A Cross-Sectional Study Rating the Perceived Impact and Reach of the Ministry of Health and Wellness Initiatives to Curb Physical Inactivity in Jamaica

Like other countries, Jamaica in the last 2 decades has seen an increase in physical inactivity, which has significantly increased the number of people living with chronic lifestyle diseases on the island. It can be argued that increased industrialization has resulted in several ecological concerns, such as violence that may deter people from engaging in physical exercise, pollution and polluted air, lack of parks, walkways, and sports/recreational amenities. Despite the causes of physical inactivity, there is a global mobilization by the World Health Organization (WHO) and individual countries to reduce physical inactivity levels by at least 15% by 2030. The COVID-19 pandemic has surely put a dent in the physical activity (PA) targets. Many countries initiated restrictive measures (lockdowns, curfews, and social distancing) to try and contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus. For countries such as Jamaica, combating physical inactivity seems to require strategies, interventions, motivation, and the promotion of physical activity (PA) culture from all stakeholders (integrated approach) to meet the WHO’s goals and standards by 2030. The purpose of this research was to assess the perceived impact and reach of Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) initiatives to promote PA, impact weight loss, and lifestyle while trying to reduce sedentary behaviors in Jamaica. A standardized questionnaire was used in a single cross-sectional design that surveyed 843 Jamaicans using Google Forms. Participants ages 12-71 years old were surveyed using a hybrid sample strategy that used convenience and snowballs sampling techniques. The results of the study indicated that there was a 35% participation rate in the MOHW initiatives, with only 14.3% of the participants believed that the initiatives were impacting their weight loss and lifestyle. Additionally, 51.6% of the participants did not believe the initiatives caused them to participate more in PA; on average, the initiatives by the MOHW were rated at 50% effective. The initiatives are not very effective in reaching most of the population, which is not achieving the goal of enhancing healthy lifestyle practices and reducing physical inactivity. These implications may potentially see an increase in Jamaica’s physical inactivity levels and chronic lifestyle diseases if these initiatives are not intensified to reach the majority of the population.

Theorizing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Special Needs Students and Teachers in Physical Education and Sports in Jamaica

Students with special needs are one of the most vulnerable groups in our society. Special needs students require distinct treatment and attention to function and make sense of the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the routine and the special attention that are normally available to these students when they are in face-to-face school. One of the most anticipated aspects of face-to-face school is participating in physical education (PE) and sports, which provides physical, social, and psychological benefits for special needs students. However, the pandemic has forced schools online and has changed the ascetics of PE and sports. Furthermore, like a third-world country, Jamaica does not have the technological resources needed to fully engage special needs students in PE. As a result, this study sought to investigate the challenges that are facing special needs students and teachers in PE while conducting classes online during the COVID-19 pandemic, from the teacher’s perspective. The research took the form of a qualitative approach while utilizing a multiple case study design that used a purposive sampling method in selecting the four (out of 11) most prominent public special education schools in Jamaica. The results revealed that student participation in PE was significantly impacted. In some cases, up to 80% of the students were unaccounted for in PE classes since the start of the pandemic. The challenges were seen as magnified twofold, ranging from physical, psychological, social, environmental, and societal issues. The results of this study raise serious concerns about the physical health of students with special needs, with Jamaica struggling to reduce physical inactivity rates and chronic lifestyle diseases. The risk of special needs students developing secondary disabilities because of sedentary lifestyles practices is very worrying. A lack of physical activity also means lower levels of socialization and increased psychological issues that could worsen with the strict COVID-19 lockdown measures, internet connectivity issues, and lack of devices.

Effect of Static and Dynamic Stretching Warm-Up Methods on Agility, Speed and Leg Power Performance in School Level Netball Players

A warm-up helps the individuals to prepare themselves for strenuous workouts. The warm-up is generally executed before participation in any physical activity or sports. The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of sequencing lower-body static and dynamic stretching combinations on agility, speed, and leg power of school-level female Netball players. Three different stretching protocols were performed: (a) Static Stretching combined with Dynamic Stretching (SS+DS), (b) Dynamic Stretching combined with Static Stretching (DS+SS), and (c) Dynamic Stretching combined with Dynamic Stretching (DS+DS). A control warm-up condition without stretching was implemented with a prior aerobic warm-up followed by dynamic activities. Dependent variables included a 30-m Sprint, Agility run, and jump tests to measure speed, agility, and leg power performance. The level of significance was set at 5% for statistical analysis. The method used for statistical analysis was two-way ANOVA. There was no significant impact of stretching protocols on agility (p=0.257), speed (p=0.106), and leg power (p=0.902) of school-level female netball athletes. The results of the analysis allow the authors to retain the hypothesis that a sequence of static and dynamic stretching combinations does not significantly affect the agility, speed, and leg power of school-level female netball athletes.

