Psychosomatic health impacts of power plants and computer aided risk management
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Pop-Jordanova, N.; Pop-Jordanov, J.; Boskovska, V.
1998-07-01
The concept ``psychosomatic'', initially introduced in the first half of this century, has recently being reconfirmed by the theory and practice of modern medicine. The psychosomatic disorders are generally defined as physical (somatic) diseases produced, in part, by psychological factors, primarily stress. The organs of cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, respiratory and endocrine system are being affected, as a result of innervation by the autonomic nervous system. In some of these diseases the psychological factors can play relatively essential role; these are named ``primary psychosomatic diseases'': essential hypertension, peptic ulcer, bronchial asthma, ulcerative colitis, neurodermatitis, rheumatoid arthritis and hyperthyroidism (the last two diseases were later replaced by eating disorders as bulimia and anorexia nervosa). In many other cases the psychological element is only one among several parallel factors; these are sometimes called ``secondary psychosomatic diseases''. As known from the psychosomatic medicine, the stressors are being refracted through the individual history of a person as through a prism, leading to a spectrum of possible reactions. The personality prism comprises heredity, early child experiences and actual conflict, while the resulting disorders, as a response of the human being, have the form of neuroses, disturbed behavior and psychoses from one side, and psychophysiological disorders and other psychosomatic diseases, including synergetic amplification, from the other side. The probability of each outcome depends primarily on the individual personality prism, as well as on the characteristics of the stressors.
Hagquist, Curt
2016-02-01
Profound changes in family structure took place in many countries, during the second part of the previous century. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the association between the type of family residency and psychosomatic problems in younger and older adolescents, particularly focusing on alternate residency, and to examine the impact of child-parent relations. We used data collected in 2009 by Statistics Sweden among 172,298 Swedish students in Grade 6 and Grade 9 (approximate ages 12 and 15 years old); comprising 80% and 86%, respectively, of the entire population of students in those grades. We collected the data with a questionnaire, completed anonymously in school: We used the Psychosomatic Problems (PSP) scale as the outcome measure. The type of family residency showed a weaker association with psychosomatic problems than the child-parent relationships did. Living in non-intact families increased the probability of adolescent psychosomatic problems by 0-0.05, compared to intact families. In Grade 9, there were no differences in psychosomatic problems between the students in alternate residency and those living with their two parents; and in Grade 6, these differences were relatively small. In comparison, a worse relationship with parents increased the probability of psychosomatic problems by 0.11-0.17, depending on the school grade and type of family residency. The structure of the family, as well as the child-parent relationships needs to be taken into account, to properly estimate the magnitude of the family situation as a determinant of adolescent psychosomatic problems. Our results justify universal intervention at the policy level. © 2015 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.
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Li-yi ZHANG
2012-07-01
Full Text Available Objective To investigate the time feature of Chinese military personnel's suicide ideation and its relationship with psychosomatic health to provide scientific basis for formulation of mental health policy and intervention of related psychological crisis. Methods By random cluster sampling, a total of 11 362 military personnel including army, navy and air-force (1100 in 1980s, 8000 in 1990s, 2262 in year 2000 were tested by Chinese Psychosomatic Health Scale (CPSHS. SPSS statistic 17.0 program was used for data analysis, i.e., χ2-test, T-test and stepwise regression analysis. Results The incidence rate of military personnel's suicide ideation in the three decades from 1980 to 2000 was 10.27%, 7.09% and 2.83% respectively, which revealed a decreasing trend (P 0.05. Suicide ideation was selected into the regression equation of mental health, physical health, and total psychosomatic health scores, which could positively predict the level of military personnel's psychosomatic health (P=0.05 or 0.01. Conclusions Military personnel's suicide ideation presents a decreasing trend; the psychosomatic health of military personnel who have suicide ideation is worse than that of personnel without suicide ideation.
Cardiac disorders with psychosomatic background
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Ada Bielejewska
2017-12-01
Full Text Available Psychosomatic disorders can be described as psychosocial-derived organic disorders. The influence of depression, sleep disorders, quality of life, addictions, work environment, family situation, and stress on atrial fibrillation, palpitations, syncope, chest pain, coronary heart disease, and heart failure has been analysed in this paper. The correlation between psychosomatic disorders and the cardiovascular system has been shown. It allows us to conclude that an attending physician, while taking medical history of cardiac patients, should take into consideration factors that may have a negative impact on their mental health, which can be risk factors in the development or aggravation of an already present cardiovascular disease.
Beckman, Linda; Hagquist, Curt; Hellstrom, Lisa
2012-01-01
The association between mental health problems and traditional bullying is well known, whereas the strength of the association in cyberbullying is less known. This study aimed to compare the association between mutually exclusive groups of bullying involvement and psychosomatic problems as measured by the PsychoSomatic Problems scale. The sample…
Influence of physical activity on psychosomatic health in obese women.
Menzyk, K; Cajdler, A; Pokorski, M
2008-12-01
It is unclear to what extent the known psychosomatic benefits of exercise hold true for the obese. In the present study, we investigated the hypothesis that the psychosomatic health and components of general intelligence, such as the capacity for logical-deductive tasks, would be better in regularly exercising than non-exercising obese women. We addressed the issue in a self-reported survey study, comprising two groups of middle-aged obese women (age 30-50 years, BMI >30 kg/m(2)) of 25 persons each. The criterion for the group division was regular exercise, minimum twice a week, for at least 2 months. The following psychometric tools were used: Physical Fitness and Exercise Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for depression, Life Satisfaction Scale, General Health Inventory-28, Raven's Matrices Test for intelligence, and a test for selfcontentment with one's body figure shape. The exercising obese women scored significantly better in Life Satisfaction Scale (17.1 +/- 1.2 vs.12.0 +/- 0.9), had a lower level of depression (8.1 +/- 0.6 vs. 13.4 +/- 0.7), and a better assessment of the health status (24.6 +/- 1.6 vs. 36.4 +/- 2.2) (reversed score) compared with non-exercising ones (Pexercising obese women also appreciably better assessed their bodily looks. Interestingly, if depression was present in exercising women, it had more detrimental health effects than in physically inactive ones. The study failed to substantiate appreciable changes in general intelligence between active and non-active obese women. In conclusion, physical activity is of benefit for the psychosomatic health in obese women, which should be considered in behavioral counseling.
Preliminary study on psychosomatic status of nuclear power plant operators
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Bi Jinling; Liu Yulong; Li Yuan; Bian Huahui; Sun Yiling; Qiu Mengyue; Liu Chunfeng
2011-01-01
Objective: To understand the operators' psychosomatic health status in nuclear power plant; and provide the scientific basis of measures for preventing and reducing mental disorders in operators. Methods: The Psychosomatic Health Battery (PSHB) was used to assess the psychosomatic health status in 109 operators who were random selected from Qinshan nuclear power plant, etc. They were tested from lie, emotional stability, liveliness, tension, apprehension, mental health, such as psychopathic deviatesuch 7 personality traits. Results: Lie < 8, all inspected groups were normal. Psychopathic deviate: 98.2% for normal group 0.9% for both of groups occurred possible mental health problems and confirmed mental health problems; Mental health: 80.7% (88/109) for fine mental health ones, 29.4% (32/109) for those with excellent mental health, 51.4% (56/109) for good mental health ones, 13.8% (15/109) for general mental health ones, 5.5% (6/109) for poor mental health ones. Age factor could influence the mean values of the factors of apprehension, tension, mental health and psychopathic deviate. Correlation analysis showed that there was a correlation between tension and psychopathic deviate (r=0.664, P<0.01), and the other correlation coefficient was between apprehension and mental health (r=-0.789, P<0.01). Conclusions: There is an excellent condition of psychosomatic health in most of the operators, however, there are still a very small percentage of psychosomatic disorders among these operators, to improve the quality of their psychosomatic health, psychological counseling should be particularly strengthened to those with problems of psychosomatic health. (authors)
Are adolescents with high self-esteem protected from psychosomatic symptomatology?
Piko, Bettina F; Varga, Szabolcs; Mellor, David
2016-06-01
This study investigated the role of self-esteem, social (need to belong, loneliness, competitiveness, and shyness), and health (smoking, drinking) behaviors in Hungarian adolescents' psychosomatic symptoms. Our sample of 490 students (ages 14-19 years) from Debrecen (Hungary) completed the questionnaires. Besides descriptive statistics, correlation and multiple regression analyses were applied to test interrelationships. Frequency analysis revealed that fatigue was the most commonly experienced psychosomatic symptom in this sample, followed by sleeping problems and (lower) back pain. Girls reported experiencing more symptoms. Multiple regression analyses suggested that (1) need to belong, shyness, and competitiveness may serve as social behavioral risk factors for adolescents' psychosomatic symptomatology, whereas (2) self-esteem may play a protective role. The role of social and health behaviors was modified when analyzed by gender: the psychosomatic index score was positively related to smoking and shyness among girls, and need to belong among boys. Self-esteem provided protection for both sexes. We conclude that problems with social relationships (namely, unmet need to belong, competitiveness, and shyness) may lead to psychosomatic health complaints, whereas self-esteem may serve as a protection. Findings suggest that social skills training and strengthening self-esteem should be an important part of children's health promotion programs in schools to improve their psychosomatic health and well-being. • Despite being free of serious physical illness, many adolescents often report subjective health complaints, such as psychosomatic symptoms • As children in this life stage develop independence and autonomy, new types of social relationships, and identity, their social needs and skills also change What is new: • Need to belong, shyness, and competitiveness may serve as social behavioral risk factors for adolescents' psychosomatic symptomatology, whereas self
Bauer, Amy M; Fielke, Ken; Brayley, John; Araya, Mesfin; Alem, Atalay; Frankel, Bernard L; Fricchione, Gregory L
2010-01-01
Consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry, informed by principles of psychosomatic medicine, is well-positioned to address the global impact of mental disorders through primary care C-L models. The authors review the international burden of mental disorders, highlighting medical comorbidity, undertreatment, and the rationale for enhancing primary-care management. C-L psychiatry fosters the skills required for global mental health work. The authors describe successful C-L models developed in a low-income country (Ethiopia) and an under-resourced region of a high-income country (Australia). C-L psychiatrists have the potential to marshal their unique skill-set to reduce the global burden of mental disorders.
[Culture sensitive analysis of psychosomatic complaints in migrants in Germany].
Bermejo, Isaac; Nicolaus, Leonhard; Kriston, Levente; Hölzel, Lars; Härter, Martin
2012-05-01
To ensure an adequate health care of migrants, differentiated information on the association of cultural background and migration related factors and psychosomatic complaints are necessary. Cross-sectional questionnaire based survey regarding psychosomatic complaints of migrants from Turkey (n = 77), Italy (n = 95), and Spain (n = 67) and ethnic German resettled from the states of the former Soviet Union (n = 196). Questionnaires distributed by non-health specific counselling agencies of welfare associations. The cultural background was a relevant factor for psychosomatic complaints, showing higher complaints in Turkish and ethnic German resettled migrants, also compared to a sample of age corresponding Germans. In contrast, Spanish and Italian migrants showed a lower risk for psychosomatic complaints. Also gender, feeling unwell in Germany and fatalism showed a significant association with psychosomatic complaints. Migrants in Germany do not have per se a higher risk for psychosomatic complaints. A distinct differentiation by cultural background is necessary. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
[Perspectives of psychoanalytic psychosomatics].
Küchenhoff, J
2001-01-01
The paper discusses a variety of perspectives of psychoanalytic psychosomatics in the past, the present and the future. An epigenetic model of scientific development is introduced and developmental strains in psychosomatic medicine are evaluated according to the claims of the bio-psycho-social model. In historical terms, the psychological dimension of psychoanalytic psychosomatics has been the first strain to be elaborated; it is being extended still. The biological, somatic and bodily dimension of psychosomatic medicine was the next to be explored; during the last decade, this strain has found increasing interest, especially neurobiological research. Though the social dimension has not been neglected, it will be the main task for psychoanalytic psychosomatics to consider in the future. Likewise, a mandatory future challenge will be a more intensive discussion of the epistemological basis of psychosomatic medicine and psychoanalytic psychosomatics. The historical development of psychosomatic medicine is highlighted by examples drawn mainly from the history of Heidelberg Psychosomatic University Clinic that has its 50th anniversary in 2000.
Work-related stress and psychosomatic medicine
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Nakao Mutsuhiro
2010-05-01
Full Text Available Abstract This article introduces key concepts of work-related stress relevant to the clinical and research fields of psychosomatic medicine. Stress is a term used to describe the body's physiological and/or psychological reaction to circumstances that require behavioral adjustment. According to the Japanese National Survey of Health, the most frequent stressors are work-related problems, followed by health-related and then financial problems. Conceptually, work-related stress includes a variety of conditions, such as overwork, unemployment or job insecurity, and lack of work-family balance. Job stress has been linked to a range of adverse physical and mental health outcomes, such as cardiovascular disease, insomnia, depression, and anxiety. Stressful working conditions can also impact employee well-being indirectly by directly contributing to negative health behaviors or by limiting an individual's ability to make positive changes to lifestyle behaviors, such as smoking and sedentary behavior. Over the past two decades, two major job stress models have dominated the occupational health literature: the job demand-control-support model and the effort-reward imbalance model. In both models, standardized questionnaires have been developed and frequently used to assess job stress. Unemployment has also been reported to be associated with increased mortality and morbidity, such as by cardiovascular disease, stroke, and suicide. During the past two decades, a trend toward more flexible labor markets has emerged in the private and public sectors of developed countries, and temporary employment arrangements have increased. Temporary workers often complain that they are more productive but receive less compensation than permanent workers. A significant body of research reveals that temporary workers have reported chronic work-related stress for years. The Japanese government has urged all employers to implement four approaches to comprehensive mind
Work-related stress and psychosomatic medicine.
Nakao, Mutsuhiro
2010-05-26
This article introduces key concepts of work-related stress relevant to the clinical and research fields of psychosomatic medicine. Stress is a term used to describe the body's physiological and/or psychological reaction to circumstances that require behavioral adjustment. According to the Japanese National Survey of Health, the most frequent stressors are work-related problems, followed by health-related and then financial problems. Conceptually, work-related stress includes a variety of conditions, such as overwork, unemployment or job insecurity, and lack of work-family balance. Job stress has been linked to a range of adverse physical and mental health outcomes, such as cardiovascular disease, insomnia, depression, and anxiety. Stressful working conditions can also impact employee well-being indirectly by directly contributing to negative health behaviors or by limiting an individual's ability to make positive changes to lifestyle behaviors, such as smoking and sedentary behavior. Over the past two decades, two major job stress models have dominated the occupational health literature: the job demand-control-support model and the effort-reward imbalance model. In both models, standardized questionnaires have been developed and frequently used to assess job stress. Unemployment has also been reported to be associated with increased mortality and morbidity, such as by cardiovascular disease, stroke, and suicide. During the past two decades, a trend toward more flexible labor markets has emerged in the private and public sectors of developed countries, and temporary employment arrangements have increased. Temporary workers often complain that they are more productive but receive less compensation than permanent workers. A significant body of research reveals that temporary workers have reported chronic work-related stress for years. The Japanese government has urged all employers to implement four approaches to comprehensive mind/body health care for stress
Fuentes Chacón, Rosa M; Simón Saiz, M José; Garrido Abejar, Margarita; Serrano Parra, M Dolores; Larrañaga Rubio, M Elisa; Yubero Jiménez, Santiago
2017-12-04
To analyze, in a population of adolescents in school, the relationship between psychosomatic symptoms and the perception of health-related quality of life (HRQoL), differentiating by gender and age group. Transversal study. Five Secondary Schools. Eight hundred and forty four adolescents between the ages of 15 and 18 in secondary school. HRQoL using KIDSCREEN-52 and psychosomatic symptoms with the psychosomatic problems scale (PSP). Girls and adolescents aged 17-18 years presented significantly higher psychosomatic symptoms, both groups also scored worse in all dimensions of HRQoL, although only the dimensions related to physical and mental wellness, mood and stress reached significance. All psychosomatic symptoms were inversely associated with the ten dimensions of KIDSCREEN-52. The regression models showed that sadness, concentrating difficulties and sleeping difficulties were the predictors of worse HRQoL in both sexes and age groups and these variables explained between 30 and 41% of the HRQoL variance of the adolescents. Psychosomatic symptoms are frequent especially in girls and in older adolescents and predictors of worse HRQoL. It is important to distinguish them from medical conditions to avoid unnecessary interventions. As expressions of emotional discomfort they must be evaluated and treated in an integral way because they interfere with daily life and increase the vulnerability proper of adolescence. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.
Psychosomatic problems and countermeasures in Japanese children and adolescents
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Tanaka Hidetaka
2012-03-01
Full Text Available Abstract In Japan there are a number of children and adolescents with emotion-related disorders including psychosomatic diseases (orthostatic dysregulation, anorexia nervosa, recurrent pains, behavior problems and school absenteeism. According to our previous report, the Japanese children had significantly higher score of physical symptoms and psychiatric complaints than did the Swedish children, and these were more strongly influenced by school-related stress than by home-related stress. To enforce countermeasures for psychosomatic problems in children, the Japanese Society of Psychosomatic Pediatrics (established in 1982 have started several new projects including multi-center psychosomatic researches and society-based activities. In this article, we present an outline of our study on mental health in Japanese children in comparison with Swedish children. Countermeasures including clinical guidelines for child psychosomatic diseases are reviewed and discussed.
Psychosomatic medicine and cybernetics.
Ishikawa, H
1979-01-01
In our daily psychosomatic medicine clinics, we have adopted four principles from Wiener's cybernetics and von Bertalanffy's general system theory. We use the polygraphic method for the diagnosis of psychosomatic disease (black box principle). For the control of psychosomatic symptoms, we use the biofeedback method (feedback principle). We use systematic desensitization to relieve social stresses which cause psychosomatic disease (open and closed system principle). And lastly, transactional analysis, which corresponds to the information and energy principle.
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Rothermund Eva
2012-09-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Mental health issues are gaining in importance in society and the economic system. At the same time, the accessibility and stigmatisation of the mental health care system in Germany can obstruct help-seeking behavior and delay early psychotherapeutic interventions. Therefore, new models of care are being established at the interface of company-supported health promotion and conventional health insurance sponsored outpatient care for people developing mental illnesses. Two large industrial companies, in cooperation with two psychosomatic clinics, have recently established a model of “psychosomatic consultation in the workplace“. This new model of care offers the opportunity for a first psychotherapeutic door to door consultation with occupational medicine within the industrial workplace. The main empirical goals of this study are: 1 Describing the differences between patients who use this new diagnostic and therapeutic offer within the industrial workplace vs. patients who visit a conventional regional outpatient clinic, especially in regard to symptom duration and severity, work ability, and demographic characteristics, and 2 A first evaluation of how patients may benefit more from this new model of care compared to those first seen by standard outpatient care. In the qualitative part of the study, occupational physicians, psychosomatic therapists, involved personnel and select employees of the involved companies will be asked to comment on their experiences with this new approach. Methods/Design The implementation study will take place in Ulm and in Stuttgart, with each site looking at one regional conventional psychosomatic outpatient clinic and one psychosomatic consultation offer within the workplace. 70 consecutive patients in each setting will be recruited (overall n = 280. For the cross-sectional study and pre-post comparison we will use established and validated survey instruments (PHQ, SF-12, WAI, MBI, IS as
Weng, Chia-Ying; Lin, I-Mei; Jiang, Ding-Yu
2010-08-01
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of gender on the relationship between multidimensional hostility and psychosomatic symptoms in Chinese culture. The participants in this study were 398 Chinese college students (40% female) recruited from Taiwan. Four dimensions of multidimensional hostility-hostility cognition, hostility affect, expressive hostility behavior, and suppressive hostility behavior-were measured by the Chinese Hostility Inventory. After controlling for the effects of depression and anxiety, the results of path analysis revealed that the multidimensional hostility predicted psychosomatic symptoms directly, and predicted psychosomatic symptoms indirectly through negative health behavior. Furthermore, gender moderated the relationships between multidimensional hostility and health outcomes. Expressive hostility exacerbated psychosomatic symptom in females but buffered it in males, while affective hostility exacerbated psychosomatic symptoms in males. Additionally, suppressive hostility behavior was correlated to psychosomatic symptoms indirectly through negative health behavior in females. Moreover, expressive hostility was correlated to psychosomatic symptoms indirectly through negative health behavior more in males than in females.
The Relationship between the Family Physician and Psychosomatic Medicine
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Farzad Goli
2017-08-01
Full Text Available Background: Organizing the health system around family medicine (FM has been a productive approach for developed countries. The aim of this study, which was concurrent with the Iran Health Transform Plan (HTP and the establishment of the family physician in Iran, was to discuss the sufficiency of a family physician training program for their roles and increase their competency.Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in the Psychosomatic Research Center affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Science, Iran, with the assistance of the Iranian Institute of Higher Health (2015. An expert panel consisting of 6 individuals including specialists, trainers, and researchers in FM and psychosomatic medicine was held for this purpose. Using the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA website for the definition of a family physician, the curriculum developed by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education was studied. Data were summarized in one table.Results: The current FM curriculum, with this content and method, does not seem to be capable of enabling physicians to perform their multidisciplinary roles. it still has a reductionist approach and disease orientation instead of a clinical reasoning method and systematic viewpoint. The psychosomatic approach is applicable at all prevention levels and in all diseases, since it is basically designed for this longitudinal (between all preventive levels and horizontal (bio-physical–social-spiritual intervention integration.Conclusion: Psychosomatic medicine, not as a biomedical specialty, but rather as a systems thinking model in health, had a rapid rise during previous decades. Now, its services have been integrated into all medical fields. This means that it should be adopted in the core of health care services (i.e., the family physician position before other sections. This would help the implementation of this approach in the health system, and the reduction of patients' pain and
[Misdiagnosis of psychosomatic disorders].
Laemmel, K
1993-09-07
Considering the frequency with which the diagnosis 'psychosomatic illness' is established, it is puzzling how little attention has been paid to its differential diagnosis. The reason for this may be found not only in the difficulties with which that diagnosis is made but also in the doctor's view of the world and his or her understanding of illness in general. If the doctor only believes in what can be measured and weighed as being real, all symptoms for which no identifiable cause can be found must be considered as imaginary and 'all in the patient's head'. Most contemporary theories about the origin of psychosomatic illness are based on Freud's speculations, established at the beginning of this century. The are deeply rooted in the mechanistic, reductionistic and monocausalitic theories typical for his time. They suggested that the metamorphosis from thought-processes to somatic symptoms begin with a rather mysterious 'jump', taking place in the unconscious of the patient and thus remaining unknown to him. Today we know that all illness has a multifactorial basis and does not develop in a straight line but as a cybernetic loop. Psychosocial factors play as much a role as biological ones. Diagnosis by exclusion (no clear physical findings) or through dualistic thinking (the cause must be either psychological or physical) are, after inadequate knowledge of somatic or psychological medicine, the most common source of the erroneous diagnosis of psychosomatic illnesses. To avoid this, a psychosomatic perspective is needed, an outlook which is based on a holistic understanding of man in health and sickness.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Psychosomatic syndromes and anorexia nervosa
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Abbate-Daga Giovanni
2013-01-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background In spite of the role of some psychosomatic factors as alexithymia, mood intolerance, and somatization in both pathogenesis and maintenance of anorexia nervosa (AN, few studies have investigated the prevalence of psychosomatic syndromes in AN. The aim of this study was to use the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR to assess psychosomatic syndromes in AN and to evaluate if psychosomatic syndromes could identify subgroups of AN patients. Methods 108 AN inpatients (76 AN restricting subtype, AN-R, and 32 AN binge-purging subtype, AN-BP were consecutively recruited and psychosomatic syndromes were diagnosed with the Structured Interview for DCPR. Participants were asked to complete psychometric tests: Body Shape Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Eating Disorder Inventory–2, and Temperament and Character Inventory. Data were submitted to cluster analysis. Results Illness denial (63% and alexithymia (54.6% resulted to be the most common syndromes in our sample. Cluster analysis identified three groups: moderate psychosomatic group (49%, somatization group (26%, and severe psychosomatic group (25%. The first group was mainly represented by AN-R patients reporting often only illness denial and alexithymia as DCPR syndromes. The second group showed more severe eating and depressive symptomatology and frequently DCPR syndromes of the somatization cluster. Thanatophobia DCPR syndrome was also represented in this group. The third group reported longer duration of illness and DCPR syndromes were highly represented; in particular, all patients were found to show the alexithymia DCPR syndrome. Conclusions These results highlight the need of a deep assessment of psychosomatic syndromes in AN. Psychosomatic syndromes correlated differently with both severity of eating symptomatology and duration of illness: therefore, DCPR could be effective to achieve tailored treatments.
Bullington, Jennifer; Cronqvist, Agneta
2018-03-01
In primary health care, efficacious treatment strategies are lacking for these patients, although the most prominent symptoms accounting for consultation in primary care often cannot be related to any biological causes. The aim was to explore whether group supervision from a specific phenomenological theory of psychosomatics could provide healthcare professionals treating patients with psychosomatic health issues within primary care a deeper understanding of these conditions and stimulate profession-specific treatment strategies. Our research questions were as follows: (i) What is the healthcare professionals' understanding of psychosomatics before and after the intervention? (ii) What are the treatment strategies for this group of patients before and after the intervention? The study was an explorative qualitative intervention pilot study. The six participants from a primary healthcare setting in a medium-sized city in Sweden participated in the study. A supervision group was formed, based on a mix of professions, age, gender and years of clinical experience. Supervision consisted of one 75-minutes meeting every month during the course of 6 months. Participants were interviewed before and after the supervision intervention. The study showed two distinct categories emerged from the data. One category of healthcare professionals espoused a psycho-educative approach, while the other lacked a cohesive approach. The supervision improved the second category of healthcare professionals' understanding of psychosomatics. The psycho-educative group did not change their understanding of psychosomatics, although they felt strengthened in their approach by the supervision. Profession-specific strategies were not developed. This pilot study indicates that a relatively short supervision intervention can aid clinicians in their clinical encounters with these patients; however, further research is necessary to ascertain the value of the specific phenomenologically based
Isshiki, Yuriko; Morimoto, Kanehisa
2004-05-01
To examine the relationship between lifestyles and psychosomatic symptoms in children, we conducted a self-administered questionnaire survey of elementary school students and junior high school students in Japan. We designed an original questionnaire to investigate the lifestyles and psychosomatic symptoms of children. In 1997, responses to the questionnaires were elicited from public elementary school fourth grade students (then aged 9-10) and public junior high school seventh grade students (then aged 12-13). The survey was repeated annually for three years as the students advanced through school. For both boys and girls, each cross-sectional analysis revealed a strong relationship between lifestyle behaviors and psychosomatic symptoms. Psychosomatic, symptoms scores varied according to daily hours of sleep, eating of breakfast, having strong likes and dislikes of food, bowel habits, and daily hours of television watching. Both boys and girls with "good" lifestyle, behaviors evaluated by the HPI (Health Practice Index) showed lower scores for psychosomatic symptoms. These findings show that the lifestyle behaviors of children are significantly associated with psychosomatic symptoms and suggest that poor lifestyle behaviors are likely to increase physical and psychological health risks.
[Stumbling-blocks: initiating a psychosomatic pain clinic].
Heger, S; Lieberz, K
2000-12-01
Despite psychosocial factors playing an important role in the course of chronic pain disorder, there is a noticeable imbalance between demand and availability of psychosomatic care for these patients. This led us to establish a psychosomatic pain clinic within the framework of our outpatient clinic at the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy at the Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany. A recent study aimed at the evaluation of sociodemographic variables, state of chronification, symptom load and psychiatric comorbidity. Additionally we wanted to determine whether existing conditions at our hospital can be considered suitable for those patients. During the clinic's first year we assessed 40 consecutive patients based on a psychosomatic interview as well as a set of psychometric questionnaires (BDI, STAI, SCL-90-R). To detect differences between pain patients and psychotherapy inpatients, we compared the two groups in terms of sociodemographic variables and symptom load. Most pain patients were in advanced states of chronification, showing extensive psychiatric comorbidity, particularly anxiety and depressive syndromes. Drug addiction was found more infrequently. Use of the before mentioned questionnaires prevented us from underestimating existing anxiety syndromes. Pain patients differed substantially from psychotherapy inpatients in terms of age, education, family status and symptom load. Our examination routine effectively demonstrated the special needs of chronic pain patients. As there is significant demand for psychosomatic intervention in those patients, earlier referral appears highly desirable. As pain patients differ also greatly from the remaining hospital population, specialized therapeutic concepts must be developed.
The Art and Science of Learning, Teaching, and Delivering Feedback in Psychosomatic Medicine.
Lokko, Hermioni N; Gatchel, Jennifer R; Becker, Madeleine A; Stern, Theodore A
2016-01-01
The teaching and learning of psychosomatic medicine has evolved with the better understanding of effective teaching methods and feedback delivery in medicine and psychiatry. We sought to review the variety of teaching methods used in psychosomatic medicine, to present principles of adult learning (and how these theories can be applied to students of psychosomatic medicine), and to discuss the role of effective feedback delivery in the process of teaching and learning psychosomatic medicine. In addition to drawing on the clinical and teaching experiences of the authors of the paper, we reviewed the literature on teaching methods, adult learning theories, and effective feedback delivery methods in medicine to draw parallels for psychosomatic medicine education. We provide a review of teaching methods that have been employed to teach psychosomatic medicine over the past few decades. We outline examples of educational methods using the affective, behavioral, and cognitive domains. We provide examples of learning styles together with the principles of adult learning theory and how they can be applied to psychosomatic medicine learners. We discuss barriers to feedback delivery and offer suggestions as to how to give feedback to trainees on a psychosomatic medicine service. The art of teaching psychosomatic medicine is dynamic and will continue to evolve with advances in the field. Psychosomatic medicine educators must familiarize themselves with learning domains, learning styles, and principles of adult learning in order to be impactful. Effective feedback delivery methods are critical to fostering a robust learning environment for psychosomatic medicine. Copyright © 2016 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Innovative approach to ash radioactivitiy and health impacts of lignite power plants
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Bosevski, T.; Pop-Jordanova, N. [Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Skopje (Macedonia)
1998-12-31
In Macedonia nearly 90% of the present electricity production utilizes domestic low-calorie lignite, and this is likely to continue for the next few decades. Local and global environmental impacts of fossil fuel utilization are considered. Some innovative extensions to standard methodologies of environmental risk assessment and management are considered. They involve ash radioactivity and psychosomatic health impacts from lignite power plants. Two extensions are proposed: one comprising complete radioactive chains when determining committed effective dose from lignite ash; the other by including the psychosomatic diseases, such as peptic ulcer and arterial hypertension, due to chronic stress induced by power plants during normal operation. 7 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.
