Life and Death During Childhood in Late Holocene Hunter-Gatherers from the Lower Paraná Wetlands (Argentina)

ABSTRACTDecreased motor ability is a common feature in autism, leading to the proposal of a motor-social link in autism. The purpose of the study was to assess the contribution of motor abilities and social-communication skills to children’s participation in daily activities, among children with low-functioning autism spectrum disorder (LFASD). Participants were 25 children aged 6.5–12 years. The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, the Social Communication Skills Questionnaire, and the Child Participation Questionnaire were used. Results revealed the limited participation of children with LFASD and the significant contribution of social communication to children’s participation. The unique finding of this study is the indirect effect of motor abilities on the participation of children with LFASD through the mediating effect of the asocial communication symptoms. This is an additional confirmation of the notion that global process deficits in ASD lead to participation limitations and not only to deficits in social communication skills.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) containment measures such as school closure have been implemented to curb the spread of the virus among children. Subsequent changes in children's participation in daily activities may exacerbate the risk of mental health problems among them. To examine the relationship between children's activity participation and mental health before and during the pandemic. Pretest-posttest design. Communities in Hong Kong. Children (N = 114; 60 boys, 54 girls; M age 11 yr, 4 mo) who participated in a previous school-based study. Outcomes and Measures: Parents completed the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for their children. Parents completed the questionnaires before and during the pandemic. They reported a significant increase in their children's externalizing problems and a decrease in prosocial behaviors during the pandemic. Increased externalizing problems were found to be significantly associated with less frequency and involvement in school activities and less involvement in community activities. Significant associations were found between decreased prosocial behaviors and reduced participation in all types of activities. Pandemic-related restrictions on children's participation were unfavorably related to their mental health. Strategies and services that promote children's involvement in daily activities are needed to decrease the risk of mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. What This Article Adds: Pandemic-related restrictions (e.g., school closure or social distancing) on activity participation unfavorably affect children's mental health. Occupational therapy practitioners can play an important role in promoting children's involvement in daily activities so as to prevent mental health problems among children.

Objective: To explore the association between volition and participation in daily activities with older adults living in the community. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Community-dwelling, residing in Victoria (Australia). Participants: A total of 244 adults, of 70 years and older, drawn from a convenience sample, living in their own homes. Main measures: Individuals’ participation in daily activities was obtained via phone interviews, from the completion of the Phone-FITT survey. Levels of volition (identified under three items; personal causation, values and interests) were collected using the Volition Scale. Analyses were completed through linear regression. Results: The participants’ mean age was 77.5 years (SD 5.7) with 60% being female. Higher levels of participation were associated with higher levels of volition in light housework (n = 225, p = 0.008), shopping (n = 239, p = 0.018), lifting weights to strengthen legs (n = 23, p = 0.031), walking for exercise (n = 163, p < 0.001) and gardening (n = 183, p = 0.001). Conclusions: Increased volition is associated with increased participation in physical activities with community-dwelling older adults.

BackgroundParticipation in daily activities is expressed as a human right. Full participation of children with disabilities in daily activities creates optimal opportunities for learning and development. Previous studies have focused primarily on proxy ratings of participation of children with intellectual disabilities in daily activities. However, little is known about how the children rate barriers and facilitators to their participation in everyday activities.ObjectivesTo identify barriers to and facilitators for everyday activities as experienced by children with intellectual disabilities from low- and middle-income countries and high-income countries. The research questions were as follows: ‘what barriers to participation do children with disabilities experience in everyday activities?’ and ‘what facilitators to participation do children with disabilities experience in everyday activities?’MethodA qualitative content analyses was used in this study, and individual interviews were conducted with 49 children with intellectual disabilities. The interviews were performed using pictures. The children also selected the most important activities and described in their own words the facilitators and barriers relevant to being able to perform the activities.ResultsThe most important activities were organised leisure activities, formal learning at school, taking care of other family members and family mealtimes. Self-reported barriers identified were personal functioning, social exclusion and lack of resources. The identified facilitators included satisfaction, personal capability, being included and having access to resources.ConclusionThese findings provide important knowledge about the factors to consider in the development of interventions, aimed at improving the participation of children with intellectual disabilities.

