The effects of the Friendship Online Intervention Program on physical activity, substance abuse, psychosomatic symptoms, and well-being among at-risk youth.

INTRODUCTION: At-risk youth are those who are currently or potentially exposed to physical, mental, or emotional danger. The Friendship Online Intervention Program (FOIP) was created to encourage physical activity (PA) and reduce risky behavior among vocational secondary-school youth in Israel. We wanted to evaluate the effect of FOIP on PA, substance abuse, and psychological factors, including psychosomatic symptoms and well-being. METHODS: From October 2021 to June 2022, nonrandom sampling was employed to select at-risk youth from vocational secondary schools for participation in the FOIP. Before and after the intervention, questionnaires were administered to the intervention and control groups. The effects of FOIP were evaluated by univariate and multivariable analyses. RESULTS: The intervention (n = 103) and control (n = 77) groups showed similar levels of PA, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption at the beginning of the study. At follow-up, the intervention group showed a 57% increase in PA versus no change for the control group and decreased levels of smoking compared to the control group (p < .001). Similarly, in the intervention group, the number of psychosomatic symptoms decreased (effect size = 1.68) and life satisfaction increased (effect size = 0.86). Group assignment (intervention or control group) significantly predicted PA level, cigarette smoking, psychosomatic symptoms, and life satisfaction (adjusted R2 = .46, .20, .08, and .28, respectively) with participants in the intervention group showing more favorable results compared with the control group. CONCLUSIONS: FOIP was effective in increasing PA and decreasing risky behaviors among youth. FOIP may help at-risk youth build resilience and promote their physical and mental health.

Medical and social factors influencing the utilization of healthcare services among older adults in Israel during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Background: The corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic significantly impacted older adults. However, most older communities focused on the medical issues. The aims of this study were to identify the medical and social factors linked with the usage of medical services during the COVID-19 lockdown in Israel. Methods: The study was conducted Over two periods of time from February to April in 2019 (P1), before the COVID-19 and from February to April in 2020 (P2), during the first lockdown. The study was conducted on people aged 65 and older in Israel. The variable statistics were analyzed using frequency tabulation, cross-tabulation frequencies, and t-tests. Two hierarchical logistic regressions were conducted over four steps for each period. Results: The participants (n = 102,303) comprised 64.5% female (65,946) and 35.5% male (36,357) (mean age 80.5, SD- 7.46). It was found that participants who had not subscribed to the supportive community services were 7.47 times more likely to access medical services in P1 and 12.417 times more likely to access medical services during the lockdown. This variable was also found to be a strong predictor in the final model. The most significant variable for predicting the participants' needs during P2 was their previous needs in P1. Other social variables were living in assisted living home and living in community settlements. The presence of 12 diseases in this study did not predict service demand. Conclusion: Community support reduces medical service demands during disasters and provides services for older adults. During pandemics, however, social services need to be expanded and made more easily accessible to older adults.

Health promotion programs in prison: attendance and role in promoting physical activity and subjective health status.

Introduction: Maintaining an inmate's health can serve as a challenge due to unhealthy background, risky behavior, and long imprisonment. This study aimed to analyze the prevalence of participation in health promotion activities among Israeli inmates and its association with their physical activity levels and subjective health status. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed to examine 522 inmates (429 males, 93 females). The data were collected by trained face-to-face interviewers and self-report questionnaires. Results: Most of the participants (82.37%) did not meet the recommended physical activity level. Half of the participants reported that their physical activity levels decreased since they were in prison compared with 29.50% who reported that their physical activity levels increased. Physical activity and subjective health status were significantly higher among younger male inmates. Furthermore, participation in health-promoting activities was associated with higher levels of physical activity and subjective health status. Discussion: Health promotion activities may play an important role in addressing the challenges of maintaining inmate health. Implications of the findings are further discussed.

Psychometric Values of a New Scale: The Rett Syndrome Fear of Movement Scale (RSFMS).