Psychosomatic health status of children exposed to the Chernobyl accident
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Korol, N.; Shibata, Yoshisada; Nakane, Yoshibumi
1998-01-01
Childhood victims were investigated focussing on the psychosomatic disorders. The subjects were some of the 3834 children who evacuated from the Chernobyl zone to Kiev (evacuees) and 200 children who have been living in Kiev since prior to the accident (comparison group). A psychological test administered to 504 evacuees aged 12-14 years at the time of the accident and the comparison group indicated that the frequencies of neutroticism, high level of anxiety and conflicts were significantly higher in the evacuees than in the comparison group (p<0.001). Another psychological test administered at puberty to the 504 evacuees and 200 other evacuees exposed to the accident at 4-6 years of age indicated that the psycho-emotional portrait of evacuated teenagers significantly changed with time since the accident. The effects of the Chernobyl accident on the health of the vegetative dystonia observed in 1987-1990 and 1990-1995 were higher in the evacuees than in the comparison group, although they were not statistically significant. Furthermore, a significant (p<0.001) association of the vegetative dystonia with peptic and cardiovascular disorders was observed. The present study indicates that the vegetative dystonia is still highly prevalent among childhood victims and deems to support that the vegetative dystonia may be a precursor of several diseases such as cardiovascular and peptic disorders. It should be emphasized that a health promotion program to produce a change in psychological and social problems after the Chernobyl accident is necessary to decrease the health impact among Ukrainian people. (author)
Psychosomatic health status of children exposed to the Chernobyl accident
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Korol, N. [Scientific Center for Radiation Medicine, Kiev (Ukraine); Shibata, Yoshisada; Nakane, Yoshibumi
1998-12-01
Childhood victims were investigated focussing on the psychosomatic disorders. The subjects were some of the 3834 children who evacuated from the Chernobyl zone to Kiev (evacuees) and 200 children who have been living in Kiev since prior to the accident (comparison group). A psychological test administered to 504 evacuees aged 12-14 years at the time of the accident and the comparison group indicated that the frequencies of neutroticism, high level of anxiety and conflicts were significantly higher in the evacuees than in the comparison group (p<0.001). Another psychological test administered at puberty to the 504 evacuees and 200 other evacuees exposed to the accident at 4-6 years of age indicated that the psycho-emotional portrait of evacuated teenagers significantly changed with time since the accident. The effects of the Chernobyl accident on the health of the vegetative dystonia observed in 1987-1990 and 1990-1995 were higher in the evacuees than in the comparison group, although they were not statistically significant. Furthermore, a significant (p<0.001) association of the vegetative dystonia with peptic and cardiovascular disorders was observed. The present study indicates that the vegetative dystonia is still highly prevalent among childhood victims and deems to support that the vegetative dystonia may be a precursor of several diseases such as cardiovascular and peptic disorders. It should be emphasized that a health promotion program to produce a change in psychological and social problems after the Chernobyl accident is necessary to decrease the health impact among Ukrainian people. (author)
Zoupanou, Zoi(e); Rydstedt, Leif W.
2017-01-01
The purpose of this study was to explore the moderating effects of work beliefs in the relationship between work interruptions and general health, wellbeing and reports of psychosomatic symptoms. Self-report data were gathered from 310 employees from different occupational sectors. Results revealed that beliefs in hard work and morality ethic moderated the positive appraisal of work interruptions and acted as protective factors on impaired general health and wellbeing. The relationship was stronger among employees who endorsed strong beliefs in hard work and did not have regard for morality/ethics as a value. Likewise, beliefs in delay of gratification and morality/ethics moderated positive appraisal of work interruptions and reduced psychosomatic complaints. More specifically, the relationship was stronger among employees who had strong belief in the values of delayed gratification and weaker morality/ethics. These findings indicate that organisations should adopt work ideology or practices focused on work values particularly of hard work, delay of gratification and conformity to morality as protective factors that reduce the impact of work interruptions on employees’ general health and wellbeing. PMID:28580023
[Psychosomatic aspects of stress].
Okuse, S; Anzai, T
1992-03-01
We established the Bromocriptine test for the dopaminergic function of the hypothalamopituitary gland. The secretion patterns of plasma GH and PRL to 2.5 mg Bromocriptine, a dopamine receptor agonist, were classified into two types; a response type and a non-response type. The former showed an increase in plasma GH levels and suppression of PRL secretion; the latter showed no change in GH after Bromocriptine administration. The response type cases corresponded to psychosocial stress by neurotic and maladaptive behavior. The non-response type cases corresponded to psychosocial stress by alexithymic and over adaptive behaviors. Case Presentation 1. Essential Hypertension: a. 56-year old male, response type, blood pressure elevated by stress in daily life. Psychosomatic treatment: advice about blood pressure measurement at his home, brief psychotherapy and drug therapy. b. 53-year-old male, non-response type, type A behavior. Psychosomatic treatment: advice to increase awareness of body-mind relationships of his disorder, self-control training and drug therapy. 2. Gastric ulcers: a. 40-year-old male, response type, CMI IV region (Neurotic tendencies). Psychosomatic treatment: autogenic training and drug therapy. b. 28-year-old male, non-response type, high JAS scores(Over adaptative behavior). Psychosomatic treatment: advice to increase awareness of body-mind relationships of occurrence of his ulcers, to induce change in his perceptions of way of life, to encourage taking rest. 3. Technostress syndrome: a. 23-year-old female, response type, technoanxiety. Psychosomatic treatment: advice to make her take rest, and change in arrangements at her working place. b. 27-year-old male, non-response type, technodependent. Psychosomatic treatment: Fasting therapy. This therapy changed the non-response pattern to normal.
Work-related stress and psychosomatic medicine
Nakao, Mutsuhiro
2010-01-01
Abstract This article introduces key concepts of work-related stress relevant to the clinical and research fields of psychosomatic medicine. Stress is a term used to describe the body's physiological and/or psychological reaction to circumstances that require behavioral adjustment. According to the Japanese National Survey of Health, the most frequent stressors are work-related problems, followed by health-related and then financial problems. Conceptually, work-related stress includes a varie...
Glozah, Franklin N; Pevalin, David J
2017-09-01
Little is known about the role of age and gender in the association between psychosomatic symptoms and common mental illness in Ghanaian adolescents. This cross-sectional study examined age and gender as moderators between psychosomatic symptoms and common mental illness using data from a school-based survey ( N = 770). Males reported higher psychosomatic symptoms and common mental illness, while younger adolescents reported higher common mental illness only. Psychosomatic symptoms were positively associated with common mental illness, but age and gender did not moderate this association. Interventions aimed at reducing the prevalence rate in psychosomatic symptoms are crucial in decreasing common mental illness in Ghanaian adolescents.
Psychosomatics today: a review of contemporary theory and practice.
Gubb, Karen
2013-02-01
In the past few years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of psychoanalytic publications on the topic of psychosomatic illness, including edited collections and special editions of psychoanalytic journals. This paper is a critical conceptual review of the topic of psychosomatic illness using the material contained in a number of these recent publications as a basis, but also drawing on other works by the key authors of the publications discussed herein. This paper proposes that currently there appear to be two schools of thought around the origin, development, and treatment of psychosomatic symptoms. The first of these is the well-established "Paris School of Psychosomatics." The second approach does not formally exist, but is referred to in this paper as the "Attachment approach" since there are a number of authors who theorize about the treatment of psychosomatic symptoms in a similar and important way. The paper will compare and contrast the two approaches with respect to their underlying theories, treatment approaches, and conceptualization of the mind-body problem, with particular attention paid to how this is related to mentalization. The understanding of how problems in mentalization may be linked to psychosomatic illness can be conceptualized as the "speechless mind" from the perspective of the Paris School and as the "speaking body" by the Attachment approach. The paper concludes by engaging with these two conceptualizations and suggests that in order for an individual to achieve both psychological and physical health, the work of sensation must be located primarily in the logic and function of the body, while the work of making sense of these sensations and interpreting them must be located in the mind.
Psychosomatic disorders: An overview for oral physician
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Nerella Narendra Kumar
2016-01-01
Full Text Available A psychosomatic disorder involves both the body and mind. These diseases have physical symptoms originating from mental or emotional causes. Most common causes are stress, anxiety, and depression. When these psychological entities are not perceived properly, it may result in somatic disease due to conversion hysteria. Even the oral and paraoral structures show manifestations of these psychosomatic disorders. The present review has been done from text books and articles relevant to psychosomatic disorders. Relevant articles have been selected and filtered from databases using MeSH terms psychosomatic diseases, oral mucosal diseases, stress, etc., with boolean operators from 1990 till date. This review highlights the important aspects of the psychosomatic diseases affecting oral cavity.
Herrmann-Lingen, Christoph
The American Psychosomatic Society was founded in 1942 and is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2017. In recognizing the society's anniversary, this article provides a historical perspective on its history, the field of psychosomatic medicine in general, and anticipated future directions. Essay and narrative review of the literature on the historic development of psychosomatic concepts and their impact on medicine over time. Mind-body associations have been described in the medical literature for more than 3500 years. Early concepts of mind-body dualism and attempts to overcome them are found in classical Greek medicine. Psychosomatic thinking can be observed ever since, but only in the 20th century, a "psychosomatic movement" emerged in Europe and North America, aiming at humanizing medicine by introducing a holistic understanding of man into what was considered a widely reductionistic practice of medicine. This movement led to the inauguration of the American Psychosomatic Society during World War II and of national and international societies of psychosomatic medicine and its subspecializations thereafter. Psychosomatic medicine has its roots in the beginnings of medicine. During the past 75 years, it has made substantial contributions to the science and practice of medicine. The field has also changed in response to developments in medicine, technology, and society and is facing new challenges and opportunities that may require further adaptation of its concepts and practice.
Stress, social support and psychosomatic symptoms in a deprived neighbourhood
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Bancila, Delia; Andersen, Pernille Tanggaard; Kronborg Bak, Carsten
2012-01-01
From a transactional perspective on stress, the study aimed to examine if the relationships of social support with perceived stress and psychosomatic symptoms are equivalent in deprived and wealthier neighbourhoods. Cross-sectional data were randomly collected from 2906 inhabitants in a deprived...... neighbourhood (851) and wealthier communities (2055), in Esbjerg, Denmark. A model that included psychosomatic symptoms as outcome, and daily worries, economic deprivation, perceived stress and social support as predictors was tested with structural equation modelling in two-group analyses. The findings showed...... significant differences (D2 (6)¼16.66, p.¼0.011) between neighbourhoods, and the fit statistics (CFI¼0.930, RMSEA¼0.034, R2¼0.48) showed good fit. Under an increased perceived stress’ effect, the social support’s impact on psychosomatic symptoms decreased in the deprived neighbourhood compared with the other...
School-related stress and psychosomatic symptoms among school adolescents.
Natvig, G K; Albrektsen, G; Anderssen, N; Qvarnstrøm, U
1999-11-01
Associations between psychosomatic symptoms and school-induced stress, and personal and social resources were analyzed among 862 Norwegian adolescents ages 13-15 years participating in the WHO project, "Health Promoting Schools." Stress-related factors were represented by the average of scores of 3-12 items. Both in combined and separate analyses of each psychosomatic symptom, increasing school distress, the most direct measure of stress experience, was associated with increased risk. A similar relationship was found with school alienation, though not significant for all symptoms. Social support from the teacher decreased the risk among girls, whereas social support from other pupils reduced the risk among both genders, but in particular among boys. No consistent associations were seen between psychosomatic complaints and general or school-related self-efficacy or decision control. In some analyses, however, these factors seemed to modify the association with school distress or school alienation.
Abusive supervision, psychosomatic symptoms, and deviance: Can job autonomy make a difference?
Velez, Maria João; Neves, Pedro
2016-07-01
Recently, interest in abusive supervision has grown (Tepper, 2000). However, little is still known about organizational factors that can reduce its adverse effects on employee behavior. Based on the Job Demands-Resources Model (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001), we predict that job autonomy acts as a buffer of the positive relationship between abusive supervision, psychosomatic symptoms and deviance. Therefore, when job autonomy is low, a higher level of abusive supervision should be accompanied by increased psychosomatic symptoms and thus lead to higher production deviance. When job autonomy is high, abusive supervision should fail to produce increased psychosomatic symptoms and thus should not lead to higher production deviance. Our model was explored among a sample of 170 supervisor-subordinate dyads from 4 organizations. The results of the moderated mediation analysis supported our hypotheses. That is, abusive supervision was significantly related to production deviance via psychosomatic symptoms when job autonomy was low, but not when job autonomy was high. These findings suggest that job autonomy buffers the impact of abusive supervision perceptions on psychosomatic symptoms, with consequences for production deviance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).
[Psychology and psychosomatics of the orthodontic treatment].
Fábián, Gábor; Bálint, Mária; Fábían, Tibor Károly
2005-06-01
Psychosomatic problems related to orthodontic treatment are a special group of oral psychosomatic disorders. The most frequent complaints are related to aesthetics and occlusion. Most of the patients are children, adolescence or young adults, with special emotional problems. Authors reviewed the most important knowledge related to this specific field, but some general aspects of oral psychosomatics are also discussed.
Hellström, Charlotta; Nilsson, Kent W; Leppert, Jerzy; Åslund, Cecilia
2015-01-01
To investigate whether adolescent online gaming time and the additive effect of gaming motives were associated with depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms. The hypothesis was that adolescents who engage in online gaming with escape motives and increased online gaming time have higher probability for depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms compared to adolescents with other online gaming motives and/or less online gaming time. An anonymous and voluntary questionnaire was completed during class hours by 7,757 Swedish adolescents aged 13-18 years. The questionnaire included demographic background, gaming habits, and depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms. It was found that increased online gaming time during weekdays increased the probability of having depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms. However, these relations with time spent gaming were further explained by online gaming motives. Weekday online gaming for more than five hours a day, in combination with escape motives, was associated with an increased probability of depressive symptoms (odds ratio (OR) 4.614, 95% CI 3.230-6.590), musculoskeletal symptoms (OR 2.494, 95% CI 1.598-3.892), and psychosomatic symptoms (OR 4.437, 95% CI 2.966-6.637). The probability of ill health decreased when gaming was for fun or had social motives. Excessive gaming time and escape motives were found to be associated with increased probability of ill health among adolescents. Gaming motives may identify gamers in need of support to reduce unhealthy gaming behaviour as well as identify individuals at risk for ill health.
Kocken, P.L.; Zwanenburg, E.J.-v.; Hoop, T.de
2008-01-01
Objective: : The effectiveness of use of migrant health educators in the general practitioners' care for female migrants with psychosomatic problems was evaluated to contribute to the improvement of the care for these patients. Methods: : A randomised controlled trial (RCT) design was used. A total
[The inner coherence of psychosomatic medicine].
Herrmann-Lingen, Christoph
2012-01-01
The body-mind dualism of somatic medicine is resolved through the concept of psychosomatic medicine. More unspecific descriptions such as "integrative medicine" (which does not clarify what should be integrated) or the "holistic approach" (which comes close to esoterics) suggest the unity of mind, body and soul, although the term "psycho-somatic" still reflects dualistic thinking. The American Psychosomatic Society has been considering a name change for years, partially to rid itself of the dualistic label, but so far these efforts have not resulted in a viable alternative. Engel's concept of biopsychosocial medicine supposes a triangular array of the body, mind, and social environment, setting body and mind into a relationship with each other and with a third party. Based on the physician-patient relationship (Balint), psychosomatic medicine can be understood in a broader sense as "relationship medicine," covering not only the use of the interpersonal relationship as a medical agent, but also a science of medicine that puts mind, body, and social environment into a theoretical framework of interrelations, with the perspective of integrating the different system levels. The translation processes among the system levels are, for example, addressed by biosemiotics (v. Uexküll). Both clinical medicine and medical research, if they intend to be psychosomatic, need to take these theoretical concepts into account and utilize them practically for (team)work with patients. Together with a clear differentiation from other cultures of (para)medicine, this can serve to develop a "psychosomatic identity."
Teaching psychosomatic (biopsychosocial) medicine in United States medical schools: survey findings.
Waldstein, S R; Neumann, S A; Drossman, D A; Novack, D H
2001-01-01
A survey of US medical schools regarding the incorporation of psychosomatic (biopsychosocial) medicine topics into medical school curriculum was conducted. The perceived importance and success of this curriculum, barriers to teaching psychosomatic medicine, and curricular needs were also assessed. From August 1997 to August 1999, representatives of US medical schools were contacted to complete a survey instrument either by telephone interview or by written questionnaire. Survey responses were received from 54 of the 118 US medical schools contacted (46%). Responses were obtained from representatives of both public (57%) and private (43%) institutions. Only 20% of respondents indicated that their schools used the term "psychosomatic medicine"; the terms "behavioral medicine" (63%) and "biopsychosocial medicine" (41%) were used more frequently. Coverage of various health habits (eg, substance use and exercise) ranged from 52% to 96%. The conceptualization and/or measurement of psychosocial factors (eg, stress and social support) was taught by 80% to 93% of schools. Teaching about the role of psychosocial factors in specific disease states or syndromes ranged from 33% (renal disease) to 83% (cardiovascular disease). Coverage of treatment-related issues ranged from 44% (relaxation/biofeedback) to 98% (doctor-patient communication). Topics in psychosomatic medicine were estimated to comprise approximately 10% (median response) of the medical school curriculum. On a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest), ratings of the relative importance of this curriculum averaged 7 (SD = 2.5; range = 2-10). Student response to the curriculum varied from positive to mixed to negative. Perceived barriers to teaching psychosomatic medicine included limited resources (eg, time, money, and faculty), student and faculty resistance, and a lack of continuity among courses. Sixty-three percent of respondents expressed an interest in receiving information about further incorporation of topics in
Nilsson, Kent W; Leppert, Jerzy; Åslund, Cecilia
2015-01-01
Aim. To investigate whether adolescent online gaming time and the additive effect of gaming motives were associated with depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms. The hypothesis was that adolescents who engage in online gaming with escape motives and increased online gaming time have higher probability for depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms compared to adolescents with other online gaming motives and/or less online gaming time. Method. An anonymous and voluntary questionnaire was completed during class hours by 7,757 Swedish adolescents aged 13–18 years. The questionnaire included demographic background, gaming habits, and depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms. Results. It was found that increased online gaming time during weekdays increased the probability of having depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms. However, these relations with time spent gaming were further explained by online gaming motives. Weekday online gaming for more than five hours a day, in combination with escape motives, was associated with an increased probability of depressive symptoms (odds ratio (OR) 4.614, 95% CI 3.230–6.590), musculoskeletal symptoms (OR 2.494, 95% CI 1.598–3.892), and psychosomatic symptoms (OR 4.437, 95% CI 2.966–6.637). The probability of ill health decreased when gaming was for fun or had social motives. Conclusion. Excessive gaming time and escape motives were found to be associated with increased probability of ill health among adolescents. Gaming motives may identify gamers in need of support to reduce unhealthy gaming behaviour as well as identify individuals at risk for ill health. PMID:26072677
Psychosomatic plasticity: An "emergent property" of personality research?
Jawer, Michael
2006-03-01
Psychosomatic plasticity, defined as an extreme capacity to turn suggestions into bodily realities, is as phenomenon well worth investigating because it challenges mainstream conceptions about the relationship between mind and body in health as well as illness. The field of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) offers a framework within which to understand this phenomenon because PNI makes a compelling case for the biological unity of self. Hartmann's Boundaries concept is particularly applicable because it suggests that the minds of "thin-boundary" persons are relatively fluid and able to make numerous connections. Wilson and Barber's identification of the fantasy prone person and Thalbourne's transliminality concept are similarly relevant. Taking these explorations a step further, this author proposes that the flow of feeling within individuals represents the key to psychosomatic plasticity. Blushing, psoriasis, and immune reactions are offered as examples, as are more anomalous reports such as those provided by heart transplantation recipients and cases said to be indicative of reincarnation. In each instance, persons who are highly sensitive (ie, have a speedier and more direct flow of feeling) are more likely to evidence physical reactions. Psychosomatic plasticity represents an emerging area of interest in personality research, one that clearly merits further investigation.
Bullying behavior and associations with psychosomatic complaints and depression in victims
Fekkes, M.; Pijpers, F.I.M.; Verloove-Vanhorick, S.P.
2004-01-01
Objectives: To assess the association between bullying behavior and a wide variety of psychosomatic health complaints and depression. Study design: In a cross-sectional study, 2766 elementary school children age 9 to 12 years filled out a questionnaire on bullying behavior and health complaints.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Malwina Tudorowska
2016-06-01
At the source of the understanding of psychosomatic medicine are references to ancient Greek thought (Plato, Hippocrates, Galen on the unity and interconnectedness of body and soul. The 40’s of the twentieth century are considered to be the beginning of the development of psychosomatic medicine. It was demanded to look at the whole human, on individual’s health and disease in the perspective of psychological problems and environmental conditions. The first physicians with an interest in psychosomatic disorders, such as Franz Alexander and Flanders Dunbar, were psychoanalysts. They pointed out that medicine should identify not only physical factors, like microorganisms, injuries or the wrong genes as the etiology of illnesses. Also personality traits, established ways of behavior or psychological trauma are important to take into consideration. Development of psychosomatic medicine has contributed to the current understanding of human in a holistic way, both in health and disease. Modern psychosomatic medicine is a proposal to practice clinical medicine as well as health promotion and prevention. The aim of this article is to present the thinking of the etiology of diseases and disorders in the direction of the search for synthesis. It is also important to emphasize the importance of cooperation medics and psychologists in the diagnostic process and healing of many diseases. Key words: psychosomatic medicine, psychosomatic disorders, psychoneuroimmunology.
Relational ethics and psychosomatic assessment.
Barbosa, António
2012-01-01
The main ethical perspective in the clinical relationship takes into consideration the vulnerability of the clinical condition before threats and risks that can undermine the integrity and dignity of the person. Psychosomatic medicine faces complex cases whose ethical problems cannot only be solved by applying top-down deontological or utilitarian approaches, principlism, which is limited mainly to easing ethical tensions, or a bottom-up approach, the casuistic model, case-based reasoning. In introducing vulnerability as the core of ethical questioning as a principle ontological priority over other principles, relational ethics refers to the appreciation of the responsibility of health professionals through which a health care professional and the patient 'together' can construct more reasonable and prudential courses of action with, for, and by the patient. The model of relational ethics is based on three main aspects, clinically integrated approach, science/philosophy partnership, and deliberative process, that when taken together, form an intermediate model that ensures prudent and reasonable decision-making. The three structural elements and characteristics of relational ethics create and maintain a responsible relationship between the professional and the patient being aware that the mutual vulnerability of health professional and the patient has a moral value and recognizing that their relationship will allow for personal development of each. I conceptualized the model of relational ethics as one that embraces the meta-ethical principles of vulnerability, dignity, responsibility, and respect for autonomy as they are considered by many international declarations or conventions. This model integrates three key polarities: ensure conditions of authenticity, facilitate a process of cooperative mutuality, and promote opportunities for growth and development. Relational ethics can be used to solve major ethical problems in psychosomatic medicine, capacity
The psychosomatic disorders pertaining to dental practice with revised working type classification.
Shamim, Thorakkal
2014-01-01
Psychosomatic disorders are defined as disorders characterized by physiological changes that originate partially from emotional factors. This article aims to discuss the psychosomatic disorders of the oral cavity with a revised working type classification. The author has added one more subset to the existing classification, i.e., disorders caused by altered perception of dentofacial form and function, which include body dysmorphic disorder. The author has also inserted delusional halitosis under the miscellaneous disorders classification of psychosomatic disorders and revised the already existing classification proposed for the psychosomatic disorders pertaining to dental practice. After the inclusion of the subset (disorders caused by altered perception of dentofacial form and function), the terminology "psychosomatic disorders of the oral cavity" is modified to "psychosomatic disorders pertaining to dental practice".
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Bronskij, V.I.; Tolkanets, S.V.
2000-01-01
A psychosomatic screening of 105 persons evacuated from the alienation area was fulfilled. The received data were compared with those of migrants from areas from which people were evacuated later. Sociometric, psychometric, adaptive characteristics evidence of close relations between conditions of living and worsening of psychosomatic health. The tendency to a higher frequency of psychoorganic syndrome in that group was revealed
Disability in Relation to Different Peer-Victimization Groups and Psychosomatic Problems
Beckman, Linda; Stenbeck, Magnus; Hagquist, Curt
2016-01-01
The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between disability, victims, perpetrators, and so-called "bully-victims" (someone reporting being both a victim and a perpetrator) of traditional, cyber, or combined victimization or perpetration and psychosomatic health among adolescents. Authors analyzed cross-sectional data…
Muschalla, Beate; Linden, Michael
2012-01-01
Job anxiety is a severe problem in many patients with chronic mental disorders, as it usually results in specific participation problems in the workplace and long-term sick leave. The aim of this study was to explore the development of sick leave in dependence on general psychosomatic complaints and job anxiety from admission to a psychosomatic inpatient treatment until 6 months after discharge. A convenience sample of 91 patients, suffering from multiple mental disorders, filled in self-rating questionnaires on job anxiety (Job Anxiety Scale) and on general psychosomatic symptom load (Symptom Checklist-90-Revised) at the beginning, the end, and 6 months after discharge from an inpatient psychosomatic treatment. Additionally, sick leave status and employment status were assessed before and 6 months after the treatment. 15.4% of 91 patients were on sick leave before inpatient treatment and at follow-up (SS group), 20.9% were fit for work at intake and follow-up (FF group), 6.6% were fit for work initially and on sick leave later (FS group), and 57.1% on sick leave first and working at follow-up (SF group). In regard to general psychosomatic complaints, there were initially high scores on the SCL, a marked reduction during inpatient treatment, and a bouncing back to initial levels at follow-up for all 4 patient groups. SS and FS patients showed the highest scores at intake and follow-up. Concerning job anxiety, SS patients had the highest scores at all three assessments, while FF patients had significantly lower scores, with only low variation between assessments. SF patients started with comparatively high scores of job anxiety, which even increased before reentering work, but decreased in the follow-up period when they were confronted with work again. FS patients started low (like the FF patients) at intake, reduced their job anxiety further till discharge, but increased to higher scores at follow-up. General psychosomatic symptom load and job anxiety show a
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lantsburg M.E.,
2016-06-01
Full Text Available In recent decades, the increasing worldwide problems in the reproductive sphere of people, the problem of preserving reproductive health of the population has become very topical, it requires joint medical and psychological efforts. This article presents a review of more than 70 modern English-language scientific publications devoted to the study of psychological and psychosomatic peculiarities of men, women and couples with reproductive disorders and psychological predictors and consequences of these problems. The best known and the least explored psychological aspects of reproductive disorders are highlighted, the results of research are described, also R. Linder’s psychotherapeutic method of preventing premature births is outlined. The article has two parts: the first part presents the research of psychosomatic aspects of male and female reproductive diseases, including infertility; the second one is devoted to psychological and psychosomatic disorders of women during pregnancy and childbirth.
Association between psychosomatic symptoms and work stress among Taiwan police officers.
Chueh, Ke-Hsin; Yen, Cheng-Fang; Lu, Luo; Yang, Mei-Sang
2011-04-01
The aim of the study was to explore the association between the severity of psychosomatic symptoms and perceived work stress among male police officers in southern Taiwan. By stratified random sampling, a total of 698 male police officers were recruited into this study (the response rate was 73.4%; 512 of 698). A structured self-administered questionnaire on demographic and working characteristics, the severity of psychosomatic symptoms, perceived work stress, and social support was used to collect data anonymously. The results of multiple regression analysis revealed that (1) the police officers who perceived high-work stress reported more severe psychosomatic symptoms than those who perceived low-work stress; and (2) perceived social support had a moderating effect on the association between severity of psychosomatic symptoms and perceived work stress. Perceived work stress is an indicator of psychosomatic symptoms in police officers. Strategies for reducing psychosomatic symptoms of police officers include police administrators taking into account the level of work stress as well as more attention being paid to the resources of social support. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Slezáčková, Alena; Blatný, Marek; Millová, Katarína; Jelínek, Martin
2011-01-01
Roč. 26, č. 2 (2011), s. 219-219 ISSN 0887-0446. [European Health Psychology Conference: Engaging with Other Health Professions: Challenges and Perspectives /25./. 20.09.2011-24.09.2011, Hersonissos, Kréta] R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP407/10/2410 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70250504 Keywords : psychosomatic problems * middle adulthood * subjectively assessed health Subject RIV: AN - Psychology
Bullying in Context: An Analysis of Psychosomatic Complaints among Adolescents in Stockholm
Modin, Bitte; Låftman, Sara Brolin; Östberg, Viveca
2015-01-01
Using multilevel modeling, this study examined how different types of bullying, involving both peers and teachers, relate to psychosomatic health complaints. Data were obtained via the Stockholm School Survey from 41,032 ninth- and eleventh-grade students in the years 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010. Results showed that students involved in bullying as…
Stress and psychosomatic symptoms in Chinese school children: cross-sectional survey.
Hesketh, Therese; Zhen, Yan; Lu, Li; Dong, Zhou Xu; Jun, Ye Xu; Xing, Zhu Wei
2010-02-01
The Chinese educational system is highly competitive from the start of primary school with great emphasis on academic performance and intolerance of failure. This study aimed to explore the pressures on primary schoolchildren, and to determine the relationship between these pressures and psychosomatic symptoms: abdominal pain and headache. Cross-sectional survey using self-completion questionnaires. 9- to 12-year-olds in primary schools in urban and rural areas of Zhejiang Province, eastern China. Proportion of children with defined school-related stressors and frequency of psychosomatic illness. Completed questionnaires were obtained from 2191 children. All stressors were common in boys and girls and in urban and rural schools. Eighty-one per cent worry 'a lot' about exams, 63% are afraid of the punishment of teachers, 44% had been physically bullied at least sometimes, with boys more often victims of bullying, and 73% of children are physically punished by parents. Over one-third of children reported psychosomatic symptoms at least once per week, 37% headache and 36% abdominal pain. All individual stressors were highly significantly associated with psychosomatic symptoms. Children identified as highly stressed (in the highest quartile of the stress score) were four times as likely to have psychosomatic symptoms. The competitive and punitive educational environment leads to high levels of stress and psychosomatic symptoms in Chinese primary schoolchildren. Measures to reduce unnecessary stress on children in schools should be introduced urgently.
Burnout, psychosomatic symptoms and job satisfaction among Dutch nurse anaesthetists: a survey.
