The Stories the Numbers Do Not Tell

Author(s):  
Carol Graham

This chapter discusses the measurement of well-being in a Culture of Health. The aggregate numbers and standard measures typically used to measure progress—growth rates, unemployment figures, and stock market trends—mask the underlying crisis of social ill-being. In contrast, well-being metrics uncover the stories that these numbers do not tell. As such, incorporating measures of well-being to provide a more nuanced view of how people are doing; to inform policies to address serious pockets of ill-being and to enhance aggregate societal well-being; and to create a new narrative about social progress is a proposition whose time has come. Surveys are a standard data collection mechanism for well-being data, and there is now established best practice for implementing well-being surveys. A key consensus is on the importance of measuring three distinct dimensions of well-being: hedonic, evaluative, and eudaimonic. The chapter then describes hedonic metrics, evaluative metrics, and eudaimonic metrics. Ideal measurement practice includes all three sets of measures, as they each reveal different elements of quality of life and well-being, ranging from daily moods to life course evaluations to purposefulness or lack thereof.

Author(s):  
Heather C. Guidone

Abstract Embedded in the centuries-old assertion that the womb was a nomadic entity wandering about the body causing hysteria and distress, persistent menstrual misinformation and misconceptions remain prevalent wherein pain disorders like endometriosis are concerned. Affecting an estimated 176 million individuals worldwide, endometriosis is a major cause of non-menstrual pain, dyspareunia, painful menses and reduced quality of life among individuals of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds. Wide-ranging symptoms may be dismissed as routine by both patients and practitioners alike due to lack of disease literacy, and lengthy diagnostic delays can exacerbate the negative impact of endometriosis on the physical, psychological, emotional and social well-being of those affected. This chapter identifies some of these challenges and explores how obstacles to best practice can be reduced in part through adoption of early educational campaigns which incorporate endometriosis as a major component of menstrual health education.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 688
Author(s):  
Marina Charalambous ◽  
Maria Kambanaros ◽  
Jean-Marie Annoni

Background: Quality of Life (QoL) questionnaires are used to describe the impact of aphasia on stroke survivors’ life. People with aphasia (PWA) are traditionally excluded from research, potentially leading to a mismatch between the factors chosen in the tools and the realistic needs of PWA. The purpose of this review was to determine the direct involvement of PWA in the creation of QoL and aphasia impact-related questionnaires (AIR-Qs). Methods: A scoping review methodology was conducted by an expert librarian and two independent reviewers on health sciences based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Metanalyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) protocol, through a literature search in five databases: Medline Complete, PubMed, PsychINFO, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Search terms included ‘stroke’, ‘people with aphasia’, ‘communication’, ‘well-being’, and ‘quality of life’. Results: Of 952 results, 20 studies met the eligibility criteria. Of these, only four AIR-Qs studies (20%) were found reporting the direct involvement of PWA, while no QoL tools did so. Evidence showed involvement in the creation phase of AIR-Q, mainly in a consultation role. Conclusions: There is an absence of a framework for conducting and reporting the involvement of PWA in qualitative participatory research studies, which limits effectiveness to promote equitable best practice in aphasia rehabilitation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6189
Author(s):  
José M. Núñez-Sánchez ◽  
Ramón Gómez-Chacón ◽  
Carmen Jambrino-Maldonado ◽  
Jerónimo García-Fernández

Employees’ health is being affected not only by the possibility of contracting COVID-19, but by all the negative consequences that this pandemic has brought, such as confinement, social distancing, and self-isolation. In recent decades, more companies have opted for corporate well-being programmes in their workplaces, improving the health and quality of life of their employees. The effects generated by the current COVID-19 pandemic require these programmes to adapt to this new situation. The objective of this case study is to analyse the corporate well-being programme, in times of COVID-19, of Mahou San Miguel, a benchmark company in corporate well-being in Spain. A mixed method approach to data collection was used. The findings show the benefits achieved in its adaptation to this new physical-virtual environment. This paper could help other companies around the world to adapt their corporate well-being programmes to the new reality brought about by COVID-19.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 611
Author(s):  
Oleg A. Kryzhanovskij ◽  
Natalia A. Baburina ◽  
Anastasia O. Ljovkina

