The home environment is an important influence on the sedentary behaviour and physical activity of children, who have limited independent mobility and spend much of their time at home. This article reviews the current evidence regarding the influence of the home physical environment on the sedentary behaviour and physical activity of children aged 8–14 years. A literature search of peer reviewed articles published between 2005 and 2011 resulted in 38 observational studies (21 with activity outcomes, 23 with sedentary outcomes) and 11 experimental studies included in the review. The most commonly investigated behavioural outcomes were television watching and moderate to vigorous physical activity. Media equipment in the home and to a lesser extent the bedroom were positively associated with children’s sedentary behaviour. Physical activity equipment and the house and yard were not associated with physical activity, although environmental measures were exclusively self-reported. On the other hand, physical activity equipment was inversely associated with sedentary behaviours in half of studies. Observational studies that investigated the influence of the physical and social environment within the home space, found that the social environment, particularly the role of parents, was important. Experimental studies that changed the home physical environment by introducing a television limiting device successfully decreased television viewing, whereas the influence of introducing an active video game on activity outcomes was inconsistent. Results highlight that the home environment is an important influence on children’s sedentary behaviour and physical activity, about which much is still unknown. While changing or controlling the home physical environment shows promise for reducing screen based sedentary behaviour, further interventions are needed to understand the broader impact of these changes. Future studies should prioritise investigating the influence of the home physical environment, and its interaction with the social environment, on objectively measured sedentary time and home context specific behaviours, ideally including technologies that allow objective measures of the home space.

Paediatric recommendations to limit children’s and adolescents’ screen based media use (SBMU) to less than two hours per day appear to have gone unheeded. Given the associated adverse physical and mental health outcomes of SBMU it is understandable that concern is growing worldwide. However, because the majority of studies measuring SBMU have focused on TV viewing, computer use, video game playing, or a combination of these the true extent of total SBMU (including non-sedentary hand held devices) and time spent on specific screen activities remains relatively unknown. This study assesses the amount of time Australian children and adolescents spend on all types of screens and specific screen activities.

The evidence surrounding the value of workplace health promotion in positively influencing employees’ health and wellbeing via changes to their health behaviours is growing. The aim of the study was to explore employers’ views on the promotion of workplace health and wellbeing and the factors affecting these views. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, 10 focus groups were conducted with employers selected from a range of industries and geographical locations within Western Australia. The total sample size was 79. Three factors were identified: employers’ conceptualization of workplace health and wellbeing; employers’ descriptions of (un)healthy workers and perceptions surrounding the importance of healthy workers; and employers’ beliefs around the role the workplace should play in influencing health. Progress may be viable in promoting health and wellbeing if a multifaceted approach is employed taking into account the complex factors influencing employers’ views. This could include an education campaign providing information about what constitutes health and wellbeing beyond the scope of occupational health and safety paradigms along with information on the benefits of workplace health and wellbeing aligned with perceptions relating to healthy and unhealthy workers.

Little is known about the dose–response relationship between recreational arts engagement (for enjoyment, entertainment or as a hobby, rather than therapy) and mental well-being in the general population. The quantification of this relationship is of value to: (1) health professionals, clinicians and researchers interested in utilising the arts as a method for improving mental health; (2) to health promoters and policy makers in the development of population based health messages, policy and practice; and (3) to members of the general public in maintaining or improving their own well-being. As guided by theories of social epidemiology and the biopsychosocial model of health, the first aim of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between arts engagement (hours per year) and mental well-being in the general population. If an association was demonstrated, the second aim was to quantify this relationship. A random sample of 702 Western Australian adults aged 18+ years (response rate = 71 %) were invited to take part in a telephone survey. The survey took 15 min to complete and included questions about arts engagement, mental well-being, demographics and potential confounders/effect modifiers. The dependent variable was subjective mental well-being (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, WEMWBS). The independent variable was hours engaged in the arts in the last 12 months. Respondent engagement in the arts ranged from zero to 1572 hours/year (mean = 100.8 hours/year, SD = 206.0). The prevalence of engagement was 83 %. The average WEMWBS score was 53 (SD = 7.4). After adjustment for demographics (i.e. sex, age group, location, income, education, marital status, children), general health, sports engagement, religious activities and holidays, respondents with high levels of arts engagement (100 or more hours/year, WEMWBS score = 55) had significantly better mental well-being than those with none (0 hours/year, WEMWBS score = 53), low (0.1–22.9 hours/year, WEMWBS score = 52) and medium (23–99.9 hours/year, WEMWBS score = 53) levels of engagement (p = 0.003). Respondents with none, low and medium arts engagement had similar WEMWBS scores (p = 0.358). The relationship between arts engagement and WEMWBS was nonlinear with evidence of a minimum threshold at 100 or more hours/year (p = 0.0006). Evidence of an arts-mental health relationship was found in this study. Those who engaged in 100 or more hours/year of arts engagement (i.e. two or more hours/week) reported significantly better mental well-being than other levels of engagement. The suitability of the arts as a population based strategy to influence the mental well-being of the general population should be investigated further.

Background: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the importance of timely and effective assessment of mental well-being has increased dramatically. Machine learning (ML) algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques can be harnessed for early detection, prognostication and prediction of negative psychological well-being states. Methods: We used data from a large, multi-site cross-sectional survey consisting of 17 universities in Southeast Asia. This research work models mental well-being and reports on the performance of various machine learning algorithms, including generalized linear models, k-nearest neighbor, naïve Bayes, neural networks, random forest, recursive partitioning, bagging, and boosting. Results: Random Forest and adaptive boosting algorithms achieved the highest accuracy for identifying negative mental well-being traits. The top five most salient features associated with predicting poor mental well-being include the number of sports activities per week, body mass index, grade point average (GPA), sedentary hours, and age. Conclusions: Based on the reported results, several specific recommendations and suggested future work are discussed. These findings may be useful to provide cost-effective support and modernize mental well-being assessment and monitoring at the individual and university level.

The need to identify strategies that facilitate involvement in physical activity for children and youth with disabilities is recognised as an urgent priority. This study aimed to describe the association between context, mechanisms and outcome(s) of a participation-focused physical activity intervention to understand what works, in what conditions, and how. This study was designed as a realist evaluation. Participant recruitment occurred through purposive and theoretical sampling of children and parents participating in the Local Environment Model intervention at Beitostolen Healthsports Centre in Norway. Ethnographic methods comprising participant observation, interviews, and focus groups were employed over 15 weeks in the field. Data analysis was completed using the context-mechanism-outcome framework of realist evaluation. Context-mechanism-outcome connections were generated empirically from the data to create a model to indicate how the program activated mechanisms within the program context, to enable participation in physical activity. Thirty one children with a range of disabilities (mean age 12y 6 m (SD 2y 2 m); 18 males) and their parents (n = 44; 26 mothers and 18 fathers) participated in the study. Following data synthesis, a refined program theory comprising four context themes, five mechanisms, and six outcomes, were identified. The mechanisms (choice, fun, friends, specialised health professionals, and time) were activated in a context that was safe, social, learning-based and family-centred, to elicit outcomes across all levels of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. The interaction of mechanisms and context as a whole facilitated meaningful outcomes for children and youth with disabilities, and their parents. Whilst optimising participation in physical activity is a primary outcome of the Local Environment Model, the refined program theory suggests the participation-focused approach may act as a catalyst to promote a range of outcomes. Findings from this study may inform future interventions attempting to enable participation in physical activity for children and youth with disabilities.