Municipal Center Research Articles

Digital innovation in rural area. A vision for smart village in Dropull

The rural areas in Albania are undergoing rapid demographic, social and economic changes concerning emigration, depopulation, population ageing, little use of agriculture, livestock, tourism potential, and marginalization due to market and service centralization and poor infrastructure. In the present condition of isolation and rural decay, the creation of an easy two-way connection between territory and the people can open up new opportunities to revitalize rural areas. The crucial role of these networks is to collect community potentials, create partnerships and offer benefits to the rural community. In this sense, the use of innovative digital technologies can become an important instrument to develop virtual networking through which a smart multimedia interactive platform can provide information, knowledge sharing and interconnection among different sectors. EU has already launched and promoted these concepts since 2017, through Smart Village initiative (European Commission, 2017), paying particular attention to the use of innovative digital technologies that create a new form of network cooperation beyond the village boundaries, involving the surrounding countryside and towns. Smart village means effectively and efficiently services delivered to the residents and businesses to improve their economic, social and environmental conditions, in particular finding out solutions offered by digital technologies. Digital innovation based on computing, communication and information technologies can act as an accelerator exploiting the hidden potential in the area. In the case of the proposed smart villages in the Municipality of Dropull, the first step to developing virtual networks through digital tools that support smart development is to provide digital infrastructure, broadband internet and to build a rural digital hub. This multi-service hub structure will be located in Jorgucat village, the municipality center, and it will manage digital services that respond to local needs offering support and training for the community. The aim is to create a network between the local community and other actors in different fields by facilitating the delivery of public services and offering new opportunities. Based on community needs, the objective of this study is to create a fast network of information and exchange between the territory and its governance, which enables information sharing and resource access for the people and tourists. In order to create this network, different e-tools (apps.) can be used to support and facilitate the process, focusing on the following vulnerable sectors of this Municipality: 1. Access to e-health, education, training and other essential services 2. Online market and promotion of local products 3. Online booking service, promoting tourism, heritage and cultural activities 4. Mobility 5. Governance. These tools are considered as a catalyst for the proposed network, which serves to reactivate human, environmental and financial resources in these villages and improve the attractiveness and competitiveness of rural areas. Successful networking models and e-tools already used in EU “smart villages” will be introduced to understand the structure of the information system and management. This will constitute the basis for the development of specific networking models inherent to the particularities of the Dropull villages, which can be supported by e-tools.

Group intervention for siblings and parents of children with chronic disorders (SIBS-RCT): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundSiblings and parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders are at risk of mental health problems and poorer family communication. Some group interventions for siblings exist, but few have clearly described parent components and none are considered evidence-based.MethodsWe are conducting a randomized controlled trial comparing a five-session manual-based group intervention for siblings (aged 8 to 16 years) and parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders to a 12-week waitlist, called SIBS-RCT. The intervention comprises three separate sibling and parent group sessions and two joint sessions in which each sibling talks to their parent alone. The intervention aims at improving parent-child communication and covers themes such as siblings’ understanding of the neurodevelopmental disorder, siblings’ emotions, and perceived family challenges. Participants are recruited through municipal and specialist health centers across Norway. The primary outcome is sibling mental health. Quality of life and family communication are secondary outcomes. Participants are block-randomized to the intervention or 12-week waitlist in groups of six. Measures are collected electronically at pre- and post-intervention/waitlist, as well as 3, 6, and 12 months post-intervention. The main effect to be examined is the difference between the intervention and waitlist at 12 weeks post. All outcomes will also be examined using growth curve analyses. We plan to include 288 siblings and their parents by the end of 2022.DiscussionSIBS-RCT represents a major contribution to the research and practice field towards establishing an evidence-based intervention for siblings. In the event that intervention and waitlist are no different, the impact of SIBS-RCT is still substantial in that we will aim to identify participant subgroups that show positive response and effective components of the SIBS manual by examining group leader adherence as an outcome predictor. This will allow us to continue to re-engineer the SIBS manual iteratively to improve outcomes, and avoid the promotion of a less-than-optimal intervention.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04056884. Registered in August 2019

