ABSTRACT
In recent years, increased attention has been devoted to intergenerational physical activity (PA) programs because they may have several benefits for both children and older adults (e.g., the reduction of ageism). An intergenerational PA program focusing on grandchildren and grandparents in a 'standard' family setting that combines PA and cognitive function is innovative and may hold potential for promoting PA and improving cognitive functioning in both grandchildren and grandparents. The aim of this study is to describe the protocol of the GRANDPACT (GRANDparents and GRANDchildren improve their Physical Activity and Cognitive functions using co-creaTion) Project, focusing on the development of an intergenerational, cognitively enriched, movement program for grandchildren and grandparents using the theoretical framework of the "Behaviour Change Wheel" in combination with a co-creation approach. Two co-creation trajectories will be organized to develop the program, followed by a pilot study to refine the program and an RCT with a pre-test (at baseline), a post-test (after 24 weeks), and a follow-up (after 36 weeks) to measure the outcomes of co-PA, cognitive functions, psychosocial well-being, and the quality of the family relationship ingrandchildren and grandparents. The outcomes will be measured using accelerometry for PA, the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) for cognitive functions, and questionnaires for the psychological well-being and quality of the family relationship. Co-development with end-users and stakeholders during both co-creation trajectories is expected to result in an effective, attractive, and feasible program. Co-PA is expected to improve PA, cognitive functioning, psychosocial well-being, and the quality of the family relationships between grandchildren and grandparents.
Subject(s)
Grandparents , Aged , Child , Cognition , Exercise , Grandparents/psychology , Humans , Intergenerational Relations , Pilot ProjectsABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Mental fatigue has been shown to negatively affect motor and sport performance. To date, however, no research focused on assessing the effects of mental fatigue on hazard perception in young cyclists who are highly vulnerable in traffic, especially after school. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the influence of induced mental fatigue on hazard perception and anticipation in young cyclists using a novel Virtual Reality bicycle simulator. METHODS: In this randomised, counterbalanced, cross-over investigation, forty-eight young cyclists cycled through a Virtual Environment (VE) in which they were confronted with eight simple and six complex traffic situations. Simple traffic situations are considered events including only one other actor can cause a dangerous situation while complex traffic situations include multiple actors than contribute to the dangerous situation. Half of the children were mentally fatigued using the Stroop colour-word task while the other half immediately started the VR hazard perception test. On the second test occasion, one month later, the other half of the group was mentally fatigued. RESULTS: The results demonstrate that mentally fatigued cyclists fixated the relevant areas of interest (AOIs) in the simple and complex later and showed delayed response times for the complex hazards. Mental fatigue, however, did not alter the speed with which participants cycled through the virtual environment and did not change the hazard perception score. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this was the first study to investigate the effect of mental fatigue in young cyclists with an innovative VR hazard perception simulator. Due to increased mental fatigue, young cyclists might have experienced more episodes of fatigue-related mind-wandering and a deterioration of selective attention for the task at hand. This resulted in a less thorough visual inspection of the scene and delayed braking responses.
