Measures of Self-Perception, Level of Physical Activity, and Body Mass Index of Participants of Sports Education Camps for Youths with Visual Impairments

Abstract

Introduction: This study explored the relationship between first-time or repeat participation at a sports education camp and demographic variables of gender, age, race or ethnicity, measures of self-perception, body mass index (BMI), and physical activity in participants' communities. Methods: The study was a secondary data analysis of interview and BMI data for youths with visual impairments (i.e., those who are blind or have low vision) who attended a sports education camp in one of 12 states in the years 1989, 1996, and 2000-2010. Results: The short-term intervention model of a sports education camp had a positive effect on participants' perceptions of themselves. This result was more pronounced for boys and for youths with some usable vision. Involvement in a sports education camp did not tend to translate to increased involvement in sports in a student's community. The mean BMI of firsttime participants was consistent across gender, race or ethnicity, and vision category, and the BMI of first-time participants tended to be higher according to the age of the participant. Discussion: The findings revealed that the short-term intervention model of a sports education camp is highly effective in increasing self-perception for youngsters with vision impairments. Implications for practitioners: For youths with visual impairments who might be experiencing reduced social interaction, decreased self-perception or increased BMI

Interventions to improve functioning, participation, and quality of life in children with visual impairment: a systematic review

“…Together with articles identified through searches in reference lists of previously retrieved reviews and the gray literature, this resulted in 64 articles, describing 66 different studies (28 RCTs, 3,7,13,16,19,21,32, 33,39,47,50,54,56e58,61,62,66,69,72,78,83,85,93,98,111,121,124 18 non-RCTs, 1,2,6,11,15,20,27,35,44,51,55,65,74,75,82,89,96,104 and 20 before-after comparisons (BAs) 8 articles of McMahon and Kederis described 2 different studies. 57,58,70,71 The 66 included studies were published between 1964 and 2018, and 37 (56.1%) of them were published in the last decade (2008e2018) 1e3, 13,15,16,19e21,27,28, 30,32,33,35,39,40,43,46,51,54,62,65,69e71,73e75,78,82,83,85,89,91,96,98,104,110,111,124 ( Table 1). Most of the studies were conducted in the United States, 7,11,12,26,35,44,47,55e58,61,65,66,70e72,78,84,91,93,95,121 1 in Canada, 8 11 in Europe (i.e., United Kingdom, 50,108,119 Germany, 6 the Netherlands, 13,27,51,83,89 and Greece 69,82 ), 28 in Asian countries (i.e., Iran, 54 Turkey, 1,15,…”

“…89 For studies focusing on oral health, interventions included oral health education programs 3,20,28,39,96,123 and tooth brushing instructions. 46,62,85,98 Group-based programs 32,33,55,65,66,73 and physical activity programs 30,70,95 were used as interventions in studies focusing on psychological outcomes. Studies investigating functioning and development had intensive (home-based) early intervention programs, 6,7,21,83 attention training, 15 creativity training, 2 prescription of low vision devices, 40,43 and admission to a care unit 119 as intervention condition.…”

“…12 Two studies might have used the same instrument to measure parental stress, but Platje and coworkers refer to the instrument as Parenting Stress Index (with references), 83 whereas Behl and coworkers refer to the instrument as Parenting Stress Inventory (without reference) 7 so it is unclear if the same questionnaire was used. Three studies used the Sports Camp Evaluation Instrument, 70,71,84 but no information on validity of this instrument was provided. To measure selfconcept, 2 studies used the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, 55,65 but 2 different versions were used as well.…”

“…Five studies used proper matching techniques to control for confounding. 6,44,55,75,82 Almost all non-RCTs 1,2,11,20,35,44,51,55,65,74,75,82,89,96,104 and BAs 8,12,26,28,30,46,70,71,73,84,90,95,97,108,110,119,123 were rated as having low bias in selection of participants because all eligible participants were included. Bias in the selection of participants was rated as moderate for 3 non-RCTs, because of low response rates 15,27 or the intervention and follow-up did not coincide for all participants.…”

“…1 In the BAs, 9 studies were rated as having moderate risk of bias, 12,26,28,46,71,90,97,108,110,123 whereas the remaining studies were rated as having serious risk of bias. 8,30,40,43,70,73,84,91,95,119 All non-RCTs and all but one of the BAs 43 were rated as having moderate risk of bias in selection of reported results. None of the studies had a protocol available, but there were no indications of selective reporting or subgroup analyses.…”