Caracterización multivariante y cartografía de perfiles de delincuentes ecológicos en Barinas, Venezuela

Se realizó una caracterización multivariante y una posterior cartografía de los perfiles de una muestra de 164 delincuentes ecológicos del estado de Barinas, Venezuela, con base en información proveniente de las sentencias publicadas por los tribunales de este estado, durante el período 2005-2014. Para elaborar los perfiles se utilizó el análisis clúster bietápico. El perfilamiento sociodemográfico multivariante arrojó cuatro tipos de delincuentes ecológicos: 1) Grupo mixto (hombres y mujeres); 2) Grupo joven, que es el más numeroso con 43.5% de individuos de la muestra; 3) Grupo de casados; y 4) Grupo de extranjeros, que es el menos numeroso (12.9%). El otro resultado evidencia que la comisión de los delitos ecológicos presenta una acentuada dependencia geoespacial, pues tienden a concentrarse en los municipios del centro y del suroeste del estado.

Traces of hudhud of the Itkak people in Ifugao

ABSTRACT The well-known epic chant of hudhud, performed in a number of central and southern municipalities of Ifugao province in Northern Luzon, is widely known to be sung in two closely related languages, Tuwali Ifugao and Amganad Ifugao, both belonging to Central Cordilleran languages of the Philippine group. Apart from the Ifugao languages, the province is also inhabited by speakers of three Southern Cordilleran languages: Yattuka, Keley-i and Kalanguya. Hudhud is also sung by the Yattuka and Keley-i, who perform it only in the Yattuka language. There is also some oral evidence of existence of a hudhud soloist from a sub-group of the Kalanguya people – the Itkak – who, reportedly, used to perform hudhud in her native language. This article deals with the available evidence of this most probably extinct hudhud chanted in the Itkak isolect, which has never been documented before and is highly likely to disappear soon. The situation warrants urgent fieldwork to gather further evidence for this oral tradition and document the linguistic variety in which it is reported to have been chanted.

Evaluation of hand hygiene behaviour in basic schools in Ghana: a case study of the Ablekuma Central Municipality in the greater region of Ghana

Hand washing is effective for the prevention and transmission of pathogens but washing with water only is not effective at reducing contamination. The study focussed on the evaluation of hand washing behaviour in Basic schools (Primary and Junior High Schools) in Ghana. Results of the study revealed that 75% of responding schools have hand washing stands to promote hand washing with soap. Sixty percent of the hand washing facilities were functional at the time of the study in the schools. Hand washing facilities were found to be inadequate as most of the schools lacked running water and soap for hand washing. The school children (72%) were found to have knowledge on hand hygiene. The school children were aware that they can get cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery, diarrhoea, stomach cramps and pains when they do not wash their hands with soap. Majority (68.2%) of school children reported that washing hands after defecation is important but only 17.5% reported actually follow this practice. The school children (51%) reported washing their hands before eating. Many of the schools did not have toilet facilities for the school children. The school children (35%) learnt hand washing from their parents and 60% from the teachers.

A Educação bilíngue para crianças surdas: surdez como experiência e infância como potência

Este artigo tem como objetivo discutir sobre a educação bilíngue para crianças surdas a partir de uma aposta: olharmos para a surdez enquanto experiência e para a infância como potência. A educação bilíngue ocupa lugar de destaque no debate de como lidar com a diferença linguística e cultural dos surdos, servindo como bandeira de luta da comunidade surda brasileira e merecendo, portanto, nossa especial atenção. Esta pesquisa trata-se de um estudo de caso em um Centro Municipal de Educação Infantil, no município de Vitória, no Estado do Espírito Santo, sendo esta escola referência em educação bilíngue para surdos no projeto maior do município. Assim, modificamos a linguagem da educação e, consequentemente, a educação bilíngue como um desejo de realidade para crianças surdas na educação infantil. Destacamos que a política bilíngue representa mais do que a utilização de uma língua, ela deve possibilitar aos estudantes surdos espaços educacionais que os levem a provocar o pensamento, estimulando suas capacidades. Deve considerar uma política educacional que respeite a singularidade linguística, revelada mediante a coletividade, a partir de outras pessoas com surdez. Ou seja, é necessário proporcionar espaços que contribua para que as crianças surdas tenham contato com seus pares linguísticos.

