African Journal for Physical Activity and Health Sciences (AJPHES) - latest Issue

This issue of AJPHES marks the 25th year of publication of the journal, having been previously published under its former name, AJPHERD. Publishing a journal continuously for a quarter of a century without interruption is indeed an arduous task. As we commemorate the silver anniversary of the journal, AJPHES would like to pay a special tribute to its founding Editor-In-Chief, the late Prof. L.O. Amusa, for his vision in starting the journal and the indefatigable role that he played for over 22 years in nurturing it till his untimely passing in 2016. Special appreciation is also extended to members of AJPHES editorial board, advisory board and specialist reviewers for their selfless service towards the growth of the journal, and for joining hands together to maintain its high publication standard. The contributions of authors who have published in the journal over the years are also acknowledged. Finally, our sincere appreciation is extended to the management of Leach Printers & Signs for their continued support and enduring partnership.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) is an international sport federation that constitutes 72 Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs) which oversee, amongst others, the delivery of a quadrennial Commonwealth Games (CG). As part of a philosophy of member development, the CGF implemented the Gold Coast (GC) 2018 Development Grant Programme as strategy to facilitate the funding of CGAs towards the development of their teams (athletes and support structures) for the GC2018 CG.Where CGAs were dependent on stakeholders such as National Sport Federations (NSFs), government, sponsors and others to deliver on Gold Coast 2018, the question arose regarding the extent to which applications by CGAs for funding reflected the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in the administration and preparation of athletes for CG 2018 teams. Documents were analysed according to the criteria provided by the CGF for fund application, allocation and reporting, while structured interviews and focus group discussions were analysed utilizing line-by-line open coding for theme generation and clustering according to axial coding. Trustworthiness of interviews and validity criteria for questions and emergent data were ensured through applying modalities of authenticity and member checking during interviews. A total of 71 (97%) CGA applications for funding and 63 (89%) allocations and mid-term reports were analysed. Twenty-seven (n=27) research participants from as many CGAs (38%) participated in interviews and 55 from 25 CGAs (34%) were involved in the focus groups. A total of 82 participants from 52 (73%) CGAs collectively participated in either interviews or focus groups. Results indicated that the approach of CGAs to the application and use of GC2018 development funds relates directly to the capacity, level of professionalization and specialization of CGAs as well as the number, level of professionalization and capacity of stakeholders such as NSFs, government and sponsors.

A four-week supra-maximal speed interval intervention using traditional downhill running and partially weighted running on the AlterG^® anti-gravity treadmill was undertaken. Performance was determined by 40m standing-start-sprint and 3000m timed-run performance. A pre-post-test design with ranked stratification was used. Based on 3000m timed-run performance at baseline, ranked pairs of female runners were randomly assigned to either an experimental (AlterG^® training) or comparison (downhill running) group. The experimental group (n=10) trained on an anti-gravity treadmill at 75% of body weight with 1° incline, performed at 125% of average speed. The comparison group (n=7) trained on a 5.8° downhill tarmac at 110% of average speed performed at pre-test. The supra-maximal speed interval intervention was performed twice weekly as part of a 10 000m training programme for moderately trained 30- to 45-year-old female club level runners. Performance gains were similar in both groups. Mean post-intervention difference in 40m sprint performance for the AlterG^® and the downhill group were 0.31±0.2s and 0.27±0.3s (U=31.5; p=0.770; Cohen’s d=0.14), respectively. Mean post-intervention difference in 3000m performance for AlterG^® was 0.68±0.5s and 0.60±0.3s for the downhill group. None of these differences were significant (p>0.05).

