scholarly journals Forest bathing: a narrative review of the effects on health for outdoor and environmental education use in Canada

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandrine Mathias ◽  
Patrick Daigle ◽  
Kelsey Needham Dancause ◽  
Tegwen Gadais

Background: Education and health professionals from a range of disciplines seek alternatives to promote well-being through nature. Shinrin Yoku, originating from Japan, means “forest baths” or “taking in the forest atmosphere” and provides the opportunity to reconnect with nature and its benefits, with great potential in Canada. This brief review aims to highlight the potential for the use of Shinrin Yoku in the Canadian context of education and healthcare. Methods: We conducted a narrative literature review including a search of four French and English databases (Google Scholar, Pubmed, Scopus, Cairn) from 1985 to 2017. Then, we classified 26 articles according to three main categories that emerged from the first reading of the abstracts. Results: Benefits of Shinrin Yoku have been classified into physiological, psychological, and environmental categories. We synthesize key benefits of Shinrin Yoku and highlight opportunities to use this alternative intervention by educators and health professionals in Canada. Conclusion: A growing body of research suggests that Shinrin Yoku can have benefits on many aspects of an individual's health and well-being. Given the resources already available in Canada, Shinrin Yoku could be integrated into existing programs and interventions, and could provide another option to educators and healthcare professionals seeking low-risk educational and intervention alternatives for their students and patients.

Author(s):  
Jane Wilcock ◽  
Jill Manthorpe ◽  
Jo Moriarty ◽  
Steve Iliffe

Little is known of the experiences of directly employed care workers communicating with healthcare providers about the situations of their employers. We report findings from 30 in-depth semi-structured interviews with directly employed care workers in England undertaken in 2018–19. Findings relate to role content, communication with healthcare professionals and their own well-being. Directly employed care workers need to be flexible about the tasks they perform and the changing needs of those whom they support. Having to take on health liaison roles can be problematic, and the impact of care work on directly employed workers’ own health and well-being needs further investigation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-194
Author(s):  
Claudia Spinosa ◽  
Laura Angioletti ◽  
Michela Balconi

Within a multicultural society, healthcare professionals (HPs) need to implement specific care pathways to meet the needs of patients with different cultural backgrounds who regularly present themselves in healthcare facilities in Italy. This study intends to examine the experiences and representations lived by HPs who deal with the care and management of foreign immigrant patients living in Italy, with chronic diseases. For this goal, a survey was conducted on a sample of 54 HPs recruited in hospital and outpatient facilities. The survey was analyzed with a quantitative analysis method. The results underlined that it is necessary to provide specific training paths to work with chronic immigrant patients, standardizing the training of medical staff both in hospitals and clinics, and providing for other types of professionals specialized in relations with foreign patients, to respond to all requests from foreign users, and not just healthcare ones. This study proposes a new survey model aimed at obtaining in-depth information on the representation of HPs towards the health and well-being of chronic immigrant patients, to provide concrete answers to the needs of the foreign population, providing for the collaboration of several specialised professionals.


2020 ◽  
pp. 152483802096187
Author(s):  
Federica Cavazzoni ◽  
Alec Fiorini ◽  
Guido Veronese

Background: It has been revealed that the construct of agency plays a crucial role in contributing to children’s positive functioning and well-being despite their traumatic contexts. Yet there is little agreement within the literature about the definition of agency, how agency is displayed by children, or how it should be investigated. Aims: This study provides a synthetic overview of studies that have analyzed the agency of children living in contexts affected by political violence and armed conflict. In the process, it highlights major theoretical breakthroughs and findings in this area of research. The aim was to review research investigating the different ways in which children’s agency manifests itself within their everyday lives, as well as possible policy implications. Method: We identified published peer-reviewed studies relating to children’s agency in conflict-affected environments through a narrative literature review. An ecological framework was used to organize studies according to the different settings (personal, familial, cultural, or contextual) within which the children’s agency was displayed. Results: Of 682 studies identified from online searches of the literature and the three additional sources gathered through bibliography mining, 63 qualified for full review, with 15 studies included in the final synthesis. Overall, the literature focused mostly on the ways in which children’s ability to mobilize resources emerged in order to cope with their challenging contexts. Conclusion: Scholars advocated for community-oriented and child-centered programs that are aimed not only at promoting recovery from symptoms but also at fostering advocacy and a sense of agency in children.


Author(s):  
Carrie Heeter ◽  
Marcel Allbritton ◽  
Chase Bossart

Healthcare professionals and research scientists generally recognize the potential value of mind–body practices grounded in ancient wisdom, but often have limited direct experience with such practices. Meditation participant self-reports provide a window into subjective experiences of three Viniyoga meditations and how and why those meditations could contribute to health and well-being outcomes. Each of the meditations in this analysis had a unique structure and used a different aspect of the ocean as a meditation object. Yoga philosophy and yoga anatomy models of the human system are used to help explain participants’ experiences and associated personal benefits and insights. Four aspects of the individual that can influence what happens for them in meditation are illustrated with tangible examples: (1) What is happening in generally in someone’s life; (2) the state of their system (mind, body, breath) around the time of the meditation; (3) reactions to the meditation steps and instructions; and (4) their prior experiences with the object of meditation. Summaries of the practices, and why and for whom each meditation might be beneficial are discussed. The authors’ perspectives are grounded in Viniyoga and yoga therapy.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Marôco ◽  
Ana Lúcia Marôco ◽  
Ema Leite ◽  
Cristina Bastos ◽  
Maria José Vazão ◽  
...  

