scholarly journals Patient Attitudes About Light Therapy and Negative Ion Therapy for Nonseasonal Depression: An Online Survey Study

Author(s):  
Iman Lahouaoula ◽  
Victor W. Li ◽  
Aidan Scott ◽  
André Do ◽  
Erin E. Michalak ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTObjectiveNo studies have yet evaluated whether light therapy or negative ion therapy can be used as maintenance treatment after acute treatment with antidepressants in patients with major depressive disorder. To address the importance of this question, we surveyed participants with depression to determine their knowledge and attitudes about light therapy and negative ion therapy, and their willingness to participate in a randomized clinical trial with these therapies substituting for antidepressants for maintenance treatment.MethodsParticipants with a self-reported diagnosis of depression were recruited by email, newsletters, and social media to complete an online survey with questions about awareness and effectiveness of light therapy and negative ion therapy for depression. Vignettes describing the use of these therapies for maintenance treatment were presented with follow up questions about the ease of use and reasons for wanting (and not wanting) to use the therapies instead of antidepressants. Another vignette described a randomized study with these therapies followed by questions on whether participants would likely volunteer for the study. Chi-square tests were used to examine differences in responses between therapies.ResultsA total of 221 participants completed the survey. Most of them were aware of both therapies, but more participants had heard of light therapy (95% compared to 62% for negative ion therapy, p<0.0001), had used light therapy (28% versus 16%, p<0.003), and regarded light therapy as effective (54% versus 37%, p<0.001). Both therapies were considered easy to use. The majority of participants (78%) thought that it was important to find non-medication therapies for maintenance treatment, and 77% responded that they would likely volunteer for a randomized study to determine efficacy of the two therapies for maintenance treatment.ConclusionPeople with depression are generally aware of light therapy and negative ion therapy and believe they would be good therapies to substitute for antidepressants in maintenance treatment. These findings support the importance and feasibility for a randomized relapse prevention trial with light therapy and negative ion therapy in patients with depression.

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0249727
Author(s):  
Masita Mandasari ◽  
Febrina Rahmayanti ◽  
Hajer Derbi ◽  
Yuniardini S. Wimardhani

Special Care Dentistry (SCD) or Special Needs Dentistry is a branch of dentistry concerned with the oral health of people with a variety of medical conditions or limitations that require more than routine delivery of care. There were reports on oral status of special care patients and special interest group for SCD dentists in Indonesia has existed. However, there was not perception report on SCD amongst dentists in Jakarta. This paper will describe the perception of dentists in Jakarta towards SCD. A cross-sectional questionnaire, translated and cross adapted to Indonesian, was distributed online through Whatsapp to dentists registered in Jakarta late 2019. Quantitative data was analyzed using statistical software for proportion and correlation using Chi-Square test. The questionnaire explored dentists’ perception towards SCD. A total of 250 dentists participated in this study, of them 173 general practitioners and 77 specialist dentists. Most respondents reported that they did not have SCD component during undergraduate dental school and did not provide treatment to patients with special needs in their clinical practice. Most respondents have poor perception of SCD, however, most of the respondents showed motivation and interest towards SCD training. Dentists in Jakarta involved in this study had poor perception of SCD. More efforts should be performed to improve SCD education and awareness.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 513-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina M. Kruger ◽  
Nicholas McCreary ◽  
Brandon L. Verhoff ◽  
Virgil Sheets ◽  
James H. Speer ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore college students’ understanding of sustainability and, specifically, the extent to which students see social justice as being integral to sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Between fall 2015 and 2017, an online survey study was deployed to students at a Midwestern University in the USA to assess attitudes and concerns about environmental issues and awareness of the university’s activities related to these issues. This analysis included ten assessment items from a larger study, of which 1,929 participants were included in the final sample. A chi-square goodness-of-fit and variable cluster analysis were performed on the included items. Findings Items such as “recycling,” “economic viability” and “fair treatment of all” were identified as integral to the concept of sustainability, while items such as “growing organic vegetables” and “reducing meat consumption” had high levels of “not applicable” and “don’t know” responses, with differences arising across gender and class standing. Social justice-related items were seen as more distally connected to sustainability. Research limitations/implications This study is limited by a non-random sample of students. Practical implications College students tend not to recognize the integral nature of social justice or the relevance of food to sustainability, providing an opportunity for universities to better prepare their students for a sustainable future. Social implications Universities might adopt policies and curricula that address these areas of ignorance. Originality/value This study is among the first to identify specific areas of college students’ lack of understanding about sustainability.


