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Special Issue "Global Plan of Action for Children's Health and the Environment"

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2023 | Viewed by 5301

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Fernando Manuel Lourenço Martins

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Guest Editor

Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra, Escola Superior de Educação, Rua Dom João III – Solum, 3030-329 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: social network analysis applied to children; mathematical knowledge for teaching; mathematical methods applied to sport sciences and physical activity

Prof. Dr. Rafaela Rosário

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Guest Editor

Escola Superior de Enfermagem, Universidade do Minho, Edifício 4, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Interests: nursing; overweight; obesity; health promotion; health education; school; children

Prof. Dr. Beatriz Pereira

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Guest Editor

Research Centre on Child Studies (CIEC), Institute of Education, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Interests: physical activity; motor development; leisure; play

Prof. Dr. Rui Mendes

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Guest Editor

Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra, Escola Superior de Educação, Rua Dom João III – Solum, 3030-329 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: physical activity promotion; sport education; play and early motor development; health education

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, we are organizing a Special Issue on “Global Plan of Action for Children's Health and the Environment”. For detailed information on the journal, we refer you to https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph.

The significance of children’s environmental health (CEH) is crucial for the overall development of children and has contributed to many research and intervention studies with children and youth.

However, as claimed by the Global Plan of Action for Children’s Health and the Environment (WHO), it is necessary to promote interventions on children’s health and the environment that should benefit and contribute to broader efforts aimed at the policy and investment changes required to reduce the environmental threats to health.

Therefore, this Special Issue of articles is children-centered and emphasizes links between children’s quality of life, health promotion, health education, nutrition, and physical and play activity in and outside educational settings.

We are interested in both research and review papers carried out with children and youth in all education levels and settings and in different social and economic conditions. Therefore, different theoretical and methodological approaches are also supported.

This Special Issue is open to the topic of “Global Plan of Action for Children's Health and the Environment”. The keywords listed below provide an outline of some of the possible areas of interest.

Prof. Dr. Fernando Manuel Lourenço Martins
Prof. Dr. Rafaela Rosário
Prof. Dr. Beatriz Pereira
Prof. Dr. Rui Mendes
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

environmental health
children and youth
quality of life
social and economic conditions
health promotion and health education
school’s environmental health
physical activity
play and leisure
fruit and vegetables intake
neighborhoods and urban environments

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

Adolescent Connectedness: Testing Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Hemingway: Measure of Adolescent Connectedness–Bahasa Melayu Version (HMAC–BM)

Nor Azzatunnisak Mohd Khatib

AbRahman Roseliza-Murni

Suzana Mohd Hoesni

and

Jamiah Manap

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 12189; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912189 - 26 Sep 2022

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Abstract

Measuring the factors that underlie adolescent connectedness has become a prominent focused issue in past studies across many disciplines. Thus far, the Hemingway: Measure of Adolescent Connectedness (HMAC) is the first research-based measure of adolescent’s relationship and sense of belonging with other people and their surroundings. The current study aimed to examine the measurement model of the Hemingway: Measure of Adolescent Connectedness which has been translated into Bahasa Melayu (HMAC–BM) in order to check for its feasibility among Malaysian adolescents. A total of 377 adolescents aged 16 years old were recruited from the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. Three factors, namely connectedness to family, school, and neighbors with seven sub-factors of the HMAC–BM, were analyzed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) using the IBM SPSS Amos 23.0 (23.0, IBM Technology, Armonk, NY, USA). Results of the CFA supported the second-order factor of the HMAC–BM structures. The overall HMAC–BM scale and its subscales have higher factor loadings ranging from 0.60 to 0.79. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranged from 0.78 to 0.95 for the three subscales and 0.84 for the total scale. Results also revealed seven sub-factors with forty-one factors—solution that accounted for 0.89% of total variance explained for adolescent connectedness. Findings provide empirical support for the feasibility of HMAC–BM in explaining Malaysian adolescents’ social connectedness. Hence, the HMAC–BM is a promising measure that can be used on Malaysian adolescents. The findings have important implications which provide a clear picture of HMAC–BM as an accurate instrument to measure adolescent’s social connectedness toward enhancing prosocial attitudes and well-being. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Plan of Action for Children's Health and the Environment)

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Open AccessArticle

Environmental Physical Activity Cues and Children’s Active vs. Sedentary Recreation

Amanda N. Spitzer

Katrina Oselinsky

Rachel G. Lucas-Thompson

and

Dan J. Graham

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(3), 1874; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031874 - 08 Feb 2022

Viewed by 1194

Abstract

Physical activity (PA) benefits health, and intensive environmental modifications can increase children’s PA. Research has not yet addressed if subtle environmental cues, such as posters depicting PA, increase child PA. In the current study, it was hypothesized that children exposed to active posters (vs. nature posters) would spend a larger proportion of free play time engaging with active toys (relative to sedentary toys). Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions in which posters on a laboratory wall depicted 1. People being active, or 2. Nature scenes. Children aged 5–10 years (N = 175) could play with up to eight toys (four active, four sedentary) while parents completed study-related surveys. The proportion of playtime that was active was compared between groups. Poster type did not have a significant effect on proportion of active playtime. Previous environmental interventions that increase children’s PA have done so through enhancing access to active opportunities, rather than via signage. It is possible that poster interventions such as this may not influence children’s PA, or perhaps other types of cues would have been more effective. Future research should investigate subtle environmental cues that match both the target audience and the accessible PA options (e.g., posters depicting children playing with available active toys) and explore other low-investment environmental modifications to boost children’s PA. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Plan of Action for Children's Health and the Environment)

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Figure 1

Open AccessArticle

Children Are Back to School, but Is Play Still in Lockdown? Play Experiences, Social Interactions, and Children’s Quality of Life in Primary Education in the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020

and

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(23), 12454; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182312454 - 26 Nov 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2570

Abstract

The right to play is crucial for the overall development of children. Several studies highlight the need to have time and space to play, especially at school where children spend much of their time. Unfortunately, in formal education the obsession with academic achievements sidelines and ignores the importance of play. The neglection of play had already reached a critical stage before the pandemic, so data are needed to realize how the right to play in school is presently affected. This paper aims to understand children’s play experience in primary education during the pandemic. It investigates what activities children participated in and what materials were used, and provides insight into the social interactions between peers. Furthermore, children’s quality of life is explored. A group of 370 Portuguese children answered a questionnaire on play and social interactions, alongside with Peds 4.0^TM on health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The results showed that recess still emerges as a significant element of children’s daily lives, but COVID-19 has brought limitations on play experiences and peer-interaction. It might also have impacted HRQOL, especially in emotional functioning. Since play, health and well-being are closely connected, play opportunities at school are crucial in helping children to thrive in the pandemic, and should be invested in. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Plan of Action for Children's Health and the Environment)

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