A journey to a new stable state—further development of the postoperative recovery concept from day surgical perspective: a qualitative study

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.

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The Physical, Psychological, and Social Day-to-Day Experience of Women Living With Endometriosis Compared to Healthy Age-Matched Controls—A Mixed-Methods Study

Frontiers in Global Women's Health ◽

10.3389/fgwh.2021.767114 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

Author(s):

Elisabeth Olliges ◽

Alina Bobinger ◽

Annemarie Weber ◽

Verena Hoffmann ◽

Timo Schmitz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Everyday Life ◽

Short Form ◽

Well Being ◽

Physical Symptoms ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Starting Point ◽

Holistic Understanding ◽

Pain Ratings ◽

Mental Symptoms

Background: Endometriosis is characterized by lesions of endometrial tissue outside the uterus. Chronic pain is considered as main symptom, but challenges can relate to various physical, mental, and social aspects of the women's lives. The aim of our study was to gain a holistic understanding of the everyday reality of women with endometriosis compared to healthy controls.Methods: The total sample comprised 12 hormone-free endometriosis patients (EP) and 11 age-matched healthy women (HC). A mixed-methods design was used comprising semi-structured interviews, standardized questionnaires and a comprehensive diary to assess pain ratings and various mental and physical symptoms over the course of a menstrual cycle. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and evaluated according to phenomenological analysis using the MAXQDA software.Results: Interviews showed that living with endometriosis was associated with an impairment in everyday life. Physical strains, especially pain, high levels of psychological distress, and social limitations have been reported. Living with endometriosis affected the patients' personality and they “no longer felt like themselves.” Physical and psychological symptoms were reported to interfere with social interaction and participation. Evaluation of the standardized questionnaires revealed significant impairments in EP compared to HC in regard to anxiety and depression scores (both p < 0.001; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), mental and physical quality of life (both p < 0.001; Short-Form Health Survey-12), stress ratings (p < 0.001; Patient Health Questionnaire-15) and functional well-being (p < 0.001; Functional Well-being-7). The highest levels of mean pelvic pain and dyschezia were observed in EP during menstruation, but mean pain ratings and dyschezia were increased in EPs compared to HP during the whole cycle. EP reported mental symptoms (e.g., depressed mood or anxiety) mainly during menstruation, while HC did not show any mental symptoms during the cycle. In addition, physical symptoms were elevated during the entire cycle in EPs (all p < 0.01).Discussion: The mixed-methods approach enabled to interpret the interviews, the standardized questionnaires, and the symptom diary in a broader context of everyday life. The symptoms do not appear to act independently, but rather influence each other. This leads to a complex interplay of physical, mental, and social impairments, with pain often being the starting point.

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Patient-Reported Recovery in Upper Abdominal Cancer Surgery Care: A Prospective Study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-121101/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anna Johansson ◽

Jessica Karlsson ◽

Victoria Fomichov ◽

Bergthor Björnsson ◽

Anna Lindhoff Larsson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Symptoms ◽

Postoperative Recovery ◽

Cancer Surgery ◽

Social Dimension ◽

University Hospital ◽

Care Process ◽

Patient Reported ◽

Upper Abdominal ◽

A Prospective Study ◽

Patients Experience

Abstract Background To describe and analyse patient-reported recovery in patients after upper abdominal cancer surgery.Methods This study had a quantitative and prospective design. Patients eligible for upper abdominal cancer surgery were consecutively included in a university hospital in southern Sweden. Twenty-four patients answered the Postoperative Recovery Profile (PRP) questionnaire at 3 measurement points. The PRP includes 5 dimensions of recovery: physical symptoms, physical function, psychological function, social function, and activity.Results The results were based on 72 answered questionnaires. All 5 dimensions were affected. Symptoms were rated preoperatively, and >60% of patients were not fully recovered upon discharge according to the PRP. In the physical symptoms dimension, the majority of patients reported a lack of energy upon discharge. High levels of anxiety were reported. Over 50% of patients reported some degree of depressed mood at all three measurement points. In the social dimension, the majority of patients reported some degree of inconvenience with respect to being dependent on help from others and restrictions in everyday life at four weeks after discharge.Conclusion Patients undergoing surgery for upper abdominal cancer are affected by psychological, physiological, social, and habitual factors, and according to the PRP, most estimates of these symptoms increase significantly after the surgery. Few patients are fully recovered at four weeks after discharge, and the majority of patients experience symptoms preoperatively. Individual patient-reported recovery estimates based on preoperative status and follow-up data may be valuable in identifying and planning interventions tailored to each patient's needs throughout the care process.

