Imbuing Occupations with Spiritual Significance Fosters Experiences of Hope

2021 ◽  
pp. 153944922098590
Author(s):  
Dorit Redlich Amirav ◽  
Denise Larsen ◽  
Elizabeth Taylor

In theories of occupational therapy, occupation serves as a conduit for creating meaning and well-being. A crucial component of occupational therapy is developing and maintaining hope of clients during periods of major difficulty. Understanding the relationship between hope and occupation can prove helpful in stressful situations, such as caring for children with chronic illnesses. The aim of the present study was to identify occupations that foster experiences of hope among mothers of adult children with mental illness. A qualitative approach, informed by a constructivist framework and thematic analysis, was used to interpret and explicate relevant occupation-related themes that fostered hope in four mothers. The mother-participants reported engaging in various occupations, yet only occupations that were imbued with spiritual significance fostered experiences of hope. This study brings to the forefront of occupational therapy discourse the issue of spiritual connectedness as a potential link between occupations and hope.

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-114
Author(s):  
Gracia Ker Eke ◽  
Nsirimobu Ichendu Paul

Background: The responsibilities perceived by caregivers of children with chronic diseases can impose significant burden on their physical, emotional and mental well-being. Objective: To explore the burden of caregivers of children with chronic illnesses at a tertiary-care health facility in southern Nigeria, in order to devise effective ways of reducing them. Methodology: It was a descriptive cross-sectional survey amongst parents/caregivers of children with chronic illnesses in the Children’s Outpatient clinics /wards and emergency room, who presented for care and/or follow-up visits between October and December 2020. A validated Caregiver Burden Scale (CBS) that assesses the level of burden in five domains: general strain, isolation, disappointment, emotional involvement and environment, was used to obtain data. Caregivers’ and the children’ socio-demographic characteristics were also ascertained and compared with the level of burden. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Result: A total of 109 caregivers completed the questionnaire. Half (n=55; 50.5%) of the caregivers were aged 30-39years; 88 (80.7%) were females; 58 (53.2%) had post-secondary education and 51 (46.8%) were self-employed. Of the 109 children studied, 70 (64.2%) were males and the commonest diagnosis was sickle cell anaemia (SCA) (n=62; 56.9%) followed by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) disease (n=35; 32.1%). The age at diagnosis was 1-5years in 70 (64.2%) of cases while 76 (69.7%) of them had received care for 1-5years. The mean caregiving burden score was highest in disappointment (2.0) and lowest in the domain of isolation (1.5), while the overall mean score was 1.7 (SD=0.6). There was a statistically significant relationship between the caregivers’ age and all the domains studied except the general strain, while the other socio-demographic variables had varying significance with the different domains of burden. Conclusion: Severe burden of caregiving was experienced by more caregivers in the domains of disappointment and general strain while the isolation domain experienced the lowest frequency of caregivers with severe burden. Improving social support and advocacy to stakeholders, including the government to take over the financing of medical expenses of children with chronic diseases will reduce the burden of care experienced by their caregivers.


2015 ◽  
Vol 03 (02) ◽  
pp. 079-083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahati Chittem ◽  
Bengt Lindström ◽  
Ramesh Byrapaneni ◽  
Geir Espnes

AbstractThe theory of salutogenesis focusses on how individuals move in the direction of health rather than illness. Within this is the concept of sense of coherence (SOC) that refers to a stable disposition which creates coping resources and a sense of health preservation. With the help of a widely validated SOC scale, a range of studies evidenced that a strong SOC was associated with psychological well-being, healthy behaviors, and good health. Although the cross-cultural nature of SOC is supported, there is limited research exploring SOC in Asian cultures. Understanding how people orient themselves toward health and leveraging this in the development of health interventions within the unique cultural context of India is necessary. The current paper will review the theory of salutogensis and SOC concept, the measurement of SOC, the relationship between SOC, chronic illnesses, and culture, concluding with suggestions for possible areas of SOC research in India.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mário B. Ferreira ◽  
Filipa de Almeida ◽  
Jerônimo C. Soro ◽  
Márcia Maurer Herter ◽  
Diego Costa Pinto ◽  
...  

This paper aims to explore the association between over-indebtedness and two facets of well-being – life satisfaction and emotional well-being. Although prior research has associated over-indebtedness with lower life satisfaction, this study contributes to the extant literature by revealing its effects on emotional well-being, which is a crucial component of well-being that has received less attention. Besides subjective well-being (SWB), reported health, and sleep quality were also assessed. The findings suggest that over-indebted (compared to non-over-indebted) consumers have lower life satisfaction and emotional well-being, as well as poorer (reported) health and sleep quality. Furthermore, over-indebtedness impacts life satisfaction and emotional well-being through different mechanisms. Consumers decreased perceived control accounts for the impact of over-indebtedness on both facets of well-being (as well as on reported health and sleep). Financial well-being (a specific component of life satisfaction), partly mediates the impact of indebtedness status on overall life satisfaction. The current study contributes to research focusing on the relationship between indebtedness, well-being, health, and sleep quality, and provides relevant theoretical and practical implications.


