scholarly journals Attitudes Toward Aging And Happiness In Chinese Old Adults:A Mediating Effect of Spirituality

Author(s):  
Jie Li

Abstract Background: Attitudes toward aging in old adults are critical for their adjustment, health-promoting behavior, quality of life and life satisfaction. However, fairly little is known about the inner mechanism between attitudes toward aging and happiness in Chinse old adults. This study examined the relationship between attitudes toward aging and happiness in old adults by introducing the mediator of spirituality in a Chinese context. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study among persons aged 50 to 100 years old was carried out in 16 selected cities of 9 provinces (municipality) in Western,Central,and Eastern China. Trained research assistants collected data by face to face interview with the aid of online questionnaire. The Attitude to Aging Questionnaire (AAQ),Howden’ Spirituality Assessment (SA),and Memorial University of Newfoundland Scale of Happiness (MUNSH) were used to measure participants’ attitudes toward aging,spirituality and happiness. Data were analyzed using SPSS 25 and AMOS 24.Results: The mean scores of AAQ and its three domains of psychosocial loss, physical change and psychological growth,spirituality and happiness were 81.85(+10.39), 26.46(+4.97), 28.34(+4.69), 27.01(+4.02),101.06 (+12.88),and 31.72 (+9.87), respectively. Three domains, spirituality and happiness were positively correlated with each other. The spirituality acted as a full mediator on the positive relationship between the two domains of physical change and psychological growth and happiness.Conclusions: First, Chinese old adults’ attitudes toward aging was positive and positively related to spirituality and happiness; second, Chinese old adults’ spirituality was high and positively related to happiness; third, Chinese old adults’ happiness was fair and the significantly positive association between old adults’ attitude toward aging (i.e. physical change and psychological growth) and happiness was entirely due to the growth of spirituality.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 672
Author(s):  
Alessandra Buja ◽  
Guendalina Graffigna ◽  
Simona F. Mafrici ◽  
Tatjana Baldovin ◽  
Carlo Pinato ◽  
...  

Ensuring multiple sclerosis (MS) patients’ adherence to therapy is often challenging, but it is crucial to their survival and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The aim of the present study was to outline connections between adherence, physical and mental HRQoL, levels of psychological readiness to engage in a treatment, levels of social support, anthropometric, socio-demographic and clinical factors in patients suffering from MS. This cross-sectional study involved a sample of 237 Italian MS patients. A survey was conducted with a structured self-administered online questionnaire using validated measures of quality of life, adherence to therapy and anthropometric, socio-demographic, psychological and clinical variables. A path analysis was used to test the overall structure of the associations between the variables. The pathway indicates a positive association between mental health index and a stronger degree of engagement and being or having been in a long-term relationship. Physical health index was positively associated with age, having an occupation, and having a specific form of MS. Having had relapses in the previous year raised the odds of better adherence to therapy, while an increase in Body Mass Index (BMI) reduced them. Our findings could help in the management of MS patients, promoting behavioral interventions that take the psychological and socio-demographic peculiarities of each patient into account with a view to improving their adherence to therapy.


Author(s):  
Keren Dopelt ◽  
Nofar Avni ◽  
Yana Haimov-Sadikov ◽  
Iris Golan ◽  
Nadav Davidovitch

The COVID-19 pandemic mandating isolation, quarantine, and social distancing has accelerated and expanded the use of telemedicine. This study examines the extent of the use of telemedicine and the relationship between eHealth literacy and satisfaction with using telemedicine during the pandemic. A total of 156 participants from a clinic in a peripheral community in southern Israel completed an online questionnaire. We found that 85% knew how to use the internet for health information, but only one third felt safe using it to make health decisions. Furthermore, 93% used the internet for technical needs, such as renewing prescriptions or making a doctor’s appointment. Even lower use for telemedicine was found (38%) for consultation or treatment sessions. A positive association was found between eHealth literacy and satisfaction variables with using telemedicine (rp = 0.39, p < 0.001). Although respondents understood the benefits of telemedicine, they were not satisfied nor interested in online sessions after the epidemic’s end, preferring a meeting involving personal interaction. Young people and academics benefit more from telemedicine, thereby creating usage gaps and potentially increasing existing inequality. We recommend developing intervention programs, especially among vulnerable populations, to strengthen eHealth literacy and remove barriers causing skepticism about the use of telemedicine during and after the pandemic.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. e054228
Author(s):  
Xueqi Ma ◽  
Qi Zhang ◽  
Ruo Jiang ◽  
Jun Lu ◽  
Huiping Wang ◽  
...  

