scholarly journals Positive Psychology in Lifestyle Medicine and Health Care: Strategies for Implementation

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 480-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liana S. Lianov ◽  
Barbara L. Fredrickson ◽  
Carrie Barron ◽  
Janani Krishnaswami ◽  
Anne Wallace

Prevention and treatment of lifestyle-related diseases are realized through leading a healthy lifestyle. Activities supporting positive psychology can facilitate healthy behaviors and improve physiological health. Adding such activities to clinical care promotes attainment of the physical, social, and emotional elements of health, as defined by the World Health Organization—leading to (1) prolonged lifespan and quality of life, (2) lowered costs of care, and (3) reduced rates of provider burnout. A key challenge remains the translation of positive psychology–based practices into practical, implementable strategies by health care providers. An essential step is collaboration of positive psychology and health care researchers and practitioners to develop standards, terms, and measures and arrive at evidence-based clinical approaches addressing total well-being. The first Summit on Happiness Science in Healthcare enabled national experts and stakeholders in lifestyle medicine, medical education, health care administration, psychology, and community welfare to convene and identify best practices for practical implementation of positive psychology science into health care. This article draws on the summit discussions to address the gap between positive psychology theory and practical implementation in health care. We briefly summarize the positive psychology–health outcomes relationship and present key strategies needed to bridge this gap.

2020 ◽  
pp. 155982762097706
Author(s):  
Lauren Holtzclaw ◽  
Katherine R. Arlinghaus ◽  
Craig A. Johnston

Health care professionals represent a population at high risk for poor health. Although this may be counterintuitive given their expertise in health, the high stress and long hours of many medical work environments present challenges for health care professionals to engage in healthy lifestyle behaviors. This is extremely problematic for the health and well-being of both health care professionals and the patients they treat. Medical settings are encouraged to implement interventions that intervene at both the enviornmental and personal level to help faciliate behavior change among health care providers.


2020 ◽  
pp. 002076402093959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdallah Badahdah ◽  
Faryal Khamis ◽  
Nawal Al Mahyijari ◽  
Marwa Al Balushi ◽  
Hashil Al Hatmi ◽  
...  

Background: COVID-19 disease is one of the most destructive events that humanity has witnessed in the 21st century. It has impacted all aspects of life and all segments of populations, including already vulnerable health care providers. Aims: This study sought to detect the prevalence of mental health issues in sample of physicians and nurses working in several health facilities in Oman. Method: We gauged the mental health conditions of 509 physicians (38.1%) and nurses (61.9 %) using the Perceived Stress Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale and World Health Organization Well-Being Index. Results: The study revealed a high prevalence of stress, anxiety and poor psychological well-being, especially among females, young health care workers and those who interacted with known or suspected COVID-19 patients. Conclusion: The outcomes of this study support the handful of studies published during this global health crisis that have found that the mental health of health care workers has been harshly affected and predicted that it will continue, to various degrees, to be affected in the foreseeable future. The results of this study highlight the urgency of providing administrative and psychological support as well as current and accurate information on COVID-19 to health care workers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4s) ◽  
pp. 152-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayesha Khan ◽  
Stefanie S. Sebok-Syer ◽  
Hanna Linstadt ◽  
Megan Storm ◽  
Nadeem Modan ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Background Access to a trained, competent health care workforce remains a challenge globally, particularly in rural settings. To bridge this gap, the World Health Organization calls for innovations in electronic learning and task shifting. Yet, these approaches are underutilized due to cost, challenges associated with implementing technology, and a lack of suitably educated trainees. Objective We explored the feasibility of the Acute Care Providers Project (ACPP) to remotely train community members to be health care providers in 2 sites: Haiti and India. Methods The ACP program is an asynchronous curriculum that provides core health content and a structured approach to clinical care through an electronic curriculum. The curriculum is reinforced with case-based practice and hands-on workshops for procedural skills. ACPP was deployed in rural Haiti and India. Evaluation of the program included multiple-choice pretests and posttests, an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), and direct observation of skills. Results Four Haitian and 55 Indian trainees completed the course. In Haiti, mean scores were 34.8% (SD 12.4) on the pretest and 78.0% (SD 6.5) on the posttest (P = .004). Trainees scored 100% on the OSCE and passed the skills checklist. In India, mean scores were 16.5% (SD 3.9) on the pretest and 81.7% (SD 9.0) on the posttest (P < .001). Trainees scored a median of 91.8% (SD 3.95) on the OSCE and all passed the skills checklist. Conclusions The ACPP offers a scalable, replicable asynchronous curriculum to train lay individuals to provide basic health care in rural communities.


