Lauren White

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.

Reliability and Validity of Physical Activity Instruments Used in Children and Youth With Physical Disabilities: A Systematic Review.

Research often characterizes children and youth with physical disabilities as less physically active than their typically developing peers. To inform the development and evaluation of future interventions, it is important to identify the most accurate methods for assessing physical activity behavior in this population. The objectives of this review were 1) to identify the self-report and objective instruments used to examine habitual physical activity behavior within this population and 2) to determine the reliability and validity of these instruments. Following a standardized protocol, a systematic review was conducted using six electronic databases and a range of search terms. Fifty studies (N = 2,613; Mage = 11.3 ± 2.6 years; 53% male) were included. Seven disability groups were examined, with the majority of studies focused on cerebral palsy (64%) and juvenile arthritis (20%). Poor to good reliability and weak validity were found among the self-report instruments such as questionnaires and activity diaries. Good to excellent reliability and validity were established for the objective instruments such as activity monitors (e.g., accelerometers, pedometers). Further research is warranted among physical disability groups other than cerebral palsy, and in establishing reliability and validity of self-report physical activity instruments specific to these target groups.

Evaluating the Carrot Rewards App, a Population-Level Incentive-Based Intervention Promoting Step Counts Across Two Canadian Provinces: A Quasi-Experimental Study (Preprint)

Background The Carrot Rewards app was developed as part of an innovative public-private partnership to reward Canadians with loyalty points, exchangeable for retail goods, travel rewards, and groceries for engaging in healthy behaviors such as walking. Objective This study examined whether a multicomponent intervention including goal setting, graded tasks, biofeedback, and very small incentives tied to daily step goal achievement (assessed by built-in smartphone accelerometers) could increase physical activity in two Canadian provinces, British Columbia (BC) and Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). Methods This 12-week, quasi-experimental (single group pre-post) study included 78,882 participants; 44.39% (35,014/78,882) enrolled in the Carrot Rewards “Steps” walking program during the recruitment period (June 13–July 10, 2016). During the 2-week baseline (or “run-in”) period, we calculated participants’ mean steps per day. Thereafter, participants earned incentives in the form of loyalty points (worth Can

The Utility of Physical Activity Micro-Grants: The ParticipACTION Teen Challenge Program:

0.04 ) every day they reached their personalized daily step goal (ie, baseline mean+1000 steps=first daily step goal level). Participants earned additional points (Can

Sports Day in Canada: examining the benefits for event organizers (2010–2013)

0.40) for meeting their step goal 10+ nonconsecutive times in a 14-day period (called a “Step Up Challenge”). Participants could earn up to Can

The psychological and social impact of camp for children with chronic illnesses: a systematic review update

5.00 during the 12-week evaluation period. Upon meeting the 10-day contingency, participants could increase their daily goal by 500 steps, aiming to gradually increase the daily step number by 3000. Only participants with ≥5 valid days (days with step counts: 1000-40,000) during the baseline period were included in the analysis (n=32,229).The primary study outcome was mean steps per day (by week), analyzed using linear mixed-effects models. Results The mean age of 32,229 participants with valid baseline data was 33.7 (SD 11.6) years; 66.11% (21,306/32,229) were female. The mean daily step count at baseline was 6511.22. Over half of users (16,336/32,229, 50.69%) were categorized as “physically inactive,” accumulating <5000 daily steps at baseline. Results from mixed-effects models revealed statistically significant increases in mean daily step counts when comparing baseline with each study week (P<.001). Compared with baseline, participants walked 115.70 more steps (95% CI 74.59 to 156.81; P<.001) at study week 12. BC and NL users classified as “high engagers” (app engagement above sample median; 15,511/32,229, 48.13%) walked 738.70 (95% CI 673.81 to 803.54; P<.001) and 346.00 (95% CI 239.26 to 452.74; P<.001) more steps, respectively. Physically inactive, high engagers (7022/32,229, 21.08%) averaged an increase of 1224.66 steps per day (95% CI 1160.69 to 1288.63; P<.001). Effect sizes were modest. Conclusions Providing very small but immediate rewards for personalized daily step goal achievement as part of a multicomponent intervention increased daily step counts on a population scale, especially for physically inactive individuals and individuals who engaged more with the walking program. Positive effects in both BC and NL provide evidence of replicability.

Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth: Exploring the perceptions of stakeholders regarding their acceptability, barriers to uptake, and dissemination1

Youth physical activity levels remain low in Canada and worldwide. Lack of environmental resources (e.g., access to equipment and facilities, transportation options, and participation costs) is a key barrier for youth participation. Micro-grants are small budgets of money awarded via grant applications and may help community organizations facilitate youth physical activity participation by alleviating environmental resource barriers. ParticipACTION Teen Challenge was a national micro-grant scheme administered in Canada. Secondary analysis of survey data from Provincial and Territorial coordinators, registered community organizers, and successful grant applicants were used to evaluate the process and outcomes of Teen Challenge. Results showed that the financial subsidy of 500CAD was used mainly toward equipment, instruction, and transportation. Coordinators and community organizers indicated high levels of satisfaction and benefits for communities and teens. A key benefit for coordinators was leveraging the Teen Challenge network for physical activity promotion. Reported benefits for teenaged participants included leadership opportunities (e.g., helping create and implement programs) and increased physical activity participation. Findings highlight the value of micro-grants for supporting sport and physical activity opportunities for Canadian teens, and show that such schemes address barriers related to environmental resources. The sustainability of micro-grant schemes remains to be seen.

A Therapeutic Recreation Camp for Children with Congenital Heart Disease: Examining Impact on the Psychosocial Well-Being of Parents

The impact of large-scale, ‘mass’ community-based sport, and physical activity (PA) events on population PA has yet to be established. The enhancement of organizational capacity to support health promotion initiatives is one mechanism through which such events may be helpful. Sports Day in Canada (SDIC) is an annual, nation-wide event celebrating the role of sport within communities and promoting sport participation. Beginning in 2010, thousands of Canadian sport and PA organizations have created SDIC events each year. The objective of this study was to examine the types of organizations who participate in SDIC and to determine if and how these organizations benefit from hosting an event. Online surveys of event organizers (2010 to 2013 SDIC) were conducted. Descriptive analyses identified organization and event characteristics, and one-way ANOVAs across time assessed event organizers’ perceptions related to their overall satisfaction, benefits obtained, and challenges faced while participating in SDIC. Findings showed that organizations were mainly from the provinces of Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec, worked with children and youth, and registered an event that was a tournament or school based. There was a significant increase in overall satisfaction [F(3, 996) = 27.26, p < .001] and benefits obtained [F(3, 1000) = 18.36, p < .001] across all four years of SDIC. One main benefit reported by organizations was an increased awareness and interest among community members in sport program(s) offered by their organization. Mass events like SDIC may help enhance organizational capacity to deliver health promotion initiatives including sport and PA programming.