Adaptive-compensatory reactions in case of correctional health program for 12-15 year-olds living in foster families

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Associate Professor, PhD A.S. Aminov
Associate Professor, Dr.Biol. A.V. Nenasheva
Institute of Sport, Tourism and Service, South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk

Key words: correctional health program, foster family, adaptation, respiratory function, spectral analysis.

Abstract. Objective of the study was to substantiate the efficiency of a complex of correctional health technologies to strengthen health of adolescents living in foster families.

The correctional health program aims to create a system of complex assistance to adolescents living in foster families in learning the basic curriculum, to correct shortcomings in their physical and (or) mental development, their social and physiological adaptation. The correctional health program implied creating special educational and training conditions enabling to take due account of the special needs of adolescents living in patronate families via individualization and differentiation of the educational process, living conditions, physiological characteristics of adolescents.

Introduction. The top-priority task of any society and state is to preserve and promote health of the rising generation [1, 3, 4]. Children's health reflects an integrated system of material and spiritual relationships between individuals in a society, and largely depends on the quality of natural environment, educational conditions, family relations, status of the health care system and other factors [2]. 

Since 2006, targeted work has been done to develop various forms of placement of children without parental care in families of Russian citizens. This work is being carried out within the framework of the implementation of complex measures to improve the demographic situation in the Russian Federation, initiated by the President in his Address to the Federal Assembly, the Government of Russia, and the federal and regional authorities. According to the Ministry of social relations of the Chelyabinsk region, in 2015 there were 15,500 orphans and 2.5 thousand children left without parental care for various reasons in the Chelyabinsk region. The majority of them have been successfully placed and are living in families, more than 3 thousand are in orphanages.

Placement of children without parental care, assessment of their health, implementation of corrective measures, etc. are the problems of federal importance, and their solution requires the consolidation of the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation.

Objective of the study was to substantiate a complex of correctional health technologies to strengthen health of adolescents living in patronate families.

Materials and methods. The study had been conducted at the premises of the Research center of sport science of South Ural State University (NRU) from 2003 to 2015. The dynamic studies involved 132 adolescents living in patronate families at the age of 12-15 years, including 73 girls and 59 boys.

The process of adaptation in the context of a patronate family is individual for every adolescent. This is due to their biomedical, social and psychological characteristics, the level of their physical development and fitness, cardio-respiratory system, which is manifested in different adaptation phases. The annual survey consists of several stages: organization (placement in patronate families), formation (adaptation) and correction and development (health improvement). The adaptation period is considered one of the most difficult ones, as it is during this period that various problems of psychological, medico-physiological, pedagogical and social nature are solved. Different correctional health complexes were used depending on students’ functional state, individual features and motivation. The correctional health technologies were employed in compliance with the diagnosed disorders and diseases (diseases of the cardiovascular system, respiratory diseases, diseases of the musculoskeletal system, psychological disorders, etc.).

The all-in-one psycho-pedagogical and medico-physiological support for adolescents living in patronate families implies the following activities: psycho-pedagogical and medico-physiological monitoring of adolescents living in patronate families in order to identify their specific learning needs with the subsequent planning of an itinerary of individual and system support for adopted children; monitoring of the dynamics of development of adolescents, their success in acquisition of the basic curriculum, increase of adaptive capability and improvement of their health; working out recommendations for drawing up programs to correct physical development, physical fitness and functional state of adolescents living in patronate families.

The program objectives: early identification of adolescents with adaptation difficulties due to the new living conditions; individually oriented psycho-medico-physiologico-pedagogical support for adolescents with due regard to the peculiarities of their mental and (or) physical development, individual abilities; prevention of health deviations, diseases and their progression in adopted children; rehabilitation and compensation of physical condition of adopted children, their readaptation to work; organization of individual and (or) group training sessions in various sport and recreational activities (massage, swimming, tempering, herbal therapy, etc.) as required by each adolescent individually, as well as for health reasons; implementation of a system of measures for the social adaptation of adolescents living in patronate families.

Results and discussion. We have developed and implemented several complexes of technologies designed to protect and promote health of children and adolescents from social risk groups. We have also proved the rehabilitation and correctional health technologies, increasing aerobic physical fitness and reducing mental tension in adolescents, to be effective.

The testing of physical fitness of adolescents from patronate families revealed some age peculiarities and dependence on living conditions in such families: physical development of adolescents, before living in patronate families, was characterized by a significant decrease in the key morphofunctional parameters, disharmony in development; an increase in physical working capacity was observed within 6-12 months of living in patronate families.

According to spirometric studies, the bronchial obstruction index in adolescents, before and during their stay in patronate families, depended on the dynamics of motor activity, lifestyle and gender characteristics. The most significant shifts in the respiratory functions were detected in the baseline data and 3 months later, the optimal state was registered a year later. The hemodynamic and respiratory indices in adolescents after a year of living in patronate families corresponded to the age- and gender-related norms and reflected a satisfactory level of adaptation, auxological reserves of the body.

The spectral analysis of the circulatory system revealed the integrative age- and gender-related changes from primarily suprasegmental regulation in the baseline and 3-month data to segmental humoral-hormonal, volume-regulating one 6-12 months later. Against this background, we observed increased physical fitness, decreased morbidity, improvement of the key anthropometric indices (body height and weight, chest circumference), increased motor activity, orthostatic and anoxia tolerance.

Conclusion. The implementation of the correctional health program in the context of a patronate family resulted in the following: the number of adolescents with low level of physical development, as well as those with average one, decreased by 12.12%, moreover, the number of adolescents with high level increased by 4.54%; during the study, the indices of speed-strength, strength abilities, endurance and flexibility increased significantly (P<0.05-0.001); positive motivation to learning activity increased by 77-80%; performance quality increased by 20.20%; the percentage of adolescents engaged in various kinds of motor activity increased, and 8.70% of examined smokers quit; three difficult adolescents were removed from the register in the youth liaison service.

References

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