Age-Related Hearing Loss With Tinnitus and Physical Frailty Influence the Overall and Domain-Specific Quality of Life of Chinese Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Objective: To investigate the impact of the severity of age-related hearing loss (ARHL) and tinnitus, presence of ARHL and/or tinnitus, and physical frailty on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and domain-specific HRQoL in Chinese community-dwelling older adults.Design: This was a cross-sectional study of a community-based cohort.Participants: We evaluated Chinese older adults (n = 429, 183 men and 246 women) aged ≥ 58years.Measurements: The severity of HL and tinnitus were measured using pure-tone audiometry and the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), respectively. Physical frailty was measured using the five-item Fried scale. HRQoL was assessed using the Assessment of Quality of Life-8-Dimension (AQoL-8D) multi-attribute utility instrument (35 HRQoL items and eight domain-specific HRQoL subcategories). Low HRQoL (HRQoL score or subscores in the highest quintile) was used as a dependent variable in logistic regression analyses adjusted for demographic (Model 1) and health-related (Model 2) and psychosocial (Model 3) confounders.Results: Age-related hearing loss severity was an independent determinant of senses in the physical dimension of HRQoL after adjusting for all covariates. Tinnitus severity was significantly associated with HRQoL and with independent living, senses, and pain in the physical dimension after adjusting for demographic and health-related covariates and was still associated with independent living and senses after adjusting for all covariates. The presence of ARHL and/or tinnitus was significantly associated with independent living and senses in the physical dimension after adjusting for all the covariates. Physical frailty was an independent determinant of HRQoL, independent living, and pain in the physical dimension and with mental health, happiness, and coping in the psychosocial dimension after adjusting for demographic and health-related covariates. The association with HRQoL, independent living, and pain in the physical dimension, and with happiness and coping in the psychosocial dimension remained significant after adjusting for the covariates. Depressive symptoms, social dysfunction, and a number of comorbidities were critical determinants of psychosocial HRQoL.Conclusion: Physical frailty has a stronger and more profound effect on HRQoL, particularly on independent living and pain in the physical dimension and on happiness and coping in the psychosocial dimension. Domain-specific HRQoL should be considered in the management of patients with ARHL with tinnitus and physical frailty.Clinical Trial Registration:www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT2017K020.

The psychosocial dimension of power: an emotional analysis of the discourse on globalization of the Davos elite

This work focused the psychosocial dynamics underlying the political and cultural action of the global elite, through a pilot study of the image of globalization of the World Economic Forum (WEF) addressed to identify possible strategies for developing those dynamics in a more democratic and socio-economically fair way and strengthening the global civil coexistence. The results show the centrality of specific relational and organizational models, based on the orientation to possess the other, the need for power as dominant social motivation and a mythical conception of supranational financial institutions which let them to operate without real commission, nor evaluation of efficacy, from their beneficiaries. On the basis of this scenario, two ways of development have been identified: the valorization of the other as a resource for the reciprocal development and the passage from a compliance based logic of action to a commonly agreed goals and products based one.

Considerations on Conducting Research on Wellness in the Context of the Learning Environment

The learning environment (LE) provides a context for many educational phenomena, of which wellness and burnout are particularly important. The LE can be thought of as consisting of a psychosocial dimension of personal, social, and organizational factors and a sociomaterial dimension that consists of spatial and technical factors. The interplay between elements of the LE and wellness of the participants is complex and only partially understood, requiring further research. Using this multidimensional model to describe and to plan to deliberately modify the learning environment can foster more rigorous and meaningful research evidence about the interaction of wellness and the LE. This article highlights four key considerations that scholars of wellness should consider when exploring the impact of the LE or designing interventions to modify the environment. These include 1) a thoughtful definition and theoretical conceptualization of the LE, 2) clarity about the study variables that are essential to the study question(s), 3) thoughtful and appropriate measurement of those variables, and 4) a study design that balances quality with feasibility. We provide a practical illustration of how these considerations can be applied in studies exploring the intersection of wellness and the LE.

A Review of Psychosocial Models for the Development of Musculoskeletal Disorders and Common Psychosocial Instruments

Aims: While the biomechanical factors causing musculoskeletal disorder (MSDs) are well defined, the psychosocial dimension of MSDs is complex and affected by personal, organizational and environmental elements. There is an impetus to understand how psychosocial risk factors contribute to the manifestation of MSDs and systematically present the strengths and constraints of various instruments in assessing psychosocial risk factors. Study Design: This article critically reviews various models linking psychosocial constructs to MSDs and various instruments for evaluating psychosocial risk factors. Methodology: This article reviews the most pertinent literature which presents and discusses the connection of psychosocial domains with the development of MSDs as well as the common instruments used for evaluation of psychosocial factors. Results: It shows an intricate connection between psychosocial and biomechanical aspects compounded by organizational, individual and environmental factors. Psychosocial factors particularly psychological demand, decisional latitude, level of social support and work organization result in stress which produces strain and physiological deterioration hence MSDs. Different psychosocial risk factors have also been found to evoke MSDs in different body parts. Overarching cognitive and psychological aspects consisting of work demands, maneuver margins and work recognition have also been proposed in examining the psychosocial dimension of MSDs. Instruments for measuring psychological constructs are often subjective and rely on personal reflections. Some instruments assess multiple psychosocial factors while other assess specific attributes. There instruments share a common shortcoming of treating risk factors across different workplaces as homogenous. Conclusion: Refinement of the instruments and development of sector-specific instruments are beneficial for more reliable evaluation of psychosocial risk factors.

Dimensión psicosocial del despojo en clave capitalista: vivir bajo amenaza / Psychosocial Dimension of Disposal in Capitalist Key: Living under threat

ABSTRACTThis research raises the dimension psychosocial of the spoil, has drawn attention to the subjective aspects and social of living under the threat of dispossession and how this process generates psychosocial trauma. The psychosocial trauma is the product of the dialectical relationship between an event that is traumatizing and the socio-economic conditions of the exposed populations. From this angle, capital contributes an endless number of potentially traumatizing events, such that they house the contradictions of the system.RESUMENEsta investigación plantea la dimensión psicosocial despojo, al visibilizar los aspectos subjetivos y sociales de vivir bajo amenaza de despojo y cómo este proceso genera trauma psicosocial. Se apoya en el concepto de trauma psicosocial entendido como el producto de la relación dialéctica entre un suceso traumatizante y las condiciones socioeconómicas de las poblaciones expuestas. Desde este ángulo, el capitalismo aporta un sinfín de eventos potencialmente traumatizantes, tales que alojan en su seno las contradicciones mismas del sistema.