Environmental Protection and Quality of Life

Development of environmental protection together with economic and social development can be considered sustainable only if they support individual quality of life. Conceptually, quality of life is closely related to sustainable development, since sustainability implies a balance between environmental, social, and economic qualities. Environmental quality is reflected in its ability to meet the basic human needs. Quality of life is a complex and multi-dimensional construct that warrants multiple approaches from different theoretical perspectives. Evaluation of the quality of life determined by the environment can be facilitated using objective and subjective measurements. Regardless of how these two indicators are classified, both are considered equally beneficial and valuable for research. Considering all the above mentioned, the aim of this chapter is to shed light on the importance of environmental protection for the quality of life, as well as the necessity to measure quality of life determined by environmental factors in order to adequately manage them.

Pain, disease severity and associations with individual quality of life in patients with motor neuron diseases

Background Up to 85% of people with motor neuron disease (MND) report pain, but whether pain has negative impact on quality of life is unclear. The aim was to study associations between pain, disease severity and individual quality of life (IQOL) in patients with MND. Methods In this cross sectional study, 61 patients were recruited from four multidisciplinary teams in Sweden, whereof 55 responded to the pain measure (The Brief Pain Inventory – Short form) and were included in the main analyses. Disease severity was measured with the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale - Revised Version, and individual quality of life was measured with a study-specific version of the Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life - Direct Weighting. Results Forty-one (74%) of the participants who answered BPI-SF (n = 55) reported pain. Thirty-nine (71%) of those reported pain during the past 24 h. The severity of pain was on average moderate, with eight participants (14%) reporting severe pain (PSI ≥ 7). Satisfaction with IQOL for the entire sample was good (scale 1-7, where 1 equals poor quality of life): median 5, interquartile range (IQR) 2.75 and there was no difference in satisfaction with IQOL between those reporting pain/not reporting pain (median 5, IQR 2/median 5, IQR 3.5, Mann-Whitney U = 249, p = 0.452). There was neither any correlation between pain severity and satisfaction with IQOL, nor between disease severity and satisfaction with IQOL. Conclusions The results add to the hypothesis that associations between non-motor symptoms such as pain prevalence and pain severity and IQOL in MND are weak. Pain prevalence was high and the results pointed to that some participants experienced high pain severity, which indicate that pain assessments and pain treatments tailored to the specific needs of the MND population should be developed and scientifically evaluated.

Psychological factors influencing motivation, cooperation, participation, satisfaction, self appraisal, and individual quality of life in adolescents and adults undergoing Orthodontic treatment

Introduction: To bring the best outcome from both the sides i.e. the orthodontist and the patient , it is of prime importance to understand certain psychological factors, and to treat every patient with an individualistic approach. The need was to study all such psychological factors and to find a method to deal with the same; to evaluate the psychological factors that influences the self appraisal and individual Quality of life. To compare psychological factor affecting the self appraisal and individual quality of life before treatment and after treatment, to study psychological factors of patients which influences the treatment outcome and to find a method to manage them. Materials and Method: This In-vivo study, includes case study and survey. Two separate sets of questionnaires (before and after undergoing orthodontic treatment) were given to patients. The study also included psychological test scales like OHIP-14 and 12-CSES. The sample size of patient was 150. Result: The study revealed that esthetics (95%) is the main concern for getting treatment especially for female (56%). There is improvement in OHIP and CSES (interval of 12.63, 14.66) score of patients before and after treatment. Patients’ satisfaction (94.7%) increases on having healthy orthodontist-patient relationship. Conclusion: Esthetics is the main concern. Most patients wants improvement in smile. Lack of awareness and lack of financial supports is the main reason for delay in getting treatment. The main discomfort about the treatment reported by participants was pain after activation appointments, ulcers and change in food eating habit. The orthodontic therapy improves confidence, satisfaction, individuals’ appraisal and quality of life. There were no variations in response for patients’ satisfaction by gender, age, education or by treatment duration.

Quality of life among relatives of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A prospective and longitudinal study

Objective Relatives are often central in caring for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), involving considerable physical, emotional, and social challenges. The aim of this study was to describe individual quality of life (iQoL) among relatives of patients with ALS, from diagnosis through disease progression. Method A total of 31 relatives were included. Data collection was performed at five time points: 1–3 months after their relatives had been diagnosed with ALS and every 6 months for 2 years. Quality of life was determined using the Schedule of Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life — Direct Weighting (SEIQoL-DW), emotional distress with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the illness severity of the patients was determined with the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale (ALS FRS-R). Results The SEIQoL-DW involves participants nominating the important life areas. The most nominated areas were family, friends, health, and leisure. Although most relatives had overall good and stable iQoL, several had scores indicating poor iQoL on some occasions during the disease trajectory. The relatives’ iQoL correlated with emotional well-being and the patient's physical function at different time points. Significant of result Social relations, emotional well-being, and rapid decline in the patient's physical function influence the relatives’ iQoL. Measuring both emotional well-being and iQoL, with a focus on the relatives’ own descriptions of perceived iQoL and those factors contributing to their iQoL during the disease trajectory may improve the possibility of identifying and supporting those relatives with poor iQoL.

