Social exercise interventions for children who have complex developmental needs: A systematic review.

Exercise interventions are identified as effective treatments for children not meeting developmental milestones. This systematic review synthesizes research regarding exercise interventions that involved social participatory elements, for children with complex developmental needs. Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, Emcare, Proquest Theses and Dissertations, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar were searched systematically for relevant studies. Peer-reviewed studies meeting the review aim and published between 2000 and 2021 in English, were included. Methodological quality of 49 eligible studies (47 controlled trials, two mixed methods, total of 2355 participants) was appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Narrative synthesis identified two groups of studies: Group 1 incorporated intentional social participatory elements; Group 2 likely involved incidental social participation. Most studies were of moderate to low methodological quality. Few measured impacts of interventions upon total physical activity levels. Short-term improvements in physical outcomes - particularly motor skills - were most frequently reported and were the main benefit of social exercise interventions for children with complex developmental needs, for which evidence exists. Further rigorous, longitudinal research is needed to assess social, psychological, and executive function outcomes of social exercise interventions in this population. Such interventions should incorporate booster sessions to provide children with greater opportunity to meet developmental milestones.

Servicewomen's experiences of managing pelvic health in occupational settings.

BACKGROUND: Despite increasing numbers of women serving in defence forces worldwide, little is currently known about how servicewomen manage their pelvic health in the traditionally male environment of the military. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to explore the impacts of pelvic health issues on Australian Defence Force servicewomen and their experiences of managing their pelvic health in occupational settings. DESIGN: A qualitative hermeneutic design. METHODS: Telephone interviews were conducted on six currently serving female members of the Australian Defence Force located Australia-wide. A semi-structured interview guide, based on the study objectives, was used to guide the audio-recorded interviews. Data were analysed thematically. RESULTS: Nine themes were identified. The first six themes explored the experiences of servicewomen in maintaining their pelvic health, including suppressing the urge to go, adjusting hydration depending on toilet access, managing menstruation, regaining 'full' fitness postpartum, awareness and prevention of pelvic health conditions, and inhibiting conversations about women's health. The last three themes explored how servicewomen coped with pelvic health conditions, including self-managing symptoms, diagnosing and treating pelvic conditions, and support for servicewomen's pelvic health. CONCLUSION: This study suggests workplace culture, low levels of insight into pelvic health norms, and limited healthcare strategies within the Australian Defence Force to support female pelvic health have contributed to servicewomen self-managing pelvic health issues using approaches that may have had significant impacts on their health and well-being.

Effect of Rural Clinical Placements on Intention to Practice and Employment in Rural Australia: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Supporting the provision of clinical placement (CP) experiences in rural areas is a strategy used worldwide to promote the rural health workforce. While there is international evidence for this intervention in medicine, there is limited understanding of the influence of rural CP for nursing, midwifery, allied health, and dentistry health professions in Australia, which have received substantial federal investment. This review examined the relationship between rural CP and non-medicine health students' future rural practice intentions and workforce outcomes. METHODS: Four databases were systematically searched; papers were screened using defined criteria and appraised using the mixed-methods appraisal tool (MMAT). Findings were synthesized using a critical narrative approach. RESULTS: The methodological quality of the 29 eligible studies (13 quantitative non-randomized, 10 mixed method, 4 qualitative, 2 quantitative description) was appraised. Ten high-quality studies were identified. The review found that positive CP experiences may influence intention to practice rurally amongst undecided students and serve as a reinforcing experience for those students already interested in rural practice. There were mixed findings regarding the influence of CP length. The review also found that there is currently only evidence for the short-term effects of CP on students' future practice outcomes in rural areas with focus thus far on early practice outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Those looking to use rural CP to promote the rural health workforce should focus on supporting the quality of a large number of CP experiences that are undertaken in rural areas, as there are currently differing findings on the role of rural CP length. Future studies of rural CP should consider greater use of social and educational theories to guide them.

Relationships Between Lateral Limb Bias, Turnout, and Lower Limb Injury in a Female Pre-Professional Ballet Dancer Population.

Dancers are known to have specific limb preferences when they dance and commonly experience lower limb injury, especially early in their training. The primary aim of this study was to determine and examine the relationships between lateral limb bias, perceived turnout profile, and lower limb injury history in female pre-professional ballet dancers using current definitions of lateral bias, leg dominance, and the concept of "working" and "supporting" legs in dance. A cross-sectional survey design with retrospective recall of 12-month injury history was employed. An online questionnaire was distributed to female dancers between the ages of 16 and 21 years who were training in classical ballet at the pre-professional level in Australia. The questionnaire gathered information regarding laterality, perceived turnout asymmetry, and self-reported 12-month injury profile. Descriptive and correlation analyses were employed to describe dancer profiles and determine relationships between the three variables. Thirty-two dancers participated. The majority of participants (67%) had right-side dominance and most indicated the right leg as their preferred supporting leg (86.7%) and working leg (60%). A total of 17 participants (53.1%) reported at least one injury in the preceding 12-month period and the side injured was significantly correlated with leg dominance (rS = 0.595, p = 0.012), with the majority of injuries also affecting the preferred supporting and working leg. Dancer perceptions regarding turnout range were correlated with their perceptions of leg dominance (rS = 0.556, p = 0.001), but no statistically significant associations were found between perceptions of turnout range and injury side. In pre-professional dancers, the dominant and the preferred supporting or working leg tend to be the same leg, and the results suggest that the dominant and preferred supporting and working leg of dancers are at greatest risk of injury.

Cross-generational Physical Activity: Surveys of Children and Parents.

This study investigated the cross-generational physical activity of primary school-aged children and parents in Australia. Separate child and parent questionnaires were administered to establish a profile of the phenomenon. Cross-generational physical activity occurred across a wide variety of types of physical activity, including recreation, sport, and exercise. The study provides insight into the complexity of the physical activity partnership by showing that in a substantial proportion of partnerships, children initiate the physical activity. The importance of investigating both populations was shown as both common experiences in cross-generational physical activity, such as bonding and enjoyment were identified in addition to unique aspects. For example, child respondents disliked power, fitness, and skills mismatches whilst parent respondents disliked their children fighting and complaining. 59% of parents ranked holidays as a time they were more likely to engage in cross-generational physical activity. Findings from the surveys suggest that this physical activity partnership involves more than the provision of parental support for physical activity and modeling of a healthy behavior from parent to child.