READINESS FOR DEATH: SYBIL SPEAKS

Think ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (51) ◽  
pp. 123-136
Author(s):  
John Shand
Keyword(s):  
Good Health ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Medical Treatments ◽  
Medical Interventions ◽  
Poor State ◽  
End Point ◽  
Catch Up ◽  
Length Of Life

While life has been increasing in length an increasing proportion of that life is in a state of poor health and decrepitude. Indeed, an increasing proportion of life is in that poor state because of its increased length. Medicine always fails to catch up, and increasingly so in providing a life of good health overall set by the end point of inevitable death. This requires a change in attitude from the zealous concentration on medical interventions whose chief aim is to increase the length of life, and a move to being able to consider more readily refusing some medical treatments, along with a more resigned attitude to our death, which must come anyway.

Health Communication: Implications for Diverse Populations

2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-19
Author(s):  
Amy Hasselkus
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Linguistically Diverse ◽  
Good Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Health Care Decisions ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
Health Related

The need for improved communication about health-related topics is evident in statistics about the health literacy of adults living in the United States. The negative impact of poor health communication is huge, resulting in poor health outcomes, health disparities, and high health care costs. The importance of good health communication is relevant to all patient populations, including those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Efforts are underway at all levels, from individual professionals to the federal government, to improve the information patients receive so that they can make appropriate health care decisions. This article describes these efforts and discusses how speech-language pathologists and audiologists may be impacted.

scholarly journals Evidence-based Research in Complementary and Alternative Medicine I: History

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Chiappelli ◽  
Paolo Prolo ◽  
Olivia S. Cajulis
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Medicine ◽  
Complementary And Alternative Medicine ◽  
Traditional Medicine ◽  
Western Medicine ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Medical Treatments ◽  
Medical Interventions ◽  
Philosophical Foundations ◽  
Medical Tradition ◽  
Complementary And Alternative

Contemporary Western medicine has witnessed a fragmentation of our conceptualization of the medical endeavor into ‘traditional medicine’ and ‘non-traditional medicine’. The former is meant to refer to the Western medical tradition, the latter encompasses both ‘complementary’ and ‘alternative’ medical practices. Complementary medicine complements conventional medical treatments, and alternative modes of medical interventions are meant to replace traditional Western medicine. Evidence-based research must be directed at establishing the best available evidence in complementary and alternative medicine. This paper is the first of a set of four ‘lectures’ that reviews the process of evidence-based research, and discusses its implications and applications for the early decades of the 21st century. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the series by examining some of the historical and philosophical foundations of this research endeavor.

Abstract P303: Association of Overweight/Obesity and Self Reported Health Status in Hispanics: A Comparison with Non Hispanic Whites

Circulation ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 127 (suppl_12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Connie Ingram ◽  
Maria Canossa-Terris ◽  
Mary Comerford ◽  
Paul Kurlansky
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Health Status ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Self Perception ◽  
Heart Research ◽  
Major Health Problem ◽  
Perception Of Health ◽  
The Impact

Introduction The growing global prevalence of obesity is recognized as an important risk for cardiovascular disease. Understanding self perception of weight as it pertains to health is critical to the success of weight reduction programs. The impact of ethnicity on this association has not been examined. Methods The sample included 927 Hispanic (H) and 72 Non-Hispanics white (NHW) adults who received free cardiovascular screening from Florida Heart Research Institute. Overweight and obesity were measured by Body Mass Index. Self-perceived health status was characterized as excellent, very good, good, fair or poor health. Logistic regression was used to determine independent risk factors for perceived fair-poor health, as well as for excellent, very good health. Odds ratios and 95% Confidence Intervals were calculated. Results Both H and NHW overweight/obese subjects tended to view their health as good, very good or excellent: H (overweight 81.1%/obese 73%) and NHW (89.3%/66.7%). Logistic regression revealed the following independent correlates of self-perceived very good or excellent health: NHW (OR 3.618, CI 2.126, 6.157, p<0.001) and exercise (OR 1.640;CI 1.186, 2.268; p=0.003). Hypertension (OR 0.392; CI 0.246, 0.625; p<0.001), overweight (OR 0.551, CI0.386, 0.785, p=0.001) and obesity (OR 0.431, CI 0.288, 0.644; p<0.001) were all negatively associated with very good/excellent status. Conclusions Although it is not surprising that participation in regular exercise is associated with a better self-perception of health status, or that hypertension and obesity is correlated with a worse self-assessed health status, there are two striking findings that emerge from this data: 1. The vast majority of both H and NHW subjects do not perceive either overweight or obesity to be a major health problem. 2. Hispanics have a significantly worse self-perception of health status even after controlling for associated factors.This information provides a critical foundation for overcoming fundamental barriers to effective patient education_a critical first step in addressing the current epidemic of obesity in ethnically diverse populations.