Meeusen, V; VAN Dam, K; Brown-Mahoney, C; VAN Zundert, A; Knape, H
2010-05-01
To meet the increasing demand for healthcare providers, it is crucial to recruit and retain more nurse anaesthetists (NAs). The majority of NAs in the Netherlands are >45 years old, and retaining them in their jobs is very important. This study investigates the relationships among burnout, physical health and job satisfaction among Dutch NAs. Two thousand NAs working in Dutch hospitals were invited to participate in this online questionnaire. We tested the relationships among burnout, psychosomatic symptoms, sickness absence, perceived general health and job satisfaction. Nine hundred and twenty-three questionnaires were completed and analysed (46% response rate). Burnout and psychosomatic symptoms were negatively associated with job satisfaction, and predicted 27% of job satisfaction. Perceived general health was positively and sickness absence was negatively related to job satisfaction. Older NAs had a higher incidence of burnout than their younger counterparts. The results confirmed the importance of a healthy psychosocial work environment for promoting job satisfaction. To prevent burnout, further research is necessary to determine the factors causing stress. These findings may also apply to anaesthesiologists who share many tasks and work in close cooperation with NAs.
PSYCHOSOMATIC "ARC" IN THE PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC PRACTICE
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Ivanka Boncheva
2012-11-01
Full Text Available The psychoneuroimmunology, the new brain science and the endocrinology today show a lot of results, with which symptoms are better to understand. The psychotherapeutic practice shows the ways to influence them by encoding the levels of bounding between the physical symptom and the psychological condition. The aim of the study was to show the encoding of the psychosomatic arc within a real psychotherapeutic contact. 59 psychotherapeutic cases are followed. 33 of them were with somatoform disorders and 26 with chronic psychosomatic diseases. Every patient has minimum 12 psychotherapeutic sessions. The treatment is provided on the base of the 5 levels model of the positive psychotherapy.We ascertain the following:1. The most significant moment in the arise of such symptomatic is the gained past experience - "vital concepts"; "coping strategies";2. Unlocking moment for the arise of the affection is the fixed emotion - fear, aggression or depression, specific for the particular morbid pictures;3. Showing the connection between symptom and fixed emotion by the technique "positive interpretation", which unlocks the process of changingThis shows that the psychotherapeutic help is possible only if the patient rethink the psychosomatic arc. Showing the connections between the content of the unconscious, the fixed emotion in behavioral models and the symptom gives the impetus to change.
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West Patrick B
2007-10-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background By mid adolescence there is an excess in female physical and/or psychosomatic, as well as psychological morbidity. This paper examines the contribution of a range of factors (self-esteem, body image, gender-role orientation, body mass index, smoking and physical activity to explaining the female excess in three psychosomatic symptoms (headaches, stomach ache/sickness, and dizziness and depressive mood at age 15. Methods A cohort of 2,196 school pupils (analyses restricted to 2,005 with complete data surveyed at age 15. All measures were obtained via self-completion questionnaires, apart from body mass index, derived from measured height and weight. Analyses examined (a sex differences in each potential explanatory factor; (b their associations with the health measures; (c the effect of adjustment for these factors on sex differences in the health measures; and (d the existence of interactive effects between sex and the explanatory factors on the health measures Results Each potential explanatory factor was significantly differentiated by sex. Self-esteem, body image (represented by weight-related worries, smoking and physical activity were related to the health measures. These factors accounted for one third of the female excess in headaches and stomach problems, half the excess in dizziness and almost all that in respect of depressive mood. Self-esteem and body image were the factors most consistently related to health, and adjustment for these resulted in the largest reductions in the odds of a female excess in both the psychosomatic symptoms and depressive mood. Conclusion Adjustment for a range of potential psychosocial and behavioural factors largely explains (statistically excess female depressive mood. These factors also partially explain the female excess in certain psychosomatic symptoms.
Stressful Life Events and Psychosomatic Symptoms among Students Smokers and Non-smokers
Dodaj, Arta; Simic, Natasa
2012-01-01
The objective of this study is to analyze the rate of stressful life events and psychosomatic symptoms among students smokers and non-smokers and examine the predictive contribution of stress and smoking to subjective health status. Methods were conducted on a convenience sample of 200 students from the University of Mostar, with a median age of…
A CONCEPTUAL APPROACH OF PSYCHOSOMATIC DISORDERS (MANODAHIC VYADHIYAN)
Anil Kumar Singh
2013-01-01
Psychosomatic means psyche (mind) and soma (body) - A psychosomatic disorder is a disease which involves both mind and body. Some physical diseases are thought to be particularly prone to be made worse by mental factors such as stress and anxiety. Your current mental state can affect how bad a physical disease is at any given time. Both mind and body are a single identity so the involvements of one definitely affect the others. So the bidirectional approach should be done to proper diagnosis ...
Psychosomatic approaches to obstetrics, gynaecology and andrology--a review.
Lal, Mira
2009-01-01
This review aims to clarify the scope and clinical importance of psychosomatic approaches to obstetrics, gynaecology and andrology. This gradually expanding sub-specialty covers a wide domain of complex disease conditions that can be managed more effectively if the various biological, psychological and social aspects are recognised at the start and concurrent treatment initiated. The current need to practise biopsychosocial management of disease conditions is highlighted along with a description of what this would involve. The nine-field psychosomatic approach, which can be applied to everyday clinical encounters, has been illustrated. Clinical applications of the psychosomatic approach are discussed for various conditions including chronic pelvic pain, eating disorders, tokophobia, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, menstrual disorders, infertility, bereavement and testicular cancer. Cultural considerations and the need for further research are also briefly discussed.
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Lantsburg M.E.
2016-06-01
Full Text Available In recent decades, the increasing worldwide problems in the reproductive sphere of people, the problem of preserving reproductive health of the population has become very topical, it requires joint medical and psychological efforts. This article presents a review of more than 70 modern English-language scientific publications devoted to the study of psychological and psychosomatic peculiarities of men, women and couples with reproductive disorders and psychological predictors and consequences of these problems. The best known and the least explored psychological aspects of reproductive disorders are highlighted, the results of research are described, also R. Linder’s psychotherapeutic method of preventing premature births is outlined. The article has two parts: the first part presents the research of psychosomatic aspects of male and female reproductive diseases, including infertility; the second one is devoted to psychological and psychosomatic disorders of women during pregnancy and childbirth.
Milette, Katherine; Roseman, Michelle; Thombs, Brett D
2011-03-01
The most reliable evidence for evaluating healthcare interventions comes from well-designed and conducted randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The extent to which published RCTs reflect the efficacy of interventions, however, depends on the completeness and accuracy of published results. The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials statement, initially developed in 1996, provides guidelines intended to improve the transparency of published RCT reports. A policy of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, initiated in 2005, requires clinical trials published in member journals to be registered in publicly accessible registries prior to patient enrollment. The objective of this study was to assess the clarity of outcome reporting, proportion of registered trials, and adequacy of outcome registration in RCTs published in top behavioral health journals. Eligible studies were primary or secondary reports of RCTs published in Annals of Behavioral Medicine, Health Psychology, Journal of Psychosomatic Research, and Psychosomatic Medicine from January 2008 to September 2009. Data were extracted for each study on adequacy of outcome reporting and registration. Of 63 articles reviewed, only 25 (39.7%) had adequately declared primary or secondary outcomes, whereas 38 (60.3%) had multiple primary outcomes or did not define outcomes. Only 13 studies (20.6%) were registered. Only 1 study registered sufficiently precise outcome information to compare with published outcomes, and registered and published outcomes were discrepant in that study. Greater attention to outcome reporting and trial registration by researchers, peer reviewers, and journal editors will increase the likelihood that effective behavioral health interventions are readily identified and made available to patients. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Gerber, Markus; Pühse, Uwe
2008-10-01
Stressful experiences occupy a central role in most etiological models of developmental psychopathology. Stress alone, however, insufficiently explains negative health outcomes. This raises the question why some children and adolescents are more vulnerable to the development of psychopathological symptoms than others. The primary purpose of this research was to demonstrate whether leisure time physical activity and self-esteem protect against stress-induced health problems. The findings are based on a cross-sectional study of 407 Swiss boys and girls (M=14.01 years). All variables are self-reported. Analyses of covariance were applied to test for main and moderator effects. The findings suggest that school-based stress and psychosomatic complaints are important issues during adolescence. The results show that a higher level of psychosomatic complaints accompanies stress. Surprisingly, psychosomatic complaints and physical activity were unrelated. Likewise, no association was found between physical activity and stress. In contrast, students with high self-esteem reported significantly less complaints and a lower extent of perceived stress. Finally, the results do not support the stress-moderation hypothesis. Neither physical activity nor self-esteem buffered against the detrimental effects of school-based stress on psychosomatic health. The findings lend support to previous research with German-speaking samples but are in marked contrast to Anglo-Saxon studies, which generally support the role of physical activity as a moderator of the health-illness relationship. In this investigation, developmental features and methodological limitations may have accounted for the insignificant results.
Heuft, Gereon; Hochlehnert, Achim; Barufka, Steffi; Nikendei, Christoph; Kruse, Johannes; Zipfel, Stephan; Hofmann, Tobias; Hildenbrand, Gerhard; Cuntz, Ulrich; Herzog, Wolfgang; Heller, Michael
2015-01-01
There is a high degree of misallocated medical care for patients with somatoform disorders and patients with concomitant mental diseases. This complex of problems could be reduced remarkably by integrating psychosomatic departments into hospitals with maximum medical care. Admitting a few big psychosomatic specialist clinics into the calculation basis decreased the Day-Mix Index (DMI). The massive reduction of the calculated costs per day leads to a gap in funding resulting in a loss of the necessary personnel requirements - at least in university psychosomatic departments. The objective of this article is therefore to empirically verify the reference numbers of personnel resources calculated on the basis of the new German lump-sum reimbursement system in psychiatry and psychosomatics (PEPP). The minute values of the reference numbers of Heuft (1999) are contrasted with the minute values of the PEPP reimbursement system in the years 2013 and 2014, as calculated by the Institute for Payment Systems in Hospitals (InEK). The minute values derived from the PEPP data show a remarkable convergence with the minute values of Heuft's reference numbers (1999). A pure pricing system like the PEPP reimbursement system as designed so far threatens empirically verifiable and qualified personnel requirements of psychosomatic departments. In order to ensure the necessary therapy dosage and display it in minute values according to the valid OPS procedure codes, the minimum limit of the reference numbers is mandatory to maintain the substance of psychosomatic care. Based on the present calculation, a base rate of at least 285 e has to be politically demanded. Future developments in personnel costs have to be refinanced at 100 %.
Brunnhuber, Stefan; Michalsen, Andreas
2012-01-01
The text outlines the relation between psychosomatic medicine as an established medical discipline and the emerging concept of mind-body medicine from a historical, clinical and epistemological perspective. Limitations and contributions of both disciplines are discussed and the opportunities within the concept of Integrative Medicine are outlined. Whereas psychosomatic medicine is perceived as a form of transformation through a primarily verbal discoursive relationship, mind-body medicine claims healing through increased traditional techniques of the relaxation response, increased awareness, mindfulness, increasing des-identification and health-promoting lifestyle modification. It becomes clear that mind-body medicine seems to be epistemologically the broader theoretical framework, whereas in a clinical context the combination of both disciplines appears to be complementary and synergistic. The connection between psychosomatic medicine and mind-body medicine can make an important and exemplary contribution to the concept of Integrative Medicine. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.
The psychosomatic symptom and the self: a sirens' song.
Kradin, R L
1997-07-01
This paper examines the symbolic nature of the psychosomatic symptom. It is suggested that the psychosomatic symptom is an informationally rich symbolic derivative of the Self that serves to focus attention on developmental disturbances in the archetypal processes of constructing body image and interpreting dysphoric somatic sensations. Clinical examples are offered to illustrate the changing nature of the psychomatic symptom in society. The therapeutic importance of monitoring affectual transactions in the transference-countertransference field is stressed.
Choquet, M.; Menke, H.
1987-01-01
Investigated health and behavior problems in cohort samples of 327 high school students between 1983 and 1985. Showed that psychosomatic, depressive, and behavioral problems appeared to be common during adolescence. Found sex differences in that boys experienced behavioral problems such as alcohol or drug use, smoking, and violence, while girls…
Kriston, Pálma; Pikó, Bettina
More and more studies suggest that mental health may be determined by processes of emotional self-regulation. Emotion regulation is a complex concept which can be explicit and implicit and includes different cognitive and behavioral processes: evaluation, modifying of emotional reaction to accomplish goals. Our research aim was to explore the use of cognitive emotional self-regulation strategies related to mental health indicators among adolescents. The youth study was performed with a sample size of 1245 participants in Makó, in 2016. Data collection was based on self-administrated questionnaries that contained items on mental health, subjective well-being and background of sociodemographics. The data were compared on the basis of gender differences and tested by multiple linear regression analysis to map associations between the regulation strategies and mental health indicators: depression, psychosomatic symptoms, satisfaction with life. Girls reported higher levels of depression and psychosomatic symptoms and lower satisfaction with life than boys. Significant differences were observed between boys and girls in using rumination, positive refocusing, selfblame, others-blame and putting into perspective regulation strategy. In addition the nonadaptive strategies were proved to be related to higher depression and psychosomatic symptom scores, whereas adaptive strategies to higher level of satisfaction with life in both boys and girls. The study draws attention to the importance of cognitive emotion regulation strategies from the point of view of mental health and to explore the background factors of cognitive processes of emotional self-regulation.
Metapsychological and clinical issues in psychosomatics research.
Press, Jacques
2016-02-01
The author starts by treating the general epistemological problems inherent to research and emphasizes that all investigation takes place between two poles: a creative pole and one that is defensive in relation to the unknown and formlessness. In the psychosomatic field, an additional difficulty resides in the western dualistic vision of the relationship between psyche and soma which influences our way of thinking about the body as well as about otherness. The author continues by exploring Pierre Marty's psychosomatic model. Its psychosomatic monism is revolutionary but incomplete and creates a distance with the other, the somatizing patient, resulting in a medically oriented nosology symptomatic of the impossibility to think about some of the most important aspects of counter-transference. With the help of clinical material, the author considers these unthought aspects and some of their theoretical implications, particularly the way of understanding the negative often so prevalent with these patients. Based on these reflections as well as Freud's on beyond the pleasure principle and Winnicott's theorization on the fear of breakdown, the author suggests some directions for research. Somatic illness might occur when the attempts at filling the cracks created by a breakdown are unsuccessful. Copyright © 2015 Institute of Psychoanalysis.
[Unhealthy lifestyle in patients of a psychosomatic outpatient and consultation-liaison clinic].
Beutel, Till F; Weiser, Prisca; Zwerenz, Rüdiger; Wiltink, Jörg; Subic-Wrana, Claudia; Michal, Matthias
2014-09-01
Patients with mental disorders have an increased risk for somatic diseases. Especially life style risk factors contribute to this increased risk. In order to identify targets for preventive measures, we aimed to determine the prevalence of an unhealthy lifestyle in a clinical sample and to analyze associations with severity of mental disorders and somatic complaints. We analyzed the medical records of n=1 919 outpatients, who were treated between 2009-2011 in the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy of the University Medical Center Mainz. 62.4% of the patients were physically inactive, 33.2% were smokers and 17.4% were obese. Lifestyle risk factors were associated with increased symptom burden and impairment. Smoking was strongly associated with more previous psychiatric or psychosomatic inpatient treatments. These results indicate an urgent need for targeting health behavior more rigorously in the treatment of patients with common mental disorders. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
Shatri, Hamzah; Mudjaddid, E; Lapau, Buchari
2004-01-01
to examine certain characteristics of patients who suffer from psychosomatic disorders. We called data through medical report outpatient clinic of the Psychosomatic Division, Department of internal medicine, Cipto Mangunkusumo Central General Hospital/Faculty of Medicine of the University of Indonesia (FKUI/RSUPN-CM), Jakarta, Indonesia, in 1996. The data was processed manually and by computer from which table and graphic were obtained. The descriptive analysis was performed to the objective the study. the FPD patients consisted of those with vegetative imbalance (multiple psychosomatic syndrome) (30.2%), dyspepsia (20.8%), functional heart disease (11.3%) and others 1%-6%. All of SPD consisted of chronic disease, such as hypertension (38.3%), diabetes mellitus (29.8%), bronchial asthma (10.6%), coronary artery disease (6.4%), and others 2%-5%. According to DSM IV, among the psychosomatic patients, 52.7% met the criteria for anxiety, 29.3% for depression, 14.2% for mixed anxiety and depression, and 3.8% unclear. The psychosocial stressor groups were family problems (38%), physical conditions (16%), work-related problems (13.4%), marriage problems (8.4%) and others (1%-4%). The most common physical symptoms of psychosomatic disorders were functional. Common functional psychosomatic disorders were multiple psychosomatic syndrome, dyspepsia and functional heart disease. Structural disorders found were chronic diseases. There was no difference in prevalence between males and females. The most frequent functional disorders were more commonly found among those under 40 years of age, while those with structural disorders were more common among patients 40 years of age or more. The psychological diagnoses were anxiety and depression. The most frequent psychological stressors were family problems, medical conditions, work-related problems and marriage problems.
Psychosomatics in gynaecology and their meaning in specific gynaecological conditions
Siedentopf, Friederike
2013-01-01
At an early time point in the history of gynaecology and obstetrics, psychosomatic aspects became relevant in the development of etiological theories and the understanding of different conditions and diseases. The scientific discourse makes it apparent that this applies nowadays in a comparable intensity. In our work we discuss specific aspects of psychosomatic obstetrics and gynaecology and their association with basic medical research, chronic diseases and psychological constructs. Po...
Fritzsche, Kurt; Scheib, Peter; Ko, Nayeong; Wirsching, Michael; Kuhnert, Andrea; Hick, Jie; Schüßler, Gerhard; Wu, Wenyuan; Yuan, Shen; Cat, Nguyen Huu; Vongphrachanh, Sisouk; Linh, Ngo Tich; Viet, Ngyuen Kim
2012-08-29
With the "ASIA-LINK" program, the European Community has supported the development and implementation of a curriculum of postgraduate psychosomatic training for medical doctors in China, Vietnam and Laos. Currently, these three countries are undergoing great social, economic and cultural changes. The associated psychosocial stress has led to increases in psychological and psychosomatic problems, as well as disorders for which no adequate medical or psychological care is available, even in cities. Health care in these three countries is characterized by the coexistence of Western medicine and traditional medicine. Psychological and psychosomatic disorders and problems are insufficiently recognized and treated, and there is a need for biopsychosocially orientated medical care. Little is known about the transferability of Western-oriented psychosomatic training programs in the Southeast Asian cultural context. The curriculum was developed and implemented in three steps: 1) an experimental phase to build a future teacher group; 2) a joint training program for future teachers and German teachers; and 3) training by Asian trainers that was supervised by German teachers. The didactic elements included live patient interviews, lectures, communication skills training and Balint groups. The training was evaluated using questionnaires for the participants and interviews of the German teachers and the future teachers. Regional training centers were formed in China (Shanghai), Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City and Hue) and Laos (Vientiane). A total of 200 physicians completed the training, and 30 physicians acquired the status of future teacher. The acceptance of the training was high, and feelings of competence increased during the courses. The interactive training methods were greatly appreciated, with the skills training and self-experience ranked as the most important topics. Adaptations to the cultural background of the participants were necessary for the topics of "breaking bad
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Fritzsche Kurt
2012-08-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background With the “ASIA-LINK” program, the European Community has supported the development and implementation of a curriculum of postgraduate psychosomatic training for medical doctors in China, Vietnam and Laos. Currently, these three countries are undergoing great social, economic and cultural changes. The associated psychosocial stress has led to increases in psychological and psychosomatic problems, as well as disorders for which no adequate medical or psychological care is available, even in cities. Health care in these three countries is characterized by the coexistence of Western medicine and traditional medicine. Psychological and psychosomatic disorders and problems are insufficiently recognized and treated, and there is a need for biopsychosocially orientated medical care. Little is known about the transferability of Western-oriented psychosomatic training programs in the Southeast Asian cultural context. Methods The curriculum was developed and implemented in three steps: 1 an experimental phase to build a future teacher group; 2 a joint training program for future teachers and German teachers; and 3 training by Asian trainers that was supervised by German teachers. The didactic elements included live patient interviews, lectures, communication skills training and Balint groups. The training was evaluated using questionnaires for the participants and interviews of the German teachers and the future teachers. Results Regional training centers were formed in China (Shanghai, Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City and Hue and Laos (Vientiane. A total of 200 physicians completed the training, and 30 physicians acquired the status of future teacher. The acceptance of the training was high, and feelings of competence increased during the courses. The interactive training methods were greatly appreciated, with the skills training and self-experience ranked as the most important topics. Adaptations to the cultural background of the
Epilogue: meditations on psychosomatic medicine.
Cobb, S
1975-01-01
Presented are some personal views on the state of psychosomatic medicine as a science. It is suggested that the field needs more precision in language including exorcism of value judgments from certain dimensions, less circularity in stress-strain reasoning, more complex hypotheses, more emphasis on social support as a central variable and more acceptance of divergent research styles.
Role of anxiety and depressive disorders in the genesis of psychosomatic disorders
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Aleksandr Anatolyevich Shatenshtein
2013-01-01
Full Text Available Patients and methods. The results of clinical and psychodiagnostic examination using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI were analyzed in 210 therapeutic inpatients from 4 groups of psychosomatic diseases (coronary heart disease, hypertensive disease, duodenal ulcer disease, asthma, and bronchitis with an asthmatic component and 3 groups of diseases in whose genesis the psychosomatic mechanisms (pneumonia, gastritis, renal diseases played a lesser role. Healthy individuals (n=38 served as a control group. The correlation coefficients between the first scale reflecting the number of somatic complaints and the magnitude of their hypochondriacal fixation and the second one characterizing the degree of anxiety and depressive disorders were calculated within each disease group. Results. In psychosomatic diseases, the correlation coefficients between the first and second MMPI scales proved to be insignificant and substantially lower than those in the healthy individuals. This suggests that in such patients, a larger number of somatic complaints and their enhanced hypochondriacal fixation alleviate anxiety and depressive disorders, which may be regarded as an indication that there is psychosomatic defense that lessens anxiety due to a somatic disease. In somatic diseases that are not referring to as psychosomatic ones, the correlation coefficient between the first and second scales is highly significant and considerably higher than that in the healthy individuals and particularly higher than in the group of psychosomatic diseases. In the patients of these groups, an increase in anxiety and depression aggravates autonomic dysregulation reflecting in the larger number of hypochondriacal complaints. This direct relationship between autonomic functions and the level of anxiety and depression may be a risk factor for developing these disorders.
Psychosomatic Aspects of Cancer: An Overview.
Murray, John B.
1980-01-01
It is suggested in this literature review on the psychosomatic aspects of cancer that psychoanalytic interpretations which focused on intrapsychic elements have given way to considerations of rehabilitation and assistance with the complex emotional reactions of patients and their families to terminal illness and death. (Author/DB)
Umehara, Katsura; Ohya, Yukihiro; Kawakami, Norito; Tsutsumi, Akizumi; Fujimura, Masanori
2007-11-01
A cross-sectional study was conducted to explore what work-related factors were associated with job stress among pediatricians in Japan, as determined by the demand-control-support model and psychosomatic symptoms. We sent an anonymous questionnaire to a random sample of 3,000 members selected from the nationwide register of the Japan Pediatric Society and received 850 responses (response rate, 28%). Data from the 590 respondents who worked more than 35 h per week as a pediatrician and had no missing responses in the questionnaire were analyzed. We measured workload-related variables (e.g. working hours, work schedule) and recovery-related variables (e.g. workdays with no overtime, days off with no work in the past month) as exposure variables, and psychosocial job stressors (the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire) and psychosomatic symptoms as outcome variables. Longer working hours per week was significantly associated with greater job demand, lower job control and more psychosomatic symptoms (pworking hours, more workdays with no overtime was significantly associated with lower job demand, greater job control and fewer psychosomatic symptoms (plong working hours is a risk factor for job stressors and psychosomatic symptoms, and that workdays with no overtime is a protective factor which may facilitate recovery. Controlling working hours and encouraging non-overtime workdays may be important for reducing job stressors and psychosomatic symptoms among pediatricians in Japan.
The Cartesian doctor, François Bayle (1622-1709), on psychosomatic explanation.
Easton, Patricia
2011-06-01
There are two standing, incompatible accounts of Descartes' contributions to the study of psychosomatic phenomena that pervade histories of medicine, psychology, and psychiatry. The first views Descartes as the father of "rational psychology" a tradition that defines the soul as a thinking, unextended substance. The second account views Descartes as the father of materialism and the machine metaphor. The consensus is that Descartes' studies of optics and motor reflexes and his conception of the body-machine metaphor made early and important contributions to physiology and neuroscience but otherwise his impact was minimal. These predominately negative assessments of Descartes' contributions give a false impression of the role his philosophy played in the development of medicine and psychiatry in seventeenth-century France and beyond. I explore Descartes' influence in the little-known writings of a doctor from Toulouse, François Bayle (1622-1709). A study of Bayle gives us occasion to rethink the nature and role of psychosomatic explanation in Descartes' philosophy. The portrait I present is of a Cartesian science that had an actual and lasting effect on medical science and practice, and may offer something of value to practitioners today. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Childhood physical abuse in outpatients with psychosomatic symptoms
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Kubo Chiharu
2008-03-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background In Japan and Asia, few studies have been done of physical and sexual abuse. This study was aimed to determine whether a history of childhood physical abuse is associated with anxiety, depression and self-injurious behavior in outpatients with psychosomatic symptoms. Methods We divided 564 consecutive new outpatients at the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine of Kyushu University Hospital into two groups: a physically abused group and a non-abused group. Psychological test scores and the prevalence of self-injurious behavior were compared between the two groups. Results A history of childhood physical abuse was reported by patients with depressive disorders(12.7%, anxiety disorders(16.7%, eating disorders (16.3%, pain disorders (10.8%, irritable bowel syndrome (12.5%, and functional dyspepsia(7.5%. In both the patients with depressive disorders and those with anxiety disorders, STAI-I (state anxiety and STAI-II (trait anxiety were higher in the abused group than in the non-abused group (p In the patients with depressive disorders, the abused group was younger than the non-abused group (p Conclusion A history of childhood physical abuse is associated with psychological distress such as anxiety, depression and self-injurious behavior in outpatients with psychosomatic symptoms. It is important for physicians to consider the history of abuse in the primary care of these patients.
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Kouichi Yoshimasu
2009-08-01
Full Text Available Kouichi Yoshimasu1, Tetsuya Kondo2,4, Shoji Tokunaga3, Yoshio Kanemitsu2, Hideyo Sugahara2, Mariko Akamine2, Kanichiro Fujisawa2, Kazuhisa Miyashita1, Chiharu Kubo21Department of Hygiene, School of Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan; 2Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Graduate school of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan; 3Department of Medical Informatics, Kyushu University Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan; 4Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Kansai University of Health Sciences, Osaka, JapanAbstract: Patients with suicidal ideation (SI have various mental or somatic symptoms. A questionnaire-based interview elicited details concerning mental and somatic symptoms in patients visiting a psychosomatic clinic in Japan. Univariate logistic regression analyses followed by multiple regression models using a stepwise method were selected for identifying the candidate symptoms. Overall, symptoms related to depression were associated with SI in both sexes. Although women showed more various somatic symptoms associated with SI than men, many of those associations were diminished once severity of the depression was controlled. The current results suggest that a variety of self-reported symptoms, mainly related to depression, might reveal suicidal risk in outpatients with an urban hospital clinical setting.Keywords: suicidal ideation, psychosomatic clinic, subjective symptoms
Reflections on relevance: Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics in 2004.
Balon, Richard
2005-01-01
Relevance of an article is a highly desirable yet hardly predictable quality at the time of its publication. Article relevance is frequently measured by the impact factor of the journal where the article is published. Furthermore, impact factor, citation index and citation analysis are used as a measure of research progress and scientific wealth of a nation. The wisdom and significance of this approach to relevance is debatable and thus discussed here. In 2004, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics published a variety of articles which, in the author's view, are clinically relevant. Several selected clinically relevant issues reviewed in this article include: the conceptualization of fibromyalgia as a stress disorder; the psychosocial impact and psychosocial interventions in cancer; the impact of alexithymia on patient care; the possible relationship between depression and nutrition (namely intake of folate and pyridoxal phosphate); the significance of hypercoagulability in panic-like anxiety; the questionable value of single isomer drugs, and the relevance and adequacy of clinimetrics versus psychometrics in clinical research. The reviewed issues seem to be relevant to clinical practice, research or both, but also to our critical thinking, and the critical review of the developments in psychiatry and psychology. Copyright 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel.
Privacy and Psychosomatic Stress: An Empirical Analysis.
Webb, Stephen D.
1978-01-01
Examines the supposition that insufficient privacy is stressful to the individual. Data were obtained from urban centers in New Zealand. Findings support the hypothesis that a percieved lack of privacy is associated with psychosomatic stress. The relationship is specified by measures of stress and sex of respondents. (Author)
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Munemoto Takao
2007-04-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Japan has been witnessing a considerable increase in the number of children with psychosomatic disorders. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the risk of psychosomatic disorder in adolescents and intra- and extra-familial adverse childhood experiences (ACEs. Methods A retrospective cohort study of 1592 Japanese university students (52% male, mean age 19.9 years who completed a survey about intra- and extra-familial ACEs and the incidence of childhood psychosomatic disorders. Intra-familial ACEs included domestic violence, physical violence, emotional abuse, illness in household, parental divorce, no parental affection, and dysfunctional family. Extra-familial ACEs included physical violence or negative recognition by teachers, being bullied in elementary or junior high school, or sexual violence. Results The frequency of psychosomatic disorders among the respondents was 14.8%. Among the 7 intra-familial ACEs, emotional abuse (relative risk, RR = 1.9 and illness in household (RR = 1.7 increased the risk of psychosomatic disorders. Estimates of the relative risk for the 5 extra-familial ACEs were statistically significant and ranged from 1.5 for being bullied in elementary school or physical violence from teachers to 2.4. Students who had 3 or more intra-familial ACEs and 2 or more extra-familial ACEs had a 3.0 relative risk for psychosomatic disorder. Conclusion These results suggest that intra- and extra-familial ACEs are associated with the development of psychosomatic disorders. Therefore, sufficient evaluation of ACEs should be performed in adolescent patients with psychosomatic disorder.
Bichescu-Burian, D; Cerisier, C; Czekaj, A; Grempler, J; Hund, S; Jaeger, S; Schmid, P; Weithmann, G; Steinert, T
2017-01-01
In Germany, in-patient treatment of patients with depressive, neurotic, anxiety, and somatoform disorders (ICD-10 F3, F4) is carried out in different settings in psychiatry and psychosomatics. Which patient characteristics determine referral to one or the other specialty is a crucial question in mental health policy and is a matter of ongoing controversy. However, comparative data on patient populations are widely lacking. In the study of Treatment Pathways of Patients with Anxiety and Depression (PfAD study), a total of 320 patients with ICD-10 F3/F4 clinical diagnoses were consecutively recruited from four treatment settings (psychiatric depression ward, psychiatric crisis intervention ward, psychiatric day hospitals, or psychosomatic hospital units; 80 participants per setting) and investigated. In all treatment settings, patients with considerable severity of illness and chronicity were treated. Female gender, higher education, and higher income predicted referral to psychosomatic units; male gender, transfer from another hospital or emergency hospitalization, co-morbidity with a personality disorder, higher general psychiatric co-morbidity, and danger to self at admission predicted referral to psychiatric unit. Patients in psychosomatic units had neither more psychosomatic disorders nor more somatic problems. There is considerable overlap between the clientele of psychiatric and psychosomatic units. Referral and allocation appears to be determined by aspects of severity and social status.