Author(s):  
Leigh A. Frame

Nutrition is a foundation of health and one of six pillars of Lifestyle Medicine. The importance of nutrition in clinical care is now widely recognized by health care professionals and the public. However, clinicians are not comfortable counselling their patients on nutrition due to inadequate or lack of training, leaving a significant need in patient care. This gap can be closed with evidence-based curricula in medical schools and in the trainings of other health care professionals. This communication presents the current state of nutrition knowledge in health care, emphasizing nutrition education for physicians, and presents a model of how pre- through post-professional health care providers may become proficient in nutrition counseling including appropriate referral to more specialized providers. With these skills, health care professionals will be able to initiate patient-centered lifestyle plans. This includes improving diet and utilization of team-based medicine and referrals.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-362
Author(s):  
Hani Atrash ◽  
Brian Jack

Introduction: In the last decades, improvements in the care of pregnancy and child development have been observed worldwide. However, pregnancy problems remain high in most countries. There was a concentration of care in the prenatal period as the primary approach for improving pregnancy results. Currently, attention to the care of pregnant women, women who have recently given birth, and newborns are focused on the care of preconception to improve the results of pregnancy and improve the outcomes of child growth and development. Objective: Describe the evidence for preconception care (PCC) and information to the health care provider, as well as describe instruments to present health care providers with PCC, its definition, its components, recommended interventions, and the scientific basis for recommendations. Methods: There was a search for published and unpublished literature related to scientific evidence for the effectiveness of PCC in improving pregnancy results. The search was carried out based on Pubmed and using data scraping techniques, in the material available on the internet and disseminated by international organizations, such as the World Health Organization and reports by government agencies. Results: It is reported that the literature on the scientific basis for PCC is fragmented, and most publications discuss evidence of one or a few interventions, with the majority of reports considering PCC for specific populations, such as women with chronic health problems and couples with infertility. However, these publications do not offer a realistic view of the proposed PCC interventions, with the scientific evidence that supports them. The general aspects of the existing literature and the recommended preconceived care interventions are described, together with the quality of the scientific evidence and the strength of the recommendations behind each of these interventions. Conclusion: Many clinical interventions have been identified that could be offered to women before conception to help avoid adverse outcomes. Most of these interventions have scientific evidence to support their role in improving pregnancy outcomes. Therefore, it is recommended that clinical care providers incorporate evidence-based prejudice services in their daily care of women of reproductive age, in an effort to improve women’s health before and during pregnancy, as well as improve pregnancy outcomes for women and their children.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 910-919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie Lee ◽  
John L. Oliffe ◽  
Mary T. Kelly ◽  
Olivier Ferlatte

Gay men are a subgroup vulnerable to depression and suicidality. The prevalence of depression among gay men is three times higher than the general adult population. Because depression is a known risk factor for suicide, gay men are also at high risk for suicidality. Despite the high prevalence of depression and suicidality, health researchers and health care providers have tended to focus on sexual health issues, most often human immunodeficiency virus in gay men. Related to this, gay men’s health has often been defined by sexual practices, and poorly understood are the intersections of gay men’s physical and mental health with social determinants of health including ethnicity, locale, education level, and socioeconomic status. In the current article summated is literature addressing risk factors for depression and suicidality among gay men including family acceptance of their sexual identities, social cohesion and belonging, internalized stigma, and victimization. Barriers to gay men’s help seeking are also discussed in detailing how health care providers might advance the well-being of this underserved subgroup by effectively addressing depression and suicidality.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (02) ◽  
pp. 109-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick M. Burkle ◽  
Adam L. Kushner ◽  
Christos Giannou ◽  
Mary A. Paterson ◽  
Sherry M. Wren ◽  
...  

