scholarly journals Acute effects of prone asanas and Pal’s pranayama on myalgia, headache, psychological stress and respiratory problems in the COVID-19 patients in the recovery phase

Biomedicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 526-530
Author(s):  
Gopal Krushna Pal ◽  
Nivedita Nanda ◽  
Manoharan Renugasundari ◽  
Pravati Pal ◽  
Uttareshwar Pachegaonkar
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Recovery Phase ◽  
Acute Effects ◽  
Early Recovery ◽  
Breathing Exercise ◽  
Medical Treatments ◽  
Respiratory Problems ◽  
Slow Breathing ◽  
Prone Posture

Introduction and Aim: It has been observed that recovery from COVID-19 is delayed due to continuation of myalgia, fatigue, headache and some respiratory problems even after the discharge from the hospital. Reports indicate the improvement of sensory, cardiorespiratory and psychological functions following practice of Prone asanas and Pal’s pranayama. Therefore, we conducted a pilot study to assess if practice of asanas in prone posture and slow breathing exercise of Pal’s pranayama schedule can facilitate recovery from the COVID-19 illness and alleviate post-recovery complications in these patients. Materials and Methods: This is an interventional pilot study conducted in COVID positive patients. A structured module of prone asanas and Pal’s pranayama schedule was given to the COVID positive patients in addition to the routine medical treatments and their stress levels were assessed prior to and after the practice. Also, the acute effects of asana-pranayama schedule on the improvement of cardiorespiratory functions and occurrence of other complications in the recovery phase was recorded. Results: Following practice of asana-pranayama schedule, the patients recovered faster from myalgia, fatigue, headache and respiratory problems and they had a feeling of well-being. Further, the complications in the recovery phase of COVID-19 were prevented and the intensity of stress was reduced with the practice of asana-pranayama schedule. Conclusion: This pilot study has shed some light on the early recovery and the prevention of complications in the recovery phase of COVID-19.

Feasibility study of technology-enabled prevention intervention for children and families (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikki Theofanopoulou ◽  
Katherine Isbister ◽  
Julian Edbrooke-Childs ◽  
Petr Slovák
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Digital Camera ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Object A ◽  
Intervention Delivery ◽  
Parents And Children

BACKGROUND A common challenge within psychiatry and prevention science more broadly is the lack of effective, engaging, and scale-able mechanisms to deliver psycho-social interventions for children, especially beyond in-person therapeutic or school-based contexts. Although digital technology has the potential to address these issues, existing research on technology-enabled interventions for families remains limited. OBJECTIVE The aim of this pilot study was to examine the feasibility of in-situ deployments of a low-cost, bespoke prototype, which has been designed to support children’s in-the-moment emotion regulation efforts. This prototype instantiates a novel intervention model that aims to address the existing limitations by delivering the intervention through an interactive object (a ‘smart toy’) sent home with the child, without any prior training necessary for either the child or their carer. This pilot study examined (i) engagement and acceptability of the device in the homes during 1 week deployments; and (ii) qualitative indicators of emotion regulation effects, as reported by parents and children. METHODS In this qualitative study, ten families (altogether 11 children aged 6-10 years) were recruited from three under-privileged communities in the UK. The RA visited participants in their homes to give children the ‘smart toy’ and conduct a semi-structured interview with at least one parent from each family. Children were given the prototype, a discovery book, and a simple digital camera to keep at home for 7-8 days, after which we interviewed each child and their parent about their experience. Thematic analysis guided the identification and organisation of common themes and patterns across the dataset. In addition, the prototypes automatically logged every interaction with the toy throughout the week-long deployments. RESULTS Across all 10 families, parents and children reported that the ‘smart toy’ was incorporated into children’s emotion regulation practices and engaged with naturally in moments children wanted to relax or calm down. Data suggests that children interacted with the toy throughout the duration of the deployment, found the experience enjoyable, and all requested to keep the toy longer. Child emotional connection to the toy—caring for its ‘well-being’—appears to have driven this strong engagement. Parents reported satisfaction with and acceptability of the toy. CONCLUSIONS This is the first known study investigation of the use of object-enabled intervention delivery to support emotion regulation in-situ. The strong engagement and qualitative indications of effects are promising – children were able to use the prototype without any training and incorporated it into their emotion regulation practices during daily challenges. Future work is needed to extend this indicative data with efficacy studies examining the psychological efficacy of the proposed intervention. More broadly, our findings suggest the potential of a technology-enabled shift in how prevention interventions are designed and delivered: empowering children and parents through ‘child-led, situated interventions’, where participants learn through actionable support directly within family life, as opposed to didactic in-person workshops and a subsequent skills application.

