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Movement is at the core of human existence. For infants and children, exploratory movement offers a scaffold for important learning and development outcomes, and in adolescents and adults, regular activity is key for promoting good physical and mental health.
Robust evaluation is critical for understanding and enhancing the impact of health promotion initiatives. However, many community-based organisations face challenges in planning and conducting evaluation due to limitations in knowledge, resources, and the applicability of existing evaluation frameworks. The Healthway Evaluation Framework, and its accompanying practical Measurement Toolkit, was designed to support evaluation planning, implementation, and reporting across diverse health promotion programs and settings.
Physical activity improves physical and psychosocial outcomes in healthy children and in children with a range of chronic health conditions. Unfortunately, children with chronic health conditions have lower levels of physical activity compared to their healthy peers due to multiple restrictions in physical activities and therefore tend to have lower levels of physical activity compared with their peers. This paper describes the protocol for Move to Improve, a pragmatic trial of an individualised physical activity intervention for children with chronic health conditions.
Assessment of motor competence is critical for planning and monitoring children's development. However, many assessment tools require time, training, and resources not available to most teachers. We aimed to evaluate the external aspect of construct validity of a rapid product-oriented fundamental movement skill assessment tool designed specifically for primary education settings.
Regular exercise can be beneficial for people living with a severe mental illness. By better understanding the perspectives and challenges of adults with severe mental illness who are engaged in exercise, we can enhance the design and implementation of exercise programs to better support their mental health and recovery.
Youth sports programs provide an opportunity to embed mental health and wellbeing programs to reach young people with mental health support. The aims of this study were to (a) examine mental health outcomes from a youth sports program including a mental health program (Life-Fit-Learning) in adolescent boys and girls, and (b) among the larger cohort of adolescent boys, to examine whether partial or full completion of Life-Fit-Learning yielded different outcomes for boys within healthy and high-risk ranges for anxiety, depression and behavioral concerns.
There is currently limited data regarding the physical activity behaviors of trans and gender diverse people (including binary and non-binary identities; henceforth trans). The aim of this review was to synthesize the existing literature in this area, with a focus on physical activity behaviors as they relate to health (e.g. health benefits, risks of adverse health outcomes).
Patients with cardiovascular disease benefit from cardiac rehabilitation, which includes structured exercise and physical activity as core components. This position statement provides pragmatic, evidence-based guidance for the assessment and prescription of exercise and physical activity for cardiac rehabilitation clinicians, recognising the latest international guidelines, scientific evidence and the increasing use of technology and virtual delivery methods.
The incidence of mental illness is greatest among young adults, and those enrolled in higher education may be particularly vulnerable compared to the general young adult population. Many higher education institutions employ student support staff tasked with implementing strategies to improve student wellbeing and mental illness.
Canada, Australia, the World Health Organization and other countries have released 24-hour movement guidelines for the early years which integrate physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep, focusing on supporting children to achieve a healthy 24-hour day. The guideline evidence synthesis, however, highlighted the dearth of high-quality evidence, particularly from large-scale studies.