Advance care planning in multiple sclerosis: reflections of a palliative care physician

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (Sup3) ◽  
pp. S20-S22
Author(s):  
Lorraine Petersen
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Advance Care Planning ◽  
Good Life ◽  
Care Physician ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
Medical Treatments ◽  
Usual Practice ◽  
Advance Care ◽  
Length Of Life ◽  
Palliative Care Physician

Multiple sclerosis (MS) has a long illness trajectory punctuated by serious acute events, with a later stage that is often accompanied by cognitive impairment. There is ample time for advance care planning (ACP) discussions. While there is much to be learned about the optimal way to approach ACP for people living with MS, it is possible to approach these discussions sensitively at all stages of the condition. However, as such voluntary discussions currently lie outside usual practice, people living with MS are denied the opportunities to consider the effect future medical treatments may have on their quality and length of life. How can clinicians assist in planning for a ‘good life’ and a ‘good death’?

Health literacy

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 490-494
Author(s):  
Johanna Reilly
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Good Health ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
The World ◽  
Poor Health Literacy ◽  
Gain Access

Health literacy has been defined by the World Health Organisation as ‘The cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health.’ Doctors need to assess and take into account a patient’s health literacy when communicating information. Poor health literacy is more common than doctors may appreciate, and health information is often produced at a level that many people may struggle to understand.

A 40-Minute Phone Intervention

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-112
Author(s):  
Mark R. Collen
Keyword(s):  
Common Sense ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Active Lifestyle ◽  
Medical Treatments ◽  
Medical Interventions ◽  
Patient Advocate ◽  
Sciatic Pain ◽  
Back Surgery

This article recounts the experience of an 88-year-old woman with sciatic pain and her attempts to get it treated. Common interventions were utilized and failed, and back surgery was recommended. A patient advocate was consulted who suggested the need to begin to exercise and to reconsider other medical interventions. Within 2 months, she was pain-free and returned to her active lifestyle. The use of scientific evidence and common sense prevented unnecessary surgery and other costly medical treatments.

scholarly journals Nursing Students’ Health Literacy Level and Health Practices: a Cross Sectional Study at a University in Namibia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takaedza Munangatire ◽  
Nestor Tomas ◽  
Violetha Mareka
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Nursing Students ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Health Practices ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Health Literacy Level ◽  
Literacy Level ◽  
Literacy Scores

Abstract Background: Inadequate health literacy and poor health practices among nurses could be a hindrance to empowering the population with good health practices. For the nurses to empower the population, they need to be equipped with good health literacy and good health practices. The starting point of solving this problem is through provision of deliberate health literacy and health practice education in the nursing curriculum. This study explored health literacy level and health practices of nursing students in Namibia. Specifically the study examined the health literacy level, health practices and the relationship between the two among nursing students across four levels of study. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 205 nursing students. A simple random stratified sampling method was used and data were collected using questionnaire for health literacy (16 items) and health practices (11 items. Pearson correlation, independent t-test and One-way ANOVA were used to analyse the data. Results: The overall mean general health literacy score was 13.04± 1.52. The majority (n=157;76.5%) of the students were found to have adequate health literacy scores, 21.5% with moderate health literacy scores and only 2% with inadequate health literacy scores. The overall mean health practice score was 32.4± 5.50. Most (n=106; 51.7%) of the students were found to have poor health practices, 44.4% had average health practices and 3.9% had good health practices. There was no significant relationship between health literacy levels and health practices of the students (p=0.63).Conclusions: Nursing students have good health literacy but more efforts should be applied to maintain such health literacy levels during and beyond the point of graduation. However, with poor health practices, there is need to investigate more on the contributing factors and develop strategies that can support good health practices among nursing students and maybe these can be transferred into their professional careers as nurses.

