Attending Summer Research Articles

Diabetes Care at Summer Camps.

Attending summer camp can be a rewarding experience for children with type 1 diabetes and an opportunity for them to build their confidence and diabetes self-management skills. Diabetes camps are built to cater to the medical needs of children with diabetes. With proper communication, education, and resources, traditional summer camps can provide the same benefits.

Digital Playing Attitudes In Children: A Research On Children Attending Summer Sports School

Digital Playing Attitudes In Children: A Research On Children Attending Summer Sports School

Variation of the cormic index since the onset of summer school camps in Spain (1887) up to present days.

To assess a secular change in proportion between lower limbs and torso, we analyzed the evolution of cormic index in schoolchildren attending summer camps organized by the Spanish National Pedagogic Museum between 1887 and 1924, also comparing to later studies up to the present. Unpublished primary data for height and sitting height were collected from 805 individuals of both sexes. Data were pooled in cohorts according to age and year of measurement. Additionally, the analysis included comparison with published data from both national and international populations. Among males, a noteworthy decrease of the cormic index is perceived from the first to the last camps, while in females this is only seen for the group under 11 years old. With data from published Spanish references (1900-2019) a decrease is observed for the male series but is not evident for females. Cormic index values from the camps overlap among the international references, despite the former being from much earlier years. The cormic index decreased among Spanish male children along the decades.

Neither Camper Nor Staff: Understanding Counselor-in-Training Programs

Attending summer camp can be a developmentally enriching experience for both campers and camp staff. However, many camps offer programming that is situated between the camper and counselor roles, namely counselor-in-training (CIT) programs. While CIT programs are common, there is a lack of research documenting the form, function, and outcomes of participation in them. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to understand the nature and benefits of camp-based adolescent leadership programs. To inform this purpose, we surveyed CIT program directors and asked them to describe various aspects of their programs. We also collected primary data directly from CIT participants so that we could include participants’ perspectives in our study. Results indicated that CITs gained a variety of social and emotional skills from their CIT experience. These findings are discussed and implications for practitioners are proposed.

Changes in glycated hemoglobin, diabetes knowledge, quality of life, and anxiety in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes attending summer camps: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Diabetes summer camps provide children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes opportunities to learn about the disease and its management in a supportive environment to help improve glycemic control, self-reliance, and quality of life. The objective of this quantitative review was to assess the advantages of attending summer camps and study any adverse psychological effects. Studies with a pre/post study design in children and adolescents attending summer camp were systematically reviewed. Five bibliographic databases were searched and relevant data extracted. Random effects meta-analyses were used to combine the individual study results to derive pooled estimates and meta-regression was used to explore between-study heterogeneity. Studies in the literature report short-term improvements in the glycemic control, diabetes knowledge (DK), quality of life (QOL) anxiety, diabetes self-management, and self-esteem. Thirty-three studies were identified, and those outcomes reported in five or more studies were included in meta-analyses. There were significant benefits with a pooled mean change for glycated hemoglobin (95% CI) of -0.59(-0.95,-0.23)% (-6.4[-10.4,-2.5]mmol/mol), and for standardized DK score of 1.99(1.28,2.70) but corresponding changes for QOL 0.17(-0.06,0.39) and for anxiety -0.32(-0.70, 0.06) were not significant. However, all outcomes showed considerable between-study heterogeneity little of which was explained by study characteristics. The findings suggest short-term benefits of camp on metabolic control, DK, QOL and anxiety in T1D children and adolescents, although the latter two were not statistically significant. Further research is warranted with more methodological rigor and longer-term follow-up to determine if there are long-term benefits associated with camp attendance.

Hydrate Philly: An Intervention to Increase Water Access and Appeal in Recreation Centers.

IntroductionPrevious interventions to increase water access and consumption have focused on school settings, have shown mixed results on sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption, and have rarely addressed tap water safety. Our randomized controlled trial examined how improving access and appeal of water in recreation centers in low-income neighborhoods affected counts of SSBs carried by youth attending summer camp.MethodsRecreation centers (N = 28) matched on their characteristics were randomly assigned to control or intervention groups. Intervention centers received a new water fountain with a bottle filler (hydration station), water testing services, reusable water bottles, and water promotion and education training and materials. Primary outcomes were 1-year changes in center-level average daily gallons of water from fountains and hydration stations (flowmeter readings). Secondary outcomes were counts of SSBs observed, use of bottled water and reusable water bottles, staff SSB consumption, and hydration station maintenance.ResultsResults showed increased water use (b = 8.6, 95% CI, 4.2–13.0) and reusable bottle counts (b = 10.2, 95% CI, 4.2–16.1) in intervention centers compared with control centers. No change occurred in youth carrying SSBs at camp, but center staff’s past 30-day SSB consumption frequency decreased (b = −34.8, 95% CI, −67.7 to −1.9). Intervention sites had marginally lower odds of maintenance problems (OR = 0.09; 95% CI, 0.004–0.76, P = .06) than control sites.ConclusionAlthough providing hydration stations along with water testing, reusable water bottles, education, and promotion increased water consumption among youth at recreation centers, it had no effect on the number of SSBs observed during camp. Future strategies to increase water consumption should also address reducing SSB intake.