The Impact of Illicit Mining on School Dropout: A case of Senior High Schools in Asante Akim Municipality

Studies indicate that there is a continuous relation between illicit mining and children’s education. This study therefore, sought to examine the ramification of illicit mining on school dropout in the Asante Akim Central Municipality, Ghana. The correlational research design was used in the study. The purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to select the respondents. A sample size of 360 was chosen for the study. Linear regression, ANOVA and standard deviation were used to analyse the data. The study found the three leading factors that accounted for students to enter into illicit mining to be Poverty (M=3.9222, SD=1.19169), perceived lack of employment opportunities after school (M=3.5972, SD=1.42657) and disinterest towards schooling (M=3.5611, SD=1.38501). The study further found a significant positive relationship between illicit mining and school dropout (R = 0.178, p < 0.05), students’ academic performance (R=.206, p < 0.05,) and health risk and diseases (R=.312, p < 0.05). Effective implementation of legal framework to prevent children of school-going age from mining activities is imperative to ameliorate this educational menace. Again, vocational and technical education must be intensified to give such students employable skills in the shortest possible time.

Desafios e encaminhamentos da educação infantil em Sorocaba/SP

O presente estudo é um recorte da dissertação “A judicialização na Educação Infantil entre ênfases, encaminhamentos e solicitações no município de Sorocaba/SP”. Mediante abordagem qualitativa, empregou-se a análise de conteúdo para tratamento dos dados. Para coleta dos dados os instrumentos utilizados foram: a) Roteiro de caracterização dos participantes, objetivando destacar as suas características e imersões quanto ao âmbito da educação infantil de 0 a 3 anos de idade nas creches municipais de tempo integral de Sorocaba/SP e b) Roteiro de entrevista com diretores de creches de Sorocaba/SP sobre a judicialização na educação infantil. Foram entrevistados 10 diretores de creche de tempo integral, considerando o seu aceite à participação na pesquisa, a partir do universo dos 20 convidados. O presente artigo objetiva identificou os desafios frente ao processo de judicialização nas creches sorocabanas e os caminhos apontados pelos respondentes necessários para resolução das questões.

Effects of Hierarchical City Centers on the Intensity and Direction of Urban Land Expansion: A Case Study of Beijing

Worldwide urban spatial expansion has become a hot topic in recent decades. To develop effective urban growth containment strategies, it is important to understand the spatial patterns and driving forces of urban sprawl. By employing a spatial analysis method and land use survey data for the years 1996–2010, this study explores the effects of hierarchical administrative centers on the intensity and direction of urban land expansion in a Beijing municipality. The results are as follows: (1) land development intensity and expansion speeds are both affected significantly by the municipal and district and county centers where the governments hold a lot of administrative, public, and economic resources. (2) The distances to the administrative centers are determinant factors for the direction of urban land expansion. Except for several subregions adjacent to the municipal center, the closer the area is to an administrative center, the more likely it is that the expansion direction points toward the center. (3) The spatial patterns of urban land development are shaped jointly by governments at different levels, and transportation lines also play a role in remote areas. These findings are expected to have consulting value for future policymaking on urban land use and management in mega-cities, especially those with strong local government powers in other transition economies and developing countries.