Background After stroke, many patients experience problems with participation in daily activities. Improving participation is the main goal in stroke rehabilitation. However, the longitudinal relationship between participation and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) remains unclear. Objectives This study aimed to examine (1) the predictive value of participation at two months on long-term HRQoL and (2) the longitudinal relationship between participation and HRQoL. Methods In this multicenter, prospective cohort study, patients were assessed at two and 12 months after stroke. Participation was measured with the Restriction subscale of the Utrecht Scale for Evaluation of Rehabilitation – Participation. HRQoL was assessed with the three-level version of the EuroQoL five dimensions questionnaire index score. Results This study included 291 patients. Mean age was 66.6 ± 12.4 years, 64.3% were male and mean National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was 2.5 ± 2.9. Multivariable linear regression, adjusted for demographic characteristics, stroke characteristics, physical and cognitive impairment, showed that a higher level of participation at two months correlated with a higher HRQoL at one year (B = .004; 95% CI =.002–.005). Patients whose participation improved had a greater increase in HRQoL, compared to patients without improvement (0.080 ± .21 versus −.054 ± .21; p < .001). Conclusions The level of participation at two months post-stroke predicts HRQoL at one year. Improvement in participation during the first year after stroke is associated with improvement in HRQoL. We recommend including the assessment of participation in daily activities at follow-up visits.

Sleep duration has important implications for children’s participation in daily activities; however, past attempts to examine this relationship has been limited to specific types of physical or educational activities. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep duration and participation in various daily activities among school-aged children. A school-based sample of 391 children aged 5–12 years (boys: 52.4%) participated in this cross-sectional survey. Sleep duration was quantified using parental reports of their children’s bedtime and wake-up time on weekdays and weekends. The parent-reported Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth was used to measure their children’s participation frequency and involvement in 25 home, school, and community activities. The results of hierarchical regression analyses showed that, when the demographic variables were controlled for, weekday sleep duration was positively related to homework involvement and negatively related to the frequency of TV viewing; however, it was unrelated to participation in school and community activities. Conversely, weekend sleep duration was positively related to overall participation in school activities, and participation frequency and involvement in some home and community activities. Furthermore, sleep duration was approximately an hour shorter on weekdays than on weekends. These results suggest that weekend sleep duration has stronger positive implications for children’s participation in daily activities than does weekday sleep duration. Interventions aiming to promote children’s activity participation may either prolong children’s weekend sleep duration or address their shorter weekday sleep duration.

Cost and financing of paratransit services and their effect on dissatisfaction with participation in daily activities of persons with disabilities

BackgroundRestrictions in participation in persons with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been reported to be closely connected with more pain, fatigue and difficulties in performing daily activities. In addition, support and...

The study aimed to ascertain the relation between children’s participation in daily activities, engaging with family and friends and their subjective well-being (SWB); and to ascertain the extent to which the nature of the relation differs across three age groups (8, 10 and 12), gender, and geographical context (urban and rural). The study used data from Wave 2 of the South African Children’s Worlds Study conducted with a random sample of 3284 children between the ages of 8 to 12-years. Three scales measuring children’s daily activities, engagement with family and friends, and their SWB using the Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale were used. Data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling; with group comparisons assessed by means of multi-group structural equation modelling. The study found a significant relation between children’s engagement with family and friends and participation in daily activities and their SWB; with the combined influence of engagement with family and friends and participation in daily activities explaining 31% of the variance in SWB. Engagement with family and friends contributed a higher explained variance in SWB than participation in daily activities. Multi-group analysis revealed the tenability of metric invariance across age and gender, which allowed for meaningful comparisons by correlation and regression coefficients. Across geographical contexts scalar invariance was tenable allowing for meaningful comparisons across correlations, regression coefficients, and latent means. While the findings of the study suggest that children’s time use is an important factor influencing their SWB, researchers, practitioners and policy makers should consider the diversity of ‘childhoods’ in South Africa, especially as it relates to the historical ‘situatedness’ of the macro-factors of poverty, deprivation, and social inequality, and how this impacts children’s access to and the nature of their daily activities.

