International Journal of School Health
Volume:5 Issue: 4, Autumn 2018

Context: Scoliosis is a frequent pathology in school aged children that may become a concern for parents and can challenge for practitioners and family doctors. The aim of the study is to make a comprehensive overview concerning scoliosis in school-aged children as well as elucidate red flags and related referral criteria for general practitioners that have to deal with school-aged children in their daily practice. Evidence Acquisition: This article does not aim to be a systematic review as we have not applied a strict methodology. We conducted a bibliography search limited to MEDLINE and expanded with a search of the publications cited in the selected articles.

The scoliosis research society (SRS) advise on annual examination of all children between the prepubertal period and 14 years of age. American academy of pediatrics (AAP), recommend a screening school children program between 10 to 16 years of age. These societies reported that school scans were necessary and useful for scoliosis, they emphasize on the benefits of receiving an early diagnosis and treatment of spinal deformities; thus, avoiding future surgical interventions.

Early diagnosis of scoliosis and assessment of the risk of curve progression is critical in school aged children. There is still a need for a large cohort study to ensure reliable consequences of school scoliosis screening programs.

Use of modern communication technologies by teachers and students is an inventible strategy in educational centers. The aim of this study is to evaluate the social factors involved in using modern means of communication by female high school students in the city of Yazd, Iran.

The present research is a cross-sectional study conducted in 2015. As many as 365 girl students selected through a multiple-stage cluster sampling method took a researcher-made questionnaire that studied demographic characteristics and evaluated the extent of using modern communication technologies such as computer software programs, the Internet network, mobile phones, and social networks. The investigated social factors were age, family dimension, school type, family income, and parents’ education.

The findings showed that the use of modern communication technologies by students with mean 39.3 was lower than average, while computer software had a mean of 37.9, the Internet with a mean of 37.6, networks social media with a mean of 31.6, which was less than average, and mobile phone with a mean of 56 was higher average that, this difference is statistically significant(P < 0.001). Variables such as school type (P < 0.001), parents’ education (P < 0.001), and family income (P = 0.04) had a significant correlation with the extent of using modern communication technologies (P < 0.05), while age and family dimension proved to have no correlation in this regard.

Use of modern communication technologies is associated with family income and parents’ education. It means that an increase in parents’ education and family income will lead to a higher level of skills in using these technologies. Educational policy makers should provide the poor segment of the society with an access to modern technologies. Attention to the risks of social networks is also recommended

According to research, ones well-being is an important factor for mental health and satisfaction in one’s personal life and people with more well-being are more satisfied with their lives.

The purpose of this study is to find a relationship between self-compassion, emotional quotient, and maternal styles with the well-being in Shiraz school students.

Elementary school students and high school students in the academic year of 2018 were the research population. A total of 510 students who were chosen by multistage sampling method consisted this study sample so that based on the number of schools in Shiraz, 24 primary and high schools were chosen. Two classes from each school were selected and 9 to 11 students from each class participate in study. The tools used were maternal style questionnaire, self-compassion scale (SCS), emotional quotient scale (TMMS), and subjective well being inventory (SWB). Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression were applied for analyzing data.

According to the analysis, authoritative maternal style, self-compassion, and emotional quotient were important predictors of ones well-being and they can predict 81% of well-being in this study (P = 0.003). In addition, significant correlations were found between authoritative maternal style and self-compassion (correlation coefficient = 0.88, P = 0.007), authoritative maternal style and emotional quotient (correlation coefficient = 0.86, P = 0.008), and authoritative maternal style and subjective well-being (correlation coefficient = 0.94, P = 0.005).

