A Sustainable Well-Being Initiative: Social Divisions and the Recovery Process in Minamata, Japan

Author(s):  
Takayoshi Kusago
AMBIO ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 794-811 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linley Chiwona-Karltun ◽  
Franklin Amuakwa-Mensah ◽  
Caroline Wamala-Larsson ◽  
Salome Amuakwa-Mensah ◽  
Assem Abu Hatab ◽  
...  

AbstractLike the rest of the world, African countries are reeling from the health, economic and social effects of COVID-19. The continent’s governments have responded by imposing rigorous lockdowns to limit the spread of the virus. The various lockdown measures are undermining food security, because stay at home orders have among others, threatened food production for a continent that relies heavily on agriculture as the bedrock of the economy. This article draws on quantitative data collected by the GeoPoll, and, from these data, assesses the effect of concern about the local spread and economic impact of COVID-19 on food worries. Qualitative data comprising 12 countries south of the Sahara reveal that lockdowns have created anxiety over food security as a health, economic and human rights/well-being issue. By applying a probit model, we find that concern about the local spread of COVID-19 and economic impact of the virus increases the probability of food worries. Governments have responded with various efforts to support the neediest. By evaluating the various policies rolled out we advocate for a feminist economics approach that necessitates greater use of data analytics to predict the likely impacts of intended regulatory relief responses during the recovery process and post-COVID-19.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. e037755
Author(s):  
Ulrica Nilsson ◽  
Maria Jaensson ◽  
Karin Hugelius ◽  
Erebouni Arakelian ◽  
Karuna Dahlberg

ObjectiveThis study aims to further develop the concept analysis by Allvin et al in 2007 and Lundmark et al in 2016 from the perspective of day-surgery patients. Also, to describe how patients experience postoperative recovery in relation to the identified dimensions and subdimensions and to interpret the findings in order to get a deeper understanding of the concept postoperative recovery.DesignDescriptive qualitative design with a theoretical thematic analysis.SettingSix day-surgery departments in Sweden.ParticipantsThirty-eight adult participants who had undergone day surgery in Sweden. Participants were purposively selected.ResultsFour dimensions—physical, psychological, social and habitual—were confirmed. A total of eight subdimensions were also confirmed, two from Allvin et al’s study and six from Lundmark et al’s study. Recovery included physical symptoms and challenges coping with and regaining control over symptoms and bodily functions. Both positive and negative emotions were present, and strategies on how to handle emotions and achieve well-being were established. Patients became dependent on others. They coped with and adapted to the recovery process and gradually stabilised, reaching a new stable state.ConclusionPostoperative recovery was described as a process with a clear starting point, and as a dynamic and individual process leading to an experience of a new stable state. The recovery process included physical symptoms, emotions and social and habitual consequences that challenges them. To follow-up and measure all four dimensions of postoperative recovery in order to support and understand the process of postoperative recovery is, therefore, recommended.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Jesús Saiz ◽  
María Galilea ◽  
Antonio J. Molina ◽  
María Salazar ◽  
Tiffany J. Barsotti ◽  
...  

People diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) face multiple vulnerabilities, including when seeking employment. Among SPMI patients, studies show that a stronger sense of spirituality can help to reduce psychotic symptoms, increase social integration, reduce the risk of suicide attempts and promote adherence to psychiatric treatment. This study examined how the variables spirituality and employment affect the recovery process and psychological well-being of people with SPMI who attend employment recovery services. The sample consisted of 64 women and men diagnosed with an SPMI. The assessment instruments included the Recovery Assessment Scale, Ryff Psychological Well-Being Scale, Work Motivation Questionnaire, Daily Spiritual Experience Scale, and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy—Spiritual Well-Being (FACIT-Sp12). Hierarchical regression analyses were performed to compare three different models for each dependent variable (recovery and psychological well-being). The findings showed that job skills predicted psychological well-being and recovery. When spiritual variables were included in the model, job skills dropped out and the dimension meaning/peace of the FACIT-Sp12 emerged as the only significant predictor variable. Integrating spirituality into recovery programs for people with SPMI may be a helpful complement to facilitate the recovery process and improve psychological well-being.


