Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of life of children and adolescents with any type of cancer in all phases of their treatment. Methods: Fifty-six newly diagnosed patients diagnosed with malignancy and hospitalized in a Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Unit in Athens were included in the study. Minneapolis-Manchester Quality of Life Instrument was used for data collection from July 2010 to December 2012. The assessment of children and adolescents' quality of life who were under treatment was performed in three different stages of treatment. Results: The results of the study showed that the quality of life of children and adolescents with cancer did not change notably during their treatment (F = 0.16, P = 0.86 and F = 0.03, P = 0.97). For the first measurement, at the beginning of the therapy, the score on the scale for quality of life for children and adolescents was 3.44 and 3.88, respectively, in the middle of the treatment 3.36 and 3.89, respectively, and 3.43 and 3.89, respectively, when therapy was completed. Children and adolescents diagnosed with hematologic cancer stated higher quality of life scores (z = −1.61, P = 0.05 and t = 2.64, P = 0.007). Moreover, teenage patients (F = 13.22, P = 0.001) and male patients (t = 2.31, P = 0.02 and t = 2.27, P = 0.02) expressed better quality-of-life scores. Conclusion: According to the results, children and adolescents with any kind of cancer have better quality-of-life scores at the end of their treatment, and when they are supported by their family.
Published studies have shown that the presence of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) (APA,1994), involves about 5–15% of the population. This work focused on the study of the effect of an intervention program with trampoline on school children of ages from 6 to 11 years old, exhibiting DCD. The study included DCD detection with the quantitative diagnosis test of neuromuscular coordination of the entire body (Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder KTK, Kiphard & Schilling, 2002, 1974), leading to 20 (out of a total of 200) children exhibiting DCD (intervention and control groups). Furthermore, a group of 10 students constituted a control group without DCD. A static balance measurement test was applied, using the balance platform (footchecker 3.2, Lovan Engineering S.r.l., Bologna, Italy) for all 30 students as follows: standing with open and closed eyes, and balance maintenance while standing on each one foot for 30″. An intervention program for multifaceted practicing of coordination abilities with trampoline was also applied to the intervention group, whereas the control groups followed the typical physical education timetable. An important effect of the intervention group (p<0.001), regarding the SD of the centre of pressure (CP) in the anteroposterior axis (Y), was observed during measurement with open eyes and standing on the right foot, as well as in the collateral axis (X), while standing on the left foot. A statistically significant difference (p<0.001) was also exhibited in the Y-axis, concerning the shifting of the CP, for the case of measurement with open eyes and standing on each foot. Regarding the within groups interaction, a significant effect (p<0.05) was observed for the shifting of the CP along the Y-axis for all conditions of measurement. These results support the hypothesis that the use of trampoline may improve the neuromuscular coordination, hence could provide a valid diagnostic tool for DCD.
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