The identification of the study of Physical Activity in South Africa may be confusing, due to the different names adopted by universities offering programmes in its related sub-disciplines. A common name uniting all the sub-disciplines of the study of Physical Activity would secure inter-alia the following benefits: a common identity among all human movement practitioners, the attraction of more students to Physical Activity related sub-disciplines, collaborative departmental, faculty, national, and international relationships, and efficient facilitation of applications, and awarding of, elusive research grants. A narrative literature approach was adopted in which peer-reviewed papers and professional electronic records in Google Scholar, Sabinet and grey literature were perused. Key search phrases were: title changes of South African Physical Education Departments, Sports Departments, and, Exercise Science Departments. The fundamental themes developed were: name change of South African Physical Education departments, and, name variations of degrees and diplomas awarded at South African universities. The exclusion criterion was non-South African tertiary institutions. As no such results were found, the names of all the relevant South African university departments as well as the degrees and diplomas offered were reviewed. Seven departments were housed in the School/Faculty of Health Sciences (43.7%), two each in the Faculties of Science (12.5%), and Science and Agriculture (12.5%). One department fell under the ambit of Business and Management Studies (6.25%), Arts and Social Sciences (6.25%), Humanities and Health Sciences (6.25%), Applied Science (6.25%) and Community and Health Sciences (6.25%). Regarding the nomenclature of the departments, 10/16 adopted the word “Sport” while three adopted the words “Human Movement,” a further four departments used the word “Biokinetics” as a descriptor and the word “Exercise” featured in the names of only two departments. It was concluded that a number of benefits could be derived within the South African context by embracing Kinesiology as a common nomenclature for the study of Physical Activity.

High levels of exercise or physical activity may decrease risk of developing insomnia. This evaluated the relationship between domain-specific physical activity and insomnia in a national population sample in South Africa. Data were examined from the cross-sectional “South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (SANHANES-1)” 2012, using a sample of 14,817 persons (mean age=36.9, SD=16.5). Measures included self-reported information on domain-specific physical activity (work, transportation and leisure), insomnia, socio-demographic, health risk behaviour and mental health. Results indicated that the overall prevalence of insomnia symptoms was 7.1%, 5.4% among men and 8.6% among women (p<0.001). In adjusted logistic regression analysis among women, high level of overall physical activity and high level of work domain physical activity increased the odds of having insomnia (Odds Ratio-OR: 1.46, Confidence Interval-CI: 1.02, 2.08, and OR: 1.57, CI: 1.12, 2.19, respectively). Overall, high levels of physical activity and among men, high levels of transportation domain physical activity were associated with decreased odds of having insomnia (OR: 0.77, CI: 0.60, 0.99, and OR: 0.66, CI: 0.45, 0.97, respectively). In bivariate analysis, high levels of leisure time physical activity reduced the risks for insomnia (OR: 0.64, CI: 0.44, 0.93). In conclusion, among women, high work related physical activity increased the odds of insomnia, and among men, a high transportation related physical activity decreased the odds of insomnia.

The purpose of this study was to analyse ways in which the potentials of youth athletes could be optimized through counselling services within the Nigerian school system. It is noted that there is a skewed attention given to the physical and skill aspects of youth sports development with inadequate deployment of athletic counselling modalities. The integration of counselling services to youth athlete development process could help the young athlete in many ways that include for example (1) helping the athletes to maintain a balance between sports and education, (2) improvement of the study habits of young athletes (3) helping to improve their time management. (4) coping with stress (5) enhancement of female participation in sports (6) helping the athletes to develop interest in Physical Education (PE) as a subject, which is the basis of sports and (7) motivation of athletes for better performance among others. The main thesis of this paper is that a multilateral approach in the development of young athletes, that includes the deployment of counselling services would enable them to optimise their athletic potentials.

The field of positive psychology is centred on valued subjective experiences and positive individual traits that move individuals toward better citizenship. Adjustments to the demands of coaches’ work and life satisfaction may place an additional burden on coaches to find the correct balance between their resilience and self-efficacy in attaining job satisfaction and subsequently life satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of resilience and self-efficacy on job satisfaction and its relationship with life satisfaction among a cohort of South African amateur soccer, rugby and cricket coaches. , The study is located within a post-positive quantitative cross-sectional research paradigm using a structured questionnaire administered to a sample of 250 amateur sport coaches through a convenience sampling method. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis. The regression analysis yielded positive significant predictive relationships between self-efficacy and job satisfaction (β = 0.426, t-value = 7.021, p < 0.000), resilience and job satisfaction (β = 0.142, t-value = 2.344, p < 0.01) and job satisfaction with life satisfaction (β = 0.414, t-value = 7.160, p < 0.000). Management of sport organisations should seek to achieve a positive working environment that sustains a sense of personal satisfaction for amateur sport coaches.

