ORCID Profile
0000-0002-9177-775X
Current Organisation
Universidade de Lisboa
Does something not look right? The information on this page has been harvested from data sources that may not be up to date. We continue to work with information providers to improve coverage and quality. To report an issue, use the Feedback Form.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 08-06-2023
DOI: 10.20944/PREPRINTS202306.0593.V1
Abstract: Benefits of baby swimming have been established, but there is limited knowledge about the methodologies used by practitioners. To address this knowledge gap, this study aimed to categorize and classify the equipment and environmental used in baby swimming programs worldwide. A descriptive categorical content analysis approach was employed to analyse videos of baby swimming programs obtained from YouTube. The framework created was validated for interrater reliability, and a pilot study was conducted to classify videos from different countries based on the equipment and environment used. Results indicated that the physical environments observed were pool tanks and swimming pools with and without depth reduction zones, while the equipment used included assistive devices, toys, and clothes. This study represents a significant first step in the development of a comprehensive tool to systematize and characterize the methodologies used in baby swimming programs globally.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-10-2020
DOI: 10.1111/DESC.13047
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 21-04-2023
Abstract: This systematic review investigated the possible effects of exposing infants to formal activities in aquatic environments. A literature search of eight databases was concluded on 12 December 2022. Studies were eligible if they: (i) focused on 0–36 months of age infants, (ii) addressed the exposure of infants to formal aquatic activities, and (iii) compared the ‘same condition of aquatic exposure with the control’ or ‘before and after exposure’. The PRISMA protocol was used. Articles considered for inclusion (n = 18) were clustered in the health, development, and physiological outcome domains. The results show that research is focused on indoor activities, mainly in baby swimming programs and baby aquatic therapy interventions. Swimming and aquatic therapy practices are generally safe for babies’ health, and there are benefits to preterm and newborns exposed to aquatic therapy once the physiological parameters are maintained in normal and safe patterns. A positive effect is also suggested in general gross and fine motor skills, visual motion perception, cognitive flexibility, and response selection accuracy for infants who participated in aquatic programs. Further investigation with high-quality experimental designs is required to establish the effect of exposure of infants to formal aquatic activities (Systematic Review Registration: CRD42021248054).
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-07-2021
DOI: 10.1111/INFA.12419
Abstract: Crawling experience was recently linked to crawling and walking infants’ avoidance of falling on real and water cliffs, whereas walking experience had no effect on walkers’ avoidance behavior (Burnay et al., 2021). In the current study, the behavior of 25 infants was analyzed on the Real Cliff/Water Cliff apparatus using a longitudinal study design. Infants were tested as experienced crawlers ( M crawling = 2.93 months, SD = 1.07), novice walkers ( M walking = 0.68 months, SD = 0.29), and experienced walkers ( M walking = 4.90 months, SD = 0.92). Infants avoided falling on both cliffs when tested as experienced crawlers and their behavior was not different when tested as novice or experienced walkers. These findings confirmed the effect of crawling experience on crawling and walking infants’ avoidance of falls from heights and into water and the transfer of perceptual learning from crawling to walking postures.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 08-10-2021
DOI: 10.3389/FPSYG.2021.733489
Abstract: Learning aquatic skills is an important component of developing physical literacy in children. Aquatic skills such as floating, swimming and safe entry/exit promote engagement in different water environments and may help preserve lives in an emergency. This scoping review was conducted to evaluate the influence of task constraints (i.e., equipment) and environmental constraints (i.e., physical and social) on how children learn foundational aquatic skills. In developed countries, children are typically taught in swimming pools under direct supervision. It is also not uncommon to see children and infants learning to swim with assistive equipment (e.g., buoyancy aids). However, perhaps surprisingly, the evidence on how and where children learn aquatic skills does not uniformly promote such practices. For ex le, the use of flotation devices has not been proven to aid skill learning. Some researchers have advocated that children should learn aquatic skills whilst wearing outdoor clothing. One benefit of children wearing clothing is an increased capacity to practice in colder water (such as the ocean, rivers, or lakes). Overall, whilst practitioners often use equipment for various reasons it seems