Background: It is important to develop further understanding regarding the facilitating and constraining factors that influence participation in daily activities, including social and human rights issues faced by persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) that affect their opportunities to lead full social lives. Objectives: To identify, describe, and compare factors that influence participation in daily activities by persons with SCI living in high-income countries (HICs) and in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Method: We performed a scoping review of 2,406 articles published between 2001 and 2016 that were identified from electronic databases. From these, 58 remained after checking inclusion and exclusion criteria. Analyses included (a) identifying factors that facilitate and constrain participation in daily activities; (b) categorizing the identified factors as issues related to medical, social, and human rights models; and (c) comparing determinants between LMICs and HICs. Results: The medical model factors pertained to long-term physical health and functional capacities, self-efficacy and adjustment skills, relearning capacities for performing daily activities, and availability of cost-effective adaptive equipment. The social model factors pertained to developing accommodating communities (accessible environments and mutual understanding). The factors of the human rights model pertained to autonomy (empowerment) and development of social justice (application of policies, advocacy, and negotiation). Conclusion: Eight lessons are proposed to enhance health and functional abilities, ensure disability friendly environments, develop social justice, and provide empowerment to enhance participation in daily activities among person with SCI living in LMICs.

Exploring Beliefs of Nurses About Prompting Psychogeriatric Nursing Home Residents in Daily Activities: A Qualitative Study

BackgroundSiblings of children with disabilities or childhood-onset chronic conditions (eg, autism, cerebral palsy or congenital heart disease) often face challenges in mental health, quality of life and psychosocial adjustment. However,...

To assess the participation and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of survivors of childhood retinoblastoma (RB). Parents of 46 survivors of childhood RB between the ages of 2-18 were administered questionnaires relating to their children's participation (CFFS) and HRQOL (CHQ and PedsQL) and children were administered the PedsQL. Results of the HRQOL were compared to population-based norms. The overall QOL of survivors of RB was similar to that of age norms. However, parents' rating of their children's general and emotional health was lower than that of age norms, and survivors reported lower QOL related to school. Survivors of bilateral RB participated less in daily activities and had lower emotional QOL compared to those with unilateral RB, and parents of children who had an eye enucleated reported that their children had lower self-esteem. The level of participation was related to the perceived QOL. Our results indicate that children who are survivors of RB have an overall QOL that is similar to their age-peers. However, subgroups of survivors appear to have unique difficulties that require continued follow-up and intervention. Focus should be placed on their participation in daily activities both in the community and at school.

ABSTRACTExecutive functions are crucial for efficient daily functioning. However, the contribution of executive functions to the participation in daily life activities of children, have been inadequately studied. The study aimed to examine the unique contribution of executive functions, beyond motor ability, to the diversity and independence of children’s participation. Forty-four children (5–6 years old), of whom 22 received occupational therapy services and 22 were typically developing peers, participated in the study. All children were individually evaluated using motor and executive functions’ tests; their parents completed the Children Participation Questionnaire. After controlling for motor ability, inhibitory control was the significant contributor to the child’s participation. An interaction effect of motor ability and inhibitory control significantly predicted the child’s independence level in participation. Supporting the inhibitory control ability of young children with motor difficulties may be a pathway for achieving our ultimate goal to enable and promote children’s participation.

A well-known prediction is that the growing elderly population will place a strain on our healthcare systems. At the same time, healthcare is becoming increasingly patient-centered and individualized, with the patient becoming an active participant rather than a mere object of healthcare. The need for change may be met by using a reablement service, utilizing the rehabilitation mindset through home-based services. Rehabilitation and reablement aim to provide opportunities for individuals to participate to a maximum of their potential. This study is part of a larger research project exploring different aspects of reablement in municipalities. It aims to describe how older adults engage in daily activities within the context of reablement and to explore participation in daily activities. A qualitative design was chosen, and the study is explorative in nature due to limited research on participants' experience with reablement. Ten older adults age 70 to 94 years old were recruited and interviewed. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using systematic text condensation (STC) strategies. This study provides insights on how older adults experience participation in daily activities and important aspects for performing these activities and living independently as long as possible. Based on the older adults' experiences, three main themes were identified when receiving reablement. First, what to achieve with reablement and feeling a sense of security to participate in daily activities. Second, how to carry out wanted activities using different skills and last, how the social network is important for enabling active living. This calls for healthcare workers to address and facilitate these in reablement. Our findings show the importance of collaborating with the social network and strengthening participation in daily activities to establish and develop existing reablement services.