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CYBERCHONDRIA INFORMATION CLINIC: Internet's Impact on your Health (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.14507 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Valentina Escotet Espinoza

Keyword(s):

Human Life ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Physical Symptoms ◽

Digital Design ◽

Somatization Disorder ◽

The Internet ◽

Cultural Aspects ◽

Starting Point ◽

The Right ◽

The Relationship

UNSTRUCTURED Over half of Americans report looking up health-related questions on the internet, including questions regarding their own ailments. The internet, in its vastness of information, provides a platform for patients to understand how to seek help and understand their condition. In most cases, this search for knowledge serves as a starting point to gather evidence that leads to a doctor’s appointment. However, in some cases, the person looking for information ends up tangled in an information web that perpetuates anxiety and further searches, without leading to a doctor’s appointment. The Internet can provide helpful and useful information; however, it can also be a tool for self-misdiagnosis. Said person craves the instant gratification the Internet provides when ‘googling’ – something one does not receive when having to wait for a doctor’s appointment or test results. Nevertheless, the Internet gives that instant response we demand in those moments of desperation. Cyberchondria, a term that has entered the medical lexicon in the 21st century after the advent of the internet, refers to the unfounded escalation of people’s concerns about their symptomatology based on search results and literature online. ‘Cyberchondriacs’ experience mistrust of medical experts, compulsion, reassurance seeking, and excessiveness. Their excessive online research about health can also be associated with unnecessary medical expenses, which primarily arise from anxiety, increased psychological distress, and worry. This vicious cycle of searching information and trying to explain current ailments derives into a quest for associating symptoms to diseases and further experiencing the other symptoms of said disease. This psychiatric disorder, known as somatization, was first introduced to the DSM-III in the 1980s. Somatization is a psycho-biological disorder where physical symptoms occur without any palpable organic cause. It is a disorder that has been renamed, discounted, and misdiagnosed from the beginning of the DSMs. Somatization triggers span many mental, emotional, and cultural aspects of human life. Our environment and social experiences can lay the blueprint for disorders to develop over time; an idea that is widely accepted for underlying psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. The research is going in the right direction by exploring brain regions but needs to be expanded on from a sociocultural perspective. In this work, we explore the relationship between somatization disorder and the condition known as cyberchondria. First, we provide a background on each of the disorders, including their history and psychological perspective. Second, we proceed to explain the relationship between the two disorders, followed by a discussion on how this relationship has been studied in the scientific literature. Thirdly, we explain the problem that the relationship between these two disorders creates in society. Lastly, we propose a set of intervention aids and helpful resource prototypes that aim at resolving the problem. The proposed solutions ranged from a site-specific clinic teaching about cyberchondria to a digital design-coded chrome extension available to the public.

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COVID-19: From health crises to food security anxiety and policy implications

AMBIO ◽

10.1007/s13280-020-01481-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 50 (4) ◽

pp. 794-811 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Linley Chiwona-Karltun ◽

Franklin Amuakwa-Mensah ◽

Caroline Wamala-Larsson ◽

Salome Amuakwa-Mensah ◽

Assem Abu Hatab ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Economic ◽

Food Security ◽

Economic Impact ◽

Probit Model ◽

Recovery Process ◽

Well Being ◽

Policy Implications ◽

African Countries ◽

Use Of Data ◽

Local Spread

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.

