Jesús Sáez-Padilla

Background: to analyse the study plans of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at the University of Huelva (Spain), the Beja Polytechnic Institute (Portugal) and the Algarve University (Portugal), to identify content on attention to diversity, ageing and the four pillars of the World Health Organisation for this population (health, safety, continuous learning, and participation). Methods: a methodology was carried out mixed research, in the first place a quantitative phase of data analysis was carried out, for which the statistical program SPSS was used for the observation of frequencies and percentages. In the second phase of the work, and in a qualitative way, carried out an analysis of the content of the program collected in the syllabuses. Results: of the total of the 54 degrees analysed, content related to active aging or, the 4 basic pillars that the WHO comments to address it, were only found in a visible way in the degrees related to the disciplines of Physical Activity, Psychology, Social Sciences, Gerontology, Nursing, and Special Education. Conclusions: this work shows that there is a lack of content on care for ageing in many university degrees that enables students to work with this specific population group. This analysis led to the conclusion that many professionals who have contact with the senior population do not receive the necessary training to respond to the particular needs of individuals in this age group. Antecedentes: analizar los planes de estudio de grado y posgrado de la Universidad de Huelva (España), el Instituto Politécnico de Beja (Portugal) y la Universidad del Algarve (Portugal), para identificar contenidos sobre atención a la diversidad, envejecimiento y los cuatro pilares de la Organización Mundial de la Salud enfocados para población de tercera edad (salud, seguridad, aprendizaje continuo y participación). Métodos: se realizó una investigación con metodología mixta. En primer lugar se llevó a cabo una fase cuantitativa de análisis de datos, para lo cual se utilizó el programa estadístico SPSS para la observación de frecuencias y porcentajes. En la segunda fase del trabajo, y de forma cualitativa, se realizó un análisis del contenido de los programas recogidos en los planes de estudios. Resultados: del total de las 54 titulaciones analizadas, los contenidos relacionados con el envejecimiento activo o bien, con los 4 pilares básicos que comenta la OMS para abordarlo, solo se encontraron de forma visible en las titulaciones relacionadas con las disciplinas de Actividad Física, Psicología, Ciencias Sociales, Gerontología, Enfermería y Educación Especial. Conclusiones: este trabajo muestra que existe una carencia de contenidos sobre atención al envejecimiento en muchas carreras universitarias que habilitan a los estudiantes para trabajar con este grupo poblacional específico. Este análisis llevó a la conclusión de que muchos profesionales que tienen contacto con la población mayor no reciben la formación necesaria para dar respuesta a las necesidades particulares de las personas de este grupo de edad.

Healthcare professionals who work in front-line situations are among those under the highest risk of presenting negative mental health indicators. We sought to assess the prevalence of low personal realization, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization as well as probable non-psychotic psychiatric pathologies during the pandemic in nursing assistants in the city of Huelva (Spain), and to study the association between these mental health indicators and sociodemographic and professional variables. A cross-sectional descriptive investigation with a quantitative approach was used. A representative sample of these professionals, consisting of 29 men and 284 women, completed the GHQ-12 questionnaire, including sociodemographic data and the MBI-HSS questionnaire, collecting information on situations of contact with SARS-CoV-2. Data analysis was conducted, and correlations were established. We found that emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and probable non-psychotic, psychiatric pathologies were related to contact with SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, personal realization, depersonalization and emotional exhaustion were related to just gender. We conclude that nursing assistants from public hospitals in the city of Huelva who had contact with patients with SARS-CoV-2 in the workplace, showed poor mental health indicators than those who did not come into contact with infected individuals.

Inclusive education is a right and must be offered to all students, including those with disabilities, providing them with individualized educational attention and support. Teachers play a leading role in the inclusive education process, their preparation and attitudes being essential for this process. This study aimed to present the factor structure and reliability of a questionnaire for the assessment of teachers’ perceptions about their preparation to support inclusive education. The sample consisted of 605 Spanish primary school teachers who responded to the Evaluation of Teachers’ Inclusion Readiness (CEFI-R) Questionnaire. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and reliability evaluation were performed. The results showed a factor structure with four dimensions (Conception of Diversity, Methodology, Supports and Community Participation), composed of 17 items, with good and excellent goodness-of-fit values and high reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.75–0.94). Thus, the CEFI-R can be considered a quick and easy-to-apply tool to analyze primary school teachers’ perceptions about their preparation to address their students’ diversity of needs, allowing stakeholders to take actions to promote inclusive education.