Conceptual framework for solving problems of commercial transportation of goods in the city logistics system

The aim of the study is to develop conceptual provisions and operational recommendations for the development of urban transport logistics on a public-private partnership basis. Theoretical studies were carried out using methods of analysis and synthesis of existing scientific developments in the field of territorial management of logistics centers, distribution sites and terminals at the municipal level. At the end of the study the following results were obtained: - the necessity to change the format of transport and logistics services for urban economic relations is proven; - the efficiency to establish a city network of interceptive logistics sites for trucking on the principles of public-private partnership is justified, parameters for choosing locations for such logistics facilities are developed and their attributes are formulated; - recommendations on advanced transport management on the basis of the municipal digital centre with the aim of increasing the efficiency of the urban transport system with environmental protection were proposed.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Towards specialised and differentiated long-term care services: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundNumerous forces drive the evolution and need for transformation of long-term care services. During the previous decade, primary health care has assumed increased responsibility for developing and providing care services, but there is still limited knowledge about how European care service systems are evolving to address new tasks and patients. Based on data from Norwegian municipalities, this study aims to (1) describe the availability of specialised services in Norwegian nursing homes and home care services and (2) analyse whether structural factors, like population size and/or centrality, are associated with the availability of specialised services in nursing homes and home care.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study of survey data. An online survey was designed specifically for this study. Its questions were developed from a comprehensive review of the literature and in partnership with a user panel. One representative from all of Norway’s 422 municipalities were invited to answer the survey from February to April 2019. In total, 277 municipalities completed the survey (response rate 66%). Chi-square analysis and Fisher’s exact test were used to test the associations between different categorical variables.ResultsSpecialised care services were highly prevalent. For example, there were nursing home units specialising in dementia care (89%) and rehabilitation (81%) and home care teams for dementia care (79%) and reablement (76%). Approximately two-thirds of our sample were categorised as having high availability of specialisation in nursing home and home care services. The larger, more central municipalities had higher availability of specialisation compared to medium-sized and small, less central municipalities.ConclusionsOur study indicates that a majority of nursing homes and home care services provide specialised and differentiated services that serve patient groups of different ages and diagnoses. Municipalities’ population size and centrality are associated with availability of specialised services in nursing homes and home care services.

Aspects of Study of the 20th Century Naive Art in Russia: Researchers, Collections and Names

This article explores the main stages of the study of naive art in Russia, starting from the first decades of the 20th century and till the 1980s, when naive art was called an “amateur art”. This is the period of IZORAM (Saint Petersburg Art Workshops of Working Youth) activity and the long work of the National University of Extramural Studies. The first amateur art exhibitions took place in the 1970s, later leading to the establishment of specialized collections. In the 1980s, academic research into naive art began to filter through the image of a primitive, or so-called “third”, culture supposed to exist between “high” and “grassroots” art. Only since the 1990s has naive art begun to be perceived as a separate artistic movement. In Russian art criticism, naive art was defined as one of the primitive art areas of the eighteenth to twentieth centuries. During this period, separate museum collections began to take shape in Moscow including a private museum of outsider art, where some works by naive artists were presented, and the Municipal Museum of Naive Art. In Ekaterinburg, Gamayun Municipal Center for Folk Art and Crafts began to study naive art in 1994. In the 2000s, interest in the naive art of the 20th century began to grow. At this time, public and private collections of naive art were being formed in the following museums: B.U.Kashkin Museum at the Ural State University; Soviet Naive Art Museum; and Museum of Naive Art, which in 2015 became the part of the Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts.
 Keywords: primitive art, amateur art, naive art, folk art, outsider art.

Factors Associated with Prenatal Smoking Cessation Interventions among Public Health Nurses in Japan.

