scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 on Athlete Mental Health – Strategies to Promote Emotional Wellness

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen P. Bird
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Support Staff ◽  
Research Teams ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Emotional Wellness ◽  
Mental Health Challenges

Recently, I have been heavily involved in discussions with my international colleagues and research teams from New Zealand, Europe, Canada, and United States, around identifying key strategies, solutions and protocols for elite basketball organizations following the unprecedented circumstances and challenges presented by Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).1-3 Our discussions have centred specifically on two key areas of player health and wellbeing, those being: (1) the potential mental health challenges faced by coaches, players and support staff,4-6 due to quarantine and isolation7demands of the unique, yet unknown “NBA bubble”;8,9 and (2) the overall impact of COVID-19 and the NBA bubble on player health and wellbeing, in the context of ‘emotional wellness’.6,10,11

scholarly journals Spaces of Wellbeing; A Framework for Tertiary Environments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Tessa Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Real Problem ◽  
Architectural Theory ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Maori Health

<p>Generally, one in five New Zealanders experience mental illness. Majority of lifelong mental illnesses begin before the age of 25, presenting a real problem for youth. In 2018, young people of New Zealand called for more help as they rallied outside parliament. The government responded by allocating more money towards student mental health. Yet, employing more counsellors, which is necessary, is not the only way to contribute to an urgent need for a new approach towards supporting mental health and wellbeing.   This research portfolio responded to this complex situation by developing ‘a guide’ for the design of tertiary spaces supportive of wellbeing. One of the most important goals of this work was to align the research closely with user needs and views, therefore research methods involved including students views in more than one phase of development. The work draws on evidence based design, geography, health and architectural theory and the existing wellbeing knowledge. Engagement with the users, observation, experiments and real life interventions were critical in refining a conceptual framework which kept the users at the centre of the process. The outcome of this research was a resource to guide the design of tertiary space for wellbeing, using five intervention points, which could have a positive effect on the student wellbeing if implemented as a system.  New Zealand must shift the current model of mental health care towards more holistic understandings of health, which better incorporates Māori health and wellbeing. Despite New Zealand’s bicultural values, Māori experience significantly higher rates of mental illness. This prompted to design with the same understandings of hauora (health). As a result, the conceptual framework presented a multi-dimensional, interconnected understanding of wellbeing through an integrated framework exploring physical, cultural, social, learning and spiritual environments.   While it is acknowledged that environments can affect our mental health, this is an under researched field requiring motivation to stimulate discussion and change. This research advocates wellbeing as a central focus in the design of our built environments and explores the opportunity for architecture to facilitate our student and national wellbeing goals.</p>

scholarly journals Fractured minds to flourishing minds

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rebecca Wallace
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Psychiatric Hospitals ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Youth Suicide ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Self Harm

<p>Youth suicide and self-harm are major public health concerns worldwide. The high rate of youth suicide and intentional self-harm in New Zealand, illustrates that there is a large amount of youth experiencing severe mental illness, as mental illness corresponds to suicidal/harmful behavior. Although more youth are seeking and receiving help, a large portion who are suffering are unwilling to engage in services, due to stigma surrounding mental health. Characteristics of the built environment can effect wellbeing and therefore architecture holds significant implications for the mental health of individuals.  Inpatient environments are an effective intervention for the treatment of a range of severe mental illnesses, however there is a definitive lack of acute inpatient facilities for youth in New Zealand. A shift in the way mental healthcare services are provided has meant that large psychiatric hospitals have been closed or downsized and compulsory inpatient treatment has given way to voluntary engagement with community mental health services. This has not eliminated the need for inpatient care and there still remains a need for these highly specialized environments. These current specialized environments are generally not designed to benefit the mental health and wellbeing of patients, but are just regarded as settings in which recovery takes place.  This thesis aims to explore how architecture can act therapeutically to support the wellbeing of individuals suffering mental illness. It looks at how architecture can retain the dignity of these patients, and challenge conventional norms of prior mental healthcare environments. This thesis aims to integrate Maori and Pacific models of health and wellbeing in order to allow improved care and treatment for Maori and Pacific groups. It responds to the lack and unsuccessful architectural responses for youth in New Zealand and in particular, the central region and aims to design a new mental health inpatient and outpatient facility specifically for youth suffering mental illness.</p>

scholarly journals Preparing student paramedics for the mental health challenges of the profession by using the wisdom of the experienced

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Holmes ◽  
Natalie Ciccone ◽  
Lynne Cohen ◽  
Richard Brightwell
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Mental Health Policy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Undergraduate Curriculum ◽  
Positive Mental Health ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Mental Health Challenges

