Quality of Life and Associated Factors Among Male Wheelchair Handball Athletes.

Although scarce, some recent studies have observed good self-reported quality of life (QOL) among wheelchair users who are involved in adapted sports. These findings have encouraged further investigations, particularly investigations of combined sociodemographic and sport factors in the study of QOL. In this study we analyzed the association between sociodemographic and sport factors with QOL in a cross-sectional study of 105 male wheelchair handball (WH) athletes with higher and lower QOL. We used the World Health Organization Quality of Life - BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) scale to evaluate the respondents QOL; and we used a sociodemographic questionnaire to evaluate associated sociodemographic and sport factors. A logistic regression analysis found these athletes' good QOL to be generally characterized by stable marital status, disability due to cerebral palsy, the use of locomotion/mobility resources, full independence, bi-weekly training, and the use of a custom-made wheelchair for around 70% of their daily living activities. These findings support the role of such sociodemographic and sport factors in determining QOL among these WH respondents. These findings reveal the important issues to be considered in the sport modality when attempting to improve the QOL and functionality of these participants and perhaps WH athletes worldwide.

Feasibility and content validity of the PERF-FIT test battery to assess movement skills, agility and power among children in low-resource settings.

BACKGROUND: Numerous movement skills and physical fitness tests have been developed for children in high-income countries. However, adaptation of these tests to low-resource settings has been slow and norms are still unavailable for children living in low-income communities. The aim of this paper was to describe the development and validation of the Performance and Fitness (PERF-FIT) test battery, a new test to assess motor skill-related physical fitness in children in low-resource settings. METHOD: The PERF-FIT test was developed in a stepwise manner. This involved defining the relevant domains of the construct of interest and selecting and evaluating test items. The Content Validity Index (CVI) was used to estimate content validity. Following development of the PERF-FIT test, a preliminary study was performed to validate items and to examine the feasibility of implementing the test in a low-resource community. Structural validity was also determined based on data from eighty (n = 80) children (aged 7-12 years) using principal component analysis. RESULTS: The CVI for the throw and catch item was 0.86 and 1.00 for the other nine items, leading to a total CVI score of 0.99. The hierarchical sequence of the item series was demonstrated by highly significant (p < 0.001) linear trends, confirming the increase in difficulty of subsequent items. Principal component analysis revealed three factors; the first component is represented by locomotor skills that require static and dynamic balance, the second component by throwing and catching items and the third component by agility and power items. These findings suggest that it is feasible to implement the PERF-FIT in low-resource settings. CONCLUSION: The PERF-FIT test battery is easy to administer and may be suitable for measuring skill-related physical fitness in in low-resource settings. It has excellent content validity and good structural validity. After minor adaptions, further studies should be conducted to establish normative values, evaluate reliability, and document criterion and cross-cultural validity of this test.

Implicações do exercício físico em crianças e adolescentes fibrocísticos: uma revisão sistemática / Implications of physical exercise in children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis: a systematic review / Las implicaciones del ejercicio fisico en niños y adolescentes fibroquísticos: una revisión sistemática

Crianças e adolescentes com fibrose cística apresentam muitas complicações na saúde ao longo da vida, que implicam na diminuição da capacidade de exercício. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar o papel do exercício físico na melhoria da função pulmonar e na qualidade de vida em crianças e adolescentes fibrocísticos. Adotou-se a metodologia da revisão sistemática da literatura. Os resultados mostraram que os sete artigos aqui revisados são recentes, apresentam propostas de melhoria da função pulmonar apoiadas em diferentes programas de exercícios. Contudo, ainda há lacunas em relação à prescrição de exercícios para essa população. Concluiu-se que, apesar da importância do exercício físico para a melhoria da função pulmonar e da qualidade de vida de crianças e adolescentes com fibrose cística, a utilização de instrumentos específicos que avaliem a quantidade e intensidade do exercício ainda é limitada.

Children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis have too many complications in health throughout life, resulting in decreased exercise capacity. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of exercise in improving lung function and the quality of life of children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis. It was adopted the methodology of systematic literary review. The results showed that the seven articles reviewed are recent, present proposals for the improvement of lung function supported by different exercise programs. However, there are still gaps in relation to the prescription of exercises for this population. In conclusion, despite the importance of physical exercise, to health, lung function improvement and quality of life for children and adolescents with CF, the use of specific instruments that assess the amount and intensity of physical exercise is still limited.

Niños y adolescentes con fibrosis quística tienen demasiadas complicaciones en la salud durante toda la vida, resultando en capacidad para el ejercicio disminuida. El objetivo de este estudio fue investigar el papel del ejercicio físico en la mejora de la función pulmonar y en la calidad de vida en niños y adolescentes fibrocísticos. Se adoptó la metodología de la revisión sistemática de la literatura. Los resultados mostraron que los siete artículos aquí revisados son recientes, presentan propuestas de mejora de la función pulmonar apoyadas en diferentes programas de ejercicios. Sin embargo, todavía hay lagunas en relación a la prescripción de ejercicios para esa población. Se concluyó que a pesar de la importancia del ejercicio físico para mejorar la función pulmonar y la calidad de vida de niños y adolescentes con FQ, la utilización de instrumentos específicos que evalúan la cantidad y la intensidad del ejercicio es aún limitada.