Frommer, Jörg
2013-02-01
Karen Gubb's (2013) review focuses on contemporary developments in psychoanalytic theory and practice in relation to psychosomatics, starting with some historical remarks, and Paris School with the Attachment approach. This paper examines the question of how the German scene fits into the issues raised in Gubb's discussion. From a historical point of view, psychosomatic thinking had already come into existence at the beginning of the twentieth century in internal medicine, influenced not only by Freud's ideas, but also by holistic philosophical approaches, anthropology, and semiotic systems theory as well. Psychosomatics is still under the influence of psychodynamic thinking, but as a required subject for all medical students, it is currently more involved in inpatient treatment settings than in psychoanalyses in the classical couch setting. Research projects using standardized questionnaires, neuroimaging, and other empirical methods have also proved that these treatments are as effective as therapy based on psychoanalytic concepts like alexithymia or the Attachment approach. In addition, qualitative methods have been implemented to grasp the fine-grained conscious and unconscious processes in the inner life of patients and in the verbal and nonverbal interaction phenomena of therapies. To sum up: Recent developments in psychoanalytic theory, which begin to overcome the differences among psychoanalytic schools in favor of re-erecting a common psychoanalytic understanding like that demonstrated in Gubb's article, fit together in bridging the gap between insights from classical psychoanalyses and results from empirical research.
Godin, Isabelle; Kittel, France
2004-04-01
Stressful working conditions are well known to have a negative impact on the worker's health. We investigated this association in a Belgian study with a psychosocial health perspective, including individual work characteristics as well as firms' features. These data come from the first measure of the Somstress study. This is a 4 year project, initiated in 1999 and conducted in four different firms. The objective of this article is to investigate the relationships between stress, working conditions and absenteeism, self-reported health and psychosomatic complaints. Firms were selected according to their degree of structural environment and job stability. Among the four work sites, one can be considered as stable, one unstable and the remaining ones in an in-between situation. Stress is generally measured according to one of the following models: the job demands control model (Karasek) and the effort-reward imbalance model (Siegrist). We used here both models, along with the social support at work (Karasek) and overcommitment (Siegrist). Sex, age and education are important health determinants. After adjustment for those three variables and additionally for the work instability, it appeared that poor health outcomes (measured by the self-rated health, depression (SCL-90), anxiety (SCL-90), somatisation (SCL-90), chronic fatigue (Vercoulen) and reported absenteeism) are mainly associated with a low control, low social support at work, high overcommitment and high level of imbalance. Inversely, job demands do not make any significant contribution in the logistic regression models for the above-mentioned health outcomes.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Serikov A.V.,
2017-12-01
Full Text Available The paper analyzes the constructs of ‘play experience’ and ‘play experiencing ability’ from the perspective of cultural-historical psychology. The paper stresses the importance of education, play, art, wealth and cultural diversity in the formation of healthy and independent personality. The role of play experience as a healthful factor that allows an individual to acquire resistance to psychosomatic disorders is supported both theoretically and empirically. It is argued that the individual capable of play experience can transform the meaning of a situation (within his/her play experience and therefore eliminate its psychotraumatic effect which contributes to the development of psychosomatic disorders. The paper provides outcomes of an empirical research with 73 participants (40 female, 33 male; aged 18—45, with the average age of 25 years. The statistical analysis revealed a significant inverse correlation between the level of the individual’s play experiencing ability and the level of his/her somatization (rs = -0,435; p ≤ 0,01, which confirms the research hypothesis.
Teaching psychosomatic medicine using problem-based learning and role-playing.
Heru, Alison M
2011-01-01
Problem-based learning (PBL) has been implemented in medical education world-wide. Despite its popularity, it has not been generally considered useful for residency programs. The author presents a model for the implementation of PBL in residency programs. The author presents a description of a PBL curriculum for teaching psychosomatic medicine to PGY 2 members in a psychiatry training program. The goals of PBL are to encourage self-directed learning; enhance curiosity, using case-based, contextualized learning; promote collaborative practice; and support patient-centered care. The addition of role-playing exercises helps PGY 2 residents to develop their skills from simply developing a differential diagnosis to being able to construct biopsychosocial formulations, and it provides these residents an opportunity to practice presenting case formulations to the patient and family. Residents and faculty enjoyed the PBL role-playing sessions. Residents wanted the learning objectives given to them rather than generating their own learning objectives, to move through the cases faster, and to receive more information and more cases. Teaching psychosomatic medicine, using PBL and role-playing, allows many of the proposed Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine residency core competencies to be met. However, further refinement of the PBL method needs to take place in order to adapt its use to residency programs.
Mediation Analysis in Psychosomatic Medicine Research
Lockhart, Ginger; MacKinnon, David P.; Ohlrich, Vanessa
2010-01-01
This article presents an overview of statistical mediation analysis and its application to psychosomatic medicine research. The article begins with a description of the major approaches to mediation analysis and an evaluation of the strengths and limits of each. Emphasis is placed on longitudinal mediation models, and an application using latent growth modeling is presented. The article concludes with a description of recent developments in mediation analysis and suggestions for the use of me...
Affective disorders and endocrine disease. New insights from psychosomatic studies.
Fava, G A
1994-01-01
This is a review of psychosomatic interactions between affective disorders (depressive and anxiety disturbances, irritable mood) and endocrine disease. Particular reference is made to stressful life events in the pathogenesis of endocrine disease, psychopathology of hormonal disturbances, and pathophysiology of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function in depression and Cushing's disease. These psychosomatic interactions may lead to appraisal of common etiological mechanisms in endocrine and psychiatric disorders, of the value of retaining the category of organic affective syndromes in psychiatric classification, and of the need for research on quality-of-life measures in endocrine disease. The establishment of "psychoendocrine units," where both endocrinologists and psychiatrists should work, is advocated. Such psychoendocrine units may serve and benefit clinical populations who currently defy traditional medical subdivisions.
Hellstr?m, Charlotta; Nilsson, Kent W; Leppert, Jerzy; ?slund, Cecilia
2015-01-01
Aim. To investigate whether adolescent online gaming time and the additive effect of gaming motives were associated with depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms. The hypothesis was that adolescents who engage in online gaming with escape motives and increased online gaming time have higher probability for depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms compared to adolescents with other online gaming motives and/or less online gaming time. Method. An anonymous and volu...
Allert, Gebhard; Gommel, Michael; Tamulionyté, Liudvika; Appelt, Matthias; Zenz, Helmuth; Kächele, Horst
2002-08-01
We report the clinical part of the longitudinal curriculum MPPP which was developed by the departments of Medical Psychology, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine at the University of Ulm. The commitment and creativity of the participating students in their two undergraduate years inspired us to offer them an interest-guided curriculum for their six clinical semesters. Our paper reports the extensive results of two evaluations that we conducted during the clinical part of this new teaching-model. It became evident that we were successful in transferring continuous, intense and patient-centred psychosomatic and psychosocial contents. Yet the transfer of basic and methodological knowledge was not realised to the extent the students would have appreciated. The positive results of our project encouraged us to expand the concept of an interest-guided curriculum onto the whole academic education in psychotherapy and psychosomatic medicine at our university.
Defense Mechanisms, Psychosomatic Symptomatology, and Conjugate Lateral Eye Movements
Gur, Raquel E.; Gur, Ruben C.
1975-01-01
Subjects were classified into left movers, right movers, and bidirectionals according to the characteristic direction of their eye movements in response to questions. The three groups were compared on their preferential use of defense mechanisms and on the number of psychosomatic complaints. (Author)
Psychosomatic disorders of gravida status: false and denied pregnancies.
Kenner, William D; Nicolson, Stephen E
2015-01-01
The authors review the literature on two dramatic psychosomatic disorders of reproduction and offer a potential classification of pregnancy denial. Information on false and denied pregnancies is summarized by comparing the descriptions, differential diagnoses, epidemiology, patient characteristics, psychological factors, abdominal tone, and neuroendocrinology. Pregnancy denial's association with neonaticide is reviewed. False and denied pregnancies have fooled women, families, and doctors for centuries as the body obscures her true condition. Improvements in pregnancy testing have decreased reports of false pregnancy. However, recent data suggests 1/475 pregnancies are denied to 20 weeks, and 1/2455 may go undiagnosed to delivery. Factors that may contribute to the unconscious deception include abdominal muscle tone, persistent corpus luteum function, and reduced availability of biogenic amines in false pregnancy, and posture, fetal position, and corpus luteum insufficiency in denied pregnancy. For each condition, there are multiple reports in which the body reveals her true pregnancy status as soon as the woman is convinced of her diagnosis. Forensic literature on denied pregnancy focused on the woman's rejection of motherhood, while psychiatric studies have revealed that trauma and dissociation drive her denial. False pregnancy has firm grounding as a classic psychosomatic disorder. Pregnancy denial's association with neonaticide has led to misleading forensic data, which obscures the central role of trauma and dissociation. A reappraisal of pregnancy denial confirms it as the somatic inverse of false pregnancy. With that perspective, clinicians can help women understand their pregnancy status to avoid unexpected deliveries with tragic outcomes. Copyright © 2015 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Spies, M; Brütt, A L; Freitag, M; Buchholz, A
2015-10-01
The aim of this study was to gather information on the current state of the implementation of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) in psychosomatic and addiction rehabilitation. In the summer of 2013, rehabilitation clinics in Germany were surveyed online on their ICF utilization. The questionnaire covered scope and purpose of ICF use, application of ICF core sets and assessments as well as barriers to the use of ICF. Of 359 clinics invited, 104 (30%) participated in the survey. Of those surveyed, 60 (61.9%) claimed to have taken measures to implement the ICF in their clinic; only 37 (38.5%), however, reported using the ICF in their daily work. The main barriers identified were complexity of the ICF, time management issues and training deficits. Approaches to ICF use are not uniform. There is a need for training programs, and guidance from health care insurance providers could help towards uniform implementation of the ICF. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
Operational Thinking at Adolescence in Relation to Psychosomatic Disorder.
Anthony, E. James
1978-01-01
Relating disorders to Piaget's and Freud's developmental stages, it is proposed that, in the somatopsychic group, resomatization is associated with primitive modes of thinking and feeling; while in the psychosomatic group, resomatization is connected with an operational type of cognition and emotion. A case history is used as illustration.…
Zimmer, Benjamin; Moessner, Markus; Wolf, Markus; Minarik, Carla; Kindermann, Sally; Bauer, Stephanie
2015-11-01
Patients often have to sustain long waiting periods between the time they first apply for psychotherapy and the actual uptake of the treatment. To support patients who are on a wait-list for inpatient psychosomatic treatment an Internet-based preparatory treatment (VORSTAT) was developed. In a randomized controlled trial, VORSTAT proved to increase treatment motivation prior to intake and to accelerate the accommodation phase at the beginning of inpatient treatment. No impact of VORSTAT on inpatient treatment outcome was found. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of VORSTAT after implementing the service into routine care. A large naturalistic observational study comparing VORSTAT participants (N=911) against non-participants (N=1721) was conducted. Propensity scores were used to control for potential confounding variables due to the non-randomized group allocation. Reliable improvement of self-reported impairment achieved during inpatient treatment was used as outcome measure. VORSTAT participants showed higher rates of reliable improvement in physical impairment (50.8% vs. 44.9%), psychological impairment (41.2% vs. 29.9%), and social problems (22.3% vs. 15.2%). An Internet-based preparation for psychotherapy is an effective approach to improve outcome of inpatient psychosomatic treatment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Raković, Dejan
2017-01-01
The subject of this paper is quantumholographic framework for holistic psychosomatics (including integrative medicine and transpersonal psychology). Such a framework could have significant implications for understanding the mechanisms of quantumholographic feedback control in the morphogenesis and bioresonant application of the healing boundary conditions in psychosomatics, based on acupuncture and consciousness. It sheds new light on the long standing open problems of the holistic role an...
Attachment, Acculturation, and Psychosomatic Complaints among Hispanic American University Students
Wang, Chiachih D. C.; Scalise, Dominick A.; Barajas-Munoz, I. Alejandro; Julio, Kathy; Gomez, Ayleen
2016-01-01
This study investigated adult attachment and acculturation frameworks of reported psychosomatic complaints related to perceived discrimination among a sample of Latino/Hispanic university students (N = 160). The model supported by the data suggests that attachment anxiety, acculturation toward the dominant cultural norms, and adherence to…
Ferber, Julia; Schneider, Gudrun; Havlik, Linda; Heuft, Gereon; Friederichs, Hendrik; Schrewe, Franz-Bernhard; Schulz-Steinel, Andrea; Burgmer, Markus
2014-01-01
To improve the synergy of established methods of teaching, the Department of Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Münster, developed a web-based elearning tool using video clips of standardized patients. The effect of this blended-learning approach was evaluated. A multiple-choice test was performed by a naive (without the e-learning tool) and an experimental (with the tool) cohort of medical students to test the groups' expertise in psychosomatics. In addition, participants' satisfaction with the new tool was evaluated (numeric rating scale of 0-10). The experimental cohort was more satisfied with the curriculum and more interested in psychosomatics. Furthermore, the experimental cohort scored significantly better in the multiple-choice test. The new tool proved to be an important addition to the classical curriculum as a blended-learning approach which improves students' satisfaction and knowledge in psychosomatics.
Psychosomatic medicine and the philosophy of life
Wiggins Osborne P; Schwartz Michael A
2010-01-01
Abstract Basing ourselves on the writings of Hans Jonas, we offer to psychosomatic medicine a philosophy of life that surmounts the mind-body dualism which has plagued Western thought since the origins of modern science in seventeenth century Europe. Any present-day account of reality must draw upon everything we know about the living and the non-living. Since we are living beings ourselves, we know what it means to be alive from our own first-hand experience. Therefore, our philosophy of lif...
School-Related Stress and Psychosomatic Symptoms among Norwegian Adolescents
Murberg, Terje A.; Bru, Edvin
2004-01-01
This study examines the relationships between school-related stress, gender and psychosomatic symptoms in a sample of 531 adolescent pupils in years (grades) 8, 9 and 10 (aged 13-16 years) from two compulsory schools in Norway. Results showed that 18.1 percent reported being very much affected by at least one of the assessed psychosomatic…
Danev, S; Dapov, E; Pavlov, E; Nikolova, R
1992-01-01
Evaluation of the general functional status and psychosomatic complaints of 61 workers from the hydroelectric power stations is made. The following methods are used: 1. Assessment of the general functional state, by means of computer analysis of the cardiac variability, analysing the changes in the values of the following indices: average value of the cardiac intervals (X), their standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV), amplitude of the mode (AMO), index of stress (IS), index of the vegetative balance (IVB), homeostatic index (HI). The last 3 indices serve for determination of the complex evaluation of chronic fatigue and work adaptation (ChFWA). 2. Evaluation of the psychosomatic complaints, by the use of a questionnaire for the subjective psychosomatic complaints. 3. Studying the systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The average values received in workers from HPS were compared with the average values of the population of the country and with the average values of a similar working activity of a group of operators from the thermal power station HPS. In conclusion it could be noted that concerning ChFWA the received values in workers from HPS are not more unfavourable generalized values from that measured in workers, occupied with similar type of work in other industrial branches of the country. However, they are with more unfavourable data in comparison with the workers from HPS. The subjective evaluation of the operators concerning their psychic and body health status is moderately worse, both in comparison with the values of the index for the country, and in comparison with those of the operators from HPS.
[Relationships between psychosomatics and somatopsychiatry in modern medicine].
Paleev, N R; Krasnov, V N
2009-01-01
Progress in many clinical disciplines and neurobiology for the last decades give reason to reconsider some fundamental provisions of psychosomatic medicine and its relationships with somatopsychiatry. The universally accepted biopsychosocial model of the disease as proposed by V.N.Bekhterev implies involvement of psychological and psychosocial factors at early stages of many forms of somatic pathology. Intricate interplay between somatic and psychic components is exemplified by correlation of cardiovascular disorders and depression. Depression is diagnosed in 17-27% of the patients with coronary heart disease undergoing coronary angiography and in 16-45% of the post-infarction cases. Frequency of depression/hypertensive disease comorbidity is estimated at 30%. Similarity of pathogenetic mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases and depressive states is due to stress as their common provoking factor. Another important aspect of the relationship between medicine and psychiatry (disregarded until recently) is high frequency of somatic disorders in psychiatric patients. Cooperation of psychiatrists and representatives of different medical disciplines in such areas as research and practical health care is needed to address this problem.
[Psychosomatic symptoms in somatic diseases - open-angle glaucoma for example].
Emmerich, G M
2010-08-01
Psychological aspects exist in somatic diseases like tumours and even fractures, not only in the beginning but also in the management of disease. Somatic diseases give rise to signs of a special constellation of life and management of these diseases is important for the psychological constellation of the individual. Studies on open-angle glaucoma have shown that many patients suffering from this disease are anxious, hypochondric, perfectionist and emotional instable. Chronic diseases are demanding processes of flexibility and defense, and define how the individual can deal with the diseases and what place in life the disease will occupy in the future. In the holistic view of medicine even psychological conflicts should be treated. In many situations, these conflicts are not consciously experienced by the individual. Therapeutically, 2 different tools can be used: symbolic stories can bring forces to manage the conflict and to solve the conflict (2 examples in the text). The method of positive psychotherapy describes the reasons for psychosomatic diseases in three parts: psychosomatic in the traditional understanding, in further and comprehensive understanding. Especially the psychosomatic effects in comprehensive understanding are embedded in the individual's sociocultural environment and provide tips on reasons for the diseases in those parts of life. The "positive balance model" gives an example of life-management and conflict-therapy. In ophthalmology, fear is often more important for the patient than pain. To avoid this, the patients develop techniques to deny, to cover or to suppress the fear. In the article questions are presented like those the ophthalmologist should be able to ask patients in the office concerning open-angle glaucoma. Tips for the therapy and management for neurotic stress are offered and some special anamnestic questions for the ophthalmologist are presented. Unsolved conflicts and denied desires as neurotic symptoms can be focused in
Becker, Jan; Beutel, Manfred E.; Gerzymisch, Katharina; Schulz, Dirk; Siepmann, Martin; Knickenberg, Rudolf J.; Schm?deke, Stefan; Ferdinand, Peter; Zwerenz, R?diger
2016-01-01
Background Patients? treatment expectations are a key factor in psychotherapy. Several studies have linked higher expectations to better treatment success. Therefore, we want to evaluate the impact of a targeted video-based intervention on patients? expectations and the treatment success of inpatient rehabilitation. Methods/design All patients who will be referred to inpatient psychosomatic rehabilitation in three clinics will receive a study flyer with information about how to log in to the ...
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Hange D
2013-04-01
Full Text Available Dominique Hange,1 Kirsten Mehlig,2 Lauren Lissner,2 Xinxin Guo,3 Calle Bengtsson,1,† Ingmar Skoog,3 Cecilia Björkelund1 1Department of Public Health and Community Medicine/Primary Health Care, 2Department of Public Health and Community Medicine/Public Health Epidemiology, 3Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Section of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Neuropsychiatric Epidemiology Unit, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden †Calle Bengtsson passed away on 23rd March 2013 Purpose: To investigate possible association between mental stress and psychosomatic symptoms, socioeconomic status, lifestyle, as well as incident mortality in a middle-aged female population followed over 37 years. Methods: A prospective observational study initiated in 1968–1969, including 1462 women aged 60, 54, 50, 46, and 38 years, with follow-ups in 1974–1975, 1980–1981, and 2000–2001, was performed. Measures included self-reported mental stress as well as psychosomatic symptoms and smoking, physical activity, total cholesterol, S-triglycerides, body mass index, waist–hip ratio, blood pressure, socioeconomic status and mortality. Results: Smoking, not being single, and not working outside home were strongly associated with reported mental stress at baseline. Women who reported high mental stress in 1968–1969 were more likely to report presence of abdominal symptoms (odds ratio [OR] = 1.85, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.39–2.46, headache/migraine (OR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.53–2.72, frequent infections (OR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.14–2.70, and musculoskeletal symptoms (OR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.30–2.23 than women who did not report mental stress. Women without these symptoms at baseline 1968–1969, but with perceived mental stress were more likely to subsequently report incident abdominal symptoms (OR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.39–3.34, headache/migraine (OR = 2.27, 95% CI: 1.48–3.48 and frequent infections (OR = 2.21, 95% CI: 1.12
Psychosomatic aspects in the treatment of patients with gynaecological malignant growths
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Richter, D.
1981-01-01
The psychosomatic reaction during treatment of gynaecologic neoplasms represents a special problem to the patients. In this article, the relationships between doctor and patient, disturbances in the sexual, family- and environmental situation, and the special psychological problems occurring during radiation therapy are discussed. (APR) [de
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Vishnevskaya, V.P.
2006-01-01
Eight hundred and ninety two men aged 25-55 yrs including five hundred and eighty three persons taking part in the Chernobyl accident after-effects liquidation and three hundred and nine persons having similar psychosomatic pathologies but lacking radiation 'anamnesis'. The radiation risk understanding was shown to effect negatively on the disease run and the remission period duration. The psychic process after the radiation exposure was determined to be caused by a radiation effect on the central nervous system as well. The outcomes of the clinical and psychological study evidenced that the psychosomatic pathology including the discirculating encephalopathy developed in the persons exposed to irradiation in the early age. (authors)
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N. P. Vanchakova
2014-01-01
Full Text Available The authors have analyzed the results of the City Psychosomatic Centre (CPSC activity in 2009-2011 ys in order to find out the most important trends in the clinical work that may be helpful in planning of management and prophylaxis. The methods applied were statistical and clinico-statistical analyses of the results of of the Center work in 2009-2011 ys. There were changes in the structure by increasing the incidence of diseases associated with stress and organic damage brain with mental disorders, showed an increase in the flow of male patients. Found that the average length of stay in bed in the center of psychosomatic inpatient unit was 9.2-9.7 days, which creates barriers to good practice the use of antidepressants. Overcoming of these challenges can be achieved through the formation of new forms of continuity between the departments of the psychosomatic center, the health center and the offices of St. Petersburg SHCI «Alexander's Hospital,» and other medical institutions of the city.
Landsman-Dijkstra, Jeanet J. A.; van Wijck, R; Groothoff, JW; Rispens, P
A three-day residential Body Awareness Program (BAP) was developed to teach people with Chronic A-specific Psychosomatic Symptoms (CAPS) to react adequately to disturbances of the balance between a daily workload and the capacity to deal with it. The short-term effects of the program for people with
Landsman-Dijkstra, Jeanet J. A.; van Wijck, R; Groothoff, JW; Rispens, P
2004-01-01
A three-day residential Body Awareness Program (BAP) was developed to teach people with Chronic A-specific Psychosomatic Symptoms (CAPS) to react adequately to disturbances of the balance between a daily workload and the capacity to deal with it. The short-term effects of the program for people with
Psychosomatic correlations in atrial fibrillations
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Vladimir Ernstovich Medvedev
2011-01-01
Full Text Available Patients with atrial fibrillations (AF and comorbid mental disorders were examined. Two patient groups differing in the structure of psychosomatic ratios were identified. Group 1 comprised patients with AF and signs of reactivity lability that manifested itself as psychopathological reactions to the primary manifestations of AF; Group 2 included those who had developed mental disorders mainly in end-stage cardiovascular disease (predominantly a permanent form of AF in the presence of such events as chronic heart failure (CHF. The results of the study suggest that the patients with AF have frequently anxiety and hypochondriacal disorders, which agrees with the data available in the literature. In addition, end-stage AF is marked by depressive syndromes caused by the severe course of cardiovascular diseases resulting in CHF.
Hart, Curtis W
2002-01-01
This article outlines the method utilized by physicians and major figures in the founding of Clinical Pastoral Education, Helen Flanders Dunbar, in her work of 1943, Psychosomatic Diagnosis, and relates it to the currently evolving approach in bioethics known as clinical pragmatism. It assesses Dewey's influence on both Dunbar in psychosomatic medicine and clinical pragmatism in bioethics, and illustrates the breadth of influence of the school of philosophical thought known as pragmatism with which Dewey's name and those of William James and Charles Sanders Pierce are most often identified.
Psychosomatic symptoms as biomarkers: transcending the psyche-soma dichotomy.
Neuman, Yair
2010-01-01
Following the advancement in understanding dynamical systems, the author presents a novel metaphor of psychosomatic symptoms as low-dimensional biomarkers. This metaphor, which transcends the old binary of psyche-soma, resonates with classical psychoanalytic concepts and with Matte-Blanco's idea of repetition as indicative of dimensionality reduction. The relevance of this metaphor for explanation, diagnosis, and treatment is illustrated through a case study of a male patient suffering from hyperprolactinemia.
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Mutsuhiro Nakao
2018-05-01
Full Text Available Background: Psychosomatic patients often complain of a variety of somatic symptoms. We sought to clarify the role of clinical predictors of complaints of somatic symptoms. Methods: We enrolled 604 patients visiting a psychosomatic outpatient clinic. The outcome was the total number of somatic symptoms, and the candidate clinical predictors were perceived psychosocial stress, alexithymia, somatosensory amplification, adaptation, anxiety, and depression. All participants completed questionnaires assessing the outcome and the predictors. Results: The average number of reported somatic symptoms was 4.8; the most frequent was fatigue (75.3%, followed by insomnia (56.1%, low-back pain (49.5%, headache (44.7%, and palpitations (43.1%. Multiple regression analysis showed that the total number of somatic symptoms was significantly associated with the degree of perceived psychosocial stress, alexithymia, somatosensory amplification, and depression. Also, structural equation models indicated links between excessive adaptation (via perceived psychosocial stress, alexithymia, and somatosensory amplification and the total number of somatic symptoms. Conclusion: The results suggested that the association between psychosocial stress and reported somatic symptoms is mediated by alexithymia and somatosensory amplification in psychosomatic patients.
[The relationship between depression, anxiety and heart disease - a psychosomatic challenge].
Kapfhammer, Hans-Peter
2011-12-01
heart rate variability, altered functions of thrombocytes, and increased proinflammatory processes have to be recognized as significantly contributing to the pathophysiology both of depression and of heart condition. Neurobiological aspects of anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorders must be interlinked with these underpinnings of depression. Differential effects on critical cardiological events must be supposed. From a therapeutic perspective several RCTs demonstrate that SSRIs may safely and efficiently treat depressive disorders in cardiological conditions, and may even improve the general somatic prognosis. Cognitive-behavioural psychotherapies have been empirically validated in treating depression and anxiety with cardiological patients. So far, however, a differential indication of psychopharmacological versus psychotherapeutic approaches has not been proved yet. Depression and anxiety disorders in patients with heart disease paradigmatically define a psychosomatic-somatopsychic challenge to any health delivery system. A psychosomatic perspective may best be practised within a Consultation-Liaison psychiatric service that cooperates continuously and closely with cardiological departments and experts.
Domestic violence and the impact on its victims
Kirejevová, Iva
2010-01-01
Domestic violence is one of the essential problems of our society. Domestic violence is determined by high prevalence, enormous latency and great victimization impact. The aim of my thesis is to describe the psychological aspects of the victims of domestic violence. I presume that long-term psychological and physical violence has a crucial influence on the psycho-somatic health of the victim. I am aware of the fact that this problem does not concern only battered women. Nevertheless I want to...
Shift work and health of nurses branch of anesthesiology and intensive care
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Anna Grabowska- Gaweł
2018-05-01
Full Text Available Admission: Shift work and the associated inversion biological rhythms leads over time to a number of changes in the functioning of the body. Some are compensation after a rest and do not constitute a direct threat to health, while others eventually lead to irreversible psychosomatic. Objective of the work: Identify factors resulting from shift work and their impact on health, and psychosomatic individual spheres of nursing department of anaesthesiology and intensive therapy ii individual spheres of life. research Methodology: The study was conducted in 60 nurses using a survey questionnaire containing sociodemographic data and issues covering the most troublesome factors in shift work, the negative impact on their mental and somatic sphere, used forms of relaxation and the impact on individual spheres of life. In order to determine the hierarchy of the factors affecting the individual spheres of applied five-scale assume "0" for no effect, "1" little effect "2" moderate effect, "3" high impact "4" a very large impact. Results: The largest group (51.7% were women between 31 and 40 years of age (Avg. 35.0 + - 3.7 years, married (76.9%, having children (72.3%. The largest (46.8% group is working on his post for less than 10 years. For 72% of the most troublesome is night work, work days generally free from work (38%, differentiation of responsibilities per shift (32%. The most frequent symptoms of psychiatric is chronic fatigue (55%, irritability (40%, and somnolence (45%. Somatic reported 94%, these being mainly back pain and lower extremities, appetite disorders and gastrointestinal disorders. In the opinion of 67% of shift work greatly reduces the duties of parental partnerships (68% and household chores (67%. Conclusions: 1. Shift work in most subjects affects the health psychosomatic revealing back pain, lower limbs, gastric disorders and eating disorders, and chronic fatigue, irritability and sleepiness. 2. Shift work significantly reduces
Gender Differences in the Psychosomatic Reactions of Students Subjected to Examination Stress
Kosmala-Anderson, Joanna; Wallace, Louise M.
2007-01-01
Introduction: The study investigated pre-examination anxiety and emotional control strategies as possible mediators of gender differences in self reported intensity and type of psychosomatic reactions to examination stress. Method: Sample comprised 150 male and 150 female high school senior students and university students who voluntarily…
Wagner, Stefanie; Münster, Eva; Beutel, Manfred E
2010-01-01
About seven million people in Germany are affected by overindebtedness and insolvency. Being severely in debt is a very stressful situation that can result in social marginalisation, reducted overall activity, and physical and mental illness. The present study investigated the frequency of financial problems and their effects on physical and mental disorders at a university psychosomatic clinic. The study included a total of 659 patients. Their mental status was assessed with the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R), their physical status with the Gießener Beschwerdebogen (GBB). 37 percent of the subjects reported experiencing financial problems. We found that subjects with financial problems reported more physical and mental disorders than those without financial problems. Furthermore, therapists more often recommended that patients with financial problems receive inpatient therapy than patients without financial problems. The study suggests that financial problems should be included in any anamnesis, therapeutic recommendation, and actual therapy of patients in psychosomatic treatment.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Vanaelst, Barbara; De Vriendt, Tineke; Ahrens, Wolfgang
2012-01-01
The prevalence of childhood stress and psychosomatic and emotional symptoms (PES) has increased in parallel, indicating that adverse, stressful circumstances and PES in children might be associated. This study describes the prevalence of PES in European children, aged 4–11 years old, and examines...... quantitatively (i.e. the number of adversities) and qualitatively (i.e. the type of adversity). This study demonstrates the importance and the impact of the child’s family and social context on the occurrence of PES in children younger than 12 years old....... the relationship among PES, negative life events (NLE) and familial or social adversities in the child’s life. Parent-reported data on childhood adversities and PES was collected for 4,066 children from 8 European countries, who participated in the follow-up survey of IDEFICS (2009–2010), by means of the ‘IDEFICS......-demographics, family lifestyle and health of the child. Chi-square analyses were performed to investigate the prevalence of PES among survey centres, age groups and sex of the child. Odds ratios were calculated to examine the childhood adversity exposure between PES groups and logistic regression analyses were...
