Projects / Programmes
Bio-psycho-social context of kinesiology
January 1, 2018
- December 31, 2027
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.10.00 |
Social sciences |
Sport |
|
| 3.08.00 |
Medical sciences |
Public health (occupational safety) |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| S273 |
Social sciences |
Physical training, motorial learning, sport |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 3.03 |
Medical and Health Sciences |
Health sciences |
physical exercise, children, health, motor development, chronical diseases, injuries, elderly people, resistance training, hypoxia
Data for the last 5 years (citations for the last 10 years) on
April 18, 2024;
A3 for period
2018-2022
| Database |
Linked records |
Citations |
Pure citations |
Average pure citations |
| WoS |
476 |
12,398 |
11,699 |
24.58 |
| Scopus |
477 |
13,779 |
13,059 |
27.38 |
Researchers (28)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
The research program focuses on two target groups (children and youth, and adults and the elderly). With the synergy of research in both areas we are trying to maximize the effects of interpretative and practical applicability of the results. In the field of child and youth we are involved with researching developmental trends and environmental influences on physical and motor development of Slovenian children and youth. Throughout its existence, the research program has developed exceptional research infrastructure, based on the national SLOfit database, which allows for monitoring of physical and motor development of the entire population of school-aged children and youth at the individual level. Due to the long tradition of the SLOfit database we are starting to examine physical and motor development of children in comparison with their parents’ childhood development, thus opening up a completely new field of study developmental principles of children associated with family life patterns and heredity.
Through our research the program group is trying to follow the latest epistemological trends in the development of anthropological kinesiology and to holistically address its research problems. We are striving to investigate the relations of human movement with social sciences, pedagogy, sociology, psychology, economics, gerontology, as well as with the field of medicine. In this context we constructed a few sub-projects which are aiming to increase the cross disciplinary synergy and to take a step forward in understanding the factors that define human movement and its effect on the quality of life.
Inside the second project part Exercise for health, life quality and efficiency, the main stress will be given to (1) persons with chronical diseases and injuries of locomotor system, (2) elderly persons and (3) sportsmen. With the persons under 1 and 2, the aim is to provide better life quality mostly with improved functional abilities and better health. Health part will be carried out in co-operation with health institutions (hospitals in Novo Mesto, Nova Gorica, Sežana, Ljubljana) to incorporate physical exercise as a model for patients’ care after different surgeries of locomotor system. Co-operation with other institutions will include cardio-vascular diseases, dementia and others. The main research direction with the elderly persons will be an analysis of existing outdoor fitness parks, the efficiency of the exercising machines (which is to our experiences not appropriate), and development more suitable outdoor and indoor exercising machines/ stations (for elderly care homes) and exercise programs for elderly persons that will provide enough opportunities and efficient exercise for that population. In sports, we will continue analysis of hypoxic resistance training already started in co-operation with University of Granada (Spain). Acquired knowledge in all areas will serve for development of ICT supported exercise programs.
Significance for science
1. With the SLOfit system our research program the only national source of annually objectively measured data on physical and motor development of children and youth which is supplemented by the survey data of the ACDSi study every ten years.
2. Due to annual objective assessment of nutritional status of the population of children in Slovenia the results of our research program serve as the main national source for determining the trends in nutritional habits and nutritional status of the current population of children and youth in Slovenia, while at the same time they also show the shortcomings of the international classifications of nutritional status of children and youth.
3. The linking of the longitudinal monitoring of the entire population of children and youth in the system SLOfit with research in the fields of medicine and public health, enable new discoveries in on the correlations of physical fitness with health status, health risks and morbidity.
4. The remarkable data set on the physical dimensions and physical abilities, collected in the survey ARTOS enables the creation and improvement of national standards of physical and motor development of children and youth, which can be used in normative research in the field of kinesiology and other scientific fields.
5. Monitoring of longitudinal development of each child with SLOfit system enables the production of explanatory and predictive models of physical and motor development.