Resilienz, Kohärenz, Lebenssinn sowie andere Konzepte und Begriffe in der Palliativversorgung – eine Standortbestimmung

Zusammenfassung Innerhalb der Palliativversorgung konnte der Resilienzbegriff bislang nicht eindeutig definiert werden und das Verhältnis zu ähnlichen oder möglicherweise überlappenden Konzepten blieb aus. Dieser Beitrag erläutert daher zentrale Begriffe, welche für die Versorgung schwer kranker und sterbender Menschen, für Angehörige sowie für Palliativteams relevant sind. Beschrieben wird die Bedeutung der Salutogenese, einhergehend mit einer Gesundheits- und Ressourcenfokussierung, auch am Ende des Lebens. Aspekte der Resilienz werden mit den drei Teilkonstrukten Handhabbarkeit, Verstehbarkeit und Sinnhaftigkeit des Kohärenzgefühls sowie mit dem Autonomiebegriff, Lebenssinn, Lebensqualität und Würde verknüpft. Die Messbarkeit dieser Konstrukte stellt – nicht zuletzt aufgrund der höchst individuell bewertbaren Maßstäbe der Patientinnen und Patienten – für Behandelnde eine große Herausforderung dar. Instrumente wie die Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life (SEIQoL) oder die Schedule for Meaning in Life Evaluation (SMiLE), bei denen individuelle Prioritäten und Bedürfnisse berücksichtigt werden, können hierbei behilflich sein. Zudem werden therapeutische Ansätze vorgestellt, welche Verbindungen zu den vorgestellten Konstrukten aufweisen. Hierzu gehören achtsamkeitsbasierte Interventionen, Biografiearbeit und die würdezentrierte Therapie. Bekannt sind viele dieser Interventionen vor allem im Zusammenhang von Präventionsmaßnahmen – z. B. der Burnout-Prophylaxe. Die Frage, ob diese jedoch auch zur Resilienzförderung geeignet sind, bleibt ebenso wie eine notwendige Operationalisierung des Resilienzbegriffs weiterhin Gegenstand aktueller Forschung.

Mind Genomics With Big Data for Digital Marketing on the Internet

This chapter sheds light on one very important application in the domain of digital economy – mind genomics. Mind genomics is an approach to targeted marketing which reaches each prospect with a different personalized message. This application requires acceleration coming from a data flow accelerator connected to a control flow host. It stresses equally the basic concept and its many applications. Innovation process is a step-by-step process. Once an important step up front is created and a new innovation finds its way into the commercial world, it is difficult to imagine that another dramatical step/leap forward is possible. However, such steps keep happening. Mind genomics is an example of one such step, unthinkable of until only a few years ago. Needs of the users could be served much more effectively not only in business domains or other lucrative domains, but also in the domains of public health, public happiness, public and individual quality of life, public and individual understanding of the environment around, etc.

Individual quality of life in spousal ALS patient-caregiver dyads

Background Quality of life is a basic goal of health and social care. The majority of people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) are cared for at home by family caregivers. It is important to recognize the factors that contribute to quality of life for individuals to better understand the lived experiences in a condition for which there is currently no curative treatment. Aim To explore individual quality of life of people with ALS and their informal caregivers over time. Methods Over three semi-structured home interviews, 28 patient-caregiver dyads provided information on a range of demographic and clinical features, psychological distress, caregiver burden, and individual quality of life. Quality of life data were analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods with integration at the analysis and interpretation phases. Results Individual Quality of Life was high for patients and caregivers across the interviews series, and higher among patients than their care partners at each time point. Family, hobbies and social activities were the main self-defined contributors to quality of life. The importance of health declined relative to other areas over time. Friends and finances became less important for patients, but were assigned greater importance by caregivers across the illness trajectory. Psychological distress was higher among caregivers. Caregiver burden consistently increased. Conclusion The findings from this study point to the importance of exploring and monitoring quality of life at an individual level. Self-defined contributory factors are relevant to the individual within his/her context. As an integrated outcome measure individual quality of life should be assessed and monitored as part of routine clinical care during the clinical encounter. This can facilitate conversations between health care providers, patients and families, and inform interventions and contribute to decision support mechanisms. The ascertainment of self-defined life quality, especially in progressive neurodegenerative conditions, mean health care professionals are in a better position to provide person-centred care.