scholarly journals Differences in levels of stress, social support, health behaviours, and stress-reduction strategies for women pregnant before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and based on phases of pandemic restrictions, in Ireland

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Matvienko-Sikar ◽  
Johanna Pope ◽  
Avril Cremin ◽  
Hayley Carr ◽  
Sara Leitao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Stress Reduction ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Reduction Strategies

scholarly journals Prenatal maternal stress, social support, health behaviours and stress-reduction strategies during pregnancy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Matvienko-Sikar ◽  
Avril Cremin ◽  
Sarah Meaney ◽  
Ellinor Olander
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Stress Reduction ◽  
Maternal Stress ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Prenatal Maternal Stress ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Prenatal Health ◽  
Unhealthy Eating ◽  
Reduction Strategies

Objectives. Prenatal health behaviours have significant implications for maternal and child health. Understanding factors that influence prenatal health behaviours is essential to support women’s prenatal psychological and physical health. Examining strategies women report using during this time also provides insight into acceptable and feasible approaches for support. The aim of this study is to examine the role of prenatal maternal stress (PNMS), social support, and knowledge on health behaviours; and to examine women’s engagement in prenatal stress-reduction support.Methods. A cross-sectional study including 252 pregnant women recruited from an antenatal outpatient department in Ireland, and online. Women completed self-reported measures of sociodemographics, PNMS, social support, knowledge, health-behaviours, and stress-reduction strategies. Correlational analyses and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between PNMS, social support, knowledge, and health behaviours.Results. PNMS predicted unhealthy eating (β= 0.229). Social support predicted physical activity (β= 0.206), sleep (β= 0.186), and taking vitamins (β= 0.200). Age (β= 0.232) and social support (β= 0.228) predicted healthy eating. Women reported good knowledge of PNMS, health behaviours, discomforts of pregnancy, and parenting. Forty-nine stress-reduction strategies were reported; exercise and connecting with others were the most commonly reported strategies.Conclusions. Social support is an important independent predictor of health behaviours. Lack of associations between PNMS and any health-promoting behaviours suggests different mechanisms of effect of positive and negative psychosocial factors. Interventions incorporating both social-support and stress focused strategies may therefore demonstrate greater benefit for prenatal health behaviour change, with significant benefits for women and children.

Coping Against Weight-Related Teasing among Adolescents Perceived to be Overweight or Obese in Urban Physical Education

2012 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weidong Li ◽  
Paul Rukavina ◽  
Paul Wright
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Physical Education ◽  
Stress Reduction ◽  
Focus Group Interview ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Urban School District ◽  
Multiple Strategies ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
Checking Procedure ◽  
Self Protection

The purpose of this study was to examine coping against weight-related teasing among adolescents perceived to be overweight or obese in urban physical education. Forty-seven students perceived to be overweight or obese from a large urban school district were interviewed. Trustworthiness of data analysis was established by using a member-checking procedure, focus group interview, and peer debriefing throughout the research process. The results indicated that adolescents perceived to be overweight or obese used self-protection, compensation, confrontation, seeking social support, avoidance/psychological disengagement, losing weight and stress reduction strategies to cope against weight-related teasing. Adolescents used multiple strategies under different mechanisms to cope, and the strategies they chose were dependent on the situation.

scholarly journals Health behaviours and psychosocial working conditions as predictors of disability pension due to different diagnoses: a population-based study

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Annina Ropponen ◽  
Jurgita Narusyte ◽  
Karri Silventoinen ◽  
Pia Svedberg
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Disability Pension ◽  
Job Demands ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Job Control ◽  
Psychosocial Working Conditions ◽  
Unit Increase

Abstract Background To investigate whether the clustering of different health behaviours (i.e. physical activity, tobacco use and alcohol consumption) influences the associations between psychosocial working conditions and disability pension due to different diagnoses. Methods A population-based sample of 24,987 Swedish twins born before 1958 were followed from national registers for disability pension until 2013. Baseline survey data in 1998–2003 were used to assess health behaviours and psychosocial Job Exposure Matrix for job control, job demands and social support. Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results During follow-up, 1252 disability pensions due to musculoskeletal disorders (5%), 601 due to mental diagnoses (2%) and 1162 due to other diagnoses (5%) occurred. In the models controlling for covariates, each one-unit increase in job demands was associated with higher (HR 1.16, 95%CI 1.01–1.33) and in job control with lower (HR 0.87, 95%CI 0.80–0.94) risk of disability pension due to musculoskeletal disorders among those with unhealthy behaviours. Among those with healthy behaviours, one-unit increase of social support was associated with a higher risk of disability pension due to mental and due to other diagnoses (HRs 1.29–1.30, 95%CI 1.04–1.63). Conclusions Job control and job demands were associated with the risk of disability pension due to musculoskeletal disorders only among those with unhealthy behaviours. Social support was a risk factor for disability pension due to mental or other diagnoses among those with healthy behaviours. Workplaces and occupational health care should acknowledge these simultaneous circumstances in order to prevent disability pension.