Students often find it difficult to adjust during the transition from high school to higher education institutions (HEIs). Less than 15% of the students enrolled in South African HEIs actually graduate, and numerous factors affect the success of students at HEIs. However, evidence suggests that outdoor adventure education (OAE) with experiential group-based activities can promote meaningful learning, retention, academic achievement, social support and self-esteem in students. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of an outdoor adventure programme with selected team-building and indigenous cultural activities on the personal effectiveness of students at a South African HEI in Gauteng Province. On arrival (pre-test) at and on completion (post-test) of a 2-day camp, the Review of Personal Effectiveness with Locus of Control (ROPELOC) instrument was employed to collect quantitative data from a cohort of multicultural university students (n=120). The findings revealed an increase in the overall effectiveness of students. Follow-up interventions are recommended to ensure its sustainability and retention.

In children, poor posture is caused by many factors including, malnutrition and altered habitual positions. Poor postures may develop into fixed spinal deformities, and could negatively affect the physical and psychological well-being of children. In this study, we examined the screened prevalence of spinal deformities and characterized the type and distribution of deformities in 3 606 (mean age 19.3±2.1) Rwandan secondary school children. We screened the postures of children using the Modified Posture Screen test and the Adams Forward Bend test. Relationships between categorical variables and spinal disorders were investigated with the Chi-square test. The screened prevalence of spinal deformities was 53.3% (95% CI 51.7; 55). Scoliosis was most the common deformity at 39% (95% CI 38%; 41%). Female gender (p = .029) and low body mass index (p = .002) were significantly associated with the presence of spinal deformities. Our finding points to the need for a follow up evaluation during which positively screened children undergo clinical examination and treatment as needed. At the population level, educators and nurses should be trained to screen for spinal deformities, to ensure that all schoolchildren in Rwanda have access to proper screening and necessary intervention.

Maternal death rate is high worldwide and whenever there is a maternal death, the affected midwives face the emotional trauma of having to deal with such death. The aim of the study was to examine the adaptations of midwives after maternal deaths and develop strategies to enhance adaptation of the midwives at a tertiary hospital complex in Limpopo Province, South Africa. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive phenomenological research design was used for this study. A snowball sampling method was used to recruit 19 participants that were determined by data saturation. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed following the Tesch’s method from which themes and sub-themes were developed. The findings indicated that after maternal deaths the midwives had poor adaptation mechanisms and received limited support from hospital management. Managers of maternity units should implement strategies to facilitate midwives’ adaptation after maternal deaths.

Health care financing and equity remain a global challenge for both developed and developing countries. The Results-Based Financing (RBF) model was implemented in Zimbabwe in 2014. This model is defined as a strategy that is used to link financing to predetermined results, with payment only made upon realisation of agreed-upon results that are confirmed through a meticulous verification process. The purpose of this study was to explore nurses’ perspectives regarding the implementation of RBF in Zimbabwe with the aim of recommending measures to strengthen the programme. To capture the direct experiences of nurses implementing this financing model, the study utilised a qualitative approach. Three focus group interviews were conducted, with a total of 21 nurses implementing the RBF model in Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe. The steps of qualitative analysis described in Creswell (2014) were followed. Thematic analysis was used to identify common issues that recur, and these were summarised in a narrative form. Results showed that nurses reported increased motivation from the incentives built into the financing model. They also mentioned some successes realised in health care. Several challenges, such as lack of continuum of care owing to user fees charged at district hospitals, increased workload on account of overwhelming administrative requirements of RBF and delays in subsidies reimbursements and difficulties in accessing funds from banks due to prevailing cash shortages in the country, were highlighted and suggestions proffered to strengthen the implementation of donor funds in health care. It was concluded that nurses play a significant role in implementing health care financing reforms in Zimbabwe. Urgent attention is required to address the challenges in order to ensure the sustainability of reported gains.