PSYCHOSOMATIC ASPECTS IN THE TREATMENT OF GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE
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V. I. Trofimov
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Gastroesophageal reflux disease is the most common disease of the esophagus, through the development of which is impaired motor function of the upper gastrointestinal system, allowing the disease to be quite be classified as psychosomatic, especially in the early stages of development, when no apparent organic complications that affect the structure of tissues. A significant percentage of mental disorders is observed in patients even before the development of somatic complaints. Patients in number of 105 people are examined. The first group — experienced (71 patient received complex treatment, which includes the basic pathogenetic, symptomatic, and psychotropic treatment in the form of anxiolytics and antidepressants. The choice of drug was based on the results of psychological testing. The second group — the comparison group (34 patients received only conventional treatment, without psychiatric support. Analysis was conducted of the astheno-vegetative syndrome, psychological characteristics of patients in relation to their disease, indicators of anxiety level and severity of depression. Patients with not erosive reflux disease have a frequency of detection of a depression and uneasiness was more than twice higher, than at patients with erosive reflux disease. After carrying out psychotropic treatment these indicators were practically made even. Prescription of psychotropic therapy in the form of antidepressants and anxiolytics has allowed to minimize the timing regression of clinical and psychosomatic manifestations of disease.
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Linden M
2016-08-01
Full Text Available Michael Linden,1,2 Marie Dietz,1 Christian Veauthier,3 Ingo Fietze3 1Research Group Psychosomatic Rehabilitation, Charité University Medicine Berlin, 2Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Rehabilitation Centre Seehof, Teltow, 3Interdisciplinary Center of Sleep Medicine, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany Objective: To elucidate the relationship between subjective complaints and polysomnographical parameters in psychosomatic patients.Method: A convenience sample of patients from a psychosomatic inpatient unit were classified according to the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI as very poor sleepers (PSQI >10, n=80 and good sleepers (PSQI <6, n=19. They then underwent a polysomnography and in the morning rated their previous night’s sleep using a published protocol (Deutschen Gesellschaft für Schlafforschung und Schlafmedizin morning protocol [MP].Results: In the polysomnography, significant differences were found between very poor and good sleepers according to the PSQI with respect to sleep efficiency and time awake after sleep onset. When comparing objective PSG and subjective MP, the polysomnographical sleep onset latency was significantly positively correlated with the corresponding parameters of the MP: the subjective sleep onset latency in minutes and the subjective evaluation of sleep onset latency (very short, short, normal, long, very long were positively correlated with the sleep latency measured by polysomnography. The polysomnographical time awake after sleep onset (in minutes was positively correlated with the subjective time awake after sleep onset (in minutes, evaluation of time awake after sleep onset (seldom, normal often, and subjective restfulness. The polysomnographical total sleep time (TST was positively correlated with the subjective TST. Conversely, the polysomnographical TST was negatively correlated with the evaluation of TST (high polysomnographical TST was correlated with the subjective
Ullmann, E; Barthel, A; Licinio, J; Petrowski, K; Bornstein, S R; Strauß, B
2013-01-01
The mental health status of persons with Jewish background living in Germany is discussed with special regard to social exclusion like anti-Semitism and overprotective parental rearing behavior, as a transmissional factor of the KZ-Syndrome. These stressors are considered in the context of a higher risk for depression/fear and psychosomatic disorders and also abnormal cortisol levels. The present sample (N=89) is derived from the Jewish population currently living in the German region of Saxony aged between 17–36 years that emigrated from the post-Soviet-Union areas. The mean age was 22.9 years. Two questionnaires to detect psychosomatic symptoms (Giessen complaint list (GBB)-24, hospital anxiety and depression scale) and one questionnaire addressing parental rearing behavior (FEE) were employed. Comparisons were drawn with normative data from the literature about the German residential population. In addition, questions were asked concerning the experience of anti-Semitism in Germany and in the post-Soviet-Union areas. A higher prevalence of depression/fear (10.3% versus 18.2%) and psychosomatic symptoms (M=14.03 versus 17.8; t=2.42; Poverprotecting maternal rearing behavior more frequently than the German standard random sample (M=15.39 versus 18.6; t=2.68; Poverprotection as parental rearing measures appear to be important factors specifically contributing to the pathogenesis of the attributed symptoms. PMID:23481628
Psychosomatic development of girls with neoplastic diseases in puberty after multidrug chemotherapy
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Korzon, M.; Mielnik, J.; Bohdan, Z.
1993-01-01
We estimated the psychosomatic development of 25 girls aged 13-19 years after antineoplastic therapy. Normal parameters of physical development were stated in all cases. No injury of central nervous system in all cases was seen. Psychological examination revealed strong suppression reactions and evident anxiety signs in majority of girls. (author)
Recovery experiences during vacation and their association with job stressors and health
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Diana Pereira
2017-04-01
Full Text Available Vacations offer opportunities for recovery from work-related stress. However, little is known about the impact of job stressors on recovery experiences during vacation, such as psychological detachment and relaxation. This study investigated detachment and relaxation to mediate the influence of job stressors prior to vacation on recovery during vacation. A total of 136 employees from various occupations completed a questionnaire on their ability to relax and mentally detach from work during a recent vacation. Participants rated perceived time pressure and social exclusion at work prior to their vacation as well as any psychosomatic health complaints or sleep problems during vacation. The results of bootstrap mediation analysis confirmed the mediating role of recovery experiences. The association between job stressors and sleep problems was fully mediated by detachment and relaxation, whereas the association between social exclusion and psychosomatic complaints was fully mediated by relaxation. Furthermore, relaxation partially mediated the association between time pressure and psychosomatic complaints. Not only should the ability of employees to relax and mentally detach be fostered, but job stressors should be reduced in order to allow employees to reach optimal recovery during vacation.
[Shiftwork. Impact on health and safety in the working environment].
Garbarino, S
2006-01-01
Biological rhythms are highly disrupted by night shiftwork (NSW), and any perturbation of social and family life negatively affects performance efficiency, health and social relations. These undesirable aspects have acute and chronic components. The effects manifest themselves not only as increased accidents' frequency, but also as sleep disturbances, excessive daytime sleepiness, psychosomatic disorders that may variously interact to configure a "shift-lag" syndrome, with acute and chronic manifestation. Chronic effects increase the risk of psychoneurotic, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases. The effects of NSW on women are much more pronounced because of their reproductive function and family obligations. Recent Italian legislation (1999, 2003) on night-work has essentially recognised it as a new risk factor and has established that workers' health should be safeguarded through preventive check-ups and regular controls by occupational health physicians. This involves that now occupational health physicians are required to inform workers on coping strategies, and carefully assess health disorders with absolute or relative contraindications. Data from international literature and from our group production are revised and discussed.
Improving primary health care to increase efficiency
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V. M. Kornatsky
2017-02-01
Full Text Available Thus, the convergence of medicine, psychiatry and psychology is the reality of today to eliminate the imbalance, psychosomatic health. The role of medical practice in the correction of psychosomatic disorders is large, but insufficient. Complementary medical becomes a psychological resource in decision psychosomatic problems. A study of the leading role of psychogenic factors and mechanisms of somatic response to stressful situations, underlying the formation of the most common and socially significant diseases, is a current trend psychosomatic direction in the PC. The data obtained may become the basis for developing measures for the identification, treatment, and prevention of psychosomatic disorders in conditions of emotional stress and their prevention. Successful interdisciplinary interaction fosters the following principles: collegiality in matters of surveillance, social functioning capabilities; continuity in matters of treatment and preventive care; adherence to the principles of medical ethics and deontology; implementation of accounting volume of medical care. The formation of a new system will bring to the population high-tech methods of diagnostics and treatment, strengthen the development of the system of prevention of socially significant diseases and expand the possibilities of rehabilitation.
Satsangi, Anirudh Kumar; Brugnoli, Maria Paola
2018-01-01
Psychosomatic disorder is a condition in which psychological stresses adversely affect physiological (somatic) functioning to the point of distress. It is a condition of dysfunction or structural damage in physical organs through inappropriate activation of the involuntary nervous system and the biochemical response. In this framework, this review will consider anxiety disorders, from the perspective of the psychobiological mechanisms of vulnerability to extreme stress in severe chronic illnesses. Psychosomatic medicine is a field of behavioral medicine and a part of the practice of consultation-liaison psychiatry. Psychosomatic medicine in palliative care, integrates interdisciplinary evaluation and management involving diverse clinical specialties including psychiatry, psychology, neurology, internal medicine, allergy, dermatology, psychoneuroimmunology, psychosocial oncology and spiritual care. Clinical conditions where psychological processes act as a major factor affecting medical outcomes are areas where psychosomatic medicine has competence. Thus, the psychosomatic symptom develops as a physiological connected of an emotional state. In a state of rage or fear, for example, the stressed person's blood pressure is likely to be elevated and his pulse and respiratory rate to be increased. When the fear passes, the heightened physiologic processes usually subside. If the person has a persistent fear (chronic anxiety), however, which he is unable to express overtly, the emotional state remains unchanged, though unexpressed in the overt behavior, and the physiological symptoms associated with the anxiety state persist. This paper wants highlight how clinical hypnosis and meditative states can be important psychosocial and spiritual care, for the symptom management on neuro-psychobiological response to stress.
Organizational Wellbeing among Workers in Mental Health Services: A Pilot Study.
Sancassiani, Federica; Campagna, Marcello; Tuligi, Francesco; Machado, Sergio; Cantone, Elisa; Carta, Mauro Giovanni
2015-01-01
Organizational wellbeing in mental health services influences the outcomes of users and their families. Workers should be motivated, have a positive morale and be able to recognize values and the deep meaning of their work. This survey aims to examine the organizational wellbeing of the services provided by the Department of Mental Health (DSM) in Lanusei (Italy) and the correlations between job satisfaction and the psychosomatic health of its workers. Descriptive-correlational study on a population of 43 mental health workers. Organizational wellbeing, as well as workers' job satisfaction and psychosomatic health, were measured using the "Multidimensional Organizational Health Questionnaire" (MOHQ). It is a self-report questionnaire able to examine 14 dimensions of organizational wellbeing, 14 indicators about individual discomfort, 12 indicators about individual wellbeing, 8 psychosomatic symptoms related to job distress. 31 workers (72%) participated in the survey. Regarding the organizational wellbeing of DSM, the general profile mean±sd was 2.66±0.28 (values from 1 to 4: 1=never, 4=often). Job satisfaction was negatively correlated with headaches and concentration difficulties (R=-.584, p=0.001), nervousness, restlessness, anxiety (R=-.571, p=0.001), sense of excessive fatigue (R=-.634, p=0.000) and sense of depression (R=-.558, p=0.001) reported by workers. Data denoted an overall healthy state of the DSM. There were significant correlations between workers' job satisfaction and their psychosomatic health. The recognition and restitution about the weakness and strengths of the services could be useful to point out some organizational development perspectives.
Faith in Islam and Christianity and its impact on health
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Mohammad Mahdi Ahmad farazi
Full Text Available Of the most central elements of religions and most important issues in theology and the Contemporary study of religion is the category of faith and its greatest impact on various aspects of life. Faith, in Islamic and Christian theology, has common and also distinct aspects. The truth of Faith in Islamic thought was multidimensional and consists of a wide range of Confession of language, intellectual knowledge, heart affirmation and inner experience to the treatment involves external actions. In Christianity, it was faith in confirmation of the revealed proposition that led to a sense of transcendence and meta-proposition and created Interest mode in human And sometimes faith apply to the experience of presence and manifestation of God in life. The position of consensus and association between Islam and Christianity was consists of the doctrine of Belief in God and the prophecy and resurrection. This belief is based on the functionalist view affected on body and psyche (or soul health of the human. The impact of Faith on physical and mental health has been separately approved by the specialists. The impacts of faith and religious teachings on physical health have been investigated through psycho-neuro-physiological way that Faith and Religious teachings produce positive emotions in human. The emotions through autonomous nervous system strengthen the immune system and its optimal performance in a way that the messenger molecule called neuropeptide Y, carry the messages related to thoughts and transport it through the blood circulation, and the mental state directly relate to the body's cells. This is the most important factor in strengthening or weakening the immune system influenced by the thoughts and beliefs. Moreover, Te'osumatic medicine known as the God-body medicine, after the psychosomatic or psycho-body medicine confirms the impact of faith on the health and recovery of individuals. They believe that illness and death of individuals
[Institutional Prevalence and Context of Severe Sleep Disorders in Psychosomatic Rehabilitation].
Linden, Michael
2015-07-01
In cases of burnout, chronic fatigue, depression, somatization, overtaxation, or impairment in wellbeing and work capacity, the cause can be sleep problems. Goal of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of sleep problems in psychosomatic inpatients. Included were 1325 unselected patients from a psychosomatic rehabilitation hospital. They filled in the SCL-90, the PSQI and were assessed in respect to their clinical, social and occupational status. At admission 13.4% of patients had a PSQI score of 5 at maximum (no sleep problem), 34.6% 6 to 10 (moderate sleep problem) und 52.1% over 10 (severe sleep problem). At discharge there was a reduction of sleep problems with 32.7% of patients over 10. Sleep problems were significantly associated with more severe mental problems, older age, women, lower socioeconomic status, and also incapacity to work or early retirement. Mental disorders can cause sleep problems and sleep problems mental disorders and incapacity to work, with a negative interaction. The high rate of severe sleep problems in rehabilitation patients shows that this problem is in need of special diagnostic and therapeutic attention. Also, the equipment of hospitals and the qualification of therapists should allow adequate care. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
[Psychosomatic stress factors in compensated and decompensated tinnitus].
Stobik, Corinna; Weber, Rainer K; Münte, Thomas F; Frommer, Jörg
2003-08-01
In modern medical practice, chronic decompensated tinnitus is defined as a complex psychosomatic process in which mental and social factors are considered to have a determining effect on the patient's subjective response to the impairment of otological or other somatic functions attributed to tinnitus. What is still largely unknown is the interaction of the individual factors and their impact on the patient's ability to cope with tinnitus. The impact of psycho-social and somatic factors on the subjective experience of patients with compensated and decompensated tinnitus is evaluated. 53 patients with chronic tinnitus were divided into two groups, compensated and decompensated, on the basis of their subjective experience of the disorder, established according to the tinnitus questionnaire published by Goebel and Hiller. Self-assessment instruments and a survey of symptoms of somatic stress disorders were used to compare the two groups in terms of differences in the patients' mental and psycho-social behaviour, in their strategies for coping with tinnitus and in the incidence of co-morbidity. The patients with decompensated tinnitus suffered from more pronounced mental and social disabilities, were more prone to depression and used less effective techniques to cope with their illness. The principal difference between the two groups, however, appeared to lie in a significantly higher degree of somatic multi-morbidity, where a particularly strong correlation was found between tinnitus and the incidence of cardiovascular diseases and hypacusis. 81 percent of the total sample of patients suffered from impaired hearing. Patients with decompensated tinnitus experienced greater communication difficulties as a result of their auditory impairment. In the diagnosis and therapy of tinnitus, in addition to psychic and psycho-social aspects greater attention ought to be paid to somatic factors, influencing the patient's ability to cope with the disorder.
Rheker, Julia; Beisel, Sylvia; Kräling, Svenja; Rief, Winfried
2017-08-01
Studies examining the rates of negative effects of psychotherapy are rare and the reported rates differ widely. To be able to calculate adequate benefit-cost ratios in conjunction with different samples and settings, we need a deeper understanding of these effects. We therefore investigated whether different treatment settings would reveal varying rates and kinds of negative effects by recruiting patients from a psychiatric (n=93) and a psychosomatic rehabilitation (n=63) hospital. Negative effects of psychotherapy were assessed with the Inventory for the Assessment of Negative Effects of Psychotherapy post-treatment. To investigate whether patients' pre-treatment expectations have an influence on reported negative effects, patients filled in the Patient Questionnaire on Therapy Expectation and Evaluation prior to treatment begin. Patients from the psychiatric hospital reported an average 1.41 negative effects, with 58.7% reporting at least one negative effect. Those from the psychosomatic hospital reported 0.76 negative effects on average, with 45.2% of patients reporting at least one negative effect. The differences between these samples are significant. The two samples' top three reported types of negative effects are that patients had experienced more downs during or just before the end of the therapy, that patients had difficulty making important decisions without the therapist, and that patients were concerned that colleagues or friends might find out about the therapy. A regression analysis revealed that the clinical setting (psychosomatic rehabilitation hospital vs. psychiatric hospital) and expectations in the form of hope of improvement were significant predictors for negative effects of psychotherapy. Our study highlights the need to examine the negative effects of psychotherapy in different settings and samples to better evaluate the benefit-cost ratios of treatments for different patient groups. It also shows that we need guidelines for assessing and
Effect of cognitive behavioral stress management program on psychosomatic patients′ quality of life
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Zahra Ghazavi
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Background: Level of stress and its management affects the dimensions of psychosomatic patients′ quality of life (QoL, which is an important psychological issue. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of cognitive behavioral stress management program on psychosomatic patients′ QoL. In cognitive behavioral method, patients discover thought and behavioral mistakes and recover them. The criterion to evaluate the success of the present study was measurement of the patients′ QoL and its notable improvement after intervention. Materials and Methods: This is a before-and-after clinical trial with a control group. The study participants comprised 70 psychosomatic patients referred to subspecial psychiatry clinic in Isfahan who were selected through convenient sampling and allocated to the study and control groups. Quality of Life Questionnaire (SF36 was adopted to collect the data. The questionnaire was completed by the participants in three stages of before-and-after up to a month after intervention. Cognitive behavioral stress management program was administrated in study group for eight straight sessions, two month, and a month after intervention. Along with this, conventional medical treatments were conducted for both the groups. Data were analyzed by ANOVA. The significance level was P < 0.001. Results: There was no significant difference in QoL mean scores between the two groups before intervention (44, 43.1, but mean scores of QoL were significantly higher in intervention G (55.7, 59.1, compared to control (39.8, 35.7, after intervention (P < 0.001 and one month after intervention (P < 0.001. Conclusions: Cognitive behavioral stress management, conducted in the present study, had a notable effect on QoL. Therefore, designing psychological interventions based on cognitive behavioral stress management is suggested as an efficient clinical intervention.
The influence of united psychosomatic factors on clinical features of acne vulgaris
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Dejanović Lidija
2014-01-01
Full Text Available Acne is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the pilosebaceal unit. Dermatological disorders are often associated with a variety of psychological problems which the patient have. Psichodermatologic disorders (acne are associated with skin problems that are not directly connected to the mind, but that react to emotional states, such as stress. The aim of this article is to show if there is any psychological characteristic which are common for the whole group of ill-patients from acne, as well as whether there is correlation between any type of acne and psychological parameters. Own exploration consist at thirty patients with three clinical type of acne. Personality test-Kornel index were used for identification and diagnostic psychosomatic disorders. The results are: neurastenic parameters, parameters of conversion and parameters of psychopathy in different percent at both sex, and different clinical features. We show correlation united 2-6 psichosomatic disorders in male sex with softly type of acne. In female sex with any type of acne are responsible 7-12 united findings. The association of several psychosomatic factors could possibly be responsible for the onset of acne at any type.
Zheng, Yingying; Zhou, Yiyi; Lai, Qiujia
2015-06-01
The aim of the current study was to observe the effects of Twenty-four Move Shadow Boxing combined with psychosomatic relaxation on depression and anxiety in patients with Type-2 Diabetes. One hundred and twenty (120) patients with Type-2 Diabetes and depressive/anxious symptoms were divided into intervention group (60 cases) and control group (60 cases) according to the minimum distribution principle of unbalanced indicators. Twenty-four Move Shadow Boxing group used this intervention combined with psychosomatic relaxation. Control group underwent conventional treatment. All the patients in the two groups completed the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) before and after treatment. Among the 52 people included in the statistical analysis, the recovery rate was 13.3%. The differences between depression and anxiety scores in the intervention group before and after treatment were statistically significant (PBoxing and psychosomatic relaxation has a beneficial auxiliary therapeutic effect on depression and anxiety accompanying Type-2 Diabetes.
Fritzsche, Kurt; Xudong, Zhao; Anselm, Kathrin; Kern, Stephanie; Wirsching, Michael; Schaefert, Rainer
2011-01-01
Little is known about treatment for patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) in China. This study investigates the treatment expectations and treatment satisfaction of patients with MUS in psychosomatic medicine, biomedicine, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In a cross-sectional survey, n = 96 (10.3%) out of 931 participating patients were screened positive for multiple somatoform symptoms. These patients answered questionnaires concerning symptom duration, number of doctor visits, functional impairment, emotional distress, treatment expectations, treatment satisfaction, and empathy in the consultation. The physicians filled in a questionnaire about applied or recommended treatment. Most of the patients from psychosomatic medicine wanted psychotherapy. In TCM, 55% of the patients had already received TCM treatment and most of them wanted to continue TCM treatment. Patients in biomedicine did not express clear expectations; most of them had had no previous treatment. A combination of treatment methods was most prevalent in biomedicine in comparison to psychosomatic medicine and TCM. The outcome from the patients' point of view was significantly better in TCM than in psychosomatic medicine and biomedicine. Psychosomatic medicine's strength was the empathetic physician-patient interaction. From a biopsychosocial perspective, these results suggest that various treatment approaches with various emphases can be effective depending on the patient's complaints, his illness beliefs, and what the physician offers. The results will be verified in a larger multicenter longitudinal study.
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М. М. Pustovoyt
2017-08-01
Full Text Available The problem of psychotic disorders with onset in the age of involution from broader perspective, guided by modern multidimensional paradigm, was never discussed before. Involutional psychosis is considered as a constellation of the biological changes that are irrefutable in this age period. Certain personality traits and coping strategies can be predisposing to psychotic response, as well as typical features of the “life curve” and external stressors that can run a psychotic reaction. The paper presents the result of our study. This study pays much attention to study of premorbid personality, with emphasis on characteristic features, peculiarities of the emotional reaction and motivation-behavioral area, which completely coincided with characteristics of the narcissistic personality disorder listed in DSM-V (2013. Aim: To explore the psychosomatic pathogenetic connections inherent involutionary psychosis, given pathogenic and pathoplastic impact of premorbid personality structure their syndromic form and dynamics, determine their place on the psychosomatic continuum and develop adequate and pathogenetic justified method of therapy. Methods. Data obtained by the clinical method were confirmed by the results of experimental psychological and neuropsychological researches. Results. Clinical characteristics of psychotic disorders in the patient population showed in the structure of psychosis the existence of two oppositely directed continuums: affective (depressive and delusional. This allows to allocate four main clinical forms of psychosis and their tendency to unite in two clusters that differed each other by the features, and also by their response to therapy and, therefore, by the prognosis. Conclusions: The psychodynamic approach to understanding the involutional psychosis, that was introduced by the author, got natural development in the proposed method of treatment that included complex medication and psychotherapy. The schemes of
Van Geelen, S.; Franssen, G.
For this special issue, we asked nine specialists to explicate what they believe to be the fundamental dimensions of self-experience in mental healthcare, and to fully consider the consequences of those dimensions for adequate strategies of self-management in psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine.
Faith in Islam and Christianity and its impact on health
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Ali Reza Ajdar
2013-09-01
Full Text Available Of the most central elements of religions and most important issues in theology and the Contemporary study of religion is the category of faith and its greatest impact on various aspects of life. Faith, in Islamic and Christian theology, has common and also distinct aspects. The truth of Faith in Islamic thought was multidimensional and consists of a wide range of Confession of language, intellectual knowledge, heart affirmation and inner experience to the treatment involves external actions. In Christianity, it was faith in confirmation of the revealed proposition that led to a sense of transcendence and meta-proposition and created Interest mode in human And sometimes faith apply to the experience of presence and manifestation of God in life. The position of consensus and association between Islam and Christianity was consists of the doctrine of Belief in God and the prophecy and resurrection. This belief is based on the functionalist view affected on body and psyche (or soul health of the human. The impact of Faith on physical and mental health has been separately approved by the specialists. The impacts of faith and religious teachings on physical health have been investigated through psycho-neuro-physiological way that Faith and Religious teachings produce positive emotions in human. The emotions through autonomous nervous system strengthen the immune system and its optimal performance in a way that the messenger molecule called neuropeptide Y, carry the messages related to thoughts and transport it through the blood circulation, and the mental state directly relate to the body's cells. This is the most important factor in strengthening or weakening the immune system influenced by the thoughts and beliefs. Moreover, Te'osumatic medicine known as the God-body medicine, after the psychosomatic or psycho-body medicine confirms the impact of faith on the health and recovery of individuals. They believe that illness and death
Faith in Islam and Christianity and its impact on health
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ali Reza Ajdar
2013-08-01
Full Text Available Of the most central elements of religions and most important issues in theology and the Contemporary study of religion is the category of faith and its greatest impact on various aspects of life. Faith, in Islamic and Christian theology, has common and also distinct aspects. The truth of Faith in Islamic thought was multidimensional and consists of a wide range of Confession of language, intellectual knowledge, heart affirmation and inner experience to the treatment involves external actions. In Christianity, it was faith in confirmation of the revealed proposition that led to a sense of transcendence and meta-proposition and created Interest mode in human And sometimes faith apply to the experience of presence and manifestation of God in life. The position of consensus and association between Islam and Christianity was consists of the doctrine of Belief in God and the prophecy and resurrection. This belief is based on the functionalist view affected on body and psyche (or soul health of the human. The impact of Faith on physical and mental health has been separately approved by the specialists. The impacts of faith and religious teachings on physical health have been investigated through psycho-neuro-physiological way that Faith and Religious teachings produce positive emotions in human. The emotions through autonomous nervous system strengthen the immune system and its optimal performance in a way that the messenger molecule called neuropeptide Y, carry the messages related to thoughts and transport it through the blood circulation, and the mental state directly relate to the body's cells. This is the most important factor in strengthening or weakening the immune system influenced by the thoughts and beliefs. Moreover, Te'osumatic medicine known as the God-body medicine, after the psychosomatic or psycho-body medicine confirms the impact of faith on the health and recovery of individuals. They believe that illness and death
From Biomedical to Psychosomatic Reasoning: A Theoretical Framework
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Alireza Monajemi
2014-01-01
Full Text Available Despite a general acceptance of the biopsychosocial model, medical education and patient care are still largely biomedical in focus, and physicians have many deficiencies in biopsychosocial formulations and care. Education in medical schools puts more emphasis on providing biomedical education (BM than biopsychosocial education (BPS; the initial knowledge formed in medical students is mainly with a biomedical approach. Therefore, it seems that psychosocial aspects play a minor role at this level and PSM knowledge will lag behind BM knowledge. However, it seems that the integration of biomedical and psychosocial-knowledge is crucial for a successful and efficient patient encounter. In this paper, based on the theory of medical expertise development, the steps through which biomedical reasoning transforms to psychosomatic reasoning will be discussed.
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Prokhach, N.E.; Sorochan, P.P.; Gromakova, Yi.A.; Kuz'menko, O.V.; Yivanenko, M.O.
2015-01-01
The assessment of an integrated indicator of quality of life, indicators of emotional and cognitive functioning, indicators of fatigue, pain and sleep disorders at stages of the combined treatment at patients with uterine corpus cancer with cortisolemia of various expression is carried out. Psychosomatic disorders are least expressed at patients with the low and high level of a hydrocortisone whereas patients with intermediate levels of a hydro-cortisone have more expressed fatigue, the feeling of pain, essential sleep disorders is stronger. Clarification of the mechanisms involved to development of psychosomatic disturbances in patients with different expression of a cortisolemia is necessary for development of the individualized strategy of prophylaxis and treatment focused on conservation of quality of life
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Mina Mazaheri
2014-01-01
Full Text Available Background: The unified treatment approach (UP is an emotion-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy in which the main object of treatment is emotional processes. The aim of the present research was to examine the effectiveness of The Unified Protocol (UP on emotional dysregulation and cognitive emotion regulation strategies in patients with psychosomatic disorders. Methods: Emotion-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (ECBT, a unified treatment, with 12 weekly group sessions of 2 hours, was presented to 14 patients with psychosomatic complaints at the Subspecialty Center of Psychiatry in Isfahan in 2013. Pre- and post-intervention assessments were done by means of the self-report tests of Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ. Results: Significant reductions in post-test scores of total emotional dysregulation (P < 0.01 as well as the factors of non-acceptance (P < 0.05 and strategy (P < 0.01 were seen, while the other factors (goal, impulse, awareness, and clarity did not change. Moreover, a significant reduction was observed in the catastrophizing strategy score (P < 0.05, in comparison with other cognitive strategies. Conclusion: This pilot study including 14 patients with psychosomatic disorders indicates that the Unified treatment approach is an effective treatment in improvement of emotional dysregulation and in reduction of utilizing maladaptive cognitive strategies.
Clinical application of somatosensory amplification in psychosomatic medicine
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Nakao Mutsuhiro
2007-10-01
Full Text Available Abstract Many patients with somatoform disorders are frequently encountered in psychosomatic clinics as well as in primary care clinics. To assess such patients objectively, the concept of somatosensory amplification may be useful. Somatosensory amplification refers to the tendency to experience a somatic sensation as intense, noxious, and disturbing. It may have a role in a variety of medical conditions characterized by somatic symptoms that are disproportionate to demonstrable organ pathology. It may also explain some of the variability in somatic symptomatology found among different patients with the same serious medical disorder. It has been assessed with a self-report questionnaire, the Somatosensory Amplification Scale. This instrument was developed in a clinical setting in the U.S., and the reliability and validity of the Japanese and Turkish versions have been confirmed as well. Many studies have attempted to clarify the specific role of somatosensory amplification as a pathogenic mechanism in somatization. It has been reported that somatosensory amplification does not correlate with heightened sensitivity to bodily sensations and that emotional reactivity exerts its influence on somatization via a negatively biased reporting style. According to our recent electroencephalographic study, somatosensory amplification appears to reflect some aspects of long-latency cognitive processing rather than short-latency interoceptive sensitivity. The concept of somatosensory amplification can be useful as an indicator of somatization in the therapy of a broad range of disorders, from impaired self-awareness to various psychiatric disorders. It also provides useful information for choosing appropriate pharmacological or psychological therapy. While somatosensory amplification has a role in the presentation of somatic symptoms, it is closely associated with other factors, namely, anxiety, depression, and alexithymia that may also influence the same
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nyagu, A.I.