Author(s):  
Irina V. Vets ◽  

An adaptation of the Russian version of the questionnaire «Secondary benefit from the disease» based on the questionnaire Will Joel Friedman «The Benefits of Suffering and the Costs of Well Being: Secondary Gains and Losses» (1994) is presented in the article. Our questionnaire consists of two parts and includes 40 questions, with 4-5 statements on each scale. The first part describes how a person becomes ill, includes scales: regression, somatization triggers, conformism, simulation. The second part of the questionnaire consists of scales: recovery resources, recovery cost, recovery pathways, autonomy, and reflects the recovery process. The standardization of the questionnaire (n=392) indicates that the methodology has good psychometric indicators of the internal consistency of the scales and retest reliability. However, we cannot say that the scales are completely independent, requiring additional research. The confirmatory analysis allowed us to see a good consistency of the questionnaire items. When studying the discriminative power of points, it turned out that this technique is suitable for studying the secondary benefit of the disease for people from 18 to 60 years old. The multi-scale method allows evaluating the psychological phenomena that hinder and contribute to a speedy recovery. The article contains the text of the questionnaire with instructions and keys.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinicius R. Siqueira ◽  
Lindsay G. Oades

Objective. This study examined the use of psychological acceptance and experiential avoidance, two key concepts of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), in the psychological recovery process of people with enduring mental illness.Method. Sixty-seven participants were recruited from the metropolitan, regional, and rural areas of New South Wales, Australia. They all presented some form of chronic mental illness (at least 12 months) as reflected in DSM-IV Axis I diagnostic criteria. The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-19) was used to measure the presence of psychological acceptance and experiential avoidance; the Recovery Assessment Scale (RAS) was used to examine the levels of psychological recovery; and the Scales of Psychological Well-Being was used to observe if there are benefits in utilizing psychological acceptance and experiential avoidance in the recovery process.Results. An analysis of objectively quantifiable measures found no clear correlation between the use of psychological acceptance and recovery in mental illness as measured by the RAS. The data, however, showed a relationship between psychological acceptance and some components of recovery, thereby demonstrating its possible value in the recovery process.Conclusion. The major contribution of this research was the emerging correlation that was observed between psychological acceptance and positive levels of psychological well-being among individuals with mental illness.


2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Bryson ◽  
Jenna Feinstein ◽  
John Spavor ◽  
Sean A. Kidd

Adventure-based therapy (ABT) involves experiential learning, outdoor education, group counselling, and intrapersonal education. While it has shown benefits in a number of populations including at-risk youth, little research has focused on individuals with psychosis. The objective of this study was to employ a mixed-methods pre-post design to examine the feasibility of a 6-week ABT intervention in an outpatient care setting among 15 adults with psychosis. The intervention proved feasible with significant improvements found in engagement in the recovery process, emotional well-being, and energy level. No changes in self-esteem or global health were observed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-129
Author(s):  
Retno Lestari ◽  
Ah Yusuf ◽  
Rachmat Hargono ◽  
Febri Endra Budi Setyawan

People with severe mental illness have complex disabilities affecting mental functions, daily activities, and social life, thus they need help from others in carrying out daily functional activities. Optimizing the recovery of severe mental illness requires a holistic approach and integration between mental health services and supportive communities so that sufferers can interact with others, have a positive self-concept, and improve their well-being. This study aims to describe a community-based model of recovery for people with severe mental illness. Several literature studies were obtained from 50 reference sources through Science Direct, Google Scholar, Proquest Health and Medical Complete, Proquest Nursing, and Allied Health Sources from 2009 to 2019. Results explain that the community provides an adequate support system in improving the care of people with severe mental illness. Support systems in the community involve social and physical aspects as well as the economic infrastructure through employment opportunities or financial support and a decent living. The interaction between community members and people with severe mental illness could be a positive thing in strengthening the motivation of people with severe mental illness to recover and be able to do their activities independently. The recovery process of severe mental illness requires strong motivation and commitment from the sufferer, the family, all society members, community mental health service team, and related policymakers. It can be concluded that people with severe mental illness need support from various parties in terms of future life planning, identifying strengths and weaknesses that they have, and recognizing multiple obstacles and support so that they recover and live independently.


