Health and well-being, history of

Author(s):  
Michele R. Buzon
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 506-506
Author(s):  
Rodlescia Sneed

Abstract African-Americans are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. Longer prison stays and release programs for older prisoners may result in an increased number of community-dwelling older adults with a history of incarceration. In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in research on health-related outcomes for currently incarcerated older adults; however, there has been little inquiry into outcomes for formerly incarcerated African-American older adults following community re-entry. In this study, we used secondary data from the Health and Retirement Study to describe employment, economic, and health-related outcomes in this population. Twelve percent of the 2238 African-Americans in our sample had been previously incarcerated. Those who had been previously incarcerated had higher rates of lung disease, arthritis, back problems, mobility problems, and mental health issues than their counterparts. They also had higher rates of hospitalization and lower use of dental health services. Further, while they did not experience lower employment rates than those with no criminal history, those who had been incarcerated had more physically demanding jobs and reported greater economic strain. Given the disproportionate incarceration rates among African-Americans, the aging of the prison population, and the increase in community re-entry for older prisoners, research that explores factors that impact the health and well-being of formerly incarcerated individuals has broad impact. Future work should focus on addressing the needs of this vulnerable population of African-American older adults.


Author(s):  
Jane Edwards

Playing live music with people who are ill to promote optimal states of health and well being is a contemporary practice which has origins as far back as the written historical record. This paper examines a select range of literature from the academic spheres of medicine, music and music education published in the late 19th century through to the mid 20th century in order to interrogate and explore aspects of the history of music therapy and its development in the English speaking world.


Author(s):  
Charlotte Roberts ◽  
Jelena Bekvalac ◽  
Rebecca C. Redfern

This chapter outlines the contributions bioarchaeology has made to understanding health and well-being in the late medieval period in Britain. Some of the history of the study of medieval bodies is followed by a commentary on the evidence base used to consider health and disease, integrated with contextual data, and the limitations of the data. This is followed by a focus on the largest excavated and well-studied cemetery site globally, to date (St Mary Spital, London). It also discusses the bioarchaeological field, including training and standards, advances in analytical techniques (biomolecular), the need for context in studies, and future developments.


Author(s):  
Doug Oman

This chapter traces the history of modern meditation research. Meditation is conceptualized primarily as a seated practice for systematically training attention. Historically present in every major religion, meditation was traditionally used for spiritual purposes and usually accompanied by ancillary practices, such as spiritual fellowship. This chapter traces the dynamics and evolving interplay between dominant conceptions and forms of meditative practices under scientific study, as well as critiques of those conceptions, research questions, study designs, measurement instruments, and public reception and application. It describes how developments in each of these spheres have at different times opened up new lines of research, sometimes transforming other dimensions of ongoing research and practice. For the past fifty years, modern meditation research has progressed through partly overlapping periods that emphasized physiological measurement and secular adaptations; links to numerous health and well-being outcomes; emphasis on a sui generis psychosocial goal (mindfulness); advances in physiological and questionnaire-based empirical measurement; expansion of public, corporate, and governmental interest; increased concerns about abandonment of ethical bases and cultural context; and initial moves toward greater inclusiveness and integration of diverse methods and traditional perspectives.


2003 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 309-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael W. Tuck

In an article in History in Africa about the Ganda monarch Mutesa, Richard Reid argued that Mutesa likely suffered from syphilis. In a chapter on Mutesa in a just published volume, John Rowe concluded that the disease from which Mutesa suffered was gonorrhea. While on the surface similar—both sexually transmitted, neither particularly desirable—the diseases are actually quite different. Popular biographies often offer gossip about individuals' medical histories, but there can be legitimate reasons to investigate the medical history of past leaders, two of which are pertinent here. First, the medical conditions from which they suffered may well have affected their lives and their decisions as leaders. Reid addresses this point, speculating that Mutesa's syphilis may have progressed to an extent that it affected him mentally. Reid suggests that this might help explain Mutesa's erratic behavior toward the latter years of his reign, as he shifted his favor from one court group and foreign delegation to another. Rowe raises a similar point about Mutesa's health and competing groups, although in a different way. Rowe shows how Mutesa's illness became a point of competition between foreign missionaries and indigenous religious specialists as each sought to win his favor by curing his lllness. Reid and Rowe also both mention the effect Mutesa's illness had on the perception of him as Kabaka. The Baganda equated the health and well-being of the Kabaka with the health of the kingdom, and Mutesa's extended illness and bedridden state would not have been a positive attribute.