Modern people live in the era of knowledge and digitalization supposed to increase their quality of life. Nevertheless, digital technologies are only the instruments in the development and transformation of social-economic processes and their usage per se does not ensure only positive effects, which much depends on goals, conditions, institutes, etc. Thus, digitalization has an unambiguous influence on many social-economic processes and needs a wise policy to provide smooth progress and well-being for everybody. This study aims to design and test appropriate tools for managing digitalization to direct this process on increasing the quality of life. For this purpose we analyzed: (1) correlation to identify interrelations between digitalization and quality of life; (2) the potential of using the visualization matrix method to identify and monitor national trends of digitalization in the context of quality of life. We found: (1) close correlation between subjective and objective indicators of quality of life and between the quality of life and digitalization; (2) the two-dimensional matrix turned out to be a relevant visual tool that embraces specific two-way relationships between human development and digitalization. In combination with statistical and qualitative methods, this tool has wide prospects for managing digitalization in the context of social progress and increasing quality of life.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. e048524
Author(s):  
Lesley Brown ◽  
Anne Heaven ◽  
Catherine Quinn ◽  
Victoria Goodwin ◽  
Carolyn Chew-Graham ◽  
...  

IntroductionThe Community Ageing Research 75+ (CARE75+) study is a longitudinal cohort study collecting extensive health and social data, with a focus on frailty, independence and quality of life in older age. CARE75+ was the first international experimental frailty research cohort designed using trial within cohorts (TwiCs) methodology, aligning epidemiological research with clinical trial evaluation of interventions to improve the health and well-being of older people. CARE75+ REMOTE is an extension of CARE75+ using a remote model that does not require face-to-face interactions for data collection in the current circumstances of a global pandemic and will provide an efficient, sustainable data collection model.Methods and analysisProspective cohort study using TwiCs. One thousand community-dwelling older people (≥75 years) will be recruited from UK general practices by telephone. Exclusions include: nursing home/care home residents; those with an estimated life expectancy of 3 months or less; and people receiving palliative care.Data collectionAssessments will be conducted by telephone, web-submission or postal questionnaire: baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, 30 months and 36 months. Measures include activities of daily living, mood, health-related quality of life, comorbidities, medications, frailty, informal care, healthcare and social care service use. Consent will be sought for data linkage and invitations to additional studies (sub-studies).Ethics and disseminationCARE75+ was approved by the National Research Ethics Service (NRES) Committee Yorkshire and the Humber—Bradford Leeds 10 October 2014 (14/YH/1120). CARE75+ REMOTE (amendment 13) was approved on the 18th November 2020. Consent is sought if an individual is willing to participate and has capacity to provide informed consent. Consultee assent is sought if an individual lacks capacity. Results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed scientific journals and conferences. Results will be summarised and disseminated to study participants via newsletters, local engagement events and on a bespoke website.Trial registration numberISRCTN16588124.


2011 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 191-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay Watson-Jarvis ◽  
Cyne Johnston ◽  
Camillia Clark

Increased child and youth overweight and obesity, as well as significant health effects associated with obesity, have led to recommendations for multicomponent prevention programs. In 2005 to 2006, the former Calgary Health Region (now Alberta Health Services) had an opportunity to develop, deliver, and evaluate an early intervention service for families with children at risk for overweight and obesity. Using available evidence and with access to key advisors, core team members developed and implemented a curriculum for a family-focused, behaviour-based education program entitled Make It HAPPEN. A health-centred approach based on the physical, mental, and social well-being of the whole child was used. Physical, selfesteem, and quality-of-life measures were included in program evaluation. After the program, statistically significant reductions in body mass index (BMI) percentile and z-score were seen, as were increases in quality of life. Self-esteem improved significantly for children with initial BMI percentiles of at least 98. Evaluation results indicate that an effective program can be developed with limited resources to meet best practice needs. Potentially, such programs could be integrated into other community obesity prevention programs or within primary health services models.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 65-72
Author(s):  
Loredana Nicoleta Zainea ◽  
Sorin-George Toma ◽  
Cătălin Grădinaru ◽  
Ștefan Catană

