Background: The aim of this review was to examine the physiological and psychological benefits of dance and its effects on children and adolescents. We consider the therapeutic benefits of dance and outline the potential of dance as an alternative therapy for certain pathologies and medical disorders. Secondly, we summarize the types of dances used in physical interventions, and comment on the methodologies used. Finally, we consider the use of dance as a different exercise modality that may have benefits for increased physical activity generally, and for increased physical education provision in schools.Methods: A structured search strategy was conducted using the databases of PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of science, PsycARTICLES, and Social Science database. This review used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for systematic reviews. Studies that were published in the past 20 years were considered for inclusion. All written publications were searched for in English, and all articles included in this review were peer reviewed full papers.Conclusion: The key findings from this review indicate that dance is a feasible alternative to traditional physical activity. The findings also indicate that dance provides physiological and psychological benefits to healthy and medically compromised populations. Implementation of dance programs in schools and society generally needs serious consideration by policy makers. We hope that the results of this review stimulate debate and provide the necessary evidence to profile dance as a viable alternative medium of physical activity. Comprehensive and integrated changes will be needed including economical and legislative support from politicians and associated governmental agencies. The findings reported here are important and have implications for health policy change, reconfiguration, and implementation.

BackgroundThe purpose of this scoping review is to stimulate interest and to raise awareness, among researchers, healthcare practitioners, and policymakers regarding the current scientific literature related to exercise prescription for non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Exercise prescription is a safe and cost-effective method that enables physicians to use exercise as a complementary addition to NCDs management and treatment.MethodsThis scoping review followed the PRISMA Extension Guidelines for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and Explanation. Using this framework, we considered information from qualitative and quantitative studies to identify research gaps. We provide feasible suggestions to guide future research for the implementation of exercise prescription in the healthcare environment. The literature search was conducted using SPIDER and PICO tools for qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-study designs. Inclusion criteria included articles that investigated patients with NCDs and considered exercise interventions. Systematic searches of PubMed, Web of Science, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and ScienceDirect were undertaken on 26 July 2022 and all reference lists were manually searched. Data processing was performed using EndNote 2.0 software and data charts were used for numerical summary and thematic analysis.ResultsThere were 10,951 articles retrieved, of which 28 met the inclusion criteria. Based on the evidence, exercise was a feasible, safe, and acceptable method to prevent and manage non-communicable diseases in inpatient and outpatient settings. Six research directions were identified and discussed. In addition, implementation evidence and suggestions for policy-reconfiguration are also provided.ConclusionThis scoping review summarizes the current evidence for the effectiveness of exercise in the treatment of non-communicable diseases. The review provides key findings supporting exercise prescription for the inpatient and outpatient healthcare service. We suggest that governments and healthcare policymakers globally advocate the inclusion of structured exercise prescription within the NCDs treatment setting.

This article analyses the 2017 UK General Election from the perspective of the campaign and results in Wales, a nation which had the most interesting election campaign of all the different nations. The election saw a stark contrast between the way the two principal UK-wide parties fought their campaigns and how the campaign impacted on results. Drawing on data from a post-election survey conducted in June 2017, we consider factors that shape voter choice, which affected the outcome of the election in Wales. We argue that the election internalised and reflected a new pattern of party politics that is likely to stimulate differential election outcomes across the UK; this requires a different approach to understanding election campaigns, one that differentiates between the nations and how every political party operates in each territory. This will help distinguish different political and electoral fault lines, as well as constructing a more granular analysis of the campaign’s impact on electoral outcomes. We conclude first that, to better and more comprehensively explain UK-wide elections, there is a need to provide distinctive national and regional analyses, and secondly, it is mistaken to assume that the same electoral patterns will always exist in Wales as in England.

The sixth election to Senedd Cymru/the Welsh Parliament was held in May 2021. The context for the election was heavily shaped by the Covid‐19 emergency, which restricted election campaigning and dominated the political agenda prior to polling. The result saw the continuance of Labour's long‐term hegemony in Welsh politics; Labour benefitted from strong public ratings of the handling of Covid‐19 by the Welsh government and First Minister. However, apparent stability in devolved Welsh politics may be threatened by developments elsewhere in the UK, which could make the ‘devolutionist unionism’ of Welsh Labour more difficult to sustain.

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