1995-01-01
Proceedings of the International Conference on the mental health consequences of the Chernobyl disaster: current state and future prospects was introduced.The questions connected with: 1. Mental health disorders biological basis after ionizing radiation influence; 2. Psychiatric aspects of the Chernobyl disaster; 3. Social stress following contradictory information: ways for its overcoming; 4. Rehabilitation and prophylactic measures for mental and nervous disorders. Psycho social rehabilitation of survivors; 5. Psychosomatic effects and somato-neurological consequences of the Chernobyl disaster; 6. Psychosomatic health of children and adolescents survivors of the Chernobyl disaster; 7. Brain damage as result of prenatal irradiation
The relation of vocal fold lesions and voice quality to voice handicap and psychosomatic well-being
Smits, R.; Marres, H.A.; de Jong, F.
2012-01-01
BACKGROUND: Voice disorders have a multifactorial genesis and may be present in various ways. They can cause a significant communication handicap and impaired quality of life. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of vocal fold lesions and voice quality on voice handicap and psychosomatic well-being.
[Influence of tendencies toward depression, neurosis and psychosomatic disorders on oral symptoms].
Sasaki, Emi
2005-12-01
This study revealed that the tendencies towards depression, neurosis, and psychosomatic disorders have effects on oral symptoms. The total number of subjects was 102. The subjects were divided into two groups using the SDS (Self-rating Depression Scale): a control group of 66 subjects with an SDS value of less than 40, and a group of 36 subjects having depression tendencies with an SDS value of over 50. Most of the subjects in the depression tendency group showed symptoms of neurosis and psychosomatic disorders as well. The two groups were compared on the basis of their psychological characteristics, dosages of medicine taken, esthesis of mouth dryness, glossalgia, salivary flow rate, oral wettability, existence of dental cavities, and condition of the oral mucosa. No xerostomia at the mucobuccal fold was observed in the depression tendency group. However, there was an evident decrease of the resting salivary flow rate and the wettability of proglossis. It is considered that such a decrease resulted in an increase in the symptoms derived from xerostomia or esthesis of mouth dryness. The number of conservable but untreated dental cavities in the depression tendency group was larger than that in the control group with a significant difference, suggesting that both oral self-care and dental care management tended to be inadequate in the depression tendency group.
Ortiz Collado, Maria Assumpta; Saez, Marc; Favrod, Jérôme; Hatem, Marie
2014-01-15
Postpartum depression (PPD) and poor childbirth outcomes are associated with poverty; these variables should be addressed by an adapted approach. The aim of this research was to evaluate the impact of an antenatal programme based on a novel psychosomatic approach to pregnancy and delivery, regarding the risk of PPD and childbirth outcomes in disadvantaged women. A multi-centre, randomized, controlled trial comparing a novel to standard antenatal programme. Primary outcome was depressive symptoms (using EPDS) and secondary outcome was preterm childbirth (fewer 37 weeks). The sample comprised 184 couples in which the women were identified to be at PPD risk by validated interview. The study was conducted in three public hospitals with comparable standards of perinatal care. Women were randomly distributed in to an experimental group (EG) or a control group (CG), and evaluated twice: during pregnancy (T1) and four weeks post-partum (T2). At T2, the variables were compared using the chi square test. Data analysis was based on intention to treat. The novel programme used the Tourné psychosomatic approach focusing on body awareness sensations, construction of an individualized childbirth model, and attachment. The 10 group antenatal sessions each lasted two hours, with one telephone conversation between sessions. In the control group, the participants choose the standard model of antenatal education, i.e., 8 to 10 two-hour sessions focused on childbirth by obstetrical prophylaxis. A difference of 11.2% was noted in postpartum percentages of PPD risk (EPDS ≥ 12): 34.3% (24) in EG and 45.5% (27) in CG (p = 0.26). The number of depressive symptoms among EG women decreased at T2 (intragroup p = 0.01). Premature childbirth was four times less in EG women: three (4.4%) compared to 13 (22.4%) among CG women (p = 0.003). Birth weight was higher in EG women (p = 0.01). The decrease of depressive symptoms in women was not conclusive. However, because birth weight was higher and
Lyketsos, Constantine G.; Huyse, Frits J.; Gitlin, David F.; Levenson, James L.
2006-01-01
Background and Objectives: In the past, Psychosomatic Medicine (PM) has had ambiguous connotations, and there have been many other names for this specialized fields, including Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. The objective of this report is to briefly review the background, the history and current
[The psychosomatics of chronic back pain. Classification, aetiology and therapy].
Henningsen, P
2004-05-01
An overview is given on the current classification, description and treatment of chronic pain with causally relevant psychological factors. It is based on the "practice guidelines on somatoform disorders" and on a thematically related meta-analysis. The classificatory problems, especially of the demarcation of somatoform and other chronic pain, are presented. Additional descriptive dimensions of the relevant psychosocial factors are: pain description, other organically unexplained pain- and non-pain-symptoms, anxiety and depression, disease conviction and illness behaviour, personality and childhood abuse. A modified psychotherapy for (somatoform) chronic pain is outlined. Finally, this aetiologically oriented psychosomatic-psychiatric approach is compared to psychological coping models for chronic pain.
Assembly work in Indonesia and in Sweden--ergonomics, health and satisfaction.
Waluyo, L; Ekberg, K; Eklund, J
1996-02-01
Work conditions in industrial production vary substantially between different cultures. In the present study the aims were to identify differences between Swedish and Indonesian assembly industry workers regarding work environment factors, health and job satisfaction, and to find associations between work environment factors, and the health measures. Data were collected by a questionnaire from 326 Swedish and 136 Indonesian assembly industry workers, interviews and from company documents. The prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms was high in both groups. Stress and psychosomatic symptoms had higher prevalences in the Swedish group, which also rated their work conditions as worse in most respects. Work tasks were physically heavier in Indonesia, but less monotonous and with lower demands on productivity. The Indonesians were more satisfied with their jobs. Physical job demands were associated with musculoskeletal symptoms. Competence development was associated with increased job satisfaction. Conflicts and harassments at work were associated with stress and psychosomatic symptoms. Job pressure, especially deficient planning of the jobs was associated with lower job satisfaction, psychosomatic and stress symptoms in the Swedish group. Implications for job design in the two cultures are presented.
Evidence of psychosomatic influences in compensated and decompensated tinnitus.
Stobik, Corinna; Weber, Rainer K; Münte, Thomas F; Walter, Marc; Frommer, Jörg
2005-06-01
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role and interaction of individual factors on decompensated tinnitus. Subjects consisted of 53 adult patients with chronic tinnitus. They were selected and assigned to two groups, compensated (n = 28) and decompensated (n = 25), according to the results of an established tinnitus questionnaire. Both groups were evaluated and compared. The patients with decompensated tinnitus suffered from more pronounced social disabilities, were more prone to depression, and used less effective techniques to cope with their illness. They showed a higher degree of somatic multimorbidity, with particularly strong correlations between tinnitus and the incidence of cardiovascular diseases and hypoacusis. As a consequence, in the psychosomatic tinnitus therapy, greater attention should be given to the treatment of the somatic complaints in addition to psychological and psychosocial aspects.
Eleven years epidemiological investigation health effects among Chernobyl child victims
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Korol, N.; Dukhota, T.
1998-01-01
Epidemiological register of Chernobyl child victims was created in 1986 in Scientific Centre for Radiation Medicine. It includes most important, risk groups: evacuated children from Chernobyl's zone; children who were exposed with doses on thyroid gland more than 2 Gy; children who were exposed in utero; children who were born from clean-up workers. The annual clinical observation program includes: physical examination, biochemical and hematological analysis, ultrasound of thyroid gland and abdomen, psychological tests for children, social observation for parents. For coding ICD-9 was used. The observations indicate a deterioration of health status among the children victims of the Chernobyl disaster. The healthy children's number decreased from 31 % in 1987 to 8 % in 1997. The number of the invalids more than 4 times higher in comparison Ukrainian children. The annual prevalence all diseases including incidence, new cases, dramatically increased (from 5890.6 0/00 in 1989 to 9148.3 0/00 in 1997). The annual amount all diseases increased from 27100 0/00 in 1989 to 51971 0/00 in 1997. Most important increasing was in such part as digestive tract (from 5294 0/00 in 1989 to 10782 0/00 in 1997), blood diseases (from 927 0/00 in 1989 to 1471 0/00 in 1997), diseases nervous system (from 2373 0/00 in 1989 to 4152 0/00 in 1997). Relative risk was calculated in comparison with same age Ukrainian children for most important disorders: peptic (6.4), cardiovascular (5.3), nervous system (6.2), immune (5.3). Such diseases as digestion organ diseases, nervous system, skin and cardiovascular diseases are more prevalent among victims with psychological impact. All children victims Chernobyl disaster are at risk for psychosomatic disorders. Psychosomatic health promotion program will minimize significantly population health impact after Chernobyl as for children as for Ukrainian adult people. (authors)
Results of ten years monitoring health effects among Chernobyl child victims
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Korol, N.
1998-01-01
Evacuated children, children exposed during Chernobyl accident in utero and children who were born to cleaning workers were investigated in the 1986 - 1996 period. During this period the number of children with chronic diseases (digestive diseases, blood diseases and nervous system diseases) increased. Manifestation of somatic diseases cannot be linked biologically to exposure to ionizing radiation. Vegetative dystonia assumes the first place among psychosomatic diseases and represents a major risk factor for peptic disorders and cardiovascular disorders. The non-radiation hazard of the Chernobyl accident (anxiety, psycho-social stress) has more significant health impacts than the radiation-induced cancer outcomes. (M.D.)
Du, Weiwei; FitzGerald, Gerard Joseph; Clark, Michele; Hou, Xiang-Yu
2010-01-01
Floods are the most common hazard to cause disasters and have led to extensive morbidity and mortality throughout the world. The impact of floods on the human community is related directly to the location and topography of the area, as well as human demographics and characteristics of the built environment. The aim of this study is to identify the health impacts of disasters and the underlying causes of health impacts associated with floods. A conceptual framework is developed that may assist with the development of a rational and comprehensive approach to prevention, mitigation, and management. This study involved an extensive literature review that located >500 references, which were analyzed to identify common themes, findings, and expert views. The findings then were distilled into common themes. The health impacts of floods are wide ranging, and depend on a number of factors. However, the health impacts of a particular flood are specific to the particular context. The immediate health impacts of floods include drowning, injuries, hypothermia, and animal bites. Health risks also are associated with the evacuation of patients, loss of health workers, and loss of health infrastructure including essential drugs and supplies. In the medium-term, infected wounds, complications of injury, poisoning, poor mental health, communicable diseases, and starvation are indirect effects of flooding. In the long-term, chronic disease, disability, poor mental health, and poverty-related diseases including malnutrition are the potential legacy. This article proposes a structured approach to the classification of the health impacts of floods and a conceptual framework that demonstrates the relationships between floods and the direct and indirect health consequences.
Landsman-Dijkstra, Jeanet J. A.; van Wijck, R; Groothoff, JW
Objective: A 3-day residential body awareness program (BAP) was developed to teach people with chronic aspecific psychosomatic symptoms (CAPS) to react adequately to disturbances of the balance between a daily workload and the capacity to deal with it. The long-term effects of the program in
Parental alienation: the impact on men's mental health.
Sher, Leo
2015-11-13
Parental alienation is defined as a mental state in which a child, usually one whose parents are engaged in a high-conflict separation or divorce, allies himself strongly with one parent (the preferred parent) and rejects a relationship with the other parent (the alienated parent) without legitimate justification. Parental alienation may affect men's mental health: a) parental alienation negatively influences mental health of male children and adolescents who are victims of parental alienation. Alienated children/adolescents display guilt, sadness, and depressed mood; low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence; distress and frustration; lack of impulse control, substance abuse and delinquent behavior; separation anxiety, fears and phobias; hypochondria and increased tendency to develop psychosomatic illness; suicidal ideation and suicide attempt; sleep and eating disorders; educational problems; enuresis and encopresis; b) parental alienation negatively affects the mental health of adult men who were victims of parental alienation when they were children and/or adolescents. Long-term effects of parental alienation include low self-esteem, depression, drug/alcohol abuse, lack of trust, alienation from own children, divorce, problems with identity and not having a sense of belonging or roots, choosing not to have children to avoid being rejected by them, low achievement, anger and bitterness over the time lost with the alienated parent; c) parental alienation negatively influences mental health of men who are alienated from their children. Fathers who have lost some or all contact with their children for months or years following separation or divorce may be depressed and suicidal.
[Type of school, social capital and subjective health in adolescence].
Bohn, V; Richter, M
2012-11-01
Social capital is increasingly acknowledged as a central determinant of health. While several studies among adults have shown the importance of social capital for the explanation of social inequalities in health, few comparable studies exist which focus on adolescents. The study examines the role of social capital in different social contexts for the explanation of health inequalities in adolescence. Data were obtained from the 'Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC)' study in North Rhine-Westphalia from 2006. The sample includes data of 4323 11-15-year-old students. To analyse the role of social capital in the contexts family, school, friends and neighbourhood for inequalities in self-rated health and psychosomatic complaints, logistic regression models were calculated. The socioeconomic position of the adolescents was measured by type of school. Adolescents from general schools reported higher prevalences of fair/poor self-rated health and repeated psychosomatic complaints than pupils from grammar schools. Social capital in all 4 contexts (family, school, friends, and neighbourhood) was associated with both health indicators, independent of gender. In the separate analysis the variables for social capital showed a comparable explanatory contribution and reduced the odds ratios of self-rated health by 6-9%. The contribution for psychosomatic complaints was slightly higher with 10-15%. The only exception was social capital among friends which showed no effect for both health indicators. In the joint analysis the variables for social capital explained about 15% to 30% of health inequalities by school type. The results show that, already in adolescence, inequalities in subjective health can be partly explained through socioeconomic differences in the availability of social capital. The settings family, neighbourhood and school provide ideal contexts for preventive actions and give the opportunity to directly address the high-risk group of students from
Severe psychosomatic illness in children: effect on a pediatric ward's staff.
Fialkov, M J; Miller, J A
1981-12-01
Observations of a pediatric ward's response to the repeated hospitalization of an asthmatic child revealed a close parallel to the transactional patterns described in families of children with psychosomatic illnesses. Characteristics of such families include enmeshment, overprotectiveness, rigidity and resistance to change, lack of conflict resolution, and use of the child's sick role to relieve tension and discomfort within the family. In this article we have attempted to demonstrate the similarity of responses between these families and groups of hospital ward personnel. Resolution of the ward personnel's internal conflict was followed by changes in the coping abilities of the staff, with a successful outcome for a second child with a similar clinical condition.
Workplace mobbing and effects on workers' health.
Meseguer de Pedro, Mariano; Soler Sánchez, María Isabel; Sáez Navarro, María Concepción; García Izquierdo, Mariano
2008-05-01
In this work, we analyze various consequences of the phenomenon of mobbing on the health of a work sector with special characteristics: the agro fruit sector. For this purpose, we collected data from a sample of 396 workers (61 men and 331 women) belonging to this sector in the Region of Murcia (Spain). A questionnaire with the following measurement instruments was administered: a Spanish adaptation of the revised Negative Acts Questionnaire (Sáez, García, & Llor, 2003), the Psychosomatic Problems Questionnaire (Hock, 1988), and a measure of absenteeism. The results revealed a significant and positive relation between workplace mobbing and psychosomatic symptoms, but not with absenteeism. The implications of the results for future research are discussed.
Preejaculatory illness syndrome: Two cases of a rare psychosomatic disorder
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Adel Mohsen
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Human ejaculation happens in the orgasmic phase of the human sexual response cycle. Among psychosomatic ejaculatory disorders that may happen before ejaculation, we present two cases of preejaculatory illness syndrome. The two cases shared common symptoms of sympathetic over activity, the sensation of impending death, and muscle atonia with subsequent failure to ejaculate. Depression, anxiety disorders, and family histories of psychiatric problems were noticed as risk factors. Medical conditions that may lead to panic attack type symptoms were eliminated before the final diagnosis. After the failure of empirical medications, symptoms became controlled with fluoxetine. Patients reported a recurrence of the symptoms on trying to stop the prescribed medication. On the last follow-up, they still take fluoxetine on a regular base with satisfactory sexual life.
Martínez, Beatriz Bertolaccini; Custódio, Rodrigo Pereira
2014-01-01
The stress of living with a terminal disease has a negative impact on the mental health of hemodialysis (HD) patients. Spirituality is a potential coping mechanism for stressful experiences. Studies on the relationship between spirituality and mental health among HD patients are scarce. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between mental health and spiritual well-being among HD patients. Cross-sectional observational study on hemodialysis patients at a single center in Brazil, between January and December 2011. Mental health was assessed using the General Health Questionnaire and spiritual wellbeing was assessed using the Spiritual Wellbeing Scale; 150 HD patients participated in the study. A significant correlation was found between mental health and spiritual wellbeing (P = 0.001). Spiritual wellbeing was the strongest predictor of mental health, psychological distress, sleep disturbance and psychosomatic complaints. Poor mental health was associated with lower spiritual wellbeing. This has important implications for delivery of palliative care to HD patients.
Petzschner, Frederike H; Weber, Lilian A E; Gard, Tim; Stephan, Klaas E
2017-09-15
This article outlines how a core concept from theories of homeostasis and cybernetics, the inference-control loop, may be used to guide differential diagnosis in computational psychiatry and computational psychosomatics. In particular, we discuss 1) how conceptualizing perception and action as inference-control loops yields a joint computational perspective on brain-world and brain-body interactions and 2) how the concrete formulation of this loop as a hierarchical Bayesian model points to key computational quantities that inform a taxonomy of potential disease mechanisms. We consider the utility of this perspective for differential diagnosis in concrete clinical applications. Copyright © 2017 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
[Risks and health problems caused by the use of video terminals].
Tamez González, Silvia; Ortiz-Hernández, Luis; Martínez-Alcántara, Susana; Méndez-Ramírez, Ignacio
2003-01-01
To evaluate the association between video display terminal (VDT) use and health hazards, occupational risks, and psychosocial factors, in newspaper workers. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 1998 in a representative sample (n = 68) drawn from a population of 218 VDT operators in Mexico City. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Data were confirmed by performing physical examinations. The research hypothesis was that both the current and cumulative use of VDT are associated with visual, musculoskeletal system, and skin illnesses, as well as with fatigue and mental or psychosomatic disorders. Occupational health hazards were assessed (visual problems, postural risks, sedentary work, computer mouse use, excessive heat, and overcrowding), as well as psychosocial factors related to work organization (psychological demands, work control, and social support). Prevalence ratios were adjusted for confounding variables like age, sex and schooling. Women were more likely than men to have upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), dermatitis, and seborrheic eczema. VDT use was associated with neuro-visual fatigue, upper extremity MSD, dermatitis, and seborrheic eczema. Computer mouse use and postural risks were significantly associated with health problems. Psychosocial factors were mainly associated with mental problems, psychosomatic disorders, and fatigue. Intense use of video screens has been found to cause musculoskeletal disorders of the hand. The diversification of tasks and control of labor processes itself had a protective effect against psychosomatic disorders and pathological fatigue.
Psychosomatic aspects of Cushing's syndrome.
Sonino, Nicoletta; Fallo, Francesco; Fava, Giovanni A
2010-06-01
There has been growing interest in the psychosocial aspects of Cushing's syndrome, such as the role of life stress as a pathogenetic factor, the association with affective disorders, and the presence of residual symptoms after treatment. Interestingly, a temporal relationship between stressful life events and disease onset is relevant only to pituitary-dependent Cushing's disease, and not to the pituitary-independent forms. A number of psychiatric and psychological disturbances may be associated with the active hypercortisolemic state, regardless of its etiology. Within the high frequency of mood disorders (about 60%), major depression is the most common complication. Other psychopathological aspects include mania, anxiety disorders, psychological symptoms (demoralization, irritable mood, somatization) and cognitive impairment. Cognitive symptoms are associated with brain abnormalities (mainly loss of brain volume). Quality of life may be seriously compromised during both active and post-treatment phases. Long-standing hypercortisolism may imply a degree of irreversibility of the pathological process. Recovery, thus, may be delayed and be influenced by highly individualized affective responses. Outcomes of Cushing's syndrome treatment are not fully satisfactory. Within its great complexity, a conceptual shift from a merely biomedical care to a psychosomatic consideration of the person and his/her quality of life appears to be necessary to improve effectiveness. It is time to translate the research evidence that has accumulated into clinical practice initiatives. To patients who show persistence or even worsening of psychological distress upon adequate endocrine treatment psychiatric/psychological interventions should be readily available. Applying interdisciplinary expertise and addressing the needs for rehabilitation would markedly improve final outcome.
Mental health among currently enrolled medical students in Germany.
Wege, N; Muth, T; Li, J; Angerer, P
2016-03-01
The study identifies the prevalence of common mental disorders according to the patient health questionnaire (PHQ) and the use of psychotropic substances in a sample of currently enrolled medical students. A cross-sectional survey with a self-administrated questionnaire. All newly enrolled medical students at the University of Dusseldorf, with study beginning either in 2012 or 2013, respectively, were invited to participate. The evaluation was based on 590 completed questionnaires. Mental health outcomes were measured by the PHQ, including major depression, other depressive symptoms (subthreshold depression), anxiety, panic disorders and psychosomatic complaints. Moreover, information about psychotropic substances use (including medication) was obtained. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to estimate associations between sociodemographic and socio-economic factors and mental health outcomes. The prevalence rates, measured by the PHQ, were 4.7% for major depression, 5.8% for other depressive symptoms, 4.4% for anxiety, 1.9% for panic disorders, and 15.7% for psychosomatic complaints. These prevalence rates were higher than those reported in the general population, but lower than in medical students in the course of medical training. In all, 10.7% of the students reported regular psychotropic substance use: 5.1% of students used medication 'to calm down,' 4.6% 'to improve their sleep,' 4.4% 'to elevate mood,' and 3.1% 'to improve cognitive performance.' In the fully adjusted model, expected financial difficulties were significantly associated with poor mental health (odds ratio [OR]: 2.14; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.31-3.48), psychosomatic symptoms (OR:1.85; 95% CI: 1.11-3.09) and psychotropic substances use (OR: 2.68; 95% CI: 1.51-4.75). The high rates of mental disorders among currently enrolled medical students call for the promotion of mental health, with a special emphasis on vulnerable groups. Copyright © 2016 The Royal Society for Public
Psychosomatic symptoms in medical outpatients: an investigation of self-handicapping theory.
Organista, P B; Miranda, J
1991-01-01
Investigated self-handicapping theory as it relates to somatization in medical patients. We predicted that medical outpatients (N = 113) would report psychosomatic symptoms in response to events that threaten their self-esteem. As predicted, results of hierarchical multiple regression indicated that high-perfectionism patients reported somatic symptoms positively related to the number of events that jeopardize their sense of accomplishment, whereas low-perfectionism patients' somatic symptoms were not related to these events (p = .005). Contrary to prediction, high-dependency patients did not differ significantly from low-dependency patients in the relationship of somatic symptoms and events that threatened their interpersonal relationships (p = .115). Implications of these findings and the utility of self-handicapping theory for predicting somatization in medical patients are discussed.
Becker, Jan; Beutel, Manfred E; Gerzymisch, Katharina; Schulz, Dirk; Siepmann, Martin; Knickenberg, Rudolf J; Schmädeke, Stefan; Ferdinand, Peter; Zwerenz, Rüdiger
2016-06-13
Patients' treatment expectations are a key factor in psychotherapy. Several studies have linked higher expectations to better treatment success. Therefore, we want to evaluate the impact of a targeted video-based intervention on patients' expectations and the treatment success of inpatient rehabilitation. All patients who will be referred to inpatient psychosomatic rehabilitation in three clinics will receive a study flyer with information about how to log in to the study platform together with the usual clinic information leaflet. Patients will receive the study information and informed consent upon login and will be randomized into the intervention or the control group. The intervention group (n = 394) will get access to our virtual online clinic, containing several videos about inpatient rehabilitation, until their admission to inpatient rehabilitation. The control group (n = 394) will receive no special treatment preparation. Questionnaires will be given at study inclusion (T0), two weeks before admission to (T1), and at the end of (T2) inpatient rehabilitation. The primary outcome is the outcome expectancy measured with the Credibility Expectancy Questionnaire at T1. Secondary outcomes include treatment motivation, mental health, work ability, depression, anxiety, and satisfaction with and usage of the Internet platform. We expect the intervention group to benefit from the additional preparation concerning their outcome expectancy. If successful, this approach could be used in the future to enhance the efficacy of inpatient rehabilitation. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02532881 . Registered on 25 August 2015.
Bandelow, B; Lueken, U; Wolff, J; Godemann, F; Menzler, C W; Deckert, J; Ströhle, A; Beutel, M; Wiltink, J; Domschke, K; Berger, M
2016-03-01
The reimbursement of inpatient psychiatric psychotherapeutic/psychosomatic hospital treatment in Germany is regulated by the German personnel ordinance for psychiatric hospitals (Psych-PV), which has remained unchanged since 1991. The aim of this article was to estimate the personnel requirements for guideline-adherent psychiatric psychotherapeutic hospital treatment. A normative concept for the required psychotherapeutic "dose" for anxiety disorders was determined based on a literature review. The required staffing contingent was compared to the resources provided by the Psych-PV based on category A1. According to the German policy guidelines for outpatient psychotherapy, a quota of 25 sessions of 50 min each (as a rule plus 5 probatory sessions) is reimbursed. This approach is supported by studies on dose-response relationships. As patients undergoing inpatient treatment for anxiety disorders are usually more severely ill than outpatients, a contingent of 30 sessions for the average treatment duration of 5 weeks seems appropriate in order to fully exploit the costly inpatient treatment time (300 min per patient and week). In contrast, only 70 min are reimbursed according to the Psych-PV. The total personnel requirement for the normative concept is 624 min per patient and week. The Psych-PV only covers 488 min (78 %). Currently, the time contingents for evidence-based psychiatric psychotherapeutic/psychosomatic hospital care are nowhere near sufficient. In the development of future reimbursement systems this needs to be corrected.
Health Impact Assessment: Linking Public Health to ...
The goal of this presentation is to explore how HIA can help inform hazardous waste permitting regulations and incorporate community vulnerability and cumulative impacts to their potential health risks into permitting decision making by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. Presented the Health Impact Assessment (HIA) at the State of California Cumulative Impacts and Community Vulnerability Symposium on July 27 in Diamond Bar, CA.
[Burnout among doctors and its correlations with health, life satisfaction and sleep].
Németh, Anikó
2016-04-17
Burnout is common among health care providers and doctors. The correlations between burnout and health, psychosomatic symptoms, life satisfaction and sleep were investigated. An online quantitative cross-sectional questionnaire was administered to 186 doctors. Burnout was assessed by the means of the 21-item questionnaire of Pines and Aronson (1981). Data were analysed with chi-square probe, Mann-Whitney test, correlational analysis and linear regression. Level of burnout correlated negatively with age (p = 0.040; r = -0.151), years spent in the health care system (p = 0.027; r = -0.162) and positive well-being (pwell-being (plife satisfaction (p<0.001; r = -0.532). Doctors with burnout reported worse health (p<0.001), more frequent psychosomatic symptoms (p<0.001), tumours (p = 0.007), allergies (p = 0.030), psychiatric disorders (p = 0.025) and sleep disturbances. One-third of the doctors were affected by burnout in the present study. Higher age and having more children served as a protective factor.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Aleksandrovskij, Yu.A.; Tabachnikov, S.I.; Bebeshko, V.G.; Shchukin, B.P.; Rumyantseva, G.M.; Roslyakov, V.S.; Mel'nik, V.V.; Cherenkov, V.N.; Bero, M.P.; Mukhamadieva, R.A.
1989-01-01
Clinical signs of nervous and psychosomatic disorders in the Chernobyl' NPP personnel and persons taking part in the emergency response were analysed. Main stress factors for the personnel side by side with radiation hazard were the following ones: house loss, family separation, future uncertainties, etc. Singularity of labour under conditions of remaining threat for life and health, absence of information on the environmental radioactivity, unsatisfactory life conditions were in the first place for arrived persons. Analysis of determined psychopathological signs testifies to the prevalence of wide range of nervous disorders peculiar to natural calamities and disasters
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Nyagu, A I [eds.
1996-12-31
Proceedings of the International Conference on the mental health consequences of the Chernobyl disaster: current state and future prospects was introduced.The questions connected with: 1. Mental health disorders biological basis after ionizing radiation influence; 2. Psychiatric aspects of the Chernobyl disaster; 3. Social stress following contradictory information: ways for its overcoming; 4. Rehabilitation and prophylactic measures for mental and nervous disorders. Psycho social rehabilitation of survivors; 5. Psychosomatic effects and somato-neurological consequences of the Chernobyl disaster; 6. Psychosomatic health of children and adolescents survivors of the Chernobyl disaster; 7. Brain damage as result of prenatal irradiation.