Influence of Cooking Workshops on Cooking Skills and Knowledge among Children Attending Summer Day Camps.

This study aimed to measure the influence of the Chefs in Action program (3 cooking workshops) on cooking skills, nutrition knowledge, and attitudes towards healthy eating in children attending summer day camps and compare it with a single cooking workshop. Groups of children (8-12 years) were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 25) or to 1 of 3 comparison groups performing a single workshop (group 1, n = 16; group 2, n = 36; group 3, n = 24). Two dietitians evaluated cooking skills during the workshops. Nutrition knowledge and attitudes towards healthy eating were assessed before and after the intervention. No improvement in cooking skills was observed in the intervention group (P = 0.25). The intervention group's cooking skills score was significantly higher than comparison group 1 (P < 0.001). Nutrition knowledge was significantly improved in the intervention group and the comparison group 3 (P < 0.0001) but no effect on attitudes towards healthy eating was observed (Pgroup × time = 0.36). In conclusion, the Chefs in Action program positively impacted nutrition knowledge in children. The results also suggest that the type of recipe may influence nutrition knowledge and cooking skills. Further studies are needed to better assess the degree of difficulty required in cooking workshop recipes to improve cooking skills in children.

Historical recollection of anthropometric data from schoolchildren attending summer camps from 1887 to 1934 in Spain: Interpretations and comparison with coetaneous and modern references.

Around the aim of gaining knowledge on the secular trends in nutritional status of the Spanish population, we found a collection of historical records compiled by La Institución Libre de Enseñanza and their alumni association along 47 years. These data had been collected from boys and girls attending summer camps, with a policy of improving health of children with unfavorable socioeconomic conditions. The objective is to extract all possible information about growth changes, and eventually any interpretation related to status of the originating families. Primary data were collected from both unpublished manuscripts containing the original records and publications of the organizing institutions. They had been gathered from 86 summer camps in Spain from 1887 to 1934. In these camps, detailed anthropometric data were collected from every attendee, including body height and weight. The sample population amounts to 1,791 boys and 1,281 girls, between 7 and 16 years of age. Body height and weight, pooled by camp year, age and sex, displayed variable secular increases. A similar observation appears for the body mass index (BMI). As a complement, a comparison was done to contemporary published references from both Spanish and international studies. Height, weight, and BMI from the camps may be judged as retardation of growth and malnutrition by modern standards but it is not the case when coetaneous references are considered: no overall significant differences were found with respect to several publications from Spanish and European populations.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VIOLENCE TENDENCY LEVELS OF 11- 19 AGED CHILDREN WHO ATTEND TO SUMMER SCHOOL AND THEIR BEHAVIORS TOWARDS FAIR PLAY IN SPORTS

It is about the increase of behaviors close to the desired fair play in sports environments and the decrease in behavior towards violence. It is important for these behaviors to be identified from small age groups and to take necessary precautions and interventions for the future. The aim of the study in this context is to examine the relationship between the level of violence and the behaviors of children towards fair play in sports whose ages change between 11 and 19 attending summer sports school. The research group consists of 226 children aged 11-19 who go to summer sports school in 2015 in Osmaniye province voluntarily participating in the study. The Violence Tendency Scale developed by Goka, Bayat and Turkcapar (1995) was used to obtain data on the level of violence. In order to obtain the level of behavior for the flight play, Sezen-Balcikanli (2009) developed by Vallerand et al. Multi-Dimensional Sportsmanship Orientation Scale adapted to Turkish was used. While there was no significant difference between the groups according to their gender and branches in the evaluation of violence tendency levels of children aged 11-19 participating in the study, there was a significant difference between the groups according to their age and income status of their families. Negative correlations were found between the levels of violence of children aged 11-19 participating in the study and the behavioral levels and subscales of fair play in sports. As a result, the level of behavior towards fair play increases when the level of violence tendency of children between the ages of 11-19 attending summer sports academy decreases. Article visualizations:

Perceived need for restrictions on activity for children with epilepsy.