Educational institutions and their agents play a fundamental role in improving people’s health literacy and quality of life. We intend here to describe and justify an educational resource embodied in an application for mobile devices developed through a subsidized project by the Ministry of Health (Government of Andalusia); the purpose of this app is to educate young people in healthy habits. The application was designed to be easily used in both smartphones and tablets with the aim of achieving good physical, psychological and social health. The project comprises several phases and the results we have so far show that, from an early age, health institutions and educational settings must work in partnership, increasing health literacy levels. This cooperative work combined with the use of this innovative approach presents an important potential for change in the lifestyles of younger generations. This type of intervention took on a special role in the pandemic context, allowing for the maintenance of the educational stimulus in a safe context.

Students are a population at risk of developing psychological complications, such as psychological discomfort, stress, and anxiety, among other problems, especially during the current health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study’s objective was to analyze the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological discomfort of final-year nursing students. A cross-sectional descriptive observational study was carried out. To analyze the psychological discomfort of the participants, the Kessler test (previously validated) was used. The results of this test were divided into two levels (High ≥ 21/Low < 21), showing high sensitivity as a screening method for anxiety and depression. Questionnaires were sent via email to final-year nursing students of Spanish and South American universities, inviting them to participate voluntarily. The sample consisted of 400 students, with an average age of 23.29 years and a sex proportion of 82.75% women and 17.28% men. Almost all participants (n = 396) belonged to Spanish universities, and the greatest participation corresponded to Andalusian universities (64.5%). The average psychological discomfort was high (M = 27.94). Statistically significant relationships were detected between age, sex, and feeling ready for the world of work, observing no relationships with the rest of the studied variables. The sample of 4th-year students of the Degree of Nursing presented a high level of psychological discomfort. This pathology does not seem to be related to having suffered from COVID-19 or being in contact with infected people during the practicum and is more strongly related to personal sociodemographic variables and students’ preparation for the world of work.

La evidencia científica nos muestra cómo la falta de movimiento a lo largo del día puede tener efectos negativos en nuestra salud. Los desplazamientos activos al centro escolar permiten la adquisición de hábitos saludables siguiendo las recomendaciones de la Organización Mundial de la Salud. El objetivo de este artículo fue realizar una revisión sistemática sobre el estado del arte, en relación con el desplazamiento activo al centro escolar, las barreras existentes y sus beneficios a nivel físico, psicológico y motivacional en las diferentes etapas educativas. El diseño corresponde a una revisión de los estudios previamente publicados entre 2015 y 2020. Para la realización del trabajo se han utilizado las siguientes bases de datos: Web of Science, Pubmed y Scopus. Para la selección de los estudios, se identificaron sólo aquellos que coincidieron con los criterios preestablecidos. De los 25 resultados iniciales, se seleccionaron 13 artículos que cumplían los criterios de elegibilidad preestablecidos con anterioridad. Los resultados mostraron relación positiva entre el desplazamiento activo desde el hogar de residencia hasta el centro de estudios y beneficios asociados con la salud de los practicantes. En contraposición, se asociaron un número importante de barreras las cuales dificultan la elección de un transporte activo hacia las escuelas, institutos y/o universidades. Son necesarias más investigaciones y publicaciones de estudios que clarifiquen de forma específica y detallada los beneficios que reporta en la salud la realización de desplazamientos activos, así como los pasos a seguir en planes para minimizar las barreras que lo dificultan. Scientific evidence shows us how a lack of movement throughout the day can have negative effects on our health. Active commuting to school enables the acquisition of healthy habits following the recommendations of the World Health Organization. The purpose of this article was to carry out a systematic review of the state of the art, in relation to active commuting to school, the existing obstacles and its physical, psychological, and motivational benefits at different educational stages. The design corresponds to a review of previous studies published between 2015 and 2020. The databases Web of Science, Pubmed and Scopus were used to carry out the study. For the selection of studies, only those that matched the pre-established standards were identified. From the 25 initial results, 13 articles were selected that met the pre-specified eligibility standards. The results showed a positive relationship between active commuting from home to school and associated health benefits for the practitioners. In contrast, a significant number of barriers were associated with the choice of active commuting to schools, high schools and/or universities. More research and published studies are needed to clarify specifically and detailed the health benefits of active commuting, as well as the steps to be taken in plans to minimize the barriers to active commuting.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its measures resulted in limited outdoor activities, reduced group meetings, etc., leading to unhealthy habits. Several studies showed how certain unhealthy habits can lead to serious consequences for both men and women, as well as affect future offspring. (1) Background: Therefore, we present a community intervention at the preconception stage to avoid future risks. The purpose of this intervention is to change lifestyles and beliefs about the health of men and women in the preconception period; (2) Methods: For the design of the intervention, a bibliographic search was performed both in English and Spanish in the main databases of health sciences and nursing (Cochrane, PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, LILACS, Dialnet), using descriptors in MeSH health for sciences; (3) Results: We proposed that a variety of lifestyles be analyzed, including aspects such as physical activity, nutrition, etc. In addition, stress management should be emphasized through a relaxation workshop, where three different techniques be proposed to reduce anxiety levels in stressful situations; (4) Conclusions: Due to the limited scientific results of interventions carried out in the preconception period simultaneously with men and women, more community interventions that address this topic are needed to assess the impact of these actions on the health of the population.