Management of certain psychosomatic disorders by low dosage of 131I
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Udupa, K.N.; Dubey, G.P.; Soni, K.L.; Agrawal, Sharmila
1982-01-01
With the advent of short-lived radioisotopes, it is possible not only to diagnose, but also to make their application in the treatment of various stressful conditions. In the present investigation twenty-five cases of anxiety neurosis and twenty cases of early thyrotoxicosis are included. Before subjecting the cases for administration of radio-iodine therapy, various neurohumoral and physiological examinations were carried out at basal conditions. All these investigations were repeated after oral administration of 200-300 μCi of radioiodine in a fasting state. A significant reduction of cortical activity is marked in cases of anxiety neurosis and early thyrotoxicosis. It is concluded that it may provide an altertnative remedy in the treatment of various psycho-somatic disorders in early condition, where the response of conventional treatment is not satisfactory. (author)
Landsman-Dijkstra, Jeanet J A; van Wijck, Ruud; Groothoff, Johan W
2006-02-01
A 3-day residential body awareness program (BAP) was developed to teach people with chronic aspecific psychosomatic symptoms (CAPS) to react adequately to disturbances of the balance between a daily workload and the capacity to deal with it. The long-term effects of the program in improving the balance between work stress and recovery are presented in this study. The intervening effect of 'improved balance' on quality of life is also analysed. A pre-post design is used with post-measures at 2 and 12 months after the program, without controls (n = 122). Mean age is 42.5 years (S.D. = 9.0) and 60% of participants are female. The results show participants become more active physically and socially, and at the same time take the opportunity to recover. There was a difference measured in changing balance for participants who are fully employed and participants who are not working or are working part-time due to health problems: the second group reintegrated into work, the first group spent more time socialising inside the family. Personal goals are realised by 85% of the participants. Realising personal goals and becoming more active is a mediating factor for increasing quality of life. The majority of the measured changes can be interpreted as clinically relevant outcomes with medium-to-large effect sizes. Spouses of the participants also confirm these effects. Evaluation of the BAP gives evidence to conclude that this program leads to long-term effects in CAPS. Participants react more adequately to disturbances between daily workload and the capacity to deal with this load. Two and 12 months after the 3-day program, they changed their behaviour to a more active lifestyle and increased self-management in coping with stress and psychosomatic symptoms. By paying more attention to the balance between work stress and recovery, patient educators may be able to increase their effectiveness. Personal goal realization can be effective in guiding people by getting them out of
Preiser, Christine; Rothermund, Eva; Wittich, Andrea; Gündel, Harald; Rieger, Monika A
2016-05-01
In Germany, innovative concepts of anchoring psychotherapeutic consultations within an occupational setting emerge in models like the "psychosomatic consultation in the workplace" (PCIW). Characteristic quality is the close cooperation between company-based occupational health physicians (OPs) and external psychotherapeutic consultants. Little is currently known about the attitudes of OPs and other stakeholders in companies in terms of possible contributions of these offers to their tasks within the field of mental health and work. Data were collected via individual interviews with different stakeholders (n = 8) and two OP focus groups (each n = 5) with and without experience with PCIW. Data were analysed with content analysis. Common mental disorders (CMD) were perceived as occurring increasingly but still being stigmatized. PCIW allows employees quick access to a neutral psychotherapist and thus might help to avoid chronification of CMD. For companies, this may mean that longer periods of absenteeism (and presenteeism) can be avoided. The interviewees also feel that the ongoing collaboration with a psychotherapeutic specialist may sensitize OPs to recognize mental disorders earlier and provide basic treatment. PCIW was stated as an early, easy and fast first access to psychotherapy. The effort of PCIW is limited if structural changes in the workplace are necessary to reduce mental stressors. Also, if financed by the company, PCIW should have clear time limits and cannot aim to replace health insurance benefits. Taking above-mentioned limitations into account, PCIW appears to be a promising tool to bridge the gap between OP-conducted company-based health promotion and early secondary care.
Gostoli, Sara; Roncuzzi, Renzo; Urbinati, Stefano; Morisky, Donald E; Rafanelli, Chiara
2016-11-01
Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is considered the recommended secondary prevention treatment for cardiovascular diseases (CVD), in terms of health behaviours and, secondarily, better cardiac outcomes promotion. However, the role of psychiatric and psychosomatic distress on the efficacy of CR is unclear. This research aimed to evaluate the impact of CR on unhealthy behaviour modification and cardiac course, considering the moderating role of depression, anxiety, and psychosomatic syndromes. A longitudinal design between and within groups was employed. The assessment was repeated four times: at admission to CR (T1), at discharge (T2), 6 (T3) and 12 months following CR completion (T4). One hundred and eight patients undergoing CR versus 85 patients with CVD not referred to CR, underwent psychiatric, psychosomatic, and health behaviour assessment. The assessment included the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (depression and anxiety), the interview based on Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research, GOSPEL Study questionnaire (health behaviours), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale. Cardiac rehabilitation was associated with maintenance of physical activity, improvement of behavioural aspects related to food consumption, stress management, and sleep quality. On the contrary, CR was not associated with weight loss, healthy diet, and medication adherence. Depression and psychosomatic syndromes seem to moderate the modification of specific health-related behaviours (physical activity, behavioural aspects of food consumption, stress management, and pharmacological adherence). In CR settings, an integrated assessment including both psychiatric and psychosomatic syndromes is needed to address psychological factors associated with unhealthy behaviour modification. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is considered a class 1A treatment recommendation and the most cost
Sabel, Bernhard A; Wang, Jiaqi; Cárdenas-Morales, Lizbeth; Faiq, Muneeb; Heim, Christine
2018-06-01
The loss of vision after damage to the retina, optic nerve, or brain has often grave consequences in everyday life such as problems with recognizing faces, reading, or mobility. Because vision loss is considered to be irreversible and often progressive, patients experience continuous mental stress due to worries, anxiety, or fear with secondary consequences such as depression and social isolation. While prolonged mental stress is clearly a consequence of vision loss, it may also aggravate the situation. In fact, continuous stress and elevated cortisol levels negatively impact the eye and brain due to autonomous nervous system (sympathetic) imbalance and vascular dysregulation; hence stress may also be one of the major causes of visual system diseases such as glaucoma and optic neuropathy. Although stress is a known risk factor, its causal role in the development or progression of certain visual system disorders is not widely appreciated. This review of the literature discusses the relationship of stress and ophthalmological diseases. We conclude that stress is both consequence and cause of vision loss. This creates a vicious cycle of a downward spiral, in which initial vision loss creates stress which further accelerates vision loss, creating even more stress and so forth. This new psychosomatic perspective has several implications for clinical practice. Firstly, stress reduction and relaxation techniques (e.g., meditation, autogenic training, stress management training, and psychotherapy to learn to cope) should be recommended not only as complementary to traditional treatments of vision loss but possibly as preventive means to reduce progression of vision loss. Secondly, doctors should try their best to inculcate positivity and optimism in their patients while giving them the information the patients are entitled to, especially regarding the important value of stress reduction. In this way, the vicious cycle could be interrupted. More clinical studies are now
Uhlenbrock, Judith; Hinrichs, Jens; Heuft, Gereon
2017-09-01
A retrospective study of expert opinions of a psychosomatic-psychotherapeutic university hospital for public and private customers over a period of 12 years Objectives: Both the public and the legislative have developed an increasingly critical awareness for the fact that expert witnesses need to be independent. In contrast, to date there have been few studies concerning the quantity and the results of psychosomatic-psychotherapeutic expert opinions for public and private clients. In a retrospective study design, 285 expert opinions of a psychosomatic-psychotherapeutic university hospital stemming from consecutive, unselected random sampling over a 12-year time period (1990-2011) were analyzed using a predefined list of criteria. Besides client data, the study also noted the type and the objectives of the expertise, the sociodemographic data of the subjects, the biographic data of the subjects, the size of records, the particular psychopathological findings including conflict and structural diagnostics via the Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnostics (OPD-2, Research Group 2006), syndromic diagnostics according to ICD-10 (WHO) including the related Impairment Scale Score (ISS, Schepank 1995), and the Global Assessment of Functioning-Scale (GAF, Heuft 2016). 54% of the subjects were men. All subjects were 46 years old at the time of examination; on average symptomatology had existed for 7 years, which made assessment of causality difficult. Most assignments referred to the effects of diseases or accidents in private contexts, followed by pension reports. Among the expert opinions related to possible implications of acts of violence, 95% were women. In 43.2% (n = 123) of the cases, the assessment had occurred in the context of legal action. In 65 cases at least one party had requested a supplemental written report during further procedure. In 17.8% (n = 22) of the cases sought by the courts, the expert witness was requested by at least one party to present the
Nakao, Mutsuhiro; Ohara, Chisin
2012-01-01
Shintoism, Buddhism, and Qi, which advocate the unity of mind and body, have contributed to the Japanese philosophy of life. The practice of psychosomatic medicine emphasizes the connection between mind and body and combines the psychotherapies (directed at the mind) and relaxation techniques (directed at the body), to achieve stress management. Participation in religious activities such as preaching, praying, meditating, and practicing Zen can also elicit relaxation responses. Thus, it is ti...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Beatriz Bertolaccini Martinez
Full Text Available CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: The stress of living with a terminal disease has a negative impact on the mental health of hemodialysis (HD patients. Spirituality is a potential coping mechanism for stressful experiences. Studies on the relationship between spirituality and mental health among HD patients are scarce. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between mental health and spiritual well-being among HD patients. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional observational study on hemodialysis patients at a single center in Brazil, between January and December 2011. METHODS : Mental health was assessed using the General Health Questionnaire and spiritual wellbeing was assessed using the Spiritual Wellbeing Scale; 150 HD patients participated in the study. RESULTS : A significant correlation was found between mental health and spiritual wellbeing (P = 0.001. Spiritual wellbeing was the strongest predictor of mental health, psychological distress, sleep disturbance and psychosomatic complaints. CONCLUSION: Poor mental health was associated with lower spiritual wellbeing. This has important implications for delivery of palliative care to HD patients.
[Acne vulgaris: morphologic, endocrinologic and psychosomatic aspects].
Welp, K; Gieler, U
1990-12-01
25 male patients suffering from acne vulgaris were examined by means of endocrinological, morphological, and 5 psychometric procedures in order to check the correlations and interactions between the psychological and dermatological aspects of the disease. In comparison with a control group, the acne patients did not show any striking endocrinological abnormalities; we found no correlation between the extensiveness of the lesions and the level of DHEA sulphate. All the psychological tests yielded results deviating from those achieved by the representative controls, but they were comparable with those of other patients suffering from psychosomatic diseases. The individual feeling of being "disfigured" found its expression in self-consciousness, lack of trust in his/her own body, as well as the clinically relevant difference between his/her conception of self and the ideal of self. During times of enhanced psychosocial strains subjectively assumed by the patients, the lesions increased and the patients were disturbed in social interaction and communication. Surprisingly, we did not find any correlation between the clinical status and significant psychometric findings. Our results show that in acne vulgaris, the individual experience of wanting physical attractiveness, associated with a predominantly neurotic depressive personal structure, may play a central part in a disturbed process of interaction with the environment and suggest the influence of psychic factors in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris.
System impact research - increasing public health and health care system performance.
Malmivaara, Antti
2016-01-01
Interventions directed to system features of public health and health care should increase health and welfare of patients and population. To build a new framework for studies aiming to assess the impact of public health or health care system, and to consider the role of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) and of Benchmarking Controlled Trials (BCTs). The new concept is partly based on the author's previous paper on the Benchmarking Controlled Trial. The validity and generalizability considerations were based on previous methodological studies on RCTs and BCTs. The new concept System Impact Research (SIR) covers all the studies which aim to assess the impact of the public health system or of the health care system on patients or on population. There are two kinds of studies in System Impact Research: Benchmarking Controlled Trials (observational) and Randomized Controlled Trials (experimental). The term impact covers in particular accessibility, quality, effectiveness, safety, efficiency, and equality. System Impact Research - creating the scientific basis for policy decision making - should be given a high priority in medical, public health and health economic research, and should also be used for improving performance. Leaders at all levels of health and social care can use the evidence from System Impact Research for the benefit of patients and population. Key messages The new concept of SIR is defined as a research field aiming at assessing the impacts on patients and on populations of features of public health and health and social care systems or of interventions trying to change these features. SIR covers all features of public health and health and social care system, and actions upon these features. The term impact refers to all effects caused by the public health and health and social care system or parts of it, with particular emphasis on accessibility, quality, effectiveness, adverse effects, efficiency, and equality of services. SIR creates the
The Relationship of Parenting Style to Self-Reported Mental Health among Two Subcultures of Chinese.
Xia, Guohua; Qian, Mingyi
2001-01-01
Results of this investigation with 127 youths from China supported the associations of recalled parent's styles with adolescents' self-evaluated health status. Many psychosomatic symptoms and lower scores on indexes of general mental health were significantly related to higher levels of parental rejection, denial, and over involvement, and to…
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Spickett, Jeffery T.; Brown, Helen L.; Katscherian, Dianne
2011-01-01
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the globe and there is substantial evidence that this will result in a number of health impacts, regardless of the level of greenhouse gas mitigation. It is therefore apparent that a combined approach of mitigation and adaptation will be required to protect public health. While the importance of mitigation is recognised, this project focused on the role of adaptation strategies in addressing the potential health impacts of climate change. The nature and magnitude of these health impacts will be determined by a number of parameters that are dependent upon the location. Firstly, climate change will vary between regions. Secondly, the characteristics of each region in terms of population and the ability to adapt to changes will greatly influence the extent of the health impacts that are experienced now and into the future. Effective adaptation measures therefore need to be developed with these differences in mind. A Health Impact Assessment (HIA) framework was used to consider the implications of climate change on the health of the population of Western Australia (WA) and to develop a range of adaptive responses suited to WA. A broad range of stakeholders participated in the HIA process, providing informed input into developing an understanding of the potential health impacts and potential adaptation strategies from a diverse sector perspective. Potential health impacts were identified in relation to climate change predictions in WA in the year 2030. The risk associated with each of these impacts was assessed using a qualitative process that considered the consequences and the likelihood of the health impact occurring. Adaptations were then developed which could be used to mitigate the identified health impacts and provide responses which could be used by Government for future decision making. The periodic application of a HIA framework is seen as an ideal tool to develop appropriate adaptation strategies to
Management of certain psychosomatic disorders by low dosage of /sup 131/I
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Udupa, K.N.; Dubey, G.P.; Soni, K.L.; Agrawal, S. (Banaras Hindu Univ., Varanasi (India). Inst. of Medical Sciences)
1982-08-01
With the advent of short-lived radioisotopes, it is possible not only to diagnose, but also to make their application in the treatment of various stressful conditions. In the present investigation twenty-five cases of anxiety neurosis and twenty cases of early thyrotoxicosis are included. Before subjecting the cases for administration of radio-iodine therapy, various neurohumoral and physiological examinations were carried out at basal conditions. All these investigations were repeated after oral administration of 200-300 ..mu..Ci of radioiodine in a fasting state. A significant reduction of cortical activity is marked in cases of anxiety neurosis and early thyrotoxicosis. It is concluded that it may provide an alternative remedy in the treatment of various psychosomatic disorders in early condition, where the response of conventional treatment is not satisfactory.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dudziak Urszula
2008-06-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Self-rated health status (SRHS is a reliable and valid measure for assessing the subjective and objective health of individuals. Previous studies have either focused predominantly on the elderly or investigated only a narrow range of factors potentially associated with SRHS. In examining student populations, these past studies were limited to single countries. The objectives of this study were to assess which candidate variables were independently associated with SRHS in university students, to compare these variables by country and by gender, and to investigate which of the variables was most important as a rating frame for SRHS. Methods The data is from the Cross-National Student Health Survey, conducted in 2005 in universities in Germany, Bulgaria, and Poland (n = 2103; mean age = 20.7 years. SRHS was assessed with a single question using a five-point scale ranging from "excellent" to "poor". The study also measured a wide range of variables including: physical and psychological health, studying, social contacts/social support, and socio-demographic status. Results Psychosomatic complaints (considered an aspect of physical health and, adjusted for psychological health were the most important indicators in forming a rating frame for students' SRHS. There were few differences in the effects of variables associated with SRHS by gender (well-being: a measure of psychological health and the variables associated with SRHS by country (well-being and self-efficacy. The remaining variables showed homogenous effects for both genders and for all three countries. Conclusion The results suggest that SRHS can be reasonably used to compare students' health across countries. SRHS is affected by different physical, psychological and psychosomatic aspects of health; however, its strongest association is with psychosomatic complaints.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zharikova I.P.
2014-12-01
Full Text Available Objective: comparative analysis of the influence of the methods of the lateral ophthalmotilapia and low-intensity magnetic therapy on the Central and peripheral nervous system and the immune status in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Material and methods: a comparative analysis of the impact of the 44 patients with rheumatoid arthritis aged 18 to 65 years, of which 19 patients (43.2 percent — 1 group received low-frequency low-intensity magnetic therapy and 25 patients (56.8 per cent — group 2, the lateral ophthalmotilapia. Results. In group 1 significantly improved memory both short-term (from 69.2±9.0 to 81,7±12,7, p=0.003, and the reminiscence relating to medium-term characteristics of memory (57,3±22 to 79,0±14,5; p=0.004. In patients of the 2nd group in the course of treatment was observed more pronounced dynamics of improvement of parameters of higher nervous activity, namely short-term memory (79,4±17 to 88,2±12, p=0.003and reminiscences of memory (from 69.4±27 to 82.4±19,5, p=0,0016. Conclusion. Lateral ophthalmotilapia and low-frequency magnetotherapy for help expand the list of rehabilitation programs in rheumatoid arthritis, the disease having dual autoimmune and psychosomatic genesis.
How have Global Health Initiatives impacted on health equity?
Hanefeld, Johanna
2008-01-01
This review examines the impact of Global Health Initiatives (GHIs) on health equity, focusing on low- and middle-income countries. It is a summary of a literature review commissioned by the WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. GHIs have emerged during the past decade as a mechanism in development assistance for health. The review focuses on three GHIs, the US President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the World Bank's Multi-country AIDS Programme (MAP) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. All three have leveraged significant amounts of funding for their focal diseases - together these three GHIs provide an estimated two-thirds of external resources going to HIV/AIDS. This paper examines their impact on gender equity. An analysis of these Initiatives finds that they have a significant impact on health equity, including gender equity, through their processes of programme formulation and implementation, and through the activities they fund and implement, including through their impact on health systems and human resources. However, GHIs have so far paid insufficient attention to health inequities. While increasingly acknowledging equity, including gender equity, as a concern, Initiatives have so far failed to adequately translate this into programmes that address drivers of health inequity, including gender inequities. The review highlights the comparative advantage of individual GHIs, which point to an increased need for, and continued difficulties in, harmonisation of activities at country level. On the basis of this comparative analysis, key recommendations are made. They include a call for equity-sensitive targets, the collection of gender-disaggregated data, the use of policy-making processes for empowerment, programmes that explicitly address causes of health inequity and impact assessments of interventions' effect on social inequities.
Låftman, Sara B; Magnusson, Charlotta
2017-12-01
Self-reported psychological and psychosomatic health complaints, such as nervousness, sadness, headache and stomach-ache, are common among adolescents, particularly among girls, and studies suggest that the prevalence has risen among adolescent girls during the last few decades. However, only a limited number of studies have investigated the potential long-term consequences of such health complaints. The aim of the current study was to assess whether psychological and psychosomatic health complaints in adolescence predict the chance of entering tertiary education in young adulthood among women and men. The data used are from the Swedish Young-LNU, which is based on a nationally representative sample with self-reported survey information from adolescents aged 10-18 years in 2000 and from the same individuals at ages 20-28 in 2010 ( n=783). Information was also collected from parents and from official registers. Linear probability models showed that self-reported psychological complaints in adolescence were associated with a lower chance of having entered tertiary education 10 years later. This association was accounted for by differences in grade point average (GPA), suggesting that GPA may mediate the association between psychological complaints and later education. The pattern was similar for both genders. Furthermore, among men, psychosomatic complaints in adolescence were significantly associated with a lower likelihood of having entered tertiary education 10 years later when adjusting for GPA and social class in adolescence. A similar but non-significant tendency was found among women. The findings suggest that health complaints in adolescence may have long-term consequences in terms of lower educational attainment.
'Actual neurosis' and psychosomatic medicine: the vicissitudes of an enigmatic concept.
Hartocollis, Peter
2002-12-01
Out of the concept of neurasthenia, the main non-psychotic diagnosis of nineteenth-century psychiatry besides hysteria, and on the basis of psychophysiological problems of his own, self-diagnosed as neurasthenia, Freud developed the notion of 'actual neurosis', a 'contentless psychic state' manifested by various somatic symptoms and a depressive mood, which he attributed to a chemical factor associated with aberrant sexual practices and in particular masturbation. Rejected by post-Freudian analysts as such along with the diagnosis of neurasthenia, the concept of 'actual neurosis' has survived under various theoretical schemes that seek to explain psychosomatic illness and somatisation, in general, with its concomitant poverty of affects and dearth of fantasy life. In more recent years, the concept of 'actual neurosis' has resurfaced under the label of chronic fatigue syndrome, a medical entity thought to be an immunological deficiency, while in psychoanalysis Freud's idea of a contentless mental state has been replaced by that of unconscious fantasy and symbolisation at a pre-genital or pre-verbal level.
Heaton, Kenneth W
2012-10-01
To find out if Shakespeare, famed for his insights into human nature, is exceptional in how much his characters express grief through somatic symptoms and signs, and by physical illness. The texts of all large-scale works currently attributed to Shakespeare (39 plays, 3 long narrative poems) were systematically searched for bodily changes and for evidence of grief as dominating the character's emotional state at the time. The findings were compared with those from a search of 46 works, similar in genre, by 15 prominent playwrights active at the same time as Shakespeare. In Shakespeare 31 different grief-associated symptoms or signs were found, in 140 instances. They are present in all but two of his plays and long poems and involve most systems of the body. With non-Shakespearean writers there were 26 kinds, 132 instances. Twenty-two changes are common to both groups, including fainting, death (sudden or after a decline), and wrinkled face, and symptoms such as malaise, fatigue, awareness of the heart-beat, and anorexia. Ten somatic expressions of grief were found only in Shakespeare, including hyperventilation, hair turning white and premature childbirth. Four were found only in his contemporaries but were trivial or unconvincing. Deaths and non-fatal illnesses are prevalent in Shakespeare. Grieving Shakespearean characters exhibit many somatic symptoms and signs and a wide range of psychosomatic illnesses. This panoply of psychosomatic phenomena may be an artistic artefact but it also confirms that Shakespeare's empathy with grieving humanity was unrivalled. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Health impact assessment in Korea
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kang, Eunjeong; Lee, Youngsoo; Harris, Patrick; Koh, Kwangwook; Kim, Keonyeop
2011-01-01
Recently, Health Impact Assessment has gained great attention in Korea. First, the Ministry of Environment introduced HIA within existing Environment Impact Assessment. Second, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs began an HIA program in 2008 in alliance with Healthy Cities. In this short report, these two different efforts are introduced and their opportunities and challenges discussed. We believe these two approaches complement each other and both need to be strengthened. We also believe that both can contribute to the development of health in policy and project development and ultimately to improvements in the Korean population's health.
Scheuch, Klaus; Haufe, Eva; Seibt, Reingard
2015-05-15
Almost 800,000 teachers were working in Germany in the 2012-13 school year. A determination of the most common medical problems in this large occupational group serves as the basis for measures that help maintain teachers' health and their ability to work in their profession. We present our own research findings, a selective review of the literature, and data derived from the German statutory health insurance scheme concerning medical disability, long-term illness, and inability to work among teachers. Compared to the general population, teachers have a more healthful lifestyle and a lower frequency of cardiovascular risk factors (except hypertension). Like non-teachers, they commonly suffer from musculoskeletal and cardiovascular diseases. Mental and psychosomatic diseases are more common in teachers than in non-teachers, as are nonspecific complaints such as exhaustion, fatigue, headache, and tension. It is commonly said that 3-5% of teachers suffer from "burnout," but reliable data on this topic are lacking, among other reasons because the term has no standard definition. The percentage of teachers on sick leave is generally lower than the overall percentage among statutory insurees; it is higher in the former East Germany than in the former West Germany. The number of teachers taking early retirement because of illness has steadily declined from over 60% in 2001 and currently stands at 19%, with an average age of 58 years, among tenured teachers taking early retirement. The main reasons for early retirement are mental and psychosomatic illnesses, which together account for 32-50% of cases. Although German law mandates the medical care of persons in the teaching professions by occupational physicians, this requirement is implemented to varying extents in the different German federal states. Teachers need qualified, interdisciplinary occupational health care with the involvement of their treating physicians.
System impact research – increasing public health and health care system performance
Malmivaara, Antti
2016-01-01
Abstract Background Interventions directed to system features of public health and health care should increase health and welfare of patients and population. Aims To build a new framework for studies aiming to assess the impact of public health or health care system, and to consider the role of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) and of Benchmarking Controlled Trials (BCTs). Methods The new concept is partly based on the author's previous paper on the Benchmarking Controlled Trial. The validity and generalizability considerations were based on previous methodological studies on RCTs and BCTs. Results The new concept System Impact Research (SIR) covers all the studies which aim to assess the impact of the public health system or of the health care system on patients or on population. There are two kinds of studies in System Impact Research: Benchmarking Controlled Trials (observational) and Randomized Controlled Trials (experimental). The term impact covers in particular accessibility, quality, effectiveness, safety, efficiency, and equality. Conclusions System Impact Research – creating the scientific basis for policy decision making - should be given a high priority in medical, public health and health economic research, and should also be used for improving performance. Leaders at all levels of health and social care can use the evidence from System Impact Research for the benefit of patients and population.Key messagesThe new concept of SIR is defined as a research field aiming at assessing the impacts on patients and on populations of features of public health and health and social care systems or of interventions trying to change these features.SIR covers all features of public health and health and social care system, and actions upon these features. The term impact refers to all effects caused by the public health and health and social care system or parts of it, with particular emphasis on accessibility, quality, effectiveness, adverse effects, efficiency
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Rumyantseva, G.M.
2003-01-01
For mathematic-statistical analysis of factors, probably influencing the formation of mental disorders in participants of the liquidation of Chernobyl NPP accident the database containing 165 variables was made. By factor and dispersion analysis variables, influencing mental disorders formation rate, and share of influence and correlation dependencies were discriminated and calculated. The mental disturbances, emerging after an ecological radiation catastrophe, form not only due to direct and indirect action of physical factors, but as a consequence of inclusion of somatopsychic and psychosomatic mechanisms, associated directly with catastrophe effect
Adolescents' Psychological Health and Experiences with Unwanted Sexual Behavior at School
Timmerman, Greetje
2004-01-01
This paper examines the relationship between experiences with unwanted sexual behavior at school and adolescents' health. Adolescent boys and girls (N = 2,808) participated in a 1998/1999 survey of secondary school students in two regions of The Netherlands. The psychological issues investigated included psychosomatic problems and self-esteem. It…
Experience and lessons from health impact assessment for human rights impact assessment.
Salcito, Kendyl; Utzinger, Jürg; Krieger, Gary R; Wielga, Mark; Singer, Burton H; Winkler, Mirko S; Weiss, Mitchell G
2015-09-16
As globalisation has opened remote parts of the world to foreign investment, global leaders at the United Nations and beyond have called on multinational companies to foresee and mitigate negative impacts on the communities surrounding their overseas operations. This movement towards corporate impact assessment began with a push for environmental and social inquiries. It has been followed by demands for more detailed assessments, including health and human rights. In the policy world the two have been joined as a right-to-health impact assessment. In the corporate world, the right-to-health approach fulfils neither managers' need to comprehensively understand impacts of a project, nor rightsholders' need to know that the full suite of their human rights will be safe from violation. Despite the limitations of a right-to-health tool for companies, integration of health into human rights provides numerous potential benefits to companies and the communities they affect. Here, a detailed health analysis through the human rights lens is carried out, drawing on a case study from the United Republic of Tanzania. This paper examines the positive and negative health and human rights impacts of a corporate operation in a low-income setting, as viewed through the human rights lens, considering observations on the added value of the approach. It explores the relationship between health impact assessment (HIA) and human rights impact assessment (HRIA). First, it considers the ways in which HIA, as a study directly concerned with human welfare, is a more appropriate guide than environmental or social impact assessment for evaluating human rights impacts. Second, it considers the contributions HRIA can make to HIA, by viewing determinants of health not as direct versus indirect, but as interrelated.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Dhondt, Stijn; Beckx, Carolien; Degraeuwe, Bart; Lefebvre, Wouter; Kochan, Bruno; Bellemans, Tom; Int Panis, Luc; Macharis, Cathy; Putman, Koen
2012-01-01
In both ambient air pollution epidemiology and health impact assessment an accurate assessment of the population exposure is crucial. Although considerable advances have been made in assessing human exposure outdoors, the assessments often do not consider the impact of individual travel behavior on such exposures. Population-based exposures to NO 2 and O 3 using only home addresses were compared with models that integrate all time-activity patterns—including time in commute—for Flanders and Brussels. The exposure estimates were used to estimate the air pollution impact on years of life lost due to respiratory mortality. Health impact of NO 2 using an exposure that integrates time-activity information was on average 1.2% higher than when assuming that people are always at their home address. For ozone the overall estimated health impact was 0.8% lower. Local differences could be much larger, with estimates that differ up to 12% from the exposure using residential addresses only. Depending on age and gender, deviations from the population average were seen. Our results showed modest differences on a regional level. At the local level, however, time-activity patterns indicated larger differences in exposure and health impact estimates, mainly for people living in more rural areas. These results suggest that for local analyses the dynamic approach can contribute to an improved assessment of the health impact of various types of pollution and to the understanding of exposure differences between population groups. - Highlights: ► Exposure to ambient air pollution was assessed integrating population mobility. ► This dynamic exposure was integrated into a health impact assessment. ► Differences between the dynamic and residential exposure were quantified. ► Modest differences in health impact were found at a regional level. ► At municipal level larger differences were found, influenced by gender and age.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Lerer, L.B.
1999-01-01
Large dams have been criticized because of their negative environmental and social impacts. Public health interest largely has focused on vector-borne diseases, such as schistosomiasis, associated with reservoirs and irrigation projects. Large dams also influence health through changes in water and food security, increases in communicable diseases, and the social disruption caused by construction and involuntary resettlement. Communities living in close proximity to large dams often do not benefit from water transfer and electricity generation revenues. A comprehensive health component is required in environmental and social impact assessments for large dam projects
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ertuğrul H. Aydemir
2008-12-01
Full Text Available Even if it has not been completely proven, psychosomatic factors are generally agreed and most of the patients talk about stress and the other emotional traumas at the beginning of disease and at the attacks. Furthermore since it is a difficult to treat disease easily seen on the skin, cause to hopeless, loneliness and isolation senses and they feel theirselves dirty and guilty. Then it leads to an unbreakable vicious circle. It is very important to make an approach with much care and affection. It is very important that to listen, to examine and to touch the dermatologist to the patient with patience and affection. Besides that to take a psychiatric support may also help too much to the treatment of the diseases.
The indissociable unity of psyche and soma: a view from the Paris Psychosomatic School.
Aisenstein, Marilia
2006-06-01
Depending on whether or not psyche/soma is seen as singular or dual, one may construct different systems explaining man and the world, life and death. In the author's view, the discoveries of psychoanalysis offer a perfectly cogent and unique solution to the famous mind/body problem. In transferring the duality psyche/soma on to the duality of drives, psychoanalysis places the origin of the thought process in the body. In Beyond the pleasure principle, Freud discusses the drastic effect of a painful somatic illness on the distribution and modalities of the libido. He provides a starting point for the Paris Psychosomatic School's psychoanalytical approach to patients afflicted with somatic illnesses. To illustrate the technical implications of this theory the author relates two clinical cases.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Blank, N; Diderichsen, Finn
1996-01-01
would have been expected on the assumption of additivity of the singular effects of these variables. It is suggested that it is necessary to highlight in further research the complex interactions and pathways between factors associated with health outcomes to improve our understanding of the causal...... of the study is to analyse the interaction between socio-economic and personal circumstances in explaining inequalities in health. It is based on a theoretical framework which presupposes that inequalities in health are likely to be explained by a complicated process involving a multitude of factors....... At the same time, differential exposures and differential responses to risk factors between socio-economic classes for certain health outcomes are determined. The joint effect on general health status, seven years later, of being a manual worker and having reported psychosomatic symptoms is 113% greater than...