According to this study, maternal style, emotional quotient, and self-compassion play an important role in the society and individuals mental health and well-being, therefore, these factors should be attended, especially the authoritative maternal style, which has the most correlation with well-being

One of the well-known cognitive strategies and techniques being used in a widespread manner by athletes both during the learning stages of a skill and within competitions is self-talk. In this research, we seek to examine the effects of overt and covert motivational self-talk on the physiological factor and the motor performance during a push-up exercise among children. Push-ups are one of the common tasks in schools with the universal standard used to measure the rate of endurance in the upper muscles of the trunk. The number of the correctly performed push-ups, regardless of the time, was each student’s score and validity and reliability for this test (93). The sample in the study consisted of 60 male students (aged 10.25 ± 0.57) studying in Bonab, Iran, during the 2017 - 2018 academic year who voluntarily participated in the study and were randomly divided into three groups of 20 (overt MST, covert MST and C group). At first, a pre-test including the push-up task and heart rate was performed. Then, the groups performed the push-ups task according to the specific conditions defined for each group as a post-test. The paired-samples t-test was used to examine the progress of the groups in comparison to the pre-test and the one-way ANOVA procedure, which was applied to compare the groups in their pre-test and post-test phases. The one-way analysis of variance showed that the groups did not have a significant difference in pre-test (push-ups test: P = 0.751, heart rate: P = 0.909). However, in the post-test, including the push-ups and heart rate, both the overt motivational self-talk (19.65 ± 8.95 and 118.60 ± 12.13, respectively) and the covert motivational self-talk (19.50 ± 5.03 and 119.09 ± 11.88) had a significant difference compared to the control group (13.10 ± 5.47 and 101.49 ± 9.15) (P = 0.010, P = 0.012 in push-ups task and P = 0.0001, P = 0.0001 in heart rate). The results of the current study showed that there was no significant difference between the overt and the covert groups. Therefore, it is recommended for sports teachers and coaches to use MST in their preferred mode during training their sports skills

  Increased rates of alcohol and drugs abuse has been noted among secondary school students in Botswana. We conducted nine student focus groups to elicit motivations for substance use as well as risk and mitigating factors. Participants were purposely sampled from among 2,227 secondary school students surveyed regarding drug/alcohol use in secondary schools. Students were selected for focus group participation based on their scores on the alcohol use and dependency inventory tool (AUDIT) and self-reported risk factors for alcohol/drug use. Students reported that alcohol/drugs are readily available at school and at home. A prominent theme among substance users was inadequate support from parents, who they describe as uncomfortable and unwilling to talk about common issues faced during adolescence, including alcohol/drug use. We identified opportunities to improve the current situation such as renewing efforts to restrict alcohol availability and focusing on parent-child communication interventions

  The development of motor competence during childhood has important implications for future health and well-being due to the association with physical activity. While associations between sports participation or TV time and motor competence have been examined previously, there remains limited research on the interaction of TV time and sports participation regarding motor competence. The present study; therefore, examines differences in motor competence by club sports participation and TV time in elementary-school children. 15 elementary schools in the federal state of Tyrol, Austria, were randomly selected for participation. Motor competence was assessed between October and December 2017 using the German Motor Test in 455 (49.5% boys) children starting elementary school. Body weight and height were measured with children in sports clothes and being barefoot following standardized procedures. In addition, parents reported participation and time spent in club sports (hours/week), as well as time spent watching TV (hours/day) via standardized questionnaires. Further, parents reported whether there was a TV in the child’s bedroom. Differences in motor competence by sports participation and TV time were analyzed via multivariate analysis of variance. In total, 24% of the participants exceeded the current recommendations for TV time (> 2 hours/day) and 46% participated in club sports. There was no difference in TV time and club sports participation between boys and girls. Nevertheless, boys displayed better standardized scores for flexibility (2.8 ± 0.8; P = 0.001), sprint (2.6 ± 0.9; P = 0.005), and sideways jumping (1.3 ± 0.6; P = 0.030) than girls. Significant interaction effects between TV time and club sports were observed for balance (P = 0.020), sit-ups (P = 0.039), endurance (P < 0.001), and overall motor competence (P = 0.035). In addition, club sports participation was associated with better performance on all motor competence tests (P-values ranging from 0.047 to < 0.001) while lower TV time was associated with better performance in sprint, sideways jumping, push-ups, 6-minute run, and total motor competence only (P-values ranging from 0.006 to < 0.001). Club sports participation appears to be an important contributor to the development of motor competence while high TV time may impair motor development, particularly in children not participating in club sports. Parents and educators; therefore, should facilitate participation in the organized physical activity even in pre-school children while limiting TV time