Hypnotherapy as an Adjunct to Medical Treatment: Highlighting Effectiveness and Identifying Barriers to Further Integrative Treatment

2021 ◽  
pp. 097206342110115
Author(s):  
Feryad A. Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medical Treatment ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Medical Treatments ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Secondary Health Care ◽  
History Of ◽  
Clinical Hypnosis ◽  
The Mind

Integrative models of health care have garnered increasing attention over the years and are currently being employed within acute and secondary health care services to support medical treatments in a range of specialities. Clinical hypnosis has a history of working in partnership with medical treatments quite apart from its psychiatric associations. It aims to mobilise the mind–body connection in order to identify and overcome obstacles to managing symptoms of ill health, resulting in overall improved emotional and physical well-being. This article aims to encourage the use of hypnotherapy in physical health care by highlighting the effectiveness of hypnosis as an adjunct to medical treatment and identifying barriers preventing further integrative treatments.

scholarly journals Psychological Effects of Whole-body Electromyostimulation Training: a Controlled Pilot Study in Healthy Volunteers

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Keicher ◽  
Lena Pyrkosch ◽  
Bernd Wolfarth ◽  
Andreas Ströhle
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Mood State ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Training Session ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Current Level ◽  
Psychological Effects ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Visual Analog Scales

Abstract Background Whole-body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) training is used in popular and health sports to improve muscular performance. Little is known about the possible psychological effects of WB-EMS training. The aim of the study is therefore to investigate the possible psychological effects of WB-EMS training on subjective well-being, relaxation, mood, and perceived stress. Materials and Methods Twenty-five healthy subjects underwent conventional WB-EMS training and Sham training (without the application of electrical stimulation) as part of a randomized, controlled pilot study in a crossover design. Subjective well-being and subjective relaxation were assessed using visual analog scales, the current state of mood was assessed with Multidimensional Mood State Questionnaires (MDBF), and the current level of stress was assessed with Recovery–Stress Questionnaires/Erholungs-Belastungs-Fragebögen (RESTQEBF) before and after training. Results WB-EMS training has a statistically significant positive effect on subjective well-being and subjective relaxation, as well as on the awake subscale of the MDBF. No significant main effect of sequence and no interaction effects were found. Also, compared to a Sham training session, a single WB-EMS training session had no significant effect on mood, nervousness, or the current level of stress. Conclusion Besides physiological effects, WB-EMS might also have a strong psychological impact. WB-EMS could be beneficial for people who, due to their limitations, have problems training on a regular basis and with adequate training intensity. Trial Registration German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00012583, 22 June 2017.

scholarly journals A pilot study on the impact of a first-time central heating intervention on resident mental wellbeing

2020 ◽  
pp. 1420326X2097546
Author(s):  
Richard A Sharpe ◽  
Andrew J Williams ◽  
Ben Simpson ◽  
Gemma Finnegan ◽  
Tim Jones
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Waiting List ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Central Heating ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time ◽  
Mental Well Being

Fuel poverty affects around 34% of European homes, representing a considerable burden to society and healthcare systems. This pilot study assesses the impact of an intervention to install a new first time central heating system in order to reduce fuel poverty on household satisfaction with indoor temperatures/environment, ability to pay bills and mental well-being. In Cornwall, 183 households received the intervention and a further 374 went onto a waiting list control. A post-intervention postal questionnaires and follow-up phone calls were undertaken ( n = 557) to collect data on household demographics, resident satisfaction with indoor environment, finances and mental well-being (using the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing scale). We compared responses between the waiting list control and intervention group to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. A total of 31% of participants responded, 83 from the waiting list control and 71 from the intervention group. The intervention group reported improvements in the indoor environment, finances and mental well-being. However, these benefits were not expressed by all participants, which may result from diverse resident behaviours, lifestyles and housing characteristics. Future policies need to consider whole house approaches alongside resident training and other behaviour change techniques that can account for complex interactions between behaviours and the built environment.