2021 ◽  
pp. 153944922110111
Author(s):  
Mª Isabel Vidal-Sánchez ◽  
Ana Alejandra Laborda-Soriano ◽  
Alba Cambra-Aliaga ◽  
Patricia Sanz-Valer ◽  
Ángel Gasch Gallén

The health assets (HA; factors or resources that maintain or improves health) approach has hardly been incorporated in occupational therapy, and even less so in research focused on children’s perception. The objective of this study was to provide context-specific empirical evidence regarding children and families’ perception of childhood HA, paying special attention to the occupational dimension. We used a mixed methods design including qualitative research with 130 children using various techniques (brainstorming, focus groups, thematic drawing, and individual interview) and a descriptive study based on a questionnaire answered by 58 families. Most children related well-being to play occupations and belonging. We observed the influence of gender roles, ethnicity, and other socioeconomic factors in the identification and access to HA. We recommend delving into the relationship between the HA approach and occupational therapy, considering the children’s perspective, interculturality, and gender perspectives.


Author(s):  
Sonya J. CLOSE-DEBAIS ◽  
Judy H. MATTHEWS

Many large financial services organisations are seeking to develop their employees’ design capability to develop innovative customer solutions. Yet, there appears limited understanding on how individual employees (without a background in design) view the relationship of design thinking to innovation. This study investigates how employees perceive design thinking and its potential link to drive innovative practices within a large Australian multinational financial services organisation. An exploratory qualitative approach used face-to face semi-structured interviews with diverse participants from across the organisation. A modified existing design capability framework was used to map each individual’s perspectives and illustrate the organisation’s current DT and innovation capacity. Findings from this study contribute new insights regarding employee perceptions and design capability requirements


1998 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Law ◽  
Sandy Steinwender ◽  
Leanne Leclair

Occupational therapists believe that there is a relationship between occupation, health and well-being but there is little evidence in the occupational therapy literature to support this belief. This paper describes the results of a critical review of research examining the relationship between occupation and health and well-being. Twenty-two studies from the health and social sciences literature were reviewed using specific methodological review criteria. The findings of these studies provide moderate to strong evidence that occupation has an important influence on health and well-being. Because most of this research has been completed with persons without disabilities, further research is required to explain the nature of the relationship between occupation and health and well-being for persons who experience a disability which affects their daily occupations


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Convery ◽  
Gitte Keidser ◽  
Louise Hickson ◽  
Carly Meyer

Purpose Hearing loss self-management refers to the knowledge and skills people use to manage the effects of hearing loss on all aspects of their daily lives. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between self-reported hearing loss self-management and hearing aid benefit and satisfaction. Method Thirty-seven adults with hearing loss, all of whom were current users of bilateral hearing aids, participated in this observational study. The participants completed self-report inventories probing their hearing loss self-management and hearing aid benefit and satisfaction. Correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationship between individual domains of hearing loss self-management and hearing aid benefit and satisfaction. Results Participants who reported better self-management of the effects of their hearing loss on their emotional well-being and social participation were more likely to report less aided listening difficulty in noisy and reverberant environments and greater satisfaction with the effect of their hearing aids on their self-image. Participants who reported better self-management in the areas of adhering to treatment, participating in shared decision making, accessing services and resources, attending appointments, and monitoring for changes in their hearing and functional status were more likely to report greater satisfaction with the sound quality and performance of their hearing aids. Conclusion Study findings highlight the potential for using information about a patient's hearing loss self-management in different domains as part of clinical decision making and management planning.


GeroPsych ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 103-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minjie Lu ◽  
Angel Y. Li ◽  
Helene H. Fung ◽  
Klaus Rothermund ◽  
Frieder R. Lang

Abstract. This study addresses prior mixed findings on the relationship between future time perspective (FTP) and well-being as well as examines the associations between three aspects of FTP and life satisfaction in the health and friendship domains. 159 Germans, 97 US Americans, and 240 Hong Kong Chinese, aged 19–86 years, completed a survey on future self-views (valence) and life satisfaction. They also reported the extent to which they perceived future time as expanded vs. limited (time extension) and meaningful (openness). Findings revealed that individuals with more positive future self-views had higher satisfaction. However, those who perceived their future as more meaningful or perceived more time in their future reported higher satisfaction even when future self-views were less positive.


2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maie Stein ◽  
Sylvie Vincent-Höper ◽  
Nicole Deci ◽  
Sabine Gregersen ◽  
Albert Nienhaus

Abstract. To advance knowledge of the mechanisms underlying the relationship between leadership and employees’ well-being, this study examines leaders’ effects on their employees’ compensatory coping efforts. Using an extension of the job demands–resources model, we propose that high-quality leader–member exchange (LMX) allows employees to cope with high job demands without increasing their effort expenditure through the extension of working hours. Data analyses ( N = 356) revealed that LMX buffers the effect of quantitative demands on the extension of working hours such that the indirect effect of quantitative demands on emotional exhaustion is only significant at low and average levels of LMX. This study indicates that integrating leadership with employees’ coping efforts into a unifying model contributes to understanding how leadership is related to employees’ well-being. The notion that leaders can affect their employees’ use of compensatory coping efforts that detract from well-being offers promising approaches to the promotion of workplace health.


Author(s):  
Melanie K. T. Takarangi ◽  
Deryn Strange

When people are told that their negative memories are worse than other people’s, do they later remember those events differently? We asked participants to recall a recent negative memory then, 24 h later, we gave some participants feedback about the emotional impact of their event – stating it was more or less negative compared to other people’s experiences. One week later, participants recalled the event again. We predicted that if feedback affected how participants remembered their negative experiences, their ratings of the memory’s characteristics should change over time. That is, when participants are told that their negative event is extremely negative, their memories should be more vivid, recollected strongly, and remembered from a personal perspective, compared to participants in the other conditions. Our results provide support for this hypothesis. We suggest that external feedback might be a potential mechanism in the relationship between negative memories and psychological well-being.


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