Given the significant mental health issues affecting our paramedics, there exists an urgent need to promote positive mental health and well-being among future cohorts of student paramedics.  This study investigated the preparedness of student paramedics for the mental health challenges of the profession and explored the coping strategies used by experienced paramedics.The study was conducted in two parts. Part A comprised of two surveys which were developed and administered to 16 course coordinators and 302 students of the 16 accredited undergraduate paramedicine courses across Australia and New Zealand. The survey aimed to identify the perceived need for preparation within the curriculum.  In addition, the anticipations, confidence and fears of student paramedics, Course Coordinators and paramedics were also collected as a means to explore the preparedness through self-evaluation, reflection and discussion.Part B included twenty semi-structured interviews with experienced paramedics, from Australia and New Zealand. The interviews were conducted to gain an understanding of their experiences and the mental health coping strategies they employed, as well as capture the advice they would give to student paramedics. Results from the interviews were validated by three focus groups comprised of six paramedics each, representative of the geographic spread.Results suggest there is widespread recognition for the need to include preparation for the mental health challenges of the profession, within accredited undergraduate paramedic courses, with 100% of course coordinators and 97% of students recognising this need.The interviews with paramedics provided valuable insights into the experiences and strategies used to aid the survival of the paramedics throughout their careers.  Within the interviews, 70% of participants expressed a sincere love for the paramedic role, and 70% identified black humour as the coping strategy most used by themselves and colleagues.  In addition, extensive advice was given to students based upon the paramedics’ lived experiences.  This advice comprised of three themes; support, health and the profession.   These findings were mapped against the aims of Australia’s current Mental Health Policy to provide evidence-based and policy-informed guidelines for the integration of positive mental health strategies into undergraduate paramedicine curricula.Preparing student paramedics for the mental health challenges of the profession could be advantageous.  One way to achieve this is through the inclusion of key content within the undergraduate curriculum by utilising the relatable data collected on anticipation, confidence, fears and the advice offered by the veteran paramedics can be integrated. These lived experiences are highly credible and an opportunity for veterans to contribute positively to the future of paramedicine.

scholarly journals Investigating the effect of sports participation on the mental health and wellbeing of adolescents in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia McGifford
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Team Sports ◽  
Sports Participation ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Conformity To Masculine Norms ◽  
Male Adolescents ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
The Relationship

<p>The physical health benefits of sports participation have been well-established, however, the influences on mental health and wellbeing may still be unclear (Slater & Tiggemann, 2011; Steiner et al., 2000). The argument currently stands that sports participation has positive influences on mental health and wellbeing for adolescents, however, there are movements towards the concept that the sporting environment may foster negative experiences for adolescents. Two studies were conducted in order to assess the relationship between sports participation and wellbeing. Study One firstly examined sex differences and effect of sports participation on wellbeing. Consistent with previous research, females demonstrated higher levels of depression and anxiety, while males exhibited higher levels of self-esteem. Sports participation only influenced levels of depression, and not anxiety or self-esteem. Self-esteem mediated the relationship between gender and wellbeing, while sports participation did not. Study Two investigated the effect of sports participation on the wellbeing of adolescent males in New Zealand. A particular focus was taken on the possible negative influence New Zealand rugby culture may have on wellbeing. Contrary to previous research, sports participation did not have an effect on depression, anxiety, stress, conformity to masculine norms or sporting identity. Those who played an individual sport had higher levels of self-esteem and sports orientation compared to those who did not play sports, but not team sports or rugby. This research is one of the first to look at male adolescents and more specifically rugby culture and its effects on wellbeing. Mixed results from Study One and Two indicate that there are possibly gaps in the theory about sports participation and its effect of wellbeing, suggesting that further research is needed to expand the knowledge around this relationship.</p>

scholarly journals Wellbeing of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, Aotearoa (New Zealand) the United States: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 5832
Author(s):  
Alana Gall ◽  
Kate Anderson ◽  
Kirsten Howard ◽  
Abbey Diaz ◽  
Alexandra King ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
The United States ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Mortality And Morbidity ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Full Text Screening

Despite the health improvements afforded to non-Indigenous peoples in Canada, Aotearoa (New Zealand) and the United States, the Indigenous peoples in these countries continue to endure disproportionately high rates of mortality and morbidity. Indigenous peoples’ concepts and understanding of health and wellbeing are holistic; however, due to their diverse social, political, cultural, environmental and economic contexts within and across countries, wellbeing is not experienced uniformly across all Indigenous populations. We aim to identify aspects of wellbeing important to the Indigenous people in Canada, Aotearoa and the United States. We searched CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO and PubMed databases for papers that included key Indigenous and wellbeing search terms from database inception to April 2020. Papers that included a focus on Indigenous adults residing in Canada, Aotearoa and the United States, and that included empirical qualitative data that described at least one aspect of wellbeing were eligible. Data were analysed using the stages of thematic development recommended by Thomas and Harden for thematic synthesis of qualitative research. Our search resulted in 2669 papers being screened for eligibility. Following full-text screening, 100 papers were deemed eligible for inclusion (Aotearoa (New Zealand) n = 16, Canada n = 43, United States n = 41). Themes varied across countries; however, identity, connection, balance and self-determination were common aspects of wellbeing. Having this broader understanding of wellbeing across these cultures can inform decisions made about public health actions and resources.

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