2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 472-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille Lacan ◽  
Pierre Desmet

Purpose Crowdfunding offers a popular means to raise donations online from many contributors. Open calls for contributions involve another actor too, namely, the internet platform that maintains the two-sided market. This paper aims to examine the effect of this intermediary on contributors’ willingness to participate in crowdfunding projects. Design/methodology/approach An online survey measures the relative effect of contributors’ attitudes towards the crowdfunding platform on two key behaviours: willingness to share word-of-mouth and willingness to participate in a project. Findings Using the theoretical framework of a two-sided market, the empirical study reveals that attitudes towards a crowdfunding platform moderate contributors’ willingness to participate due to several risk factors that affect the platform’s perceived usefulness and ease of use. These factors have negative influences on attitude towards the platform, which reduces support for the project. The effects are stronger for willingness to participate than for word-of-mouth intentions. Research limitations/implications Declarative measures and a focus on the utilitarian dimensions of contributor participation limit the external validity of the findings. Practical implications With the results of this study, internet platforms can find ways to improve the attitudes of potential contributors. Project creators can use the findings to adapt their communication campaigns and reduce inhibitions that keep contributors from using platforms. Originality/value This study advances marketing and crowdfunding literature by highlighting the potential dark side of a platform that functions as an intermediary in a two-sided market.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 468-476
Author(s):  
Abd. Gani Baeda ◽  
Muhdar Muhdar ◽  
Grace Tedy Tulak ◽  
Rosani Naim ◽  
Rosmiati Rosmiati ◽  
...  

COVID-19 has become a frightening pandemic and has spread throughout theworld with an unprecedentedly high death rate. Community compliance withgovernment appeals must be accompanied by knowledge, attitudes, and practicesin dealing with this epidemic. This study aims to investigate the Knowledge,Attitude, and Practice of Kolaka residents against the COVID-19 outbreak. Thisresearch is descriptive-analytic with a Cross-Sectional approach. The sample usedin this study were 1,010 respondents aged 17 to 65 years, having gmail and y-mail accounts, mastering the internet became the criteria for respondentinclusion in this study. The questionnaire used was the adoption of previousstudies and modified according to conditions. Data were analyzed bivariate usingthe Chi-Square test with standard p-value&lt;0.05. The results obtained showed thatthe Kolaka community had good knowledge (49.6%), a confident attitude ofcontrolling the plague (70.4%), and had a high level of vigilance (79.6%) towardsCOVID-19. There is a relationship between knowledge with practice p-value=0.000, while attitude has no relationship with practice with p-value=0.862.The massive dissemination of information through existing media has greatlyhelped the community increase their knowledge of COVID-19, which will furthersupport the formation of a confident attitude to control this disease and increasevigilance in their daily life practices during this pandemic.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nolila Mohd Nawi ◽  
Najihah Baharudin ◽  
Nurul Nadia Ramli

Social media has become one of the main platforms for businesses around the world to markettheir products or services. However, some entrepreneurs still feel doubtful whether social mediamarketing is effective enough compared to the traditional marketing on seeking attention fromtheir targeted audience based on the different generation. Besides, people still think that socialmedia is used as the medium for people around the world to socialize with everyone instead ofmarketing their product or services, especially agro-based products. Entrepreneurs also did not usesocial media marketing because they do not have the sufficient knowledge on how to fully utilizethe social media to market their product. This will hinder them from using social media marketingin their business because they might need more time and assistance to learn how to employ socialmedia marketing. Thus, the main objective of this study is to investigate the adoption of socialmedia marketing among agropreneurs in Peninsular Malaysia. Primary data was collected usingstructured questionnaire via online survey. The questionnaire have been distributed through socialmedia platforms and e-mailed to the targeted respondents using purposive sampling method. Atotal of 113 respondents from 12 states in Peninsular Malaysia was successfully participated inthis study. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive analysis, chi-square analysis and factoranalysis. The results of this study indicated that the adoption level of social media marketingamong agropreneurs in Peninsular Malaysia is on the medium high level and the highest socialmedia platform adopted is Facebook. Besides that, the results of chi-square analysis showed thatrespondent’s demographic and business profile including gender, age, education level and typesof agro-based business operated has an association with the adoption of social media marketingamong agropreneurs. The results of factor analysis discovered four factors that influencingadoption of social media marketing among agropreneurs namely; perceived usefulness, socialinfluence, perceived ease of use and facilitating conditions. Hence, entrepreneurs that alreadyadopted social media marketing should cooperate and create an association of online agropreneursto encourage other entrepreneurs so that they start adopting social media marketing.


2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Okin Lee ◽  
Mikyung Shin

The purpose of this online survey study was to obtain basic information about South Korean high school students’ understanding of learning disabilities. A total of 343 students responded to questions about demographics, familiarity with terms related to learning disabilities, beliefs about learning disabilities, and attitudes toward students with learning disabilities. The study’s findings showed that 91.3% of respondents were aware of the term “dyslexia,” yet only 65% had previously heard the term “learning disabilities.” The results of chi-square tests indicated that, in general, familiarity with terms related to learning disabilities led to no significant differences in beliefs and attitudes toward students with learning disabilities. However, more respondents who had previously heard the term “learning disabilities” believed that learning disabilities would affect adulthood activities than did those who had never previously heard the term ( p < .05).


