pressure include to adopt an active lifestyle (e.g., maintain physical activities a few times a week) and to pay attention to the daily diet (e.g., minimize salt intake). However, a few studies found that the systolic blood pressure of the participants dropped significantly by using the CardioGrip (Kelley & Kelley, 2010; McGowan, Visocchi et al., 2006; McGowan, Levy et al., 2006; Taylor, McCartney, Kamath, & Wiley, 2003). These studies showed that individuals using the device for a month or so vary from a 55 mm Hg drop in systolic pressure to the rare but small increase. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two isometric handgrips: (a) the Zona Plus (the latest model of the CardioGrip) and (b) the GoFit Adjustable Hand Grip on the blood pressures of the participants over a 6-week period. METHODS: Participants (N=28) were randomly provided with either one of the hand grip devices and were asked to do the following: (1) squeeze the device with the right hand and hold it for two minutes, (2) rest for one minute, (3) squeeze the device with the left hand and hold it for two minutes, (4) rest for one minute, and (5) repeat steps 1 to 3 once more. Participants were required to do the above steps on multiple occasions (3 days a week for 6 weeks) and their blood pressures were measured every two weeks. Mixed-design 2×2 repeated measures ANOVAs were utilized to examine the effects of the handgrip device and blood pressure. RESULTS: No significant interaction was found in systolic pressure (F1,26 = 2.14, p\u3e.05). However, both the main effects of handgrip device (F1,26 = 5.06, p\u3c.05) and blood pressure (F1,26 = 8.19, p\u3c.01) were significant. On the other hand, there was no significant interaction in diastolic pressure (F1,26 = 0.29, p\u3e.05) or main effect of the handgrip device (F1,26 = 0.03, p\u3e.05). However, significant blood pressure main effect was found among the participants (F1,26 = 7.10, p\u3c.05). CONCLUSION: Both handgrip devices are effective in lowering the systolic and diastolic blood pressures of the participants over a 6-week period. Interestingly, though both devices provide similar benefits in lowering blood pressures, there is a big difference in the cost between the Zona Plus (400)andtheGoFitHandGrip(400) and the GoFit Hand Grip (10)

    Assessing Event Quality of High School Football Games: Development of a Scale

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    The purpose of this study was two-fold: (a) to identify the dimensions of event quality associated with high school football games and (b) to develop a scale, Event Quality Scale of High School Football (EQS-HSF) that measures event quality of high school football games. Applying a random cluster sampling method, participants were adult spectators (N = 404) from three high school football home games. Following the scale development procedures suggested by Churchill’s (1979), a total of 25 items under six factors (Game Attractiveness, Event Setting, Economic Consideration, Social Opportunity, Exciting Atmosphere, and Enjoyment Experience) were written and validated through qualitative (i.e., review of literature and panel expert) and quantitative methods (confirmatory factor analysis). With appropriate application and continued improvement, the EQS-HSF has displayed great potential to be a valuable marketing tool to examine sport consumer behavior associated with high school football games

    The application of a feasible exercise training program in the office setting

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    Background: Previous research support the claim that people who work in offices and sit for a long time are particularly prone to musculoskeletal disorders. Objective: The main objective of this paper is to introduce an exercise training program designed to decrease muscle stiffness and pain that can be performed in the office setting. Methods: Forty healthy office workers (age: 28±5.3 years old; body mass: 87.2±10.2 kg; height: 1.79±0.15 m) apart from suffering from any sub-clinical symptoms of muscle and joint stiffness, and who had at least two years of experience in office work were chosen and randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n = 20) or a control group (n = 20). The experimental group performed the exercise training program three times a week for 11 weeks. The Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire was used to measure the pain levels in the neck, shoulders, and lower back areas. The Borg CR-10 Scale was used to measure their perceived exertion when doing the exercises, and a goniometer was used to measure the changes in range of motion (ROM) of the neck, hips, knees, and shoulders. Results: The overall results indicated that the exercise program could significantly (p < 0.05) reduce the neck, shoulders, and lower back pains of the participants in the exercise group while those in the control group showed no improvement in those pains. There were significant (p < 0.05) increases in the ROM of the hips, the neck, both knees and shoulders in the exercise group. Participants showed significant (p = 0.011) decreases in perceived exertion scores after the exercises. Conclusions: The exercise training program designed in this study not only can effectively reduce neck, shoulders, and lower back pains, but also can improve the ROM or flexibility of the office workers

    Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

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    Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income&nbsp;countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was &lt;1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of&nbsp;countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified

    Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol

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    High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries1,2. However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world3 and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health4,5. However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol—which is a marker of cardiovascular risk—changed from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95% credible interval 3.7 million–4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world

    Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

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    Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities(.)(1,2) This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity(3-6). Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017-and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions-was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing-and in some countries reversal-of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories.Peer reviewe

    Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol

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    High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries(1,2). However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world(3) and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health(4,5). However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol-which is a marker of cardiovascular riskchanged from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95% credible interval 3.7 million-4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world.Peer reviewe

    Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants

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    Summary Background Comparable global data on health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents are scarce. We aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents. Methods For this pooled analysis, we used a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collated by the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1985 to 2019 in mean height and mean BMI in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. The model allowed for non-linear changes over time in mean height and mean BMI and for non-linear changes with age of children and adolescents, including periods of rapid growth during adolescence. Findings We pooled data from 2181 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in 65 million participants in 200 countries and territories. In 2019, we estimated a difference of 20 cm or higher in mean height of 19-year-old adolescents between countries with the tallest populations (the Netherlands, Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands, Montenegro, Denmark, and Iceland for girls) and those with the shortest populations (Timor-Leste, Laos, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea for boys; and Guatemala, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste for girls). In the same year, the difference between the highest mean BMI (in Pacific island countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, The Bahamas, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand for both boys and girls and in South Africa for girls) and lowest mean BMI (in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, and Chad for boys and girls; and in Japan and Romania for girls) was approximately 9–10 kg/m2. In some countries, children aged 5 years started with healthier height or BMI than the global median and, in some cases, as healthy as the best performing countries, but they became progressively less healthy compared with their comparators as they grew older by not growing as tall (eg, boys in Austria and Barbados, and girls in Belgium and Puerto Rico) or gaining too much weight for their height (eg, girls and boys in Kuwait, Bahrain, Fiji, Jamaica, and Mexico; and girls in South Africa and New Zealand). In other countries, growing children overtook the height of their comparators (eg, Latvia, Czech Republic, Morocco, and Iran) or curbed their weight gain (eg, Italy, France, and Croatia) in late childhood and adolescence. When changes in both height and BMI were considered, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some central Asian countries (eg, Armenia and Azerbaijan), and boys in central and western Europe (eg, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, and Montenegro) had the healthiest changes in anthropometric status over the past 3·5 decades because, compared with children and adolescents in other countries, they had a much larger gain in height than they did in BMI. The unhealthiest changes—gaining too little height, too much weight for their height compared with children in other countries, or both—occurred in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, and the USA for boys and girls; in Malaysia and some Pacific island nations for boys; and in Mexico for girls. Interpretation The height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks
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