Psychosocial aspects of improving physical activity of children with chronic diseases

Abstract

The study involved 558 girls and 526 boys, 8-9 grade students; including 328 girls and 312 boys with chronic diseases of the cardiovascular system or musculoskeletal system; the remaining 230 girls and 214 boys had no health abnormalities. The attitude towards the physical activity were studied in these respondents including their interest and willingness to carry out such activities in daily life systematically. For this purpose, the method of questioning was used. The study was performed during the academic years 2014-16. Closed format questionnaire was used. The differences in the responses were examined as follows: between the girls and boys with chronic diseases; between the girls and between the boys with and without health abnormalities. It was established that only a small number of adolescents from both groups studied practice physical activities systematically in daily life. The girls prefer gymnastics and physical exercise accompanied by music, whereas the boys like sport games better. These and other findings demonstrate the need to improve motivation for physical activity in adolescents with chronic diseases. In order to successfully complete learning tasks associated with physical activity, it is necessary to increase the number of exercises they will perform together during their joint physical activities with healthy peers and to take into account the preferences for physical activities and priorities of girls and boys as well as their strong interest in spending time on the computer at home.