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gokhan Aydin

Gamification has become an influential term in diverse fields ranging from education to systems development and marketing. The recent intensifying emphasis is attributable to enabling technologies and successful practical applications used for changing attitudes and increasing engagement. However, relevant academic studies are not wide-spread and this study aims to address this vital research gap. This study is structured to understand the factors affecting intention to use gamified systems and test whether they are affected by gender or age. An online survey study was conducted on a web-based gamified system (EmpireAvenue.com) and following a detailed screening process, a total of 168 fully complete questionnaires were attained. The theoretical model employed was developed upon technology acceptance model (TAM) and modified to incorporate an intrinsic motivation element, namely the “perceived enjoyment” construct. According to the findings, age and gender moderate the relationships between usefulness, ease of use, perceived enjoyment and intention to use the gamified system.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Burmann ◽  
Max Tischler ◽  
Mira Faßbach ◽  
Sophie Schneitler ◽  
Sven Meister

BACKGROUND Digitalization affects all areas of society, including the health care sector. However, the digitalization of health care provision is progressing slowly compared to other sectors. In the professional and political literature, physicians are partially portrayed as digitalization sceptics. Thus, the role of physicians in this process requires further investigation. The theory of “digital natives” suggests a lower hurdle for younger generations to engage with digital technologies. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to investigate the role of physicians in the process of digitalizing health care provision in Germany and to assess the age factor. METHODS We conducted a large-scale study to assess the role of this professional group in the progress of the digital transformation of the German health care sector. Therefore, in an anonymous online survey, we inquired about the current digital penetration of the personal working environment, expectations, attitude toward, and concerns regarding digitalization. Based on these data, we studied associations with the nominal variable age and variations across 2 age groups. RESULTS The 1274 participants included in the study generally showed a high affinity towards digitalization with a mean of 3.88 on a 5-point Likert scale; 723 respondents (56.75%) stated they personally use mobile apps in their everyday working life, with a weak tendency to be associated with the respondents’ age (η=0.26). Participants saw the most noticeable existing benefits through digitalization in data quality and readability (882/1274, 69.23%) and the least in patient engagement (213/1274, 16.72%). Medical practitioners preponderantly expect further improvements through increased digitalization across almost all queried areas but the most in access to medical knowledge (1136/1274, 89.17%), treatment of orphan diseases (1016/1274, 79.75%), and medical research (1023/1274, 80.30%). CONCLUSIONS Respondents defined their role in the digitalization of health care provision as ambivalent: “scrutinizing” on the one hand but “active” and “open” on the other. A gap between willingness to participate and digital sovereignty was indicated. Thus, education on digitalization as a means to support health care provision should not only be included in the course of study but also in the continuing process of further and advanced training.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 591-601
Author(s):  
Akansha Kishen ◽  
Anjali A K ◽  
Brundha M P ◽  
Muralidharan N P

Covid 19 is considered to be a pandemic virus infection. SARS-Cov-2 causes it. It is a viral infection that is transmitted through aerosol and droplet contamination, cross-infection, etc. Dentists are at a higher risk due to this corona. It has affected daily routines of dentist's life as they are unavailable to run the clinic and attend to patients. Different search engines like PubMed, and Google Scholar was used. The questionnaire consisting of twenty questions was prepared by using online survey google forms and circulated among the participants. SPSS software was used to evaluate the results and data collection. Statistical analysis was done by chi-square test. Later, results were being tabulated. This survey that is taken among dental students, dentists, and random public, it is seen that the majority of them are well aware of this recent pandemic attack. (COVID-19). It is concluded that dentists are affected to a significant extent due to coronavirus as their daily routine is affected severely. This study aims to identify the effect on dentist life on a routine basis due to the pandemic COVID - 19.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Bollwerk ◽  
Bernd Schlipphak ◽  
Joscha Stecker ◽  
Jens Hellmann ◽  
Gerald Echterhoff ◽  
...  

Threat perceptions towards immigrants continue to gain importance in the context of growing international migration. To reduce associated intergroup conflicts, it is crucial to understand the personal and contextual determinants of perceived threat. In a large online survey study (N = 1,184), we investigated the effects of ideology (i.e., Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation), subjective societal status (SSS) and their interaction effects in predicting symbolic and realistic threat perceptions towards Middle Eastern immigrants. Results showed that ideology (higher RWA and SDO) and lower SSS significantly predicted both symbolic and realistic threat, even after controlling for income, education, age, and gender. Furthermore, ideology and SSS interacted significantly in predicting realistic threat, with higher levels of SDO and RWA enhancing the effect of SSS. In the discussion, we focus on the implications of our findings with respect to understanding societal conflicts, discuss methodological limitations, and provide directions for future research.


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