A new view of body image : a school-based participatory action research project with young Aboriginal women

Research continues to suggest that young women experience body image concerns; nevertheless, the majority of this body image research has focused on white women, and the experiences of young Aboriginal women have typically been overlooked. When research has included Aboriginal women, it has generally been quantitative in nature (e.g., Gittelsohn et al., 1996; Marchessault, 2004; Story et al., 1995) and has highlighted body dissatisfaction that is equal to and even greater than that experienced by white women. Despite the alarming statistics suggesting that body image concerns are common among Aboriginal women, few researchers have engaged young Aboriginal women in qualitative research projects that seek to highlight their unique experiences. My previous research with young Aboriginal women (i.e., Fleming et al., 2006; McHugh & Kowalski, in press) are some of the first Canadian studies to have an exclusive focus on Aboriginal women’s body image experiences. This research suggested that young Aboriginal women’s body image experiences may not be as negative as previous quantitative research has suggested, but highlighted the need to work with young women to develop strategies for positively managing body image experiences. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to engage in a collaborative, school-based participatory action research (PAR) project in partnership with a local high school to provide young women, primarily young Aboriginal women, with an opportunity to manage their body image experiences in an effective manner. Students, teachers, and staff of Nutana Collegiate participated in this project, which took place over a 10-month period from September 2006 to June 2007. All Nutana school members were welcomed to participate and many took part in the various action initiatives that were developed. A group of seven young Aboriginal women formed a core group of participants who were primarily responsible for the development and implementation of most action initiatives. A five phase PAR model, which was based on the work of Stringer and Genat (2004), was proposed as the methodological framework for this project. However, given the emergent and dynamic nature of PAR processes, and the unique features of the school community, the manner in which the project actually unfolded was quite different from the original plan. This project ultimately had two phases, the Relationship Building Phase and the Action Phase. In an effort to develop relationships with school community members, during the Relationship Building phase I engaged in the three general processes of: familiarization, making connections, and giving back to the school. My commitment to these processes supported my initial goal to develop trusting relationships with community members, which subsequently formed a strong foundation for the development of effective and successful action initiatives. Eight action initiatives, which were represented by three themes, were developed and implemented as part of the Action phase. The three themes were: (1) Promoting Positive Body Image Experiences, (2) Self-Expression, and (3) Creating Awareness. The development and implementation of action at various levels (i.e., individual, school, provincial, and national) was the most significant outcome of this research. The success and relevance of the various action initiatives was demonstrated by the words of the participants, the overall support of various school members, and the commitment of the core group to the goals of this PAR project. Although there were methodological challenges and considerations that needed to be navigated throughout this PAR project, findings from this research suggest that universities and local high schools can and should work together to develop school-based body image programs for young Aboriginal women. As well, and maybe most importantly, this research highlights the strength of using PAR methodologies when engaging young Aboriginal women in body image research

The relative importance of training volume and coach autonomy support for preventing youth swimming attrition

There are hypothesized associations between high training volume in youth sport and negative psychological and behavioral outcomes such as decreased enjoyment, and increased burnout and dropout. Autonomy support, however, is associated with positive motivational and behavioral outcomes. The purpose of this study was to concurrently explore the relationships of training volume and perceived coach autonomy support with enjoyment, commitment, burnout symptoms, and dropout from swimming. Survey data were collected from 265 swimmers (Mage = 13.78 ± 1.60) representing more than 50 clubs across Canada. Their parents provided training volume data. Several months later, at the start of the next swimming season, a follow-up survey identified which swimmers dropped out. Structural equation modeling did not show a significant relationship between training volume and enjoyment, but there was a significant pathway from autonomy support to enjoyment, which predominantly predicted functional commitment. Obligatory and functional commitment differentially predicted burnout and intentions to continue swimming. Swimmers who dropped out had significantly lower training volume, enjoyment, functional commitment, and intentions to continue swimming, and higher sport devaluation, compared to those who continued swimming in the following season. Perceptions of an enjoyable, autonomy-supportive training context in adolescent swimming seem to have greater associations than training volume with several psychological and behavioral outcomes, including burnout symptoms and dropout