that not all equipment is equally useful in promoting the acquisition of aquatic skills. In less developed countries, with limited access to swimming pools and fewer resources for private instruction, a range of different open water aquatic environments and practices, such as swimming in temporarily flooded areas, have been reported. Such strategies are in urgent demand of further research given that drowning rates in less developed countries around the world exceed those in developed nations. It can be argued that learning in pools does not afford the opportunities to develop the whole range of adaptive skills that may be required in different open water environments such as navigating currents and waves, floating whilst clothed, or making life-saving decisions. Consequently, a shift toward teaching in open water environments has occurred in several countries. This review provides an evidence-base upon which practitioners can design more effective aquatic education programs for children.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-02-2016
DOI: 10.1111/INFA.12134
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 11-04-2022
Abstract: Drowning causes significant mortality and morbidity globally, and infants (0–4 years of age) are disproportionately impacted. In a groundbreaking approach to pediatric drowning prevention, ecological psychology has been used to investigate the relationship between infants’ perceptual–motor development and their behavior around bodies of water. In this review, we summarize recent research findings in the field of ecological psychology and apply these to the prevention of infant drowning. Studies have linked infants’ avoidance of falls into the water with locomotor experience and type of accessway into bodies of water. Through crawling experience, infants learn to perceive the risk of falling into water and start adapting their behavior to avoid drop-offs leading into water. Infants tend to enter deep water more when the access is via a slope than via a drop-off. We propose that ecological psychology can enhance infant drowning prevention interventions. The aim is to create an additional layer of protection, the perceptual information layer, in addition to existing strategies, such as supervision and barriers. This new protective layer can be a powerful tool to further highlight the risk of entering the water and reduce infant drowning-related mortality and morbidity.
Publisher: Unpublished
Date: 2013
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 04-07-2023
DOI: 10.20944/PREPRINTS202307.0074.V1
Abstract: Despite the popularity of infant swimming programs, no evidence exists to determine whether they influence infants& rsquo judgements and behavior when confronted with bodies of water. In the current study we examined whether the total number of swimming sessions an infant had participated in predicted whether they avoided a body of water they could enter via an edge (n = 101 infants) or a slope (n = 77 infants). An initial regression analysis revealed no association between the number of sessions and avoidance of the water via either type of entry. However, a secondary analysis of infants who had participated in fewer or more than 10 sessions revealed a significant interaction between number of sessions and type of entry into the water. Infants who participated in more than 10 sessions were more likely to avoid the water if they could access it via an edge but significantly more likely to enter the water if they could access it via a slope. Because we tested the two groups of infants in different countries, further research is warranted to determine if cultural differences in child rearing practices or variations in the content and/or teaching of the swimming programs might explain these intriguing findings.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-2021
DOI: 10.1002/DEV.22169
Abstract: R s used to access swimming pools are designed with a shallow slope that affords easy access for all including infants. Locomotor experience has been linked to infants’ avoidance of falling into the water from drop‐offs however, the effect of such experience on infants’ behavior when a slope is offered to access the water has not been addressed. Forty‐three crawling infants ( M age = 10.63 ± 1.91 months M crawling = 2.38 ± 1.77 months) and 34 walking infants ( M age = 14.90 ± 2.18 months M walking = 2.59 ± 1.56 months) were tested on a new Water Slope paradigm, a sloped surface (10°) leading to deep water. No association between infants’ avoidance of submersion and locomotor experience was found. Comparison with the results of infants’ behavior on the water cliff revealed that a greater proportion of infants reached the submersion point on the water slope than fell into the water cliff. Collectively, these results indicate a high degree of specificity in which locomotor experience teaches infants about risky situations. Importantly, sloped access to deep water appears to increase the risk of infants moving into the water thereby making them more vulnerable to drowning.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-10-2023
DOI: 10.1002/DEV.22434
Location: Portugal
No related grants have been discovered for Carolina Burnay Rodrigues de Morais.