Personality and the perception of health in the general population

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
RENEE GOODWIN ◽  
GUNNAR ENGSTROM
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Perceived Health ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Openness To Experience ◽  
Personality Characteristics ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Personality Factors ◽  
Medical Problems ◽  
Perception Of Health ◽  
The Relationship

Background. Several population-based studies have shown that self-perceived health is a powerful predictor of health outcomes. The extent to which self-perceived health is associated with personality characteristics is, however, largely unknown. We aimed to study the relationship between self-perceived health and personality among adults in the community.Method. Data were drawn from the Midlife Development in the United States Survey, a representative sample of adults age 25–74. MANOVA was used to determine the relationship between self-perception of health and personality using the five-factor model.Results. Personality factors were significantly associated with perception of poor health. Among those without self-reported medical problems (N = 834), openness to experience, extraversion and conscientiousness were associated with perception of good health, while neuroticism was associated with the perception of poor health. In subjects with self-reported medical problems (N = 2772), high scores on agreeableness, openness to experience, extraversion and conscientiousness, and low neuroticism scores were associated with perception of good health. These associations remained significant after adjustments for age, gender, race, marital status and education.Conclusions. Self-perceived health is strongly associated with personality characteristics, both in subjects with and without self-reported medical problems. It is suggested that personality characteristics could contribute to the previously reported associations between self-perceived health and health outcomes.

scholarly journals What Levels the Association Between Income and Mortality in Later Life: Age or Health Decline?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Rehnberg
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Socioeconomic Position ◽  
Poisson Regression ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Health Decline ◽  
Marginal Effects ◽  
Average Marginal Effects

Abstract Objectives Researchers frequently use the “age-as-leveler” hypothesis to explain decreasing inequality and a weakened relationship between socioeconomic position and health in old age. This study examined whether health status can explain the age pattern in the association between income and mortality as predicted by the age-as-leveler hypothesis. Method This study used longitudinal (1991–2002) data from the SWEOLD and LNU surveys. The analytical sample consisted of 2,619 people aged 54–92 in 2003. Mortality (2003–2014) and income (1991–2000) was collected from Swedish national registers. Poisson regression was used to estimate associations between mortality, income, age, and health status. Average marginal effects were used to visualize interaction effects between income and age. Results The association between income and mortality weakened in those aged 84 and older. However, health status explained a large part of the effect that age had on the association between income and mortality. Analyses done after stratifying the sample by health status showed that the association between income and mortality was strong in people who reported good health and weak or nonexistent in those who reported poor health. Discussion Age leveled the income–mortality association; however, health status, not age, explained most of the leveling.

scholarly journals Health and Households’ Portfolio Choices in Europe

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 183
Author(s):  
Insook Cho
Keyword(s):  
Regional Variation ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Financial Assets ◽  
Bank Deposits ◽  
Portfolio Choices ◽  
Care Systems

<p>Using the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), this study investigated how health is associated with households’ portfolio choices in 10 European countries. This study reports three important findings on the relationship between health and portfolio choices. First, households in poor health condition are less likely than households in good health to own various types of financial and non-financial assets. Second, households in poor health condition tend to allocate a lower share of their wealth to risky financial assets, savings for long-term investment, their principal residence, and other non-financial assets while they allocate a larger share to liquid assets such as bank deposits. Third, there exists a regional variation in the magnitude of the correlation between health and portfolio choices. This regional variation can be explained by differences in health care systems. Overall, these findings suggest that negative health shocks are significantly associated with a household’s portfolio choices.</p>

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