This study aimed to identify the factors associated with prenatal smoking cessation interventions based on the 5As model among public health nurses (PHNs) in Japan. A nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2019 to February 2020 via a self-administered questionnaire. The study subjects were 1988 PHNs working in 431 health centers of municipalities and special wards across the country. Of the 1988 questionnaires mailed, 521 responses (26.2%) were included in the analysis. Of the 521 responses, most of the respondents were female (98.1%) and the mean age was 37.5 years. There were statistically significant differences on age, work regions, experience years working as a PHN and smoking cessation training after becoming a PHN in implementing the 5As. Self-efficacy, professional development competency, research utilization competency, age and experience years working as a PHN were positively associated with the 5As. Social nicotine dependence was negatively associated with the 5As. Furthermore, self-efficacy mediated the relationship between the 5As and professional development competency, research utilization competency, social nicotine dependence, age and experience years working as a PHN. In the future, smoking cessation intervention training should be widely implemented to improve self-efficacy and prenatal smoking cessation interventions among Japanese PHNs.

A Multicriteria Assessment of Vulnerability to Extreme Rainfall Events on the Pacific Coast of Mexico

The likely increase in extreme rainfall events (ERE) due to climate change, particularly associated with tropical storms and hurricanes, threatens coastal communities worldwide. A model based on socioeconomic and environmental indicators was used to assess and categorize vulnerability to ERE at the municipal level, in Sinaloa, a coastal state of northwest Mexico. Coastal vulnerability was assessed based on a system of indicators, integrated into five criteria within two higher categories: response capacity (Economic conditions, Social development, and Living standards), and severity (Geographic exposure and Risk intensifiers). From a preliminary set of 25 indicators, three of them were selected by criterion using the Delphi method, and their values were later standardized from 0 (low) to 1 (high) on a vulnerability scale. Both criteria and indicators were weighted following an analytical hierarchical process (AHP), resulting in the main determinants of vulnerability being Geographic exposure (0.43) and Economic conditions (0.34). This first approach to a vulnerability assessment using standardized values showed that Guasave (to the north) and Escuinapa (to the south) are the most vulnerable municipalities, scoring >9.0 (with 15 being the maximum score). In contrast, Culiacán and San Ignacio, both central municipalities, ranked as the least vulnerable (<5.5). A further analysis using the integral vulnerability index (IVI) corroborated Guasave (3.73) and Escuinapa (3.15) as the most vulnerable, discarding latitudinal changes as a possible promotor of vulnerability. Although the coastal population was the main determinant of vulnerability (median = 0.57), other indicators associated with severity as well as response capacity were responsible for the increase in IVI scores. This study highlights the need for an integrated vulnerability analysis to support public policies and the decision-making process to protect coastal communities from environmental climate change.

ANÁLISIS CUALITATIVO DEL SIGNIFICADO DE LA ESTIMULACIÓN TEMPRANA PARA LOS PADRES DE NIÑOS DE UNO A TRES AÑOS

El estudio buscó identificar el significado que leconceden a la estimulación temprana los padres deniños de uno a tres años del Centro de EstimulaciónTemprana de la Municipalidad Provincial deHuancavelica. La investigación pertenece al enfoquecualitativo, nivel descriptivo y método inductivo –deductivo. El diseño fue no experimental transeccionaldescriptivo, la muestra fue no probabilística porconveniencia y consideró a 35 padres. Se hizo usode la técnica cualitativa del análisis de contenido, através de la entrevista no estructurada y dos gruposfocales. Los datos fueron codificados en nuevecategorías: la estimulación temprana como métodode aprendizaje, como método de enseñanza, comodesarrollo de habilidades, edades, importancia,percepción sobre la sesión de estimulacióntemprana, percepción de los materiales y/o equiposque se usan en la sala de estimulación temprana,estimulación temprana relacionado al desarrollo de lainteligencia, trascendencia en el hogar. Se concluyeque los padres consideran importantes las sesionesde estimulación temprana por ser fundamentalespara el desarrollo cognitivo, emocional y social delniño, estableciéndose también, que los significadosque abordan categorías técnicas no son precisoscon la realidad, siendo necesario que los padres defamilia reciban información más detallada y exacta.