<p><strong>Introduction:</strong> Burnout is a psychological syndrome, characterized by a state of high emotional exhaustion, high depersonalization and low personal accomplishment, which leads to erosion of personal, professional and health values. This study reports the incidence of burnout in Portuguese Healthcare professionals.<br /><strong>Material and Methods:</strong> Burnout in Portugal’s health professionals was assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey, using a zero (never) to six (always) ordinal scale, on a sample of 1 262 nurses and 466 physicians with mean age of 36.8 year (SD = 12.2) and 38.7 (SD = 11.0), respectively. Participants came from all national districts (35% Lisbon, 18% Oporto, 6% Aveiro, 6% Setúbal, 5% Coimbra, 5% Azores and Madeira), working in hospitals (54%), Families’ Health Units (30%), Personalized Health Units (8%) and other public or private institutions (8%).<br /><strong>Results:</strong> Analysis of MBI-HSS scores, stratified by district, revealed that both types of professionals had moderate to high levels of burnout (M = 3.0, SD = 1.7) with no significant differences between the two groups. Vila Real (M = 3.8, SD = 1.7) and Madeira (M = 2.5, SD = 1.5) were the regions where burnout levels were higher and lower, respectively. Burnout levels did not differ significantly between Hospital, Personalized Health Units and Families’ Health Centers. Professionals with more years in the function were less affected by Burnout (r = -0.15). No significant association was observed with the duration of the working day (r = 0.04). The strongest predictor of burnout was the perceived quality of working conditions (r = -0.35).<br /><strong>Discussion:</strong> The occurrence of the burnout syndrome in Portuguese health professionals is frequent, being associated with a poor working conditions perception and reduced professional experience. The incidence of the burnout syndrome shows regional differences which may be associated with different and suboptimal conditions for health care delivery. Results suggest the need for interventions aimed at improving working conditions and initial job training of health professionals, as requisites for a good professional practice and personal well-being.<br /><strong>Conclusions:</strong> At the national level, between 2011 and 2013, 21.6% of healthcare professionals showed moderate burnout and 47.8% showed high burnout. The perception of poor working conditions was the main predictor of burnout occurrence among the Portuguese health professionals.</p>


2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Hubbard ◽  
K McLachlan ◽  
L Forbat ◽  
D Munday

Objective: To synthesize evidence of family members recognizing that their relative is likely to die within the year, and identifying the need for palliative care. Design: A meta-ethnography of studies of family members in multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s disease (PD) and motor neuron disease (MND). Review methods: Systematic search in electronic databases; thematic synthesis guided by the principles of meta-ethnography, which is a method for thematic synthesis of qualitative studies. Results: Nine articles were included. The results of the synthesis identified two key themes. First, family members are intimately aware of changes in their relative’s health and well-being. Sub-themes include family member awareness of different and progressive stages of the disease, noticing deterioration, noticing decline in functional abilities and recognizing that their relative will die. The second key theme is dilemmas of being involved in prognostication. Sub-themes include family member ambivalence toward hearing about prognostication, health professionals not being knowledgeable of the disease and family reluctance to receive palliative care. Conclusions: Family members monitor and recognize changes in their relative with PD, MND and MS and in themselves. Thus, drawing on the expertise of family members may be a useful tool for prognostication.


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Boström ◽  
Helene Hillborg ◽  
Johan Lilja

<p><strong>Purpose:</strong> The purpose of this study is to provide a review of the impact on culture (attitudes, values and assumptions) among both healthcare professionals, as well as users, when involving users for improving quality in healthcare.</p><p><strong>Methodology/Approach:</strong> The paper is based on an extensive, narrative literature review considering studies that included professional’s and users experiences of user involvement in quality improvement. The included articles were analyzed using an interpretive, along with a deductive, approach according to a theoretical framework.</p><p><strong>Findings:</strong> The results indicate that there is currently limited research focusing on the impact of user involvement in quality improvement processes regarding professionals’ and users’ attitudes, values and/or assumptions. The articles identified during the study provides situations and statements, during the process of development, which can be interpreted as change in the culture. Although few articles specifically draw conclusions on user involvement as a “tool” for cultural change, the authors interpret several findings which strengthens that theory.</p><p><strong>Research Limitation/implication:</strong> Research published in other databases could have been missed. The authors have tried to avoid this by using a snowball method reading references in identified articles.</p><strong>Originality/Value of paper:</strong> The review provides a platform for both future research and the development of current practice within the area. There have been literature reviews showing obstacles and enablers when using patients, users and relatives in quality improvement work, but few which investigates cultural change.


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