scholarly journals Older Adult Caregivers’ Experiences in an Online, Interactive Mindfulness Intervention

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 2515690X2096065
Author(s):  
Janella Hudson ◽  
Rachel Ungar ◽  
Laurie Albright ◽  
Rifky Tkatch ◽  
James Schaeffer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Stress Reduction ◽  
Perceived Social Support ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Mindfulness Intervention ◽  
Adult Caregivers ◽  
Older Adult Caregivers

Background. While today’s older adults experience longevity, they often manage several chronic conditions and increasingly serve as informal caregivers for aging parents, children with life-long disabilities, and spouses. Older adult caregivers managing personal chronic illness often experience significant psychosocial hardships. Objective. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of older adult caregivers in an online, interactive mindfulness intervention. Methods. Self-reported older caregivers who participated in an online-based mindfulness program (n = 20) were recruited for semi-structured interviews. Participants were asked to provide feedback about any previous experience with mindfulness and/or meditation, hopes or goals held prior to the start of the program, desired expectations, motivation for joining, impressions of sessions, most beneficial topics, potential application of content, and any perceived effects. Participants’ responses were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results. Five themes emerged from the analysis: Managing the Comprehensive Effects of Caregiving, Openness to Meditation and Mindfulness, Course Engagement and Incremental Growth, Building Rapport through Shared Experiences, and Ongoing Application and Opportunities for Refinement. Participants reported both short-term post-exercise benefits such as increased calm, relaxation, and stress relief, as well as long-term positive outcomes. Notably, participants found the program’s unique interactive feature to be particularly beneficial as a form of perceived social support. Conclusions. Caregivers for older adults may derive benefit and potentially experience reduced subjective caregiver burden as a result of participating in a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, particularly when the program is augmented with a self-compassion approach and perceived social support.

Socioeconomic status, social support, oral health beliefs, psychosocial factors, health behaviours and health-related quality of life in adolescents

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andressa Coelho Gomes ◽  
Maria Augusta Bessa Rebelo ◽  
Adriana Correa de Queiroz ◽  
Ana Paula Correa de Queiroz Herkrath ◽  
Fernando José Herkrath ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Health Beliefs ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Health Related Quality ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Oral Health Beliefs

scholarly journals Partner-Provided Social Support Influences Choice of Risk Reduction Strategies in Gay Male Couples

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynae A. Darbes ◽  
Deepalika Chakravarty ◽  
Sean C. Beougher ◽  
Torsten B. Neilands ◽  
Colleen C. Hoff
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Gay Male Couples ◽  
Male Couples ◽  
Gay Male ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
Risk Reduction Strategies

scholarly journals Stress reduction strategies in breast cancer: review of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic based strategies

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 719-734
Author(s):  
Rohit Gosain ◽  
Elizabeth Gage-Bouchard ◽  
Christine Ambrosone ◽  
Elizabeth Repasky ◽  
Shipra Gandhi
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Stress Reduction ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Stress Hormones ◽  
Cancer Recurrence ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
As Stress

AbstractBreast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women. It is associated with multiple symptoms in both patients and caregivers, such as stress, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, and fatigue. Stress appears to promote cancer progression via activation of the sympathetic nervous system releasing epinephrine and norepinephrine as well as activation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis releasing cortisol. These stress hormones have been shown to promote the proliferation of cancer cells. This review focuses on stress-reducing strategies which may decrease cancer progression by abrogating these pathways, with a main focus on the β-adrenergic signaling pathway. Patients utilize both non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic strategies to reduce stress. Non-pharmacologic stress-reduction strategies include complementary and alternative medicine techniques, such as meditation, yoga, acupuncture, exercise, use of natural products, support groups and psychology counseling, herbal compounds, and multivitamins. Pharmacologic strategies include abrogating the β2-adrenergic receptor signaling pathway to antagonize epinephrine and norepinephrine action on tumor and immune cells. β-Blocker drugs may play a role in weakening the pro-migratory and pro-metastatic effects induced by stress hormones in cancer and strengthening the anti-tumor immune response. Preclinical models have shown that non-selective β1/2-blocker use is associated with a decrease in tumor growth and metastases and clinical studies have suggested their positive impact on decreasing breast cancer recurrence and mortality. Thus, non-pharmacological approaches, along with pharmacological therapies part of clinical trials are available to cancer patients to reduce stress, and have promise to break the cycle of cancer and stress.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document