Children and youth with epilepsy have long been subjected to excessive restrictions on extracurricular activities due to concerns over risk of injury. Over time physicians and medical regulatory associations have liberalized the advice given for people with epilepsy to promote independence, self-esteem and general health benefits of physical activity. Current evidence suggests that few restrictions are needed for children with epilepsy beyond water-related precautions and avoidance of very high-risk activities. However, more stringent restrictions on daily activities may be imposed by caregivers. This study was aimed at exploring current perceptions of parents regarding restrictions on activity for children with epilepsy and the child's perspective on restrictions related to the diagnosis. A self-administered questionnaire was offered to a sample of parent-child dyads of children/youth with epilepsy attending summer camp for children with epilepsy age 8-18years. A 10-item validated HARCES Parent Scale of Childhood Epilepsy was completed by the parent/guardian and a modified-HARCES completed by the child. The primary objective was to assess the degree of restrictions placed on children with epilepsy from the perspective of child and parent assessed independently. Agreement of perceived restrictions between parent-child dyads was also determined. 21 parent/guardian-child pairs were recruited with mean age of children/youth 12.7years (range 9-16years). Total HARCES scores for parents and guardians ranged from 11-26 (x=16.5; SD 4.9) while total scores for children with epilepsy similarly ranged from 10-25 (x=15.2; SD 4.9). There were no differences in total parent scores when analyzed by child's age (<13 or >13years), gender, age of seizure onset, seizure frequency or seizure type. Total HARCES scores showed no agreement between parent and child pairs with correlation of 0.2798 (95% CI -0.173-0.635). Children and youth with epilepsy often face activity restrictions based on fear of perceived risk of injury. This small sample shows evidence that even more permissive parents and his/her children still feel limited by such restrictions. Parents and children do not perceive these restrictions in the same way despite similar education by physicians highlighting an important secondary role of epilepsy camps in targeting misperceptions and educating families on appropriate precautions.

Emotional and Cognitive Responses of Children Attending Summer Camps in Occupied Palestine: A Pilot Study

Background: The current study sought to address the lack of evaluation for summer camps which seek to offer emotional and cognitive support for children in occupied Palestine. Objective: To assess children’s emotional and cognitive response to summer camps, children who attended camps were compared to those who did not attend on a standardised measure of emotion and cognition within situations of adversity. Methods: A mixed methods quasi-experimental post-test only design was used.Children, aged 8-10 years, who attended a summer camp (n=62), were compared to those who had not attended a camp (n=22) on the Child Post-traumatic Cognitions Inventoryand on a qualitative summer experience questionnaire. Camp workers (n= 16) also completed a summer experiences questionnaire for comparison of perceptions betweenworkers and children. Statistical analysis involved t-test and ANOVA for within and between group differences and a six-step quasi-qualitative analysis was used to assess summer experience questionnaire responses. Results: Unexpectedly,children who had attended a summer camp presented higher levels of traumatic cognition; however, they also reported more hopefulness for the future than children who did not attend a camp. It is uncertain if camp attendees are a self-selecting group because of higher levels of traumatic exposure and/or cognitions or because summer camps may have unintended negative consequences. Conclusion: The current study, with its unexpected results, emphasises the importance of embedding evaluation into summer camp delivery. More robust experimental designs, however, are necessary in order to be confident that the outcomes are related to program rather than contextual factors. A range of potential summer camp and environmental influencing factors on outcomes were identified for future research.

School and cognitive functioning problems in adolescent bariatric surgery candidates

BackgroundPrior studies have reported that students with overweight and obesity have impairments in performance IQ and executive function and worse school functioning in comparison with peers of normal weight. The present study assessed school and cognitive functioning in a sample of adolescents with severe obesity being evaluated for laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. MethodsEligible candidates for bariatric surgery were referred for psychiatric evaluation, which included a semistructured clinical interview measuring school functioning and the vocabulary and matrix reasoning subtests of the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI). ResultsSelf-reported school problems were common, with 55.5% of adolescents failing a grade or subject, 38.7% attending summer school, and 17.8% failing a citywide examination. A significant relationship was observed between body mass index, estimated WASI IQ (r = −.250; P = .005), and the vocabulary subtest (r = −.241; P = .006), but not matrix reasoning (r = −.126; P = NS). ConclusionEven among a sample of adolescents with severe obesity, increased body mass index was associated with lower WASI IQ and vocabulary subtest scores. Increasing awareness of potential cognitive and school problems in bariatric candidates among teachers, school counselors, and other mental health providers is an important first step to improving academic support and educational systems deficiencies for students with overweight and obesity.