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Research on the Influence of Energy Utilization and Economic Development on Human Well-Being in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13010196 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 196

Author(s):

Mengmeng Meng ◽

Weiguo Fan ◽

Jianchang Lu ◽

Xiaobin Dong ◽

Hejie Wei

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Well Being ◽

Resource Acquisition ◽

Energy Utilization ◽

Western China ◽

Tibet Plateau ◽

Four Dimensions ◽

Generalized Matrix ◽

Qinghai Tibet Plateau ◽

Means Of Production

Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a typical resource-rich but economically backward region in western China, and it is of great urgency to improve human well-being. Combined with previous scholars’ research and the characteristics of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, this paper constructs an index system of human well-being including four dimensions: income and consumption, means of production, means of subsistence, and resource acquisition ability. Then, it uses generalized matrix method estimations to measure the influence of energy utilization and economic development on human well-being and makes a regression analysis on the influence of energy utilization and economic development on human well-being in various provinces in this region. It is found that per capita GDP and coke utilization promote the well-being of all dimensions, while the urban registered unemployment rate only promotes the well-being of means of subsistence. The utilization of gasoline and natural gas promotes income and consumption and inhibits the means of subsistence and resource acquisition ability, but they have opposite effects on means of production. The impacts of energy utilization and economic development in different provinces on human well-being are different. This study is of great significance to the related research aiming at improving people’s livelihood and promoting regional development.

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How can electric lighting contribute to human health and well-being?

Lighting Research and Technology ◽

10.1177/14771535211003264 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 53 (5) ◽

pp. 515-522

Author(s):

P Raynham

Keyword(s):

Human Health ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Health Benefits ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Problems ◽

Starting Point ◽

Electric Light ◽

Health And Well Being ◽

Hypothetical Explanation

Electric light in buildings may provide some health benefits; however, for most people these benefits are likely to be small. It is possible for electric lighting to cause health problems, if there is too little light or there is glare, but for the most part there is good guidance available and these problems can be avoided. The quality of the lit environment can have a psychological impact and this may in turn impact well-being. A starting point for this is perceived adequacy of illumination. Related lighting metrics are examined and a hypothetical explanation is suggested.

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Older Adults’ Subjective Well-being Following an Exergame Intervention “Bandit the Dolphin”: Focus Group Findings

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.549 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 169-170

Author(s):

Brittany Drazich ◽

Breanna Crane ◽

Kyle Moored ◽

Karl Shieh ◽

Janiece Taylor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Older Adults ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Well Being ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Mental Illness Stigma ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Future Health ◽

Adult Participants

Abstract Due to generational mental illness stigma and under diagnosis of mental illness, older adults do not always receive the mental health help that they need. One unique technology that has the potential to improve mood in older adults is exergames, or exercise video games. The objective of this sub-study (main study: Stimulation With Intricate Movements “SWIM” Study) was to explore older adults’ mood following an exergame intervention called “Bandit the Dolphin,” created by the Johns Hopkins KATA Studio. Researchers conducted three focus groups with 14 community-dwelling older adult participants who took part in the SWIM Study exergame intervention. The semi-structured focus groups were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using deductive and inductive techniques described by Ray Maietta’s “sort and sift, think and shift” method. Three themes related to playing “Bandit the Dolphin” and mood emerged. First, participants described their perceived association between activity and mood. Participants felt that both active and passive activities, “Bandit the Dolphin” and otherwise, improved their mood through the “fun” factor, and through feelings of achievement. Second, the participants described that the competition and frustration of playing “Bandit the Dolphin” increased eventual feelings of achievement. Third, participants described how feelings of immersion, or being absorbed in the game, helped them forget their other life concerns. These findings provide a better understanding of older adults’ perceived relationship between an exergame intervention, “Bandit the Dolphin,” and short-term improved mood. Future health and engineering researchers should explore exergames as a potential tool to improve the mental health of older adults.

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Feasibility and acceptability of hypnosis-derived communication administered by trained nurses to improve patient well-being during outpatient chemotherapy: a pilot-controlled trial

Supportive Care in Cancer ◽

10.1007/s00520-021-06481-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Caroline Arbour ◽

Marjorie Tremblay ◽

David Ogez ◽

Chloé Martineau-Lessard ◽

Gilles Lavigne ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Usual Care ◽

Emotional Support ◽

Symptom Management ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Well Being ◽