6. Linking the SLOfit data with the ACDSi survey data enables the production of criteria on the influence of biological development on motor efficiency in children and youth, while linking this data with the neonatal databases enable the study of developmental opportunities for children with a variety of complications during birth or congenital deficiencies.
7. Longitudinal monitoring of the entire population of children and adolescents in Slovenia via SLOfit enables us to continually monitor the impact of changes in lifestyles on the physical activity of children and adolescents, which is reflected in changes in their locomotor status and physical development.
8. The tremendous wealth of data on physical and motor development of children and youth enables our research program outstanding integration in international research projects, analyses and publications in the most prestigious scientific journals with the highest impact.
9. By adding physical conditioning (strength, balance, endurance, flexibility training) to rehabilitation it is possible to accelerate functional recovery and prolongate its effects. Research on effectiveness of motor training in persons with specific needs will support theory on effectiveness and specificity of such exercise. It will also show its value for secondary preventive in injuries of locomotor system and chronical diseases.
10. New design of outdoor fitness machines, as developed through our team, will be more efficient for development of motor abilities of elderly persons than existing machines.
11. More systematical approach in analyzing response of neuro-muscular system to acute hypoxia during maximum voluntary contraction e.g. conditions typical for resistance training will provide greater transparency of responses regarding the load.
Significance for the country
1. With the SLOfit system and the ACDSi research we achieved unprecedented international recognition because our data is included in the most important global analyses in the field of public health, such as the analyses of the World Health Organization, NCD Risc Group or Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance.
2. The SLOfit Teacher feedback system has exceptional national and local importance for the quality of teachers' work, because it allows centrally processed data on physical and motor development of children and youth Slovenian to be used for better quality physical education curriculum planning and for acknowledging of individual peculiarities of children in the teaching process.
3. The SLOfit system data and ACDSi research data are directly used for the formulation of appropriate policies and interventions in the field of public health and education with the goal of reducing physical inactivity at national and local levels.
4. By participating in the expert groups of the World Health Organization, members of the research programme have direct access to decision makers and can influence the formulation of global policies in the field of public health, as well as access the best examples of good practice from abroad that could be implemented in Slovenia.
5. With the introduction of the web portal My SLOfit we significantly improved the flow of information on physical and motor development and health risks to end users, while with a very frequent occurrence in the media, the members of the research programme contribute significantly to raising public awareness about the risks of physical inactivity for physical, locomotor and intellectual development of children and youth.
6. The direct transfer of the latest research results in the educational process of future PE teachers, kinesiologists and coaches the research program carries the utmost importance for the education of human resources at the national level.
7. Due to the integration of our researches with other scientific disciplines, other research programs, individual researchers from other fields and due to the multidisciplinary composition of our group itself, our research programme has become an important point, through which we can achieve remarkable progress of kinesiology and other scientific disciplines due to complementarities and synergies.
8. We aim to develop a model of patient treatment/exercise that will maintain high professional standards, however with less involvement of professionals and less expensive. The model is in accordance with initiative »Exercise is medicine« of American College of Sports Science (http://www.exerciseismedicine.org/support_page.php/physical-activity-in-healthcare/) which represents one of the most important solutions for public health. New innovative health motor training programs for different persons will be developed (chronic diseases, injuries, frail elderly persons,…) and their organization/execution. The later will be based on ICT support including diagnostics, planning, leadership, tracking, data storage, report, motivation,…). An organizational model in persons that will be directed to nursing hospital will be based on an experts' team (doctor, kinesiologist, physiotherapist,) that will prepare a motor training program (based on information about the person obtained through tests and questionnaires) specific to the patient. The patient and his/her caretaker (relatives, friends, volunteers,…) will be trained to perform program properly. Afterwards, the program will be performed at home for 1-2 months. This will be followed with testing and new data will be used for a new motor training program, new acquaintance with the program and performing it at home. Telemedicine will be included for support and motivation. It is expected that (according to the organization at nursing hospital):
Shorter hospital stay
Shorter waiting for treatment
Distant exercise and professional support at home will lasts much longer as staying in ho
Most important scientific results
Interim report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Interim report