Epidemiological survey on intestinal helminths of stray dogs in Guimarães, Portugal

The new legislative framework on Animal Welfare brought increased responsibilities to municipal shelters, in particular in the collection of stray dogs, their sterilization and future adoption. These centers quickly became overcrowded, leading to high parasitism environmental contamination, to the easy spread of parasitic infections and to increased risks to public health. The prevalence of intestinal parasites was evaluated by examination of dog faecal sample, in the municipal control animal centre of Guimarães (north Portugal), identifying risk factors and transmission to man. The overall prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths was 57.2% (95% confidence interval 41.3–71.9%) and observed helminths of the gastrointestinal tract were recorded: Ancylostoma caninum (33%), Toxocara canis (29%), Dipylidium caninum (6%), Capillaria spp. (3%), Trichuris vulpis (1.66%). It is important to point out that young dogs were significantly infected more frequently (p ≤ 0.1) than non-sterilized females and the higher occurrence of nematode infection occurred at the new arrival of stray dogs, in the third collection. With impact on public health, the higher prevalence (p ≤ 0.1) of T. canis in young dogs suggests the existence of real risk for human infection and demonstrate the necessity for a parasite control programme reinforcement at the municipal dog shelter.

Current state and possibilities for oversized municipal waste management in the regions of Ukraine

Human life and activities generate municipal solid waste (MSW) consisting of municipal household waste (residential waste), waste from commercial organizations, waste from public institutions and organizations, waste from industrial enterprises, waste from urban maintenance and improvement. A common feature for all these types of waste is the fact that a municipality is an institution responsible for organization, management of its disposal process. Such waste is generated in everyday life, across the food network, when carrying out repair and construction works, in the municipal transport and communication systems, etc. The aim of the work is to assess the current state and possibilities of oversized municipal waste management in the regions of Ukraine. In order to achieve this aim, the study of the existing regulatory documents and existing experience in the field of oversized municipal waste management was conducted. The work is based on the analysis of the published data, as well as on the materials of our own research. The implementation of the MSW management system implies creation of a municipal center for recycling secondary raw materials based on the modular quarterly principle. A recycling station with a mandatory module for oversized waste reception and sorting should become a main structural element of the recycling center. In addition, it is proposed to create separate sites for collecting the oversized waste. This has already been implemented in some cities of Ukraine. When differentiating SMW flows, due attention is not paid to the used cars that can contingently be attributed to oversized secondary raw materials. In Ukraine the existing recycling centers do not meet modern requirements. Due to the lack of necessary experience in handling the used cars, one should turn to foreign experience and focus on the requirements of the developed countries. According to international standards, the life of a car is 10 years with its subsequent utilization in such a way that prevents it from having a negative impact on the environment. Since, as of today, 27% of cars in Ukraine are older than 30 years, so in case of their mandatory utilization, the number of such cars will be approximately 2.5 million. With such total number of used cars each region of Ukraine will need to handle about 100 thousand recyclable cars. It is hardly possible to create the recycling centers in each region, so, at the first stage, it is advisable to organize such centers, for example, in each economic region or cluster. The creation of the oversized municipal waste management system in the regions of Ukraine will make it possible to turn the waste into useful products, to reduce the level of a negative environmental impact and to obtain not only ecological, but also socio-economic effects.

Changes in Health-Risk Behavior, Body Mass Index, Mental Well-Being, and Risk Status Following Participation in a Stepwise Web-Based and Face-to-Face Intervention for Prevention of Lifestyle-Related Diseases: Nonrandomized Follow-Up Cohort Study.