The aims of the present study were to analyze mobility, dynamic balance and lower-limb strength and the prevalence of asymmetry according to the type of sport and assess the association between inter-limb asymmetry and sports performance. A total of 23 basketball and 25 handball players performed a test battery consisting of functional movements and a jump test. Inter-limb asymmetry was calculated using a standard percentage difference equation. A between-groups comparison analysis was carried out, and Pearson’s correlation coefficients (r) were calculated to establish a relationship between asymmetries and physical performance. The results found athletes in different sports to exhibit different performance in functional movements and the jump test, but no bilateral asymmetries. The reactive strength index (RSI) and stiffness asymmetries were significantly associated with the anterior reach Y-balance test (YBT) (r = −0.412; p < 0.01 and r = −0.359; p < 0.05, respectively), and the unilateral triple hop test (THTU) was negatively correlated to anterior reach, posterior lateral reach YBT and YBT composite YBT (r = −0.341 to −0.377; p < 0.05). These findings suggest that the asymmetries exhibited important dispersion not dependent upon the type of sport but on each individual and the applied test. In addition, asymmetry in anterior direction YBT showed the strongest association to the rest of the sports performance variables.

A study was made to initially evaluate whether the age category directly could influence anthropometric measurements, functional movement tests, linear sprint (30 m) and strength. Moreover, and as the main purpose, this study aimed to examine the relationship between the time execution and angles in different changes of direction (COD) test with the analyzed sport performance variables. A total sample of 23 basketball players (age: 17.5 ± 2.42 years; height: 184.6 ± 6.68 cm; body weight: 78.09 ± 11.9 kg). Between-groups’ comparison explored the differences between basketball categories (Junior, n = 12; Senior, n = 11). The COD variables were divided by the time execution into low responders (LR) and high responders (HR) to establish comparisons between groups related to COD time execution. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to establish correlations between different CODs and sport performance variables. The results showed a greater influence of age category upon COD performance, especially when the cutting angle was sharper (7.05% [Confidence limits (CL) 90%: 2.33; 11.99]; Quantitative chances (QC) 0/2/98), in which athletes need greater application of strength. Moreover, the sharper the angle or the larger the number of cuts made, the greater the relationship with the vertical force–velocity profile (−42.39 [CL 90%: −57.37; −22.16]; QC 100/0/0%). Thus, the usefulness of the f–v profile to implement training programs that optimize the f–v imbalance and the improvement of the COD performance in basketball players is suggested.

The aims of the present study were (1) to determine the differences in body composition and the physical and physiological profile of handball youths across age categories, and (2) to analyze the mediation effect of different categories on the relationship between lean mass or fat mass and specific physical handball capacities. Fifty-four young handball players aged 13 to 18 were assigned to U14 (13- and 14-year-olds), U16 (15- and 16-year-olds), and U18 (17- and 18-year-olds). Body composition was measured using multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance (Inbody®, 230). Handball physical fitness was assessed using handgrip force, jumping tests (squat jump, countermovement jump, countermovement jump with aimed arms), a 30-m sprint, a change-of-direction test (T-half agility test and modified Illinois test), and a Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level 1. Simple mediation analysis was performed to analyze whether the category mediated the relationship between lean mass or fat mass and physical capacities. No significant differences were observed according to category for the majority of the measured parameters, except for height, lean body mass, and arm span. Lean body mass increased significantly as player category increased (p < 0.05; ∆ = 4.66–9.38; effect size (ES) = 0.96–1.92). The increase in handball category enhanced the majority of the physical capacities evaluated; however, these differences were reduced between the U16 vs. U18 categories. The indirect mediation effect suggests that handball category mediated the relationship between lean mass and upper and lower strength, velocity, agility, and cardiorespiratory fitness. In contrast, an indirect effect suggests that category mediated the relationship between fat mass only in agility and cardiorespiratory fitness. We conclude that U18s showed better body composition parameters, as well as better physical performance scores. Handball category clearly mediated the relationship between body composition through lean mass and fat mass and the physiological profile in handball youth, but lean mass proved to be more relevant when mediating physical performance.