Exciting news from the kidsTUMove goes Europe consortium – Team members of kidsTUMove Germany (Technical University of Munich) recently participated in the 56th Annual Meeting of the Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology (AEPC), held in Dublin Ireland, between April 26-29th, 2023. The Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology (AEPC) was founded in Lyon in 1963 and has since become a network of specialists dedicated to advancing the knowledge of research and treatment of children with congenital heart disease and closely related fields. The annual AEPC conference is a gathering of scientists and experts in this field. 

During the conference, the kidsTUMove team presented their scientific work on the topic of „Resilience as a protective factor – study in children and adolescents with and without chronic diseases visiting a summer camp.“ The study’s background focused on the impact of chronic diseases on children’s quality of life and their increased risk of depression, particularly after two years of COVID lockdowns. 

The team evaluated the association between participation in a recreation camp for children with chronic diseases and their resilience before and after the camp. They found that special elements in the camp can help boost children’s health and resilience. Moreover, high levels of resilience and quality of life can act as protective factors against depression. 

The team suggested that generating targeted content is vital to offer children and young people more protective resources for processing traumatic experiences like those encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the project KidsTUMove goes Europe – cordially fit makes an important contribution to advancing this topic. The project’s goal is to develop targeted content within sports programs to offer more protective resources for children and young people. 

Overall, the study highlights the importance of providing children with chronic diseases with opportunities to participate in exercise programs to promote their resilience and improve their quality of life. By doing so, we can help prevent depression and improve their overall mental health. 

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