AbstractSince 1945, the reason for humanitarian crises and the way in which the world responds to them has dramatically changed every 10 to 15 years or less. Planning, response, and recovery for these tragic events have often been ad hoc, inconsistent, and insufficient, largely because of the complexity of global humanitarian demands and their corresponding response system capabilities. This historical perspective chronicles the transformation of war and armed conflicts from the Cold War to today, emphasizing the impact these events have had on humanitarian professionals and their struggle to adapt to increasing humanitarian, operational, and political challenges. An unprecedented independent United Nations–World Health Organization decision in the Battle for Mosul in Iraq to deploy to combat zones emergency medical teams unprepared in the skills of decades-tested war and armed conflict preparation and response afforded to health care providers and dictated by International Humanitarian Law and Geneva Convention protections has abruptly challenged future decision-making and deployments. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:109–115)


2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-159
Author(s):  
Janet Perkins ◽  
Aminata Bargo ◽  
Cecilia Capello ◽  
Carlo Santarelli

Assuring the provision of person-centred care is critical in maternal and newborn health (MNH). As a component of the national strategy to improve MNH, Burkina Faso Ministry of Health, supported by Enfants du Monde, La Fondation pour le Développement Communautaire/Burkina Faso and UNFPA, is implementing the World Health Organization’s (WHO) framework for Working with Individuals, Families and Communities (IFC) to improve MNH. As a first step in district implementation, participatory community assessments were conducted. These assessments consistently revealed that poor interactions with healthcare providers posed one important barrier preventing women from seeking MNH services. In order to address this barrier, healthcare providers were trained to improve their interpersonal skills and in counselling women. During 2011-12 a total of 175 personnel were trained over a 5-day course developed using a WHO manual. The course was met with enthusiasm as providers expressed their need and desire for such training. Immediate post-test results revealed an impressive increase in knowledge and anecdotal evidence suggests that training has influenced provider’s behaviours in their interactions with women. In addition, health care providers are taking concrete action to build the capabilities of women to experience pregnancy and birth safely by engaging directly with communities.  While early findings are promising, an evaluation will be necessary to measure how the training has influenced practices, whether this translates into a shift of perceptions at community level and ultimately its contribution toward promoting person-centred care in Burkina Faso.


2021 ◽  
pp. 152483992110654
Author(s):  
Kathryn West ◽  
Karen R. Jackson ◽  
Tobias L. Spears ◽  
Brian Callender

In this descriptive case series, we detail the theoretical basis, methodology, and impact of a small-scale pilot implementation of graphic medicine workshops as an innovative approach to well-being and resilience in the age of COVID-19 and increasing awareness of racial injustice. The data provided in this article are anecdotal and based on participation in the workshops. Images created during the workshops are also shared as examples of the types of reflection that graphic medicine can enable. The workshops themselves were designed collaboratively and are based on the theoretical principles of graphic medicine, narrative medicine, and racial and social justice. They were conducted as part of a larger wellness initiative and were offered to health care-focused faculty at our academic medical institution. Our findings suggest that this was a beneficial activity which helped participants to reflect and reconsider their experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic and surging awareness of racial injustice. Reflections also showed that drawings were correlated with ProQOL scores and may, in larger numbers, also help to mitigate or bring attention to issues of burnout in frontline providers. Drawings shared show the tremendous impact of COVID-19 and the simultaneous chaos and emptiness of practicing during dual pandemics. Our workshops engaged about 20 frontline health care providers and other health care faculty and highlight the utility of graphic medicine as a tool for building resilience and encouraging self-reflection. Further study is necessary, as is more rigorous analysis of the relationship between the graphics created and the ability to recognize and mitigate burnout.


2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Alcalá Pompeo ◽  
Maria Helena Pinto ◽  
Claudia Bernardi Cesarino ◽  
Renilda Rosa Dias Ferreira de Araújo ◽  
Nadia Antonia Aparecida Poletti

OBJECTIVE: To know the hospital discharge process in place and the nurses' performance in preparing patients for discharge. METHODS: A descriptive study using semi-structured interviews was used to collect data from 43 patients of medical-surgical units of a major teaching hospital in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. RESULTS: The majority of patients (83.72%) received tailored discharge instructions. However, a great number of patients (72.08%) reported discharge instructions were not given by nurses. Almost a half of patients (48.84%) reported that discharge instructions were given by their physicians. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study provide insights to improve the educational process of new nurses and their preparation to provide effective discharge instructions. There is also a need to design and implement a hospital discharge process that promotes the participation of interdisciplinary health care providers who are involved in patient clinical care. This discharge process might be an effective way to change health care providers' attitude toward discharge instructions.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document