2021 ◽  
Vol 885 (1) ◽  
pp. 012031
Author(s):  
S I Violin

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously distorted the public administration systems around the world. In certain countries, like the Russian Federation, the pandemic has triggered different responses by authorities on a regional level. This article argues that the lack of the interregional coordination has exacerbated the negative effects of the pandemic both on the economic development and the well-being of citizens. The goal of this research is to search for ways to improve interregional cooperation in crises of interregional scale and importance. The main hypothesis is that the lack of interregional coordination leads to ineffective crisis management and unnecessarily prolongs the recovery process. Retrospective, statistical and comparative analysis have been used to test this hypothesis. On the example of Russia, the system of crisis management coordination on the interregional level is introduced and explained. The results of this research can be used for public policy in Russia and other federal states as well as to study coordination mechanisms on a supranational level.


Author(s):  
Anatolii Tsarkov ◽  
Petro Petlovanyi

Stroke ranks second in the list of major causes of disability and death in the world. Stroke is the sudden onset of focal or generalized abnormalities of brain function caused solely by vascular causes that are associated with cerebral blood flow and last for more than 24 hours. Stroke can also be diagnosed if symptoms persist for more than 24 hours, but with a confirmation of neuroimaging studies, the ischemic area has been clearly located and documented, symptoms disappeared after thrombolytic therapy, or the patient died within 1 day of symptoms onset. Often, patients with stroke experience emotional and behavioral disorders. Their frequency varies depending on factors such as the patient's age, gender, socio-economic status, post-stroke disability, and cognitive changes that play a crucial role in patients’ well-being and can significantly affect the recovery process. This article describes common psychiatric presentations in patients in a post-stroke period. Some available evidence-based data on the treatment of these conditions and identified possible risk factors that influence their development are presented.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 364-372
Author(s):  
Melissa Neathery ◽  
Zhaomin He ◽  
Elizabeth Johnston Taylor ◽  
Belinda Deal

BACKGROUND: Promoting spiritual well-being aids the mental health recovery process. Furthermore, nursing governance bodies and national mental health care regulators support spiritual care as a mental health–promoting approach. Although spiritual well-being is integral to quality of life in people with mental illness, little is known about the psychiatric mental health (PMH) nurses’ provision of spiritual care. AIMS: Spiritual perspectives, frequency of spiritual care, and knowledge of recovery-oriented practice were measured. Variables were explored to identify a model of spiritual care. METHOD: A descriptive correlational cross-sectional design was employed. Analyses of data using descriptive statistics, correlations, and hierarchical multiple regression were conducted with a convenience sample of 171 PMH nurses. RESULTS: Participants scored high on measurement of spiritual perspectives, moderate on measurement of knowledge about recovery-oriented practice, and indicated a moderate degree of frequency of provision of spiritual care. Nurses who viewed themselves as “spiritual and religious” provided more frequent spiritual care and had higher levels of spiritual perspectives than those who viewed themselves as “spiritual but not religious.” Significant contributors to spiritual care were spiritual perspectives and years of experience as a PMH nurse. Knowledge of recovery-oriented practice, however, did not contribute to a model of spiritual care. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses’ spiritual perspectives, religiosity, and years of experience are factors that may explain nurse-provided spiritual care. Findings imply that spiritual and/or religious development may support PMH nurses to provide spiritual care.


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