Investigation of hospital discharge cases and SARS-CoV-2 introduction into Lothian care homes

Background The first epidemic wave of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Scotland resulted in high case numbers and mortality in care homes. In Lothian, over one-third of care homes reported an outbreak, while there was limited testing of hospital patients discharged to care homes. Aim To investigate patients discharged from hospitals as a source of SARS-CoV-2 introduction into care homes during the first epidemic wave. Methods A clinical review was performed for all patients discharges from hospitals to care homes from 1st March 2020 to 31st May 2020. Episodes were ruled out based on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test history, clinical assessment at discharge, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data and an infectious period of 14 days. Clinical samples were processed for WGS, and consensus genomes generated were used for analysis using Cluster Investigation and Virus Epidemiological Tool software. Patient timelines were obtained using electronic hospital records. Findings In total, 787 patients discharged from hospitals to care homes were identified. Of these, 776 (99%) were ruled out for subsequent introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into care homes. However, for 10 episodes, the results were inconclusive as there was low genomic diversity in consensus genomes or no sequencing data were available. Only one discharge episode had a genomic, time and location link to positive cases during hospital admission, leading to 10 positive cases in their care home. Conclusion The majority of patients discharged from hospitals were ruled out for introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into care homes, highlighting the importance of screening all new admissions when faced with a novel emerging virus and no available vaccine

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron is an immune escape variant with an altered cell entry pathway

Vaccines based on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 are a cornerstone of the public health response to COVID-19. The emergence of hypermutated, increasingly transmissible variants of concern (VOCs) threaten this strategy. Omicron (B.1.1.529), the fifth VOC to be described, harbours multiple amino acid mutations in spike, half of which lie within the receptor-binding domain. Here we demonstrate substantial evasion of neutralization by Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants in vitro using sera from individuals vaccinated with ChAdOx1, BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273. These data were mirrored by a substantial reduction in real-world vaccine effectiveness that was partially restored by booster vaccination. The Omicron variants BA.1 and BA.2 did not induce cell syncytia in vitro and favoured a TMPRSS2-independent endosomal entry pathway, these phenotypes mapping to distinct regions of the spike protein. Impaired cell fusion was determined by the receptor-binding domain, while endosomal entry mapped to the S2 domain. Such marked changes in antigenicity and replicative biology may underlie the rapid global spread and altered pathogenicity of the Omicron variant

Community-Based Sport Research with Indigenous Youth

There is critical need to better understand how to enhance sport participation among Indigenous youth and how to provide sporting opportunities in ways that contribute positively to health and wellness. The purpose of this paper is to describe our attempts to �deeply engage� Indigenous youth in sport research via a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach. Specifically, we describe how a range of qualitative data generation techniques have been used in our research, that is focused on exploring how communities can support sport opportunities for Indigenous youth in Edmonton, Alberta. Our program of research, which included the use of one-on-one interviews, sharing circles, and photovoice, provides direction for utilizing collaborative research approaches that respect Indigenous youth as equal partners in sport research. Furthermore, findings from our research have provided in-depth insights into the experiences and meanings of sport for Indigenous youth, and contributed to furthering understandings of the necessary processes that are foundational to engaging in relevant and respectful sport research with Indigenous youthLa participación en el deporte puede jugar un papel en la reduccion de las disparidades de salud experimentadas por los jóvenes indígenas. A pesar de la vasta literatura sobre el deporte que ha documentado los beneficios potenciales de la participación deportiva, relativamente pocos estudios han examinado la participación deportiva entre la juventud indígena. Hay necesidad crítica para comprender mejor la manera de mejorar la participación deportiva entre los jóvenes indígenas y cómo proporcionar oportunidades deportivas de forma que contribuyan positivamente a la salud y el bienestar. El propósito de este trabajo es describir nuestros intentos de implicar con profundidad a los jóvenes indígenas en la investigación del deporte a través de un enfoque de investigación participativa basada en la comunidad (CBPR). En concreto, se describe cómo se han utilizado una serie de técnicas cualitativas de generación de datos de nuestra investigación, que se centra en la exploración de cómo las comunidades pueden apoyar las oportunidades deportivas para la juventud indígena en Edmonton, Alberta. Nuestro programa de investigación, que incluyó el uso de entrevistas uno a uno, los círculos de intercambio y la técnica de foto voz, proporcionan una orientación para la utilización de enfoques de investigación en colaboración que respeten a los jóvenes indígenas como socios iguales en la investigación deportiva. Por otra parte, los resultados de nuestra investigación han proporcionado una visión en profundidad de las experiencias y significados del deporte para los jóvenes indígenas, y han contribuido a la promoción de la comprensión de los procesos necesarios que son fundamentales para la participación en la investigación deportiva correspondiente y respetuosa con los jóvenes indígena

