Fiona Moola

What's "quickest and easiest?": parental decision making about school trip mode

BackgroundThe potential benefits of active school travel (AST) are widely recognized, yet there is consistent evidence of a systematic decline in the use of active modes of transportation to school since the middle part of the 20th century. This study explored parental accounts of the school travel mode choice decision-making process.MethodsThirty-seven parents of children (17 who walked; 20 who were driven) from four elementary schools in Toronto, Canada participated in semi-structured interviews. The schools varied with respect to walkability of the built environment and socio-economic status. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts identified a two-stage decision-making process.ResultsAn initial decision concerned the issue of escorting or chauffeuring a child to/from school. This decision appeared to be primarily influenced by concerns about traffic, the childs personal safety, and the childs maturity and cognitive ability regarding navigating his/her way to/from school safely. Following the escort decision, parents considered mode choice, typically selecting what they perceived to be the easiest and most convenient way to travel. The ascription of convenience to the various modes of transportation was influenced by perceptions of travel time and/or distance to/from school. Convenience became a particularly salient theme for parents who found it necessary to complete multi-activity trip chains.ConclusionsThe school travel mode choice decision process is complex. Future research and practice should continue to address safety concerns that are typically the focus of active school transport initiatives while addressing more explicitly the behavioural cost of competing mode choices.

Exercise and physical activity in children with cystic fibrosis

Regular exercise and habitual physical activity are important for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Research has demonstrated the benefits of aerobic, anaerobic, and strength exercise training programs for health and quality of life, however, the CF patient is faced with unique barriers and challenges to participation. Recently, increased levels of habitual physical activity have been shown to slow the decline in lung function in patients with CF, and regular participation in a variety of activities may result in greater adherence in the long term. Research is now available to justify the incorporation of exercise into the routine care of patients with CF. This paper provides the background and rationale for the implementation of exercise and habitual physical activity recommendations by the health care team. Education of health care providers regarding the importance of exercise and habitual physical activity for patients with CF is needed in order for exercise and physical activity to be incorporated as key components of clinical practice and into the lives of patients with CF.

The Perceptions of Caregivers Toward Physical Activity and Health in Youth With Congenital Heart Disease

Medical advances have reduced mortality in youth with congenital heart disease (CHD). Although physical activity is associated with enhanced quality of life, most patients are inactive. By addressing medical and psychological barriers, previous literature has reproduced discourses of individualism which position cardiac youth as personally responsible for physical inactivity. Few sociological investigations have sought to address the influence of social barriers to physical activity, and the insights of caregivers are absent from the literature. In this study, caregiver perceptions toward physical activity for youth with CHD were investigated at a Canadian hospital. Media representations, school liability, and parental overprotection construct cardiac youth as “at risk” during physical activity, and position their health precariously. Indeed, from the perspective of hospital staff, the findings indicate the centrality of sociological factors to the physical activity experiences of youth with CHD, and the importance of attending to the contextual barriers that constrain their health and physical activity.

‘Bladerunner or boundary runner’?: Oscar Pistorius, cyborg transgressions and strategies of containment

This article uses disability studies and cyborg theory as lenses to explore the disabled body in contemporary sporting contexts and situates the reader by critically reviewing social theory. Using the case of Oscar Pistorius, a South African Paralympian, we explore how the intense scrutiny on his prostheses forecloses examining how scientific discourses are called upon as arbiters to discern the ‘truth’ of his body. Moreover, while Pistorius invariably transgresses the boundaries of the modern sporting project and liberal humanist subject, he is subjected to powerful strategies of containment and domination. Threatening to undo secure notions of humanness, we illustrate how Pistorius is both fascinating and anxiety-provoking, and renders moral angst in the public consciousness. In order to rethink the stranglehold of ability and disability in the collective psyche and ‘do’ disability sport differently, this article calls for a radical cyborg politics.

“This is the Best Fatal Illness That You Can Have”: Contrasting and Comparing the Experiences of Parenting Youth With Cystic Fibrosis and Congenital Heart Disease

Despite the important instrumental and emotional role that parents play in the lives of children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and congenital heart disease (CHD), qualitative researchers have not examined the similarities and differences between caregivers’ experiences. Informed by thematic analysis, in this qualitative study I explored what it is like to care for a child with a chronic illness from the perspective of CF and CHD parents at a children’s hospital in Canada. Pediatric caregiver stress was qualitatively different between CF and CHD parents, whereas temporal dilemmas were unique sources of stress for CF parents only. To alleviate stress, all parents drew on a three-way, interrelated process to comprehend their child’s illness and acquire perspective. By opening up the social worlds of parents, I illuminate important similarities and differences in the caregiving experience of parents of youth with CF and CHD, and offer novel contributions to the literature.