ObjectiveParental behaviours are important in preventing unintentional injury at home among young children. Previous research showed an inconsistent relationship between knowledge and behaviours, indicating that the mechanisms may vary for different behaviours. This study aimed to examine the mediating roles of different attitudes in the mechanism of knowledge acting on different behaviours.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingEastern China.ParticipantsParticipants were recruited using stratified community-based sampling. A total of 488 parents of children aged 0–3 years participated in the study and 476 (97.5%) valid questionnaires were recovered.Primary outcome measuresParents’ knowledge, attitudes (including injury attribution, preventability and responsibility) and behaviours (including supervision behaviours, risky behaviours and providing a safe home environment).ResultsThe results of mediation analysis showed that the mediator variables were different for different behaviours and that all associations were positive. Parents’ knowledge (β 0.19, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.24) and attitude of injury attribution (β 0.37, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.46) were directly associated with risky behaviours. Attitude of preventability was directly associated with parents’ supervision behaviour (β 0.27, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.40). Parents’ attitude of preventability mediated the positive association between knowledge, attitudes of injury attribution and responsibility, and supervision behaviours, as well as providing a safe home environment. In addition, the occurrence of child injuries at home was directly associated with home environment (β −0.41, 95% CI −0.82 to −0.01).ConclusionsThe current findings confirm that attitudes play varying mediating roles between knowledge and different behaviours. An important recommendation is that parents’ attitudes, especially towards preventability and responsibility, need to be considered when health providers develop health education programmes targeted at improving parental supervision behaviours and providing a safe home environment.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 2279
Author(s):  
Federica Grant ◽  
Maria Luisa Scalvedi ◽  
Umberto Scognamiglio ◽  
Aida Turrini ◽  
Laura Rossi

To limit the spread of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, a nationwide lockdown started in Italy in March 2020. In this unpredictable situation, a cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire was carried out by the Observatory on Food Surplus, Recovery and Waste of CREA Food and Nutrition Centre. The aim of this work was to evaluate how Italian habits changed during this period, the determinants of changes, and the effect on food waste prevention. In a sample of 2678 respondents, 62% showed low Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (AMD). During lockdown many of participants improved the quality of their diet, increasing their consumption of fruit (24.4%), vegetables (28.5%), legumes (22.1%), nuts (12%), and fish or shellfish (14%). Unfavorable changes were observed with the excessive consumption of sweets or pastries (36.9%) and comfort foods (22.7%), and a lack of physical activity (37.2%). The main novelty of this study was the examination of dietary changes identified by a cluster analysis. Respondents with generally high AMD improved their eating habits, while the habits of the respondents with generally low AMD remained unchanged. In addition, nearly 80% of respondents were sensitive to food waste. The study provides a useful contribution to the debate on nutritional recommendations in case of further lockdown.


Author(s):  
Marta Maes-Carballo ◽  
Manuel Martín-Díaz ◽  
Luciano Mignini ◽  
Khalid Saeed Khan ◽  
Rubén Trigueros ◽  
...  

Objectives: To assess shared decision-making (SDM) knowledge, attitude and application among health professionals involved in breast cancer (BC) treatment. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study based on an online questionnaire, sent by several professional societies to health professionals involved in BC management. There were 26 questions which combined demographic and professional data with some items measured on a Likert-type scale. Results: The participation (459/541; 84.84%) and completion (443/459; 96.51%) rates were high. Participants strongly agreed or agreed in 69.57% (16/23) of their responses. The majority stated that they knew of SDM (mean 4.43 (4.36–4.55)) and were in favour of its implementation (mean 4.58 (4.51–4.64)). They highlighted that SDM practice was not adequate due to lack of resources (3.46 (3.37–3.55)) and agreed on policies that improved its implementation (3.96 (3.88–4.04)). The main advantage of SDM for participants was patient satisfaction (38%), and the main disadvantage was the patients’ paucity of knowledge to understand their disease (24%). The main obstacle indicated was the lack of time and resources (40%). Conclusions: New policies must be designed for adequate training of professionals in integrating SDM in clinical practice, preparing them to use SDM with adequate resources and time provided.


Author(s):  
Alfonso Urzúa ◽  
Alejandra Caqueo-Urízar ◽  
Diego Henríquez ◽  
David R. Williams

There is not much evidence on the effects of south–south migration and its consequences on physical and mental health. Our objective was to examine the mediating role of Acculturative Stress in the association between ethnic discrimination and racial discrimination with physical and mental health. This research is a non-experimental, analytical, cross-sectional study. A total of 976 adult Colombian migrants living in Chile were interviewed. We used the Everyday Discrimination Scale, the acculturative stress scale, and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-12) for health status; we found that racial and ethnic discrimination had a negative effect on physical and mental health. In the simultaneous presence of both types of discrimination, racial discrimination was completely absorbed by ethnic discrimination, the latter becoming a total mediator of the effect of racial discrimination on mental and physical health. Our findings are consistent with the literature, which suggests that there are various types of discrimination which, individually or in their intersectionality, can have negative effects on health.