scholarly journals Initial Development of the Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention Parental Self-Efficacy Scale: A Pilot Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Aaron Blocher-Rubin ◽  
Paige Krabill
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Behavioral Intervention ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention ◽  
Clinical Tool ◽  
Initial Development ◽  
Intensive Behavioral Intervention ◽  
New Instrument

Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) is an effective treatment for children with autism. However, it is known that some parents struggle to fully implement the program, and providers are not always able to identify the specifics of each family’s individualized challenges. The purpose of this pilot study was to begin the process of developing a new instrument, the EIBI Parental Self-Efficacy (EPSE) Scale, to help providers better assess and assist parents in regard to EIBI implementation. The methodology included four phases: scale construction, expert review, pretest administration, and a large sample pilot study (N = 192). The final 29-item EPSE Scale contained strong reliability properties (Cronbach’s alpha = .900). Factor analysis established five subscales: Family Well-Being, Preparing for Successful Sessions, Team Participation, Not Giving Up, and Working with your Child. Following this pilot study, future research is recommended to refine and validate the EPSE Scale as a useful clinical tool for EIBI providers.

scholarly journals A Novel Educational Smartphone Application for Cognitively Healthy Seniors: A Pilot Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 6601
Author(s):  
Blanka Klimova ◽  
Lukas Sanda
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Smartphone Application ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Pedagogical Practice ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Individual Needs ◽  
Instructional Manual

Modern technologies surround people every day, including seniors. The aim of this pilot study was to create a maximally user-friendly mobile application in order to meet older users’ individual needs. The research sample consisted of 13 older individuals at the age of 55+ years with a mean age of 67 years, living in the Czech Republic. The key assessment tools of this pilot study were the developed application and usability testing. The findings confirmed that the newly developed mobile application for teaching English met the needs of cognitively healthy seniors, and was acceptable and feasible. In addition, it indicated what technical (e.g., visual interface or easy navigation) and pedagogical (e.g., an instructional manual or adjusting to seniors’ learning pace or clear instructions) aspects should be strictly followed when designing such an educational smartphone application. In addition, the authors of this pilot study provide several implications for pedagogical practice. Further research should include more empirical studies aimed at the exploration of educational mobile applications for older generation groups with respect to meeting their individual needs in order to enhance their overall well-being. However, such studies are, nowadays, very rare.

A Systematic Literature Review on the Importance of Anthropometric Data Toward the Malaysian Population Productivity and Quality of Life

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurashikin Saaludin ◽  
Amna Saad ◽  
Cordelia Mason ◽  
Norsaadah Zakaria
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Anthropometric Data ◽  
Identity Verification ◽  
Medical Treatments ◽  
Car Seat ◽  
Safety Work ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
Meta Analyses

Anthropometric data is widely used in various applications such as manufacturing, healthcare, forensics, and medical treatments. In addition, the data can be applied to design ergonomic tools, equipment, clothing, and footwear to ensure that the products, facilities, and services fit the users. This paper aims to analyze the existing literature on the importance of anthropometric data on the Malaysian population's productivity and quality of life and look into any further research that needs improvement. Guided by the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses), through Scopus and Web of Science databases, 15 related studies were identified. The review managed to extract six applications of anthropometric data and its seven perceived benefits. Data applications were classified into furniture, clothing and footwear, car seat, fitting and fixture, forensic investigation, and safety products. The benefits were grouped into easy to use, fit, well-being, welfare, safety, work efficiency, and identity verification by using thematic analysis. The review also highlighted the methodological issues related to the number of samples, locations coverage for a survey and the financial support in conducting research. Finally, several recommendations were drawn, including the importance of anthropometric database development at the end of this paper for reference by future scholars.

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