Search Results (9)

Background: In today’s society, low levels of physical activity are observed in the child and adolescent population, which can cause numerous pathologies, such as obesity and mental health problems. Objective: This article aims to compile all the contexts and scenarios where it is possible to increase the levels of daily physical activity of children and young people, and which have significant scientific support. Method. To do so, a literature review was carried out examining four key contexts for intervention: school, extracurricular, family, and socio-community. Results: The results indicate that the school context, with strategies such as physical education classes and active breaks, is crucial but insufficient on its own, so it is essential to complement it with interventions in extracurricular, family, and socio-community environments. The involvement of families, access to adequate infrastructure such as parks and green areas, and the responsible use of technology, including active video games and the role of influencers on social networks, are presented as key elements to combat a sedentary lifestyle. Conclusions: It is important to highlight the importance of establishing socio-educational programs that adopt a comprehensive approach to promote physical activity in children and youth, highlighting the scientific evidence that supports the effectiveness of intervening in multiple scenarios. This review concludes that a coordinated approach between different actors (schools, families, communities) is necessary to ensure that children and youth reach adequate levels of physical activity, which not only improves their physical health, but also their mental well-being and cognitive development. Full article

Nowadays, the use of wearable devices is still emerging. Monitoring with wearable sensors is an easy and non-intrusive approach to encourage preventive care for older adults. Wearable devices are becoming an assessment tool for evaluating physical activity and sleep, among other biomedical parameters. The objective of the present study is to explore the daily activity and sleep of older adults from three nursing homes, as measured by Xiaomi Mi Band 2. The results showed that people with a greater number of steps (representing daily activity) could be related to a lower probability of risk of falling, dependency on basic activities of daily living, and mobility problems. Regarding sleep, the results suggest that people at risk of falling tend to be awake longer at night. Independent people get more deep sleep, while people who identify problems in their usual activities have a lower total sleep time. Finally, people who identify pain or discomfort have less light sleep and sleep in total. Full article

(1) Background: Stress is a major public health problem due to its relevant health, social and economic repercussions. Moreover, stress can be associated with work; when stress increases over time, burnout can occur, an occupational phenomenon recognized by the WHO in 2019. There is interest in the use of wearable devices to monitor and control stressors and their influence on the condition of workers. This study aims to identify the level of job stress and its influence on the quality of life of workers. (2) Methods:This longitudinal study was carried out between the end of May and mid-July 2021. Three assessment tools along with a daily and a weekly questionnaire were computerized through the RedCap platform. The participants had to fill out the diary and weekly questionnaires and wear a Xiaomi Mi Band 5 during the project. (3) Results and discussion: Thirty-six workers from the University of Coruña and from the University of Porto participated in the project. This study promotes the awareness of workers regarding their work stress and the influence of this factor on their quality of life using physiological (e.g., activity, sleep, and heart rate) and psychological indicators (self-report questionnaires in different moments). Full article

Background: Presently the use of technological devices such as wearable devices has emerged. Physical activity monitoring with wearable sensors is an easy and non-intrusive approach to encourage preventive care for older adults. It may be useful to follow a continuous assessment of the risk of falling. The objective is to explore the relationship between the daily activity measured by Xiaomi Mi Band 2 and the risk of falling of older adults residing in or attending care facilities. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on three different institutions located in Galicia (autonomous community) (Spain). Results: A total of 31 older adults were included in the study, with a mean age of 84 ± 8.71 years old. The main findings obtained were that a greater number of steps and distance could be related to a lower probability of falling, of dependency in basic activities of daily living, or of mobility problems. Conclusions: The importance of focusing on daily steps, intrinsically related to the objective assessment of daily physical activity, is that it is a modifiable factor that impacts different aspects of health and quality of life. Full article

The development of digital supports for people with autism has increased considerably in recent years. Technology designers and developers have interpreted the needs and learning styles of people with autism in different ways. As a result, there are generic, non-specific or heterogeneous guidelines for the design and development of technology for people with autism. This study aims to identify and describe the recommended elements to support graphical user interface design for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), considering the stakeholders’ perspective, engaged in a computer application development. A qualitative, longitudinal, multicentre study was carried out. A sample of 39 participants belonging to four groups of stakeholders participated: children with autism, family members, professionals with experience in the intervention with children with autism, and professionals with expertise in the design and development of assistive technology. The techniques used to formalise the collection of information from participants were semi-structured interviews and observation. MAXQDA 2020 software (Verbi Software, Berlin, Germany) was used to analyse the data. The result is a guide with suggestions to support an interface design that emerges from the stakeholder perspectives. This study provides useful information to offer alternatives for children with ASD and facilitate the understanding of daily life. Full article