Author(s):  
Mohamed N. Al Arifi ◽  
Abdulrahman Alwhaibi

Objective: Fever alone can lead to rare serious complications in children, such as febrile seizures. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge, beliefs, and behavior of parents toward fever and its management. Methods: A cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire was applied over a period of 3 months, from January to March 2018, to parents who were living in Saudi Arabia. The inclusion criteria were a parent who is a resident of Saudi Arabia, with at least one child aged 6 years or less, while incomplete questionnaires, having a child aged more than 6 years, or parents who were not living in Saudi Arabia were excluded. Results: A total of 656 parents completed the questionnaire. More than two-thirds of the subjects were female, the majority of whom were aged between 25–33 years old. The best-reported place to measure the temperature of children was the armpit (46%), followed by the ear (28%) and the mouth (10.7%). More than half of the parents considered their children feverish at a temperature of 38 °C. The majority of parents (79.7%) reported that the most serious side effects of fever were seizure, brain damage (39.3%), coma (29.9%), dehydration (29.7%), and death (25%). The most common method used to measure a child’s temperature was an electronic thermometer (62.3%). The most common antipyretic was paracetamol (84.5%). Conclusions: Our study demonstrates the good knowledge of parents in identifying a feverish temperature using the recommended route and tools for measuring body temperature.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiao Lu ◽  
Yuan Wang ◽  
Lihong Hou ◽  
Zhenxing Zuo ◽  
Na Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Influenced by various factors such as socio-demographic characteristics, behavioral lifestyles and socio-cultural environment, the multimorbidity patterns in old adults remain complex. This study aims to identify their characteristics and associated multi-layered factors based on health ecological model. Methods In 2019, we surveyed a total of 7480 participants aged 60+ by using a multi-stage random cluster sampling method in Shanxi province, China. Latent class analysis was used to discriminate the multimorbidity patterns in old adults, and hierarchical regression was performed to determine the multi-layered factors associated with their various multimorbidity patterns. Results The prevalence of multimorbidity was 34.70% among the old patients with chronic disease. Over half (60.59%) of the patients with multimorbidity had two co-existing chronic diseases. “Degenerative/digestive diseases”, “metabolic diseases” and “cardiovascular diseases” were three specific multimorbidity patterns. Behavioral lifestyles-layered factors had the most explanatory power for the three patterns, whose proportions of explanatory power were 54.00, 43.90 and 48.15% individually. But the contributions of other multi-layered factors were different in different patterns; balanced diet, medication adherence, the size of family and friendship network, and different types of basic medical insurance might have the opposite effect on the three multimorbidity patterns (p < 0.05). Conclusions In management of old patients with multimorbidity, we should prioritize both the “lifestyle change”-centered systematic management strategy and group-customized intervention programs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1211
Author(s):  
Li-Te Lin ◽  
Kuan-Hao Tsui

The relationship between serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S) and anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) levels has not been fully established. Therefore, we performed a large-scale cross-sectional study to investigate the association between serum DHEA-S and AMH levels. The study included a total of 2155 infertile women aged 20 to 46 years who were divided into four quartile groups (Q1 to Q4) based on serum DHEA-S levels. We found that there was a weak positive association between serum DHEA-S and AMH levels in infertile women (r = 0.190, p < 0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders, serum DHEA-S levels positively correlated with serum AMH levels in infertile women (β = 0.103, p < 0.001). Infertile women in the highest DHEA-S quartile category (Q4) showed significantly higher serum AMH levels (p < 0.001) compared with women in the lowest DHEA-S quartile category (Q1). The serum AMH levels significantly increased across increasing DHEA-S quartile categories in infertile women (p = 0.014) using generalized linear models after adjustment for potential confounders. Our data show that serum DHEA-S levels are positively associated with serum AMH levels.


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 566
Author(s):  
Abanoub Riad ◽  
Huthaifa Abdulqader ◽  
Mariana Morgado ◽  
Silvi Domnori ◽  
Michal Koščík ◽  
...  

Background: Acceleration of mass vaccination strategies is the only pathway to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare professionals and students have a key role in shaping public opinion about vaccines. This study aimed to evaluate the attitudes of dental students globally towards COVID-19 vaccines and explore the potential drivers for students’ acceptance levels. Methods: A global cross-sectional study was carried out in February 2021 using an online questionnaire. The study was liaised by the scientific committee of the International Association of Dental Students (IADS), and data were collected through the national and local coordinators of IADS member organizations. The dependent variable was the willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine, and the independent variables included demographic characteristics, COVID-19-related experience, and the drivers of COVID-19 vaccine-related attitude suggested by the WHO SAGE. Results: A total of 6639 students from 22 countries, representing all world regions, responded to the questionnaire properly. Their mean age was 22.1 ± 2.8 (17–40) years, and the majority were females (70.5%), in clinical years (66.8%), and from upper-middle-income economies (45.7%). In general, 22.5% of dental students worldwide were hesitant, and 13.9% rejected COVID-19 vaccines. The students in low- and lower-middle-income (LLMI) economies had significantly higher levels of vaccine hesitancy compared to their peers in upper-middle- and high-income (UMHI) economies (30.4% vs. 19.8%; p < 0.01). Conclusions: The global acceptance level of dental students for COVID-19 vaccines was suboptimal, and their worrisome level of vaccine hesitancy was influenced by the socioeconomic context where the dental students live and study. The media and social media, public figures, insufficient knowledge about vaccines, and mistrust of governments and the pharmaceutical industry were barriers to vaccination. The findings of this study call for further implementation of epidemiology (infectious diseases) education within undergraduate dental curricula.


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