(1) Background: One of the characteristics associated with Rett syndrome (RTT) is a fear of movement (FOM). Despite the grave consequences on health, function, and the caregiver's burden associated with bradykinesia accompanying FOM, there is no specific FOM assessment tool for RTT. (2) Objective: To construct and assess the psychometric values of a scale evaluating FOM in RTT (Rett syndrome fear of movement scale-RSFMS). (3) Methods: Twenty-five girls aged 5-33, including a research group (N = 12 individuals with RTT) and control group (N = 13 typically developing girls at equivalent ages). The Pain and Discomfort Scale (PADS) and Facial Action Coding System (FACS) assessed the participants' behavior and facial expressions in rest and movement situations. (4) Results: Significant behavioral differences were recorded in these rest and movement situations within the research groups using the RSFMS (p = 0.003), FACS (p = 0.002) and PADS (p = 0.002). No differences in reactions were found within the control group. The new scale, RSFMS, was found to show a high inter- and intra-rater reliability (r = 0.993, p < 0.001; r = 0.958, p < 0.001; respectively), good internal consistency (α = 0.77), and high accuracy (94.4%). (5) Conclusions: The new scale for measuring FOM in RTT, the RSFMS, was validated using the FACS and PADS. The RSFMS was found to be a tool that holds excellent psychometric values. The new scale can help clinicians working with individuals with RTT to plan appropriate management strategies for this population.

Cardiovascular risk profiles clusters among children and adolescents with disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a precursor for disabilities and death worldwide. Being overweight or obese in combination with physical inactivity and smoking habits may increase the risk for CVD and other health problems such as lower limb osteoarthritis, diabetes, stroke, and various cancer types among children and adolescents. The literature emphasizes the need to follow such groups and evaluate the risk of individuals developing CVD diseases. Therefore, the current study explores the variety of cardiovascular risks in children and adolescents' profiles clusters with and without disabilities. METHODS: Data from 42 countries including Israel, was collected with the support of the world health organization (WHO, Europe) through a questionnaire from 11-19 years old school-aged. RESULTS: The study finding shows that children and adolescents with disabilities demonstrated a higher prevalence of overweight than those who completed the HBSC youth behavior survey. Moreover, the prevalence of tobacco smoking and alcohol use was statisticaly significantly higher among the disabled group than the non-disabled group. In addition, socioeconomic status of responders who presented a very high CVD risk was found as significantly lower than those from the first and second low risk groups. CONCLUSION: This led to the conclusion that children and adolescents with disability were at a higher risk of developing CVDs than their non-disabled peers. In addition, intervention programs tailored to the needs of adolescents with disability should consider lifestyle habit change and promoting healthy living thus improving their quality of life as well as reducing their risk of being exposed to severe CVD diseases.

Development and validation of a system for the prediction of challenging behaviors of people with autism spectrum disorder based on a smart wearable shirt: A mixed-methods design.

Background: Most people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present at least one form of challenging behavior (CB), causing reduced life quality, social interactions, and community-based service inclusion. Objectives: The current study had two objectives: (1) to assess the differences in physiological reaction to stressful stimuli between adults with and without high-functioning ASD; (2) to develop a system able to predict the incoming occurrence of a challenging behaviors (CBs) in real time and inform the caregiver that a CB is about to occur; (3) to evaluate the acceptability and usefulness of the developed system for users with ASD and their caregivers. Methods: Comparison between physiological parameters will be conducted by enrolling two groups of 20 participants with and without ASD monitored while watching a relaxing and disturbing video. To understand the variations of the parameters that occur before the CB takes place, 10 participants with ASD who have aggressive or disruptive CBs will be monitored for 7 days. Then, an ML algorithm capable of predicting immediate CB occurrence based on physiological parameter variations is about to be developed. After developing the application-based algorithm, an efficient proof of concept (POC) will be carried out on one participant with ASD and CB. A focus group, including health professionals, will test the POC to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the developed system. Results: Higher stress level is anticipated in the group of people with ASD looking at the disturbing video than in the typically developed peers. From the obtained data, the developed algorithm is used to predict CBs that are about to occur in the upcoming 1 min. A high level of satisfaction with the proposed technology and useful consideration for further developments are expected to emerge from the focus group. Clinical trial registration: [https://clinicaltrials.gov/], identifier [NCT05340608].