Physical Symptoms ◽

Intervention Site ◽

Outpatient Chemotherapy ◽

Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale ◽

Contrast Perception

Abstract Purpose This pilot-controlled trial aimed to examine the feasibility and acceptability of hypnosis-derived communication (HC) administered by trained nurses during outpatient chemotherapy to optimize symptom management and emotional support — two important aspects of patient well-being in oncology. Methods The trial was conducted in two outpatient oncology units: (1) intervention site (usual care with HC), and (2) control site (usual care). Nurses at the intervention site were invited to take part in an 8-h training in HC. Participants’ self-ratings of symptoms and emotional support were gathered at predetermined time points during three consecutive outpatient visits using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale and the Emotional Support Scale. Results Forty-nine patients (24 in the intervention group, 25 in the control group) with different cancer types/stages were recruited over a period of 3 weeks and completed the study. All nurses (N = 10) at the intervention site volunteered to complete the training and were able to include HC into their chemotherapy protocols (about ± 5 min/intervention). Compared to usual care, patients exposed to HC showed a significant reduction in physical symptoms during chemotherapy. In contrast, perception of emotional support did not show any significant effect of the intervention. Participants exposed to HC report that the intervention helped them relax and connect on a more personal level with the nurse during chemotherapy infusion. Conclusions Our results suggest that HC is feasible, acceptable, and beneficial for symptom management during outpatient chemotherapy. While future studies are needed, hypnosis techniques could facilitate meaningful contacts between cancer patients and clinicians in oncology. Trial registration Clinical Trial Identifier: NCT04173195, first posted on November 19, 2019

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Patient-reported recovery in upper abdominal cancer surgery care: A prospective study

Science Progress ◽

10.1177/00368504211016938 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 104 (2) ◽

pp. 003685042110169

Author(s):

Anna Johansson ◽

Jessica Karlsson ◽

Victoria Fomichov ◽

Anna Lindhoff Larsson ◽

Per Sandström ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Symptoms ◽

Postoperative Recovery ◽

Cancer Surgery ◽

Social Dimension ◽

University Hospital ◽

Care Process ◽

Five Dimensions ◽

Patient Reported ◽

Upper Abdominal ◽

A Prospective Study

The study aimed to describe and analyse patient-reported recovery in patients after upper abdominal cancer surgery. This study had a quantitative design and patients were consecutively included in a university hospital in southern Sweden. Twenty-four patients answered the Postoperative Recovery Profile (PRP) questionnaire at three measurement points. All five dimensions were affected. In the physical symptoms dimension, the majority of patients reported a lack of energy upon discharge. High levels of anxiety were reported. Over 50% of patients reported some degree of depressed mood at all three measurement points. In the social dimension, the majority of patients reported some degree of being dependent on help from others in everyday life at 4 weeks after discharge. Few patients are fully recovered at 4 weeks after discharge. Individual patient-reported recovery estimates may be valuable in identifying and planning interventions tailored to each patient’s needs throughout the care process.

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A Tale of Two Emotions: The Diverging Salience and Health Consequences of Calmness and Excitement in Old Age

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.2138 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 626-627

Author(s):

Jeremy Hamm ◽

Carsten Wrosch ◽

Meaghan Barlow ◽

Ute Kunzmann

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Old Age ◽

Perceived Control ◽

Positive Emotions ◽

Multilevel Models ◽

Growth Models ◽

Well Being ◽

Physical Symptoms ◽

Health Consequences ◽

Younger Adults

Abstract Using two studies, we examined the late life prevalence and health consequences of discrete positive emotions posited to motivate rest and recovery (calmness) or pursuit of novelty and stimulation (excitement). Study 1 assessed the salience of these discrete emotions in older adults (n=73, Mage=73) relative to younger adults (n=73, Mage=23) over a one-week period. Multilevel models showed that older (vs. younger) adults reported higher calmness and lower excitement. Study 2 examined the longitudinal health consequences of calmness and excitement in old age (n=336, Mage=75), as moderated by perceived control. Multilevel growth models showed that calmness, but not excitement, buffered against 10-year declines in psychological well-being (perceived stress, depressive symptoms) and physical health (physical symptoms, chronic conditions) for older adults with low perceived control. Results suggest that positive emotions with disparate motivational functions become more (calmness) or less (excitement) salient and have diverging implications for health in old age.

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