2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 390-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D. Seery

When adverse life events occur, people often suffer negative consequences for their mental health and well-being. More adversity has been associated with worse outcomes, implying that the absence of life adversity should be optimal. However, some theory and empirical evidence suggest that the experience of facing difficulties can also promote benefits in the form of greater propensity for resilience when dealing with subsequent stressful situations. I review research that demonstrates U-shaped relationships between lifetime adversity exposure and mental health and well-being, functional impairment and health care utilization in chronic back pain, and responses to experimentally induced pain. Specifically, a history of some lifetime adversity predicts better outcomes than not only a history of high adversity but also a history of no adversity. This has important implications for understanding resilience, suggesting that adversity can have benefits.


Africa ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 599-610
Author(s):  
James Tar Tsaaior

ABSTRACTThis article pays tribute to Akiga Sai (1898–1959) and his iconic status as the first great Tiv writer who recorded Tiv history, customs, beliefs and experiences during the turbulence unleashed by colonization and missionary intervention in the early twentieth century. It offers an appreciation of Akiga's vivid writing style and his achievements as both a historian and a recorder of his people's way of life, which was fast changing. The article presents the perspective of a younger Tiv generation who encountered Akiga Sai's work in the course of their education. Akiga, from this viewpoint, is not only an individual pioneer and creative genius, but also the representative of a better era, after which moral decay and a decline in communal health and well-being set in.


2021 ◽  
pp. 60-74

Chapter 5 unpacks some key components of the damaging environment of prison and considers what a different approach to incarceration might look like. Researcher Jim Parsons provides an overview of the health impacts of incarceration, while Sara Wakefield offers new data on family history of incarceration and opportunities to mitigate the effects. Physician Homer Venters describes the lack of comprehensive health outcomes data, and designer and researcher Regina Yang Chen addresses the influence of prison design on the health and well-being of residents, staff, and the community. Finally, Kempis Songster, released from prison after serving 30 years for a murder he committed at age 15, grounds the narrative in lived experience. All are united in their call to reimagine the ways our country responds to crime and the role of incarceration.


2021 ◽  
pp. 481-492
Author(s):  
Jessica Carson

Over the past few years, there has been a surge of interest in entrepreneur mental health and well-being. Research has shown 72% of entrepreneurs self-report a lifetime history of mental health concerns (depression, substance abuse, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and bipolar), and countless others incur varying degrees of emotional, physical, and spiritual distress. While many have been quick to declare a mental health “crisis” or “epidemic” among entrepreneurs, the reality may not be so simple. Entrepreneurs with mental health challenges may in fact have a competitive advantage—they may self-select into entrepreneurial work as a result of the adaptive qualities conferred onto them by their diagnosis. This article explores the myriad reasons for these high rates (from self-selection to diathesis–stress), including the hypermasculinized nature of entrepreneurial culture, the high-stress nature of entrepreneurial work, and the hidden superpowers embedded in the genetics of entrepreneurs. To conclude, the ways in which the entire ecosystem can become healthier through self-understanding and self-care are discussed.


Author(s):  
M.P. White ◽  
S. Pahl ◽  
B.W. Wheeler ◽  
L.E.F. Fleming ◽  
M.H. Depledge

The Blue Gym Initiative was created in the UK in 2009 to explore: (1) whether blue space environments might be positively related to human health and well-being; and (2) whether the public could be encouraged to preserve and protect these environments. Whilst the wider initiative considers all blue spaces including inland bodies of water (e.g. lakes, rivers and canals as well as the coasts and oceans), to date the focus has been primarily on marine and coastal environments. In this paper, we provide a brief history of the Blue Gym Initiative, and outline some of the research that has emerged to date. An important early finding was the observation that individuals living near the coast are generally healthier and happier than those living inland; much subsequent work has tried to understand why this might be. More recently we have begun to focus on how to promote pro-marine behaviours (e.g. sustainable fish choice, reduction of plastic use, avoidance of littering). This strand is still very much work in progress but highlights the importance of understanding public awareness, values and attitudes and the power of visualization in communicating the marine sustainability issues. We conclude with a brief discussion of some of the implications of the findings and future research needs.


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