Supporting participation in physical education at school in youth with type 1 diabetes : perceptions of teachers, youth with type 1 diabetes, parents and diabetes professionals

It is not clear how best to support youth with type 1 diabetes to participate in physical education (PE) at school. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of facilitators and barriers to PE in youth with type 1 diabetes and to determine how schools can help these individuals to be physically active. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with youth with type 1 diabetes aged 7–9 (n = 8) and 12–14 (n = 8) years with type 1 diabetes, their parents (n = 16), diabetes professionals (n = 9) and schoolteachers (n = 37). Data were thematically analysed. Four main themes were identified relating to support needs of youth with diabetes in school in general and specifically in PE lessons: (1) differences between primary and secondary schools; (2) areas requiring address in all schools; (3) what teachers can do to help accommodate youth with type 1 diabetes; and (4) what schools can do to help accommodate youth with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes support varied across schools. Primary schools in particular could improve communication between schools and primary specialist PE teachers regarding youth with type 1 diabetes to aid participation in PE. Diabetes knowledge was limited among all teachers. Participants felt that diabetes could be used as an excuse to sit out of PE and that teachers’ fears could facilitate this. Improved and consistent diabetes management training and guidance on the responsibilities of teachers is necessary. Better communication between schools, teachers, parents, youth with type 1 diabetes and diabetes professionals is also required. The findings have helped produce suggestions for practice and research on how to improve support for youth with type 1 diabetes in schools in general and specifically in PE lessons.

Building physical activity and sedentary behavior support into care for youth with type 1 diabetes: Patient, parent and diabetes professional perceptions

To explore stakeholders perceptions of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour support in youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D), to aid intervention development.

Kids with special hearts: the experience of children with congenital heart disease at Camp Willowood

While camps may enhance the psychological well-being of children with congenital heart disease, there is an absence of qualitative research in Canada. In this phenomenological ideographic analysis, the experiences of 15 youth with heart disease at Camp Willowood in Ontario, Canada were studied. Camp allowed youth to engage in free, unrestricted movement in a natural environment and forge friendships with others that share similar medical biographies. Social media allowed youth to maintain camp friendships over time. Through the humanity of an interpretive phenomenological lens, this study potentially illuminates the psychological processes at play when youth with heart disease attend camp.

‘A tale of two cases:’ The health, illness, and physical activity stories of two children living with cystic fibrosis

Storytelling is perennial, and central to the human condition. Although illness may shatter identity and one’s role and place in the broader social world, narrative may aid in the process of self-reparation. Despite the merits of the narrative approach, it has been underutilized with children who are living with cystic fibrosis (CF). The role that illness narratives may play in influencing CF youths’ physical activity also remains poorly investigated. This article drew on the qualitative case study methodological tradition to narrate the stories of two children living with CF at a children’s hospital in Canada. The findings beg researchers to consider (a) how children with life-limiting diseases borrow multiple illness narrative types, (b) the role of development in influencing the kinds of stories that children can tell, and (c) the impact of illness narratives on physical activity. By rendering the tales of two CF youth in this study, we respond to Aurthur Frank’s call; taking a multiple narrative turn, we listen to stories of a different kind of suffering.

The complexities of contagion: The experience of social isolation among children and youth living with cystic fibrosis in Canada

While cross-respiratory infection guidelines reduce the risk of infection, this may have deleterious impacts on the socialization skills of young people living with cystic fibrosis (CF). The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of social isolation among young Canadians with CF, as well as how they navigate these complex contamination restrictions. The thematic analytic qualitative research tradition was adopted and social theories of risk provided theoretical grounding. The youth described a pressing sense of social isolation in their everyday lives. Although most of the youth ‘obeyed’ the cross-contamination guidelines, some demonstrated a more carefree attitude. Social media was employed across the group as a tool to reduce isolation. In accordance with the sociology of risk, youth with CF demonstrate sophisticated decision-making abilities, navigating exceedingly difficult choices to preserve an always-precarious future. While necessary, cross-contamination guidelines might further marginalize an already isolated group of children and youth.