Due to rapid evolution of new technologies and the accelerated economic and social change, many organizations have realized in recent years that in order to survive in this turbulent and competitive global environment it is necessary to take into account the needs and expectations of their stakeholders, as well as to make the labour relationships more flexible and to adopt a socially responsible behaviour. Social enterprises may be the solution as they represent a business model adapted to the 21st century, which through their activity create a balance between economic, financial, cultural, social and environmental needs. In fact, last decades have witnessed the emergence and development of concepts such as social economy and enterprise, social entrepreneurship. As a driver of innovation, job creation and economic growth, social entrepreneurship can and should contribute to economic well-being and social progress. On this line, it is worth to emphasize that the activities of social entrepreneurs may have an appreciable impact on the quality of life of people around the world. Also, social entrepreneurship represents a complex and multidimensional concept that has constituted a topic of great significance for numerous researchers in the past decades. The paper aims to define the concepts of social entrepreneurship and quality of life, and to illustrate their relationship in the case of TOMS company. The descriptive and quantitative research method used by the authors was based on secondary data found in the electronic databases, international journals and corporate reports. The paper contributes to a better understanding of the two concepts, namely social entrepreneurship and quality of life. Also, it shows that they are two related concepts as the first one has a positive impact on the second one through various actions, such as ensuring the basic material conditions, increasing the level of education, or improving the health system. Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship, Quality of Life, Entrepreneurship, TOMS Company.


Author(s):  
Dhiran Talatule ◽  
Ramhari Sathawane ◽  
Romita Gaikwad ◽  
Rakhi Chandak ◽  
Ayesha Sayyad ◽  
...  

Background: - Oral Submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a chronic insidious inflammatory disease which presents with the clinical presentation of burning sensation, fibrosis which ultimately leads to reduced mouth opening. The quality of life is the perception of an individual on their oral health as well as their well-being. The assessment of quality of life in the patients with OSMF plays an important role in the cessation of the habit. Aim: - To analyse the quality of life in patients diagnosed with Oral Submucous Fibrosis (OSMF). Study Design: - Cross-Sectional Study Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study will be conducted on 300 diagnosed patients of OSMF. Selection of patients will be done as per the inclusion criteria. The nature and Purpose of the study will be explained to the patients before the data collection. Results: The results will be evaluated by the statistician after the data collection and the results will be published in the peer reviewed journals. Improvement in the quality of life in OSMF patients. Knowledge and awareness regarding the consequences of betelnut in the population of Central India.


Author(s):  
Igor A. Shevchuk ◽  
Tatyana B. Melnikova

The paper contributes to the existing job satisfaction models by introducing a new exogenous variable, regional tourism development. Tourism does not only change the regional economy and infrastructure; it creates new cultural practices, causes the change in the attitude to health and leisure, presents a different model of judgement and decisionmaking. Consequently, it may be suggested that the tourism development rate influences the behaviour model of the local residents. It is proposed to identify the changes based on two-stage modelling with the help of multiple linear and non-linear regression. At the first stage, the relationship between tourism development and cultural practices, as well as between tourism development and quality of life are investigated on the basis of objective data. Low tourism growth rates provoke an increase in both cultural practices and quality of life; however, in the future, at medium growth rates, motivated convictions begin to form dissipated ideas of leisure in the residents’ behaviour. At the second stage, the residents’ self-assessment was applied to build overall and exogenous models of job satisfaction. The influence of the exogenous variable decreased the impact of the material factor (salary satisfaction) on job satisfaction, forming a new attitude to leisure, and, therefore, causing changes in the people’s psychological well-being. The results revealed that one’s own sense of sufficient labour-leisure balance decreases as the tourist traffic increases, and the social comparison effect is triggered. Besides, at the high tourism growth rates, habituation to the tourist traffic and regularly updating leisure programmes develops the adaptation effect, which is manifested in the enhanced work schedule satisfaction influencing the job satisfaction


GeroPsych ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 125-134
Author(s):  
Mechthild Niemann-Mirmehdi ◽  
Andreas Häusler ◽  
Paul Gellert ◽  
Johanna Nordheim

Abstract. To date, few studies have focused on perceived overprotection from the perspective of people with dementia (PwD). In the present examination, the association of perceived overprotection in PwD is examined as an autonomy-restricting factor and thus negative for their mental well-being. Cross-sectional data from the prospective DYADEM study of 82 patient/partner dyads (mean age = 74.26) were used to investigate the association between overprotection, perceived stress, depression, and quality of life (QoL). The analyses show that an overprotective contact style with PwD has a significant positive association with stress and depression, and has a negative association with QoL. The results emphasize the importance of avoiding an overprotective care style and supporting patient autonomy.


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