How Well Environmental Design Is and Can Be Suited to People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A Natural Language Processing Analysis.

The quality of life of people diagnosed as having Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is essential for increasing their self-reliance and reducing their communication problems in order to allow them to work, take care of themselves, and develop a capacity to intercommunicate with their surroundings. Their need to organize their day-to-day and workplace surroundings has been addressed in the literature via long-term intervention programs aimed to imbue people with ASD with interpersonal communication capabilities. Yet, there is still a gap in the literature regarding new design methods aimed at creating a safe and friendly environment adapted to the needs of people with ASD. Therefore, this study has two objectives: (1) to shed light on the existing factors and methods related to workplaces designed to be friendly to people with ASD, specifically adults, through a natural language processing (NLP) analysis of existing scientific papers in the field of architecture and design; and (2) to explore the factors that might assist in improving the design and architecture of adaptive spaces for people with ASD by analyzing a corpus of experts' documents. The study findings and their implications are analyzed and discussed.

Risk Behaviors, Family Support, and Emotional Health among Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Israel.

We investigated the prevalence of risk behaviors among Israeli adolescents (tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, drug use) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Associations between different risk behaviors were examined and so was whether specific characteristics could predict risk behaviors in adolescents. The study consisted of 1020 Israeli adolescents aged 15-18. Study subjects completed an online survey between the first and second lockdowns in Israel (April 2020 to September 2020). Participants reported the frequency at which they engaged in four different risky behaviors: general risky behavior, tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption (binge drinking), and cannabis use. The most prevalent risky behavior in the sample was binge drinking (33.8%). The four measured risky behaviors were significantly correlated. Among participants who had previously engaged in a risky behavior assessed, most did not change the behavior frequency during the pandemic. All independent variables (sociodemographic characteristics, family support, and emotional, health excluding friends' support, physical activity volume, and coronavirus restrictions) were significantly different between participants engaging vs. not engaging in risky behaviors. Our findings suggest that family support is one of the most influential factors in preventing risky behavior during the pandemic, and they emphasize the importance of family-based interventions with children and adolescents from elementary to high school.

Impact of a Remotely Supervised Motor Rehabilitation Program on Maternal Well-Being During the COVID-19 Italian Lockdown.

COVID-19 Lockdown was particularly challenging for most mothers of people with intellectual disabilities, including those with Rett syndrome (RTT), leading to feelings of abandonment from healthcare services of their children. Within those days, telerehabilitation has represented a valid alternative to support physical activity and treatment, supporting parents in structuring their children's daily routine at home. This article aims to describe the well-being level of two groups of mothers of girls and women with RTT who were involved in a home-based remotely supervised motor rehabilitation program, respectively, before and during the COVID-19 Italian lockdown. Forty participants with classic RTT were recruited before the lockdown and randomly assigned to two groups that performed the intervention immediately before (Group 1) and during (Group 2) the lockdown, respectively. The intervention included an individualized daily physical activity program carried out for 12 weeks by participants' parents and fortnightly supervised throughout Skype contacts to plan, monitor, and accommodate individual activities in the participant's life at home. The short form Caregivers Well-Being Scale was collected for the mothers in each group 12 weeks before intervention (T1), at intervention initiation (T2), immediately after intervention termination (T3), as well as at 12 weeks after intervention termination (T4). Mothers of participants in the Group 1 showed a stable level of well-being across all four evaluations with a slight improvement during the lockdown, without significant change. Similarly, the well-being level of mothers in the Group 2 showed a statistically significant increase in their well-being between T2 and T3 (during the lockdown) and its reduction to the pre-intervention level between T3 and T4 (after the lockdown). The results suggest that the lockdown did not negatively affect the participants' mothers' well-being, leading to its improvement. Moreover, the proposed intervention could have supported the mothers in managing the new daily routine at home, positively affecting maternal well-being.