BackgroundRecent evidence suggests the effectiveness of stepwise, targeted approaches for the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases with combinations of web-based and face-to-face interventions showing promising results.ObjectiveThis paper reports on 1-year changes in health-risk behaviors, BMI, self-rated health, mental well-being, and risk of disease at 1-year follow-up after participation in a stepwise intervention that targeted persons at high risk of disease and persons with health-risk behavior. To this end, we distinguish between participants who took up the full intervention (web-based plus face-to-face) and those who received only the web-based intervention.MethodsThe Early Detection and Prevention (Danish acronym: TOF) pilot study was conducted as a nonrandomized, 1-year follow-up intervention study in two municipalities in the Region of Southern Denmark. A total of 9400 citizens born between 1957 and 1986 (aged 29 to 60 years) were randomly sampled from participating general practitioner (GP) patient-list systems and were invited to take part in the study. Participants were subsequently stratified into risk groups based on their responses to a questionnaire on health-risk behavior and data from their GP’s electronic patient record (EPR) system. All participants received a digital personal health profile with individualized information on current health-risk behavior and targeted advice on relevant health-risk behavior changes. In addition, patients at high risk of disease, as indicated by their digital health profile, were offered a targeted intervention at their GP. Patients who were not deemed at high risk of disease but who exhibited health-risk behaviors were offered a targeted intervention at their municipal health center (MHC). At 1-year follow-up, health-risk behaviors, self-rated health, BMI, and mental well-being were reassessed by questionnaire, and current information on diagnoses and medical treatment was retrieved from the EPRs.ResultsOf 598 patients at high risk of disease or with health-risk behavior, 135 took up the targeted intervention at their GP or MHC and 463 received the personal health profile only. From baseline to 1-year follow-up, the number of patients with unhealthy eating habits decreased, mean mental well-being increased, and smoking prevalence decreased in patients who had received the digital personal health profile alone. Among patients who took up the targeted intervention, unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyles decreased and significant reductions in mean BMI were observed. At 1-year follow up, no health-risk behaviors were detected among 17.4% of patients who at baseline had exhibited health-risk behaviors or high risk of disease.ConclusionsA stepwise targeted preventive approach using web-based and face-to-face elements may lead to favorable lifestyle changes. Specifically, a web-based approach may improve smoking and eating habits and mental well-being, whereas supplementary face-to-face interventions may be necessary to improve exercise habits and BMI.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02797392; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02797392International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)RR2-10.1186/s12875-018-0820-8

Analysis Of The Current Situation Of Chinese Youth Science And Fitness

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to analyze the status of Chinese youth participation in scientific fitness activities and to provide reference for enhancing the scientific fitness activities of Chinese youth. METHODS: A total of 4663 healthy adolescents (age: 22.56 ± 5.81yrs, female: 54.5%) were investigated for the intervention from 33 provinces (central municipality, national autonomous region). Divided into three groups according to age: juvenile (12-17yrs), pre-youth (18-28yrs), and late youth (29-40yrs); divided into three regions based on the administrative districts: Eastern Region (ER), Central Region (CR) and Western Region (WR). RESULTS: The Questionnaire consists of two parts: (1) Knowledge and Skills (RRC 0.91), and (2) Cognitive, Attitude and Behavior (ICC 0.97, RRC 0.93). The content validity of the questionnaire was assessed by 11 experts. The structural validity was evaluated by the factor analyses. The results show that: (1) fitness location analysis: 70.6% of youth fitness venues in playground and park squares, gyms accounted for 12.1%, and other proportions of 9.1%. (2) Analysis of fitness METHODS: 81.5% of fitness methods tend to run and ball sports, the proportion of fitness and bodybuilding projects is 9.4%, the proportion of water projects is 2.5%, and the other proportion is 6.6%. (3) Analysis of fitness duration: 58.1% of young people's fitness time is 30-120 minutes, 30 minutes or less accounted for 33.0%, and more than two hours accounted for 8.9%. (4) Fitness frequency analysis: 62.1% of teenagers are not regular fitness, 17% have planned fitness, and 20.9% do not exercise very much. (5) Analysis of the number of fitness times in the week: 57.5% of the youth fitness no more than 2 times, 29.2% of the teenagers were 3-4 times and 13.3% of the teenagers were 5 times or more. CONCLUSIONS: Chinese youth participation in fitness activities is relatively concentrated; most of the youth fitness can be controlled within a relatively scientific range but the fitness activities are not regular. Relevant departments use a variety of strategies to promote the systematic and diverse participation of young people in fitness activities. (This study was supported by NPOPSS Grant 15CTY011)