Promoting Better Family Meals for Girls Attending Summer Programs

Promoting Better Family Meals for Girls Attending Summer Programs

Gerald Shulman digests his award

Gerald Shulman digests his award

High day-to-day glucose variability: A frequent phenomenon in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes attending summer camp

Background Day-to-day glucose variability may cause difficulty for patients trying to adjust their insulin dosages and for healthcare providers when they have to make recommendations. The aim of this research was to evaluate the frequency of high variability in a population of diabetic children and adolescents attending summer camp. Methods and Results The mean of the daily differences (MODD) in glucose concentrations was calculated from continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) over five consecutive days in 6 diabetic patients. This index was correlated to the MODD calculated from pre-meal and bedtime blood glucose (BG) measurements ( r = 0.87). We used the MODD calculated on these four BG measurements for five consecutive days to evaluate day-to-day glucose variability in 100 young diabetic patients treated with glargine and ultrarapid analogue insulin. Only one child had a MODD value lower than 36 mg/dl, considered a threshold for high day-to-day variability, and 94 children had a MODD value higher than 45 mg/dl. The median value was 78 mg/dl. The expected positive correlation between the MODD and its standard deviation ( r = 0.32, P < 0.01) suggested that the greater the day-to-day variability, the more variable the variability across five consecutive days. Conclusions The estimation of MODD from four pre-meal BG values correlated to that from CGM, and may represent a simple index of day-to-day glycaemic variability. High day-to-day glucose variability in glucose profile is frequently observed in diabetic children attending summer camp.

Illness and Injury Among Children Attending Summer Camp in the United States, 2005

The purpose of this work was to describe illnesses and injuries sustained by campers at summer camps, calculate illness and injury rates, and identify risk factors for camp-related illness and injury. A convenience sample of camps selected from the US summer camp population participated in this pilot illness and injury surveillance study. Camps completed weekly reports detailing the number of campers on site and the number of adverse events sustained and provided specific information about each adverse event. A total of 177 camper illnesses and injuries occurred during 122,379 camper-days, with a median rate of 1.15 adverse events per 1000 camper-days. The majority of reported events were illnesses (68.0%), 11.8% of which were communicable and seen in multiple individuals at camp. Of the injury events (32.0%), cut/scratch/scrape were the most common diagnoses (33.3%), followed by fracture (14.6%) and sprain/strain (10.4%); horseback riding and capture the flag were identified as injury-producing activities. Internet- and telephone-based surveillance systems can be successfully used to conduct illness and injury surveillance among children attending summer camp. Data collected via such systems can be used to calculate illness and injury rates, to describe patterns of illness and injury, and to identify risk factors for camper-related illness and injury. Given the millions of children attending summer camp yearly, a surveillance system such as this can provide the data needed to develop evidence-based prevention interventions to decrease the number of youth whose camp experiences are negatively affected by illness and injury.

Tourism and the value of culture in regions

It is clear that tourism can no longer be thought of as a luxury or unnecessary, it is now regarded as an entitlement. In fact, it has become the defining feature for rites of passage of life events – for the student it is attending summer camp or study abroad, for brides and grooms going on their honeymoon, and for the retiree embarking on that long-awaited and well-deserved cruise. No one on his or her deathbed ever said, ‘‘I should have spent more time in the office.’’ Instead, one would be much more likely to say, ‘‘I should have eaten more ice cream and gone on more trips.’’ A groundbreaking treatise on tourism is John Urry’s (2002) book ‘‘The Tourist Gaze’’ first published in 1990. He said ‘‘the tourist gaze is directed to features of landscape and townscape, which separate them off from everyday experience.’’ Such aspects are ‘‘viewed because they are taken to be in some sense out of the ordinary.’’ For example, the aging baby boomers, obsessed with self-improvement on an apparent quest to be a ‘‘noble savage,’’ seek natural foods, Pilates bodies, botoxed faces, and being one with nature. Consider how the universal and pervasive tourist gaze is changing the notions of region. Urry describes what is happening with mass tourism as a death of tourism into a ‘‘culture of travel.’’ Whereas mass tourism was once characterized by democratization and standardization in travel, today’s sophisticated traveler is seeking customization for individualized tastes, giving rise to new cultural elite who seeks the authentic, aesthetic, and even ascetic. Further, we are bombarded with a myriad of burgeoning choices in travel and leisure that is giving rise to new industry in transportation, accommodations, food and beverages, recreation and sport, retail, health and wellness, photography, entertainment, culture and arts, electronics and so forth. It is no wonder that tourism, including transportation, is the largest industry in the world at $4.4 trillion, far surpassing expenditures on world military expenditures. (Assis 2004)