Introduction: Falls are the second leading cause of accidental or non-intentional deaths worldwide and are the most common problem as people age. The primary purpose of addressing falls is to detect, prevent, treat, and reduce their incidence and consequences. Previous studies identified that multifactorial programs, an interprofessional team, and assistive technology are required to address falls in older adults effectively. Accordingly, the research question is as follows: what are the scope, type of studies, and approaches and strategies to fall risk using technology in the existing occupational therapy literature regarding interventions to address the effects of falls in older adults on daily living? Methods: This scoping review was carried out in January 2020 through Biblioteca Virtual de Salud España, C.I.N.A.H.L., Cochrane Plus, OTSeeker, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Results: Twelve papers were included. We analyzed the year and journal of publication, authors’ affiliation, and design of the study, and thematic categories. There were three themes: participants’ characteristics, type of intervention, and fall approach and type of technology used. Discussion and Conclusions: The literature obtained is scarce. It is considered to still be an emerging theme, especially when considering the use of technology for occupational therapy. Full article

Virtual reality (VR) allows us to simulate everyday life environments with realism and in an immersive environment, with the use of the appropriate hardware. People with functional diversity, either because of environmental barriers or because of their reduced mobility, have fewer opportunities to participate in different daily activities or risk situations outdoors. Therefore, VR can be a technological resource for these people to access, try out, and experience different environments and scenarios, offering new participation experiences. Therefore, the aim of this proposal is to analyze the properties and determine the possibilities of the virtual reality applications available on commercial platforms for use in the practice of rehabilitation and intervention aimed at people with functional diversity. This is a transversal, descriptive study that has focused on the analysis of the 40 applications from the STEAM Virtual Reality and VIVE platforms for High Tech Computer Corporation (HTC). After analysis, it has been observed that there are no applications available that are fully accessible and with a minimum degree of usability for use by people with functional diversity. Full article

The current study sought to determine the association of sleep with HRQOL and physical function among older nursing home residents. Participants were 37 older adults attending or residing in a semi-urban nursing-home facility in Galicia, Spain (70.3% cognitively normal, 29.7% cognitively impaired, aged 84.1±8.0, 81.1% women) who completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the 5-level EuroQol-5D, a measure of HRQOL, and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for Sleep, a measure of physical functional. After adjustment for age, poor (PSQI score ≤ 14) and/or worse sleep quality (continuous PSQI score) was associated with several indices of lower HRQOL, including greater immobility (b = 0.19, p = 0.012) difficulty completing self-care (b = 0.23, p < 0.001) and daily activities (b = 0.18, p = 0.004), more severe anxiety/depression (b = 0.10, p = 0.042), and a lower overall health index (b = 0.06, p = 0.001). Further, poor/worse sleep quality was associated with several indices of functional impairment, including greater difficulty maintaining body position (b = 0.32, p = 0.004), walking (b = 0.17, p = 0.001), and moving around (b = 0.45, p = 0.009). Full article

The study aims to describe the guidelines to support user interface design for develop technology centered in the specific learning style, abilities and needs of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This research study describes the conclusions drawn following a process of interactive design of software, ASD Module, In-TIC PC. Four groups of participants were involved in the process: specialists with experience in the intervention with people with ASD, specialists with experience in the development and design of technology for people with disability, children with ASD and their families (n = 39). The techniques used to formalize the collection of information from different groups of participants were observation, interview, group discussions and a questionnaire. The results of the study target the development of a design guide that includes the evidence, the basic ideas and suggestions deduced from the design and development process of the ASD Module. This translates into a list of rules with suggestions to consider in the design and adaptation of technology for children with ASD. These guidelines of interface design provide useful information for researchers, developers, social and healthcare professionals and families, with the aim of offering alternatives for children with ASD and facilitating the understanding of daily life. Full article