Effects of reading health and appearance exercise magazine articles on perceptions of attractiveness and reasons for exercise.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of reading exercise-related magazine articles (health, appearance, or control) and the moderating effects of exercise self-identity on reasons for exercise and perceptions of attractiveness, among women in first year university. An additional purpose was to use a thought listing technique, the results of which were examined for evidence of internalization of the exercise-related messages. PARTICIPANTS: Female students in their first year of studies between September 2010 and April 2011 (N = 173; mean age = 19.31 years, mean body mass index = 22.01). METHODS: Participants read a health, appearance, or control article, listed thoughts, and completed questionnaires measuring reasons for exercising, physical self-perception, and exercise self-identity. RESULTS: Participants in the health condition rated exercise for health significantly higher than control condition participants. Participants with high exercise self-identity rated attractiveness as a reason for exercising significantly higher than low exercise self-identity participants in both the health and appearance conditions. Participants with higher internalization scores (i.e., accepted societal norms of appearance) reported exercising for attractiveness reasons more so than participants with lower internalization scores. CONCLUSIONS: The good news is that health messages may be influential and result in wanting to exercise for health purposes. However, exercising for attractiveness was rated highly by participants with high exercise identity who read either the health or appearance articles. Health and appearance are not necessarily distinct concepts for female undergraduate students and the media may influence cited reasons for exercise

Visual representations of single- and multi-sport participation in a youth swimming sample: Implications for definitions and discussions of early specialization.

Academic literature and sport policy documents have cited concerns about an increasing prevalence of early sport specialization, with associated burnout, dropout, and injury. However, evidence to support such statements is limited. Definitions of early specialization vary, but a common criterion is continued participation in a single sport, prior to adolescence. We explored the prevalence of single-sport participation and other patterns of sport involvement from ages 6-12 in a Canadian swimming sample using retrospective longitudinal methods. Parents of 236 competitive swimmers (ages 12-17) completed surveys on their children's sport backgrounds, including the number of sports participated in annually from age 6-12. A cluster heat map elucidated single- and multi-sport patterns over time. Mixed analyses of variance tested for differences by gender and club type. Fourteen percent of our sample showed stable participation in either one sport or multiple sports per year over time, 25% decreased their annual number of sports, and 60% increased. This trend of increasing, rather than decreasing the number of sports in their annual activity roster when approaching age 12 was particularly pronounced for girls. Only 10 participants (4% of the sample) consistently engaged in a single sport each year from age 6-12. Summer (seasonal) swimmers consistently did more sports than year-round swimmers. Overall, our findings showed highly idiosyncratic longitudinal patterns of sport participation that did not easily conform to current sport activity guidelines. We also found similar idiosyncrasy in an ad-hoc analysis of participants who had dropped out of swimming a year later. If single-sport participation is considered a key criterion for defining early specialization, our findings suggest the prevailing narrative around early specialization may be overstated in relation to the number of single-sport athletes. Alternatively, other components of early specialization may be more prevalent and deserving of attention due to possible associations with harmful outcomes

Final thought listing codes reflecting the processing of the messages, their definitions, example quotes and number of comments by health and appearance conditions.

<p>Final thought listing codes reflecting the processing of the messages, their definitions, example quotes and number of comments by health and appearance conditions.</p