Effect of video-guided educational intervention on school engagement of adolescent students with hearing impairment: Implications for health and physical education

Use of Virtual Reality-Based Games to Improve Balance and Gait of Children and Adolescents with Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Children and adolescents with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) often experience motor skill disturbances, particularly in balance and gait, due to potential vestibular dysfunctions resulting from inner ear damage. Consequently, several studies have proposed the use of virtual reality-based games as a technological resource for therapeutic purposes, aiming to improve the balance and gait of this population.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the quality of evidence derived from randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials that employed virtual reality-based games to enhance the balance and/or gait of children and adolescents with SNHL.

METHODS

A comprehensive search was conducted across nine databases, encompassing articles published in any language until 1 July 2023. The following inclusion criteria were applied: randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials involving volunteers from both groups with a clinical diagnosis of bilateral SNHL, aged 6-19 years, devoid of physical, cognitive, or neurological deficits other than vestibular dysfunction, and utilizing virtual reality-based games as an intervention to improve balance and/or gait outcomes.

RESULTS

Initially, a total of 5984 articles were identified through the searches. Following the removal of duplicates and screening of titles and abstracts, eight studies remained for full reading, out of which three trials met the eligibility criteria for this systematic review. The included trials exhibited a very low quality of evidence concerning the balance outcome, and none of the trials evaluated gait. The meta-analysis did not reveal significant differences in balance improvement between the use of traditional balance exercises and virtual reality-based games for adolescents with SNHL (effect size: -0.48; [CI: -1.54 to 0.57]; p = 0.37; I² = 0%).

CONCLUSION

Virtual reality-based games show promise as a potential technology to be included among the therapeutic options for rehabilitating the balance of children and adolescents with SNHL. However, given the methodological limitations of the trials and the overall low quality of evidence currently available on this topic, caution should be exercised when interpreting the results of the trials analyzed in this systematic review.

Weight self-stigma and engagement among obese students in a physical education class

BACKGROUND

This is a cross-sectional in design. It involves the mediating effects of basic psychological need satisfaction in relation to the moderating effects of teacher autonomy support regarding weight self-stigma's effect on engagement among obese students in physical education classes.

METHODS

This study includes 165 Chinese high school obese students [mean age, 16.84 (±0.147) years], comprising 93 males (56.63%) and 72 females (43.63%), with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 30.453 (SD = 2.426). Participants completed the weight self-stigma questionnaire, basic psychological need satisfaction questionnaire, teacher autonomy support questionnaire, and student engagement questionnaire.

RESULTS

Weight self-stigma and engagement among obese students were mediated by basic psychological need satisfaction. Moreover, the mediated effect of basic psychological need satisfaction was moderated by teacher autonomy support.

CONCLUSION

Weight self-stigma and basic psychological need satisfaction are the antecedents influencing the engagement of obese students. Notably, weight self-stigma not only directly blocks the engagement of obese students but also their engagement by hindering the acquisition of basic psychological need satisfaction. Teacher autonomy support can significantly reduce the negative impact of weight self-stigma on basic psychological need satisfaction and significantly promote engagement. Therefore, by promoting their physical education engagement, physical education teachers should strengthen the application of their supportive autonomous teaching strategies to help obese students meet their basic psychological needs.

Digital technology in physical education: a systematic review of research from 2009 to 2020

Digital media is currently one of the defining topics in discussions about schools and teaching. In this context, there has been a wide range of research in physical education (PE) in areas such as health, gamification, and wearable technologies. This raises the question of the goals pursued by empirical studies regarding the use of digital media in PE. The present systematic review provides an overview of the state of research in English and German on the use of digital media in PE. To this end, the included studies were those published between 2009 and 2020 in journals or edited volumes or as dissertations. They were found in relevant databases, selected based on criterion-guided screening, and transferred to the synthesis. Overall, this systematic review presents the possibilities and limitations of digital media in PE and highlights the goals regarding the use of digital media in PE that are pursued by empirical studies in the categories of physical, cognitive, social, affective, and school framework conditions. While benefits from the usage of digital media in PE—such as in terms of motivation or improving sport-specific motor capabilities and skills—were identified, barriers regarding the preparation of PE teachers were also found. More specifically, the benefits of using digital media to achieve PE-related goals were in the foreground in many of the selected studies. However, only a few specifically addressed learning via media, including topics such as data protection and the effect that viewing images has on students’ self-concepts.