Students’ Learning Styles in Relation to Service Physical Education Performance

This study aimed to determine the students’ learning styles, whether visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learning style, in relation to their Service Physical Education performance in terms of written and practical exam results. The moderating variables of age, gender, academic status, religion, and course were also considered. This was conducted among Service P.E. students of the Mindanao State University, Marawi City, officially enrolled during the 2nd semester, A.Y. 2015 – 2016. This descriptive-correlation study was conducted among 925 respondents (227 male and 588 female respondents). The VARK Learning Styles Questionnaire developed by Victoria Chislett was used to assess their learning styles. The Service P.E. performance was taken from their partial written and practical exams. The majority of the respondents were15-18 years old; most of the respondents were female; most of the respondents were Tuition Privilege status; most of the respondents were Islam believers while others were non-Muslim, and almost all of the respondents were Bachelor of Science (BS) degree pursuers. In terms of learning styles, it was found out that most of the respondents were visual learners. With regard to the Service P.E. performance, most of the respondents received grades of 1.0-1.25 or excellent in their written exams while most of them were rated 1.50-1.75 or very good in their practical exams. The relationship between the variables found out that there were no significant relationships between the moderating variables of age, religion, and course with their respective p-values of 0.272, 0.188, and 0.355 to the independent variable of learning styles. However, there were significant relationships between the moderating variables of gender, academic status and the independent variable of learning styles. Furthermore, age (p = 0.184), academic status (p = 0.385), religion (p = 0.784), and course (p = 0.869) were not significantly related to written exam performance while gender was significantly related to written exam performance. Practical exam performance showed no relationship with the different moderating variables. For the relationship between learning styles and Service P.E. performance, it was revealed that learning styles had a significant relationship between written exam performance, while no relationship existed between learning styles and practical exam performance. Good performance in the written exams matters most in how the students prepare for it. On the other hand, ability, preparation, and constant correct practice will matter the most in preparation for practical exams. Thus, it is recommended that Physical Education administrators formulate plans to further improve the competencies of Physical Education teachers, especially in identifying the different learning styles of their respective students, to provide appropriate teaching approaches that facilitate effective learning experiences among their students. Physical Education teachers should provide enough time for skills practice so that most of their students will have greater chances of obtaining higher ratings in their practical exams. A similar study should be conducted in the future using other variables or using an equal number of respondents in gender and religion.

Study on Influence of Macro-trauma Injuries on the Psychology of a Sportsman

This study presents the influence of macro trauma also known as a large-scale injury on the psychology of a sportsman, which may have been happening over some time going before the certified affirmation that injury is obvious. By macro trauma sports injury, individual, and social qualities, may compellingly affect the harmed sportsmen. Wounds, while ideally rare, are regularly an unavoidable piece of game support. While most macro-trauma injury wounds can be dealt with practically zero disturbance in-game support and different exercises of everyday living, some force a significant physical and mental weight. An idiopathic etiology where the purpose behind brokenness is dark may extend vibes of disappointment, shock, and distress, especially if the hurt contender cannot promptly the point of convergence of recuperation, besides, set conspicuous destinations. For the study of the cases, convenience sampling is applied for selecting focus-group participants and for interviews 40 were approached and asked for their participation according to their availability. The findings of the study stated that, for the sportspersons, the mental reaction to a macro trauma injury could trigger or expose genuine psychological wellness issues like melancholy, uneasiness, confused eating, and substance use or misuse. At the point when a sportsman is harmed, a typical passionate response incorporates preparing the clinical data about the injury given by the clinical group, just as adapting sincerely to the macro trauma injury.

Women and Sports: View from Stereotyping and Gender Differentials Perspectives

Sports are viewed as manly demesne, and this generalization brings about men seeing more noteworthy capacity and appending more prominent significance to the sport than women. Society foresees that men and women ought to get, have confidence in, and satisfy explicit gender differentials and stereotyping that have been set up. At the point when sexual orientation standards are disregarded, it is basic for names to be offered, inquiries to be posed, and individuals to be mocked. While "customary" gender stereotyping has remained genuinely consistent in the course of recent hundreds of years, they have likewise been tested and defied by numerous women and women's activists. One explicit region in which customary gender differentials have been assessed and dissected is sports and proactive tasks. In any creating field, for instance, the one that began as "women in sport," key advancements can be followed through the development of the language utilized and the ideas created to communicate new understandings. The current investigation has been attempted to target evaluating the contribution of women in sports in various fields. From the quantity of variables that impact women in sports, gender differentials and stereotyping have been chosen for this investigation. This investigation has uncovered that when correlations were made with their male partners, women athletes have been similarly solid and were discovered to be similarly skilled, inventive, creative and capable.