Kunz-Plapp, T.; Khazai, B.; Daniell, J. E.
2012-04-01
This paper presents a new method for modeling health impacts caused by earthquake damage which allows for integrating key social impacts on individual health and health-care systems and for implementing these impacts in quantitative systemic seismic vulnerability analysis. In current earthquake casualty estimation models, demand on health-care systems is estimated by quantifying the number of fatalities and severity of injuries based on empirical data correlating building damage with casualties. The expected number of injured people (sorted by priorities of emergency treatment) is combined together with post-earthquake reduction of functionality of health-care facilities such as hospitals to estimate the impact on healthcare systems. The aim here is to extend these models by developing a combined engineering and social science approach. Although social vulnerability is recognized as a key component for the consequences of disasters, social vulnerability as such, is seldom linked to common formal and quantitative seismic loss estimates of injured people which provide direct impact on emergency health care services. Yet, there is a consensus that factors which affect vulnerability and post-earthquake health of at-risk populations include demographic characteristics such as age, education, occupation and employment and that these factors can aggravate health impacts further. Similarly, there are different social influences on the performance of health care systems after an earthquake both on an individual as well as on an institutional level. To link social impacts of health and health-care services to a systemic seismic vulnerability analysis, a conceptual model of social impacts of earthquakes on health and the health care systems has been developed. We identified and tested appropriate social indicators for individual health impacts and for health care impacts based on literature research, using available European statistical data. The results will be used to
Perceived Impact of Health Sector Reform on Motivation of Health ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Perceived Impact of Health Sector Reform on Motivation of Health Workers and Quality of Health Care in Tanzania: the Perspectives of Healthcare Workers and District Council Health Managers in Four Districts.
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Dhondt, Stijn, E-mail: stijn.dhondt@vub.ac.be [Department of Medical Sociology and Health Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, B-1090, Brussels (Belgium); Beckx, Carolien, E-mail: Carolien.Beckx@vito.be [Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol (Belgium); Degraeuwe, Bart, E-mail: Bart.Degraeuwe@vito.be [Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol (Belgium); Lefebvre, Wouter, E-mail: Wouter.Lefebvre@vito.be [Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol (Belgium); Kochan, Bruno, E-mail: Bruno.Kochan@uhasselt.be [Transportation Research Institute, Hasselt University, Wetenschapspark 5 bus 6, 3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium); Bellemans, Tom, E-mail: Tom.Bellemans@uhasselt.be [Transportation Research Institute, Hasselt University, Wetenschapspark 5 bus 6, 3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium); Int Panis, Luc, E-mail: Luc.intpanis@vito.be [Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol (Belgium); Transportation Research Institute, Hasselt University, Wetenschapspark 5 bus 6, 3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium); Macharis, Cathy, E-mail: cjmachar@vub.ac.be [Department MOSI-Transport and Logistics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050, Brussels (Belgium); Putman, Koen, E-mail: kputman@vub.ac.be [Department of Medical Sociology and Health Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, B-1090, Brussels (Belgium); Interuniversity Centre for Health Economics Research (I-CHER), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels (Belgium)
2012-09-15
In both ambient air pollution epidemiology and health impact assessment an accurate assessment of the population exposure is crucial. Although considerable advances have been made in assessing human exposure outdoors, the assessments often do not consider the impact of individual travel behavior on such exposures. Population-based exposures to NO{sub 2} and O{sub 3} using only home addresses were compared with models that integrate all time-activity patterns-including time in commute-for Flanders and Brussels. The exposure estimates were used to estimate the air pollution impact on years of life lost due to respiratory mortality. Health impact of NO{sub 2} using an exposure that integrates time-activity information was on average 1.2% higher than when assuming that people are always at their home address. For ozone the overall estimated health impact was 0.8% lower. Local differences could be much larger, with estimates that differ up to 12% from the exposure using residential addresses only. Depending on age and gender, deviations from the population average were seen. Our results showed modest differences on a regional level. At the local level, however, time-activity patterns indicated larger differences in exposure and health impact estimates, mainly for people living in more rural areas. These results suggest that for local analyses the dynamic approach can contribute to an improved assessment of the health impact of various types of pollution and to the understanding of exposure differences between population groups. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Exposure to ambient air pollution was assessed integrating population mobility. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer This dynamic exposure was integrated into a health impact assessment. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Differences between the dynamic and residential exposure were quantified. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Modest differences in health impact were found at a regional level. Black
Мonitoring of the state of health of the school children trained in profile classes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yu.V. Chernenkov
2010-03-01
Full Text Available In the paper the problems of monitoring of teenagers health state in the conditions of educational reform: transition to profile training are reflected. During research it was established, that the majority of teenagers are not ready to an independent professional choice and profile training. Those teenagers who have chosen a profile training without the account of further professional choice, the risk a psychosomatic pathology formation is higher. the received results testify to necessity of obligatory monitoring of health state including an estimation of vegetative status, process of social adaptation, parametres of quality of life which are indicators of early psychosomatic diseases diagnostics. the decision of a problem of profile training choosing the future trade that demands from medical workers and psychologists of educational institutions carrying out annual periodic medical examination taking into account a prospective profile of training and professional factors, characteristic for each profession should be one of the primary goals of medical examination at school
Schaaf, H; Weiß, S; Hesse, G
2017-02-01
Treating tinnitus with the resources offered in hospitals can become necessary for patients suffering from complex tinnitus if a high symptom severity, usually accompanied by a corresponding psychosomatic comorbidity, is present. For such costly therapies, for example, the neuro-otologic psychosomatic tinnitus therapy (NPT) examined here, the long-term effect is particularly important; however, reliable catamnesis studies for inpatient treatments are not yet available. Data from 169 (from a total of 327 contacted) inpatients suffering from complex tinnitus were analysed here. To assess the tinnitus stress, the Mini-Tinnitus Questionnaire (Mini-TF12-In German language) according to Hiller and Goebel [1], and for the assessment of the anxiety and depression element, the German version of the Hospitality Anxiety and Depression Score (HADS) [2] were analysed at the start of the therapy, at the end of the therapy and at the earliest 1 year (up to 5 years) after discharge from inpatient treatment. The data were correlated with the current hearing status. In addition, the subjectively perceived effect factors of the therapy as well as the therapies continued outside of hospital were queried. On average, the therapy lasted 39.3 days (SD 13.6) = 5.6 weeks, and the mean of the follow-up time was 38.5 months (12-70 months) (SD 18). The therapy focused on daily neuro-otologic counselling, the improvement of the concrete hearing ability, an audio-therapy as well as frequent individual and group psychotherapy based on neuro-otology. 53.8 % of patients experienced relevant hearing loss (according to WHO criteria) which needed to be treated in addition to tinnitus. Both at the end of the therapy and the follow-up consultation, a significant improvement of the tinnitus stress and a continuing significant improvement of the depression and anxiety element could be achieved in the HADS with high effect levels ranging from 1 to 2.5. Patients who did not improve (n = 7) or
Socioeconomic Disparities and Health: Impacts and Pathways
Kondo, Naoki
2012-01-01
Growing socioeconomic disparity is a global concern, as it could affect population health. The author and colleagues have investigated the health impacts of socioeconomic disparities as well as the pathways that underlie those disparities. Our meta-analysis found that a large population has risks of mortality and poor self-rated health that are attributable to income inequality. The study results also suggested the existence of threshold effects (ie, a threshold of income inequality over which the adverse impacts on health increase), period effects (ie, the potential for larger impacts in later years, specifically after the 1990s), and lag effects between income inequality and health outcomes. Our other studies using Japanese national representative survey data and a large-scale cohort study of Japanese older adults (AGES cohort) support the relative deprivation hypothesis, namely, that invidious social comparisons arising from relative deprivation in an unequal society adversely affect health. A study with a natural experiment design found that the socioeconomic gradient in self-rated health might actually have become shallower after the 1997–98 economic crisis in Japan, due to smaller health improvements among middle-class white-collar workers and middle/upper-income workers. In conclusion, income inequality might have adverse impacts on individual health, and psychosocial stress due to relative deprivation may partially explain those impacts. Any study of the effects of macroeconomic fluctuations on health disparities should also consider multiple potential pathways, including expanding income inequality, changes in the labor market, and erosion of social capital. Further studies are needed to attain a better understanding of the social determinants of health in a rapidly changing society. PMID:22156290
Socioeconomic disparities and health: impacts and pathways.
Kondo, Naoki
2012-01-01
Growing socioeconomic disparity is a global concern, as it could affect population health. The author and colleagues have investigated the health impacts of socioeconomic disparities as well as the pathways that underlie those disparities. Our meta-analysis found that a large population has risks of mortality and poor self-rated health that are attributable to income inequality. The study results also suggested the existence of threshold effects (ie, a threshold of income inequality over which the adverse impacts on health increase), period effects (ie, the potential for larger impacts in later years, specifically after the 1990s), and lag effects between income inequality and health outcomes. Our other studies using Japanese national representative survey data and a large-scale cohort study of Japanese older adults (AGES cohort) support the relative deprivation hypothesis, namely, that invidious social comparisons arising from relative deprivation in an unequal society adversely affect health. A study with a natural experiment design found that the socioeconomic gradient in self-rated health might actually have become shallower after the 1997-98 economic crisis in Japan, due to smaller health improvements among middle-class white-collar workers and middle/upper-income workers. In conclusion, income inequality might have adverse impacts on individual health, and psychosocial stress due to relative deprivation may partially explain those impacts. Any study of the effects of macroeconomic fluctuations on health disparities should also consider multiple potential pathways, including expanding income inequality, changes in the labor market, and erosion of social capital. Further studies are needed to attain a better understanding of the social determinants of health in a rapidly changing society.
R. Veenhoven (Ruut)
1989-01-01
textabstractThis book is about the social costs of macro-economic fluctuations. It considers the effects of the 1980/1982 economic recession on individual well-being in the OECD countries. Timeseries data are presented on income evaluation, life-satisfaction, health complaints, psychosomatic
Satisfaction with life, psychosocial health and materialism among Hungarian youth.
Piko, Bettina F
2006-11-01
Previous research suggests that youth's life satisfaction may be influenced by health and certain socioeconomic/sociocultural factors, which may be important in a post-socialist country like Hungary. We investigated the relationship between youth's life satisfaction, materialism and their psychosocial health in a sample of secondary school students (N = 1114) in Hungary. Findings show that youth's psychosocial health may play an important role in their levels of life satisfaction, particularly depressive and psychosomatic symptoms and health behaviors (e.g. diet control and smoking). SES self-assessment and materialistic success were positively, while materialistic happiness was negatively related to youth's life satisfaction.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A. Nouri
2011-07-01
Full Text Available Background and aims The objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between workaholic and dimensions of general health (Depression, Anxiety and sleep disorders, psychosomatic disorders and disability in social relationship. Material and Methods Participants in the study were 100 employees who completed the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ and Work Addiction Risk Test (WART. For analyzing the data, Pearson and Canonical correlations and stepwise regression were used. Results findings indicated that there was a significant relationship between workaholic and three of four dimensions of general health, namely anxiety and sleep disorders, depression and psychosomatic disorders(p<0.01but there was no significant relation between Social react disorder. In addition findings showed that increases in workaholics predicted general health decrease. Conclusion The current study shows that work can be a reason of diseases if employees get addicted to it. Thus organizations should pay more attention to this fact that working hard in work place, is not always beneficial for individuals and organization both. So managers have to consider ways to prevent these dangerous consequences which can be harmful for their employee’s health.
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Korzon, M.; Mielnik, J.; Bohdan, Z. [Akademia Medyczna, Gdansk (Poland)] [and others
1993-12-31
We estimated the psychosomatic development of 25 girls aged 13-19 years after antineoplastic therapy. Normal parameters of physical development were stated in all cases. No injury of central nervous system in all cases was seen. Psychological examination revealed strong suppression reactions and evident anxiety signs in majority of girls. (author) 15 refs, 2 tabs
Nakao, Mutsuhiro; Ohara, Chisin
2014-02-01
Shintoism, Buddhism, and Qi, which advocate the unity of mind and body, have contributed to the Japanese philosophy of life. The practice of psychosomatic medicine emphasizes the connection between mind and body and combines the psychotherapies (directed at the mind) and relaxation techniques (directed at the body), to achieve stress management. Participation in religious activities such as preaching, praying, meditating, and practicing Zen can also elicit relaxation responses. Thus, it is time for traditional religions to play an active role in helping those seeking psychological stability after the Great East Japan Earthquake and the ongoing crisis related to the nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan, to maintain a healthy mind-body relationship.
Gottlieb, Richard M
2013-02-01
In her thoughtful review and synthesis, Karen Gubb overstimates the breadth of resurgent interest among psychoanalysts in psychosomatic medicine. Such a modest revival as there has been reflects primarily the activity of a few authors and editors. Still, after several decades of inactivity following the intense excitement about this subject during the 1940s and 1950s, there has been some renewal of interest, primarily in Europe and among a small group in the United States. The golden age of psychoanalytic psychosomatics came to an end with the failure to find evidence in support of the promising but overly simplistic specificity theories, especially those of Franz Alexander. If we were going to better understand the complex relations between bodily states (including illnesses) and mental phenomena new theories and modes of investigation would be required. Many apparently new theories have been put forward over the past few decades. Of these, Gubb focuses her attention on two that relate somatic illness to failures in linguistic or symbolic elaboration, that is, to failures in the working over or binding of somatic excitations by the mental apparatus. These theories share the attractive feature that they seem consistent with the claim that psychosomatically ill patients are impaired in their language capacities, being unable to put feelings into words (alexithymia) and unable to move to abstract from concrete thinking (pensée opératoire). While apparently new, when closely examined these theories turn out to be but minor variations of one of Freud's own fundamental theories of mind/body, the one explicated in The Interpretation of Dreams and based upon the neurological model of the reflex arc as known in the 19th century. We know too much today about neuronal functioning, brain operations, and the importance of our subtle interactions with others to be satisfied with a superannuated scientific model. If we analysts are to lay claim to a science beyond a quaint
Tinnitus: clinical experience of the psychosomatic connection
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Salviati M
2014-02-01
the lack of coping capabilities can play a critical role in the clinical history of patients affected by severe tinnitus.Keywords: tinnitus, psychosomatics, stress, psychopathological dimensions, personality
The Impact of Health Insurance on Health Care Provision in ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
This study assesses the impact of the NHIS scheme in promoting access to health care. It identifies a need for all stakeholders to engage in the active promotion of awareness on health insurance as option of health care provisioning. It argues that health insurance can make health care more accessible to a wider segment ...
Höflich, Anke; Matzat, Jürgen; Meyer, Friedhelm; Knickenberg, Rudolf J; Bleichner, Franz; Merkle, Wolfgang; Reimer, Christian; Franke, Wolfram; Beutel, Manfred E
2007-05-01
Until now little is known about the role of participation in self-help groups alone or combined with psychotherapy in post-in-patient care. In the present study 2933 patients were questioned about their experience of self-help groups and psychotherapy after discharge from a clinic for psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy. Nearly 8 % of them utilized self-help groups (mostly combined with out-patient psychotherapy), and altogether 68 % out-patient psychotherapy following in-patient treatment. Patients without out-patient treatment were psychologically less burdened and had better resources than participants of self-help groups or psychotherapy. Self-help group members differed from patients in out-patient psychotherapy by expressing a more positive opinion of groupwork and higher openness to new experiences. Additionly, they had discussed the topic of self-help groups more frequently with their therapists. This may be a starting-point for promoting more self-help activities of patients in the future.
Schüppel, R; Bayer, A; Hrabal, V; Hölzer, M; Allert, G; Tiedemann, G; Hochkirchen, B; Stephanos, S; Kächele, H; Zenz, H
1998-05-01
The departments of Medical Psychology, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy developed an interdisciplinary longitudinal curriculum in order to coach medical students for the whole length of their medical education. Experiences from the first four undergraduate semesters are reported. 46 students (33 females, 13 males), mean age 22.3 +/- 2.6 years, attended 60 hours of interdisciplinary group sessions. Frequent motives to join the course were interest in psychosocial disciplines and relevant previous experience. The students expected to benefit from this project in their study, their future practice as a physician, and in their personal development. Important educational goals that could be attained were the adoption of a patient-centred view in medicine as well as strengthening of the students' critical capacities and sensitivity. The students especially appreciated the possibility of group discussions and the opportunity to participate actively in the course. Based on a critical review of the evaluation, the possibility of a transfer of our model is considered and perspectives for the future are developed.
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Bitte Modin
2018-01-01
Full Text Available This study addressed school-contextual features of social disorder in relation to sixth-grade students’ experiences of bullying victimization and mental health complaints. It investigated, firstly, whether the school’s concentrations of behavioural problems were associated with individual students’ likelihood of being bullied, and secondly, whether the school’s concentrations of behavioural problems and bullying victimization predicted students’ emotional and psychosomatic health complaints. The data were derived from the Swedish National Survey of Mental Health among Children and Young People, carried out among sixth-grade students (approximately 12–13 years old in Sweden in 2009. The analyses were based on information from 59,510 students distributed across 1999 schools. The statistical method used was multilevel modelling. While students’ own behavioural problems were associated with an elevated risk of being bullied, attending a school with a higher concentration of students with behavioural problems also increased the likelihood of being bullied. Attending a school with higher levels of bullying victimization and behavioural problems predicted more emotional and psychosomatic complaints, even when adjusting for their individual level analogues. The findings indicate that school-level features of social disorder influence bullying victimization and mental health complaints among students.
Nurse Bullying: Impact on Nurses' Health.
Sauer, Penny A; McCoy, Thomas P
2017-12-01
Workplace bullying has been experienced by 27% to 80% of nurses who have participated in studies. Bullying behaviors negatively impact the health of nurses. This study examined whether nurses' resilience had an impact on the effects of bullying on the nurse's health. This cross-sectional descriptive study surveyed licensed registered nurses in one state. The sample ( N = 345) was predominately female (89%) and Caucasian (84%), with an average age of 46.6 years. In this sample, 40% of nurses were bullied. Higher incidence of bullying was associated with lower physical health scores ( p = .002) and lower mental health scores ( p = .036). Nurses who are bullied at work experience lower physical and mental health, which can decrease the nurses' quality of life and impede their ability to deliver safe, effective patient care.
The impact of economic globalisation on health.
Koivusalo, Meri
2006-01-01
The analysis of the impact of economic globalisation on health depends on how it is defined and should consider how it shapes both health and health policies. I first discuss the ways in which economic globalisation can and has been defined and then why it is important to analyse its impact both in terms of health and health policies. I then explore the ways in which economic globalisation influences health and health policies and how this relates to equity, social justice, and the role of values and social rights in societies. Finally, I argue that the process of economic globalisation provides a common challenge for all health systems across the globe and requires a broader debate on values, accountability, and policy approaches.
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Harold Merskey
2003-01-01
Full Text Available There have been a number of attempts, particularly in the last five decades to understand the origins of pain in terms of psychological or psychosomatic patterns. These include psychoanalytic explanations relying on hysterical mechanisms, and psychophysiological proposals. The occurrence of pain in the course of psychiatric illness and its remission after the illness, has long been known and is not a controversial issue. However, the reported explanations of pain without overt and obvious prior psychiatric illness have largely failed to convince a significant portion of the professional establishment. These explanations have very often coincided with the interests of insurance companies, whether those insurance companies were providing medical benefits, disability insurance or workers' or accident compensation. Critical examination of the evidence generated by insurance company related research indicates profound weaknesses in it.
Merskey, Harold
2003-01-01
There have been a number of attempts, particularly in the last five decades to understand the origins of pain in terms of psychological or psychosomatic patterns. These include psychoanalytic explanations relying on hysterical mechanisms, and psychophysiological proposals. The occurrence of pain in the course of psychiatric illness and its remission after the illness, has long been known and is not a controversial issue. However, the reported explanations of pain without overt and obvious prior psychiatric illness have largely failed to convince a significant portion of the professional establishment. These explanations have very often coincided with the interests of insurance companies, whether those insurance companies were providing medical benefits, disability insurance or workers' or accident compensation. Critical examination of the evidence generated by insurance company related research indicates profound weaknesses in it.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Ross-Petersen, L; Holstein, B E; Due, P E
1995-01-01
psychosomatic symptoms than girls. They also did more physical exercise than girls. Boys and girls showed differences in social networks. Self-reported health status, weekly psychosomatic symptoms and health behaviour (smoking, exercise, and diet) were associated with social networks for both sexes...
Building-related health impacts in European and Chinese cities
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Tuomisto, Jouni T; Niittynen, Marjo; Pärjälä, Erkki
2015-01-01
consumption of buildings. In addition, the model should be usable for policy comparisons by non-health experts on city level with city-specific data, it should give guidance on the particular climate mitigation questions but at the same time increase understanding on the related health impacts and the model......BACKGROUND: Public health is often affected by societal decisions that are not primarily about health. Climate change mitigation requires intensive actions to minimise greenhouse gas emissions in the future. Many of these actions take place in cities due to their traffic, buildings, and energy...... consumption. Active climate mitigation policies will also, aside of their long term global impacts, have short term local impacts, both positive and negative, on public health. Our main objective was to develop a generic open impact model to estimate health impacts of emissions due to heat and power...
Impact of organisational change on mental health
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Bamberger, Simon Grandjean; Vinding, Anker Lund; Larsen, Anelia
2012-01-01
Although limited evidence is available, organisational change is often cited as the cause of mental health problems. This paper provides an overview of the current literature regarding the impact of organisational change on mental health. A systematic search in PUBMED, PsychInfo and Web of Knowle......Although limited evidence is available, organisational change is often cited as the cause of mental health problems. This paper provides an overview of the current literature regarding the impact of organisational change on mental health. A systematic search in PUBMED, PsychInfo and Web...
The health cost of energy. The health impacts of the different energy sources
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Masse, Roland
2017-01-01
This publication proposes an assessment of impacts of the different energy sources on public health. After a discussion of general aspects regarding this issue, the author addresses the identification and assessment of risks. While referring to different statistical data, he discusses the impacts of accidents in terms of dead, injured or evacuated people. He also addresses health impacts during a normal operation of power plants, i.e. in the case of nuclear plants (issue of exposure to various levels of radiation at the different steps of fuel cycle), of carbon-based plants (health risks and impacts during coal extraction, due to CO 2 emissions and to other toxic emissions, due to atmospheric pollution, identified risks, modelling attempts, assessment of a loss in life expectancy), and of other energies. While acknowledging that there are still many unknowns to assess these health impacts, the author compares these assessments. A summarized version of this article is proposed, in which the author briefly comments data regarding severe accidents related to energy production, discusses health consequences of electric power production and use, and makes a distinction between the most and less hazardous energies as far as public health is concerned
Landsman-Dijkstra, Jeanet J. A.; van Wijck, R; Groothoff, JW
Objective: A 3-day residential body awareness program (BAP) was developed to teach people with chronic a-specific psychosomatic symptoms (CAPS) to react adequately to disturbances of the balance between a daily workload and the capacity to deal with it. The long-term effects of the program on body
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Patrick Harris
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Within the member states of the United Nations 190 of 193 have regulated Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA which is a systematic process to prevent and mitigate the potential environmental impacts of industry development projects before these occur. However, the routine and comprehensive assessment of health impacts within EIAs remains underdeveloped. Focusing, as an example, on the risks to global health from the global shift in the mining industry towards Low and Middle Income Countries LMIC, this viewpoint details why connecting with EIA is an essential task for the health system. Although existing knowledge is out of date in relation to global practice we identify how health has been included, to some extent, in High Income Country EIAs and the institutional requirements for doing so. Using arguments identified by industry themselves about requiring a ‘social license to operate’, we conclude that EIA regulations provide the best current mechanism to ensure health protection is a core aspect in the decision making process to approve projects.
Impacts of “metals” on human health
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Pizzol, Massimo; Christensen, Per; Schmidt, Jannick Højrup
2011-01-01
This paper looks into the differences and uncertainties in determining the impact of “metals” emissions on human health, in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA). Metals are diverse substances, with different properties and characteristics, considered important in LCIA because of their toxicity...... to humans and ecosystems. First, we defined a list of the most significant metals in terms of impacts on human health. This was done according to precise criteria accounting for both physical and toxic properties of the metals. Second, we performed a LCIA on different key processes using various existing...... to the total impact on human health changes greatly according to the LCIA method used. These differences are due mainly to the number of metals included in each method and to the technique used to calculate the characterization factors. Results obtained with USEtox show no apparent correlation with results...
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Liliana Szapiro
2011-12-01
Full Text Available Los objetivos de este trabajo son: en primer lugar, la exposición sintética de los aspectos más importantes de la obra de los autores de diferentes corrientes psicoanalíticas en relación a la temática. Así, se remarcan los aportes más relevantes con relación a la temática de Joyce Mc. Dougall (1991, Hebe Lenarduzzi (2005, Zulma López Arranz (2009 y Liliana Szapiro (1992-2011. En segundo lugar, puntuar puntos de convergencia y de divergencia en la obra de los autores arriba mencionados con relación a: a. Diferenciación entre fenómeno psicosomático y síntoma neurótico b. Singularidades de la estructuración subjetiva de los sujetos que padecen fenómenos psicosomáticos c. Singularidades en la Dirección de la Cura de los sujetos que padecen estas dolencias.The aims of this work are: 1 To present briely the theoretico-clinical developments of the different psycoanalytical currents that have dealt with psychosomatics. We will state the most recent contributions of authors such as Joyce Mc. Dougall(1991, Hebe Lenarduzzi (2005, Zulma López Arranz (2009 y Liliana Szapiro (1992-2011 2 To show the points of convergence and divergence of the above mentioned authors in relation to: a. The difference between psychosomatic phenome non and neurotic symptom. b. The singularities of the psyco logical structure of the subjects that suffer from psychosomatic illnesses. c. The singularities in the Direction of the Cure of the subjects that suffer from psychosomatic illnesses.
Jamil, Hikmet; Nassar-McMillanb, Sylvia; Lambert, Richard; Wangd, Yun; Ager, Joel; Arnetz, Bengt
2010-01-01
The objective of this study was to determine whether perceived health status of Iraqi immigrants and refugees residing in the United States was related to pre-migration environmental stress, current unemployment, and if they had emigrated before or after the 1991 Gulf War. A random sample of Iraqis residing in Southeast Michigan, US, was interviewed using an Arab language structured survey. The main outcome measure was self-rated health (SRH). Major predictors included socioeconomics, employment status, pre-migration environmental stress, and health disorders. Path analysis was used to look at mediating effects between predictors and SRH. We found that SRH was significantly worse among participants that had left Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War. Unemployment and environmental stress exposure were inversely related to SRH. There was a direct path between Gulf War exposure and poor health. In addition, there were indirect paths mediated through psychosomatic and psychiatric disorders to SRH. Another path went from Gulf War exposure, via environmental stress and somatic health to poor health. Unemployment had a direct path, as well as indirect paths mediated through psychiatric and psychosomatic disorders, to poor self-rated health. In conclusion, these results suggest that pre- as well as post-migration factors, and period of migration, affect health.
Oral health impact of periodontal diseases in adolescents.
López, R; Baelum, V
2007-11-01
The need for treatment of destructive periodontal diseases is based on observations made by oral health professionals, who, prompted by clinical findings, recommend treatment. We hypothesized that clinical signs of periodontal destruction have an impact on the oral-health-related quality of life of adolescents. We conducted a cross-sectional study among 9203 Chilean high school students sampled by a multistage random cluster procedure. We recorded clinical attachment levels and the presence of necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis. The students answered the Spanish version of the Oral Health Impact Profile and provided information on several socio-economic indicators. The results of multivariable logistic regression analyses (adjusted for age, gender, and tooth loss) showed that both attachment loss [OR = 2.0] and necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis [OR = 1.6] were significantly associated with higher impact on the Oral Health Related Quality of Life of adolescents. Individuals in lower socioeconomic positions systematically reported a higher impact on their oral-health-related quality of life.
Health Impacts of the Great Recession: A Critical Review.
Margerison-Zilko, Claire; Goldman-Mellor, Sidra; Falconi, April; Downing, Janelle
2016-03-01
The severity, sudden onset, and multipronged nature of the Great Recession (2007-2009) provided a unique opportunity to examine the health impacts of macroeconomic downturn. We comprehensively review empirical literature examining the relationship between the Recession and mental and physical health outcomes in developed nations. Overall, studies reported detrimental impacts of the Recession on health, particularly mental health. Macro- and individual-level employment- and housing-related sequelae of the Recession were associated with declining fertility and self-rated health, and increasing morbidity, psychological distress, and suicide, although traffic fatalities and population-level alcohol consumption declined. Health impacts were stronger among men and racial/ethnic minorities. Importantly, strong social safety nets in some European countries appear to have buffered those populations from negative health effects. This literature, however, still faces multiple methodological challenges, and more time may be needed to observe the Recession's full health impact. We conclude with suggestions for future work in this field.
Mittelmark, M B
2001-09-01
The 1997 Jakarta Declaration on Health Promotion into the 21st Century called for new responses to address the emerging threats to health. The declaration placed a high priority on promoting social responsibility for health, and it identified equity-focused health impact assessment as a high priority for action. This theme was among the foci at the 2000 Fifth Global Conference on Health Promotion held in Mexico. This paper, which is an abbreviation of a technical report prepared for the Mexico conference, advances arguments for focusing on health impact assessment at the local level. Health impact assessment identifies negative health impacts that call for policy responses, and identifies and encourages practices and policies that promote health. Health impact assessment may be highly technical and require sophisticated technology and expertise. But it can also be a simple, highly practical process, accessible to ordinary people, and one that helps a community come to grips with local circumstances that need changing for better health. To illustrate the possibilities, this paper presents a case study, the People Assessing Their Health (PATH) project from Eastern Nova Scotia, Canada. It places ordinary citizens, rather than community elites, at the very heart of local decision-making. Evidence from PATH demonstrates that low technology health impact assessment, done by and for local people, can shift thinking beyond the illness problems of individuals. It can bring into consideration, instead, how programmes and policies support or weaken community health, and illuminate a community's capacity to improve local circumstances for better health. This stands in contrast to evidence that highly technological approaches to community-level health impact assessment can be self-defeating. Further development of simple, people-centred, low technology approaches to health impact assessment at the local level is called for.
The impact of mHealth interventions on health systems: a systematic review protocol.
Fortuin, Jill; Salie, Faatiema; Abdullahi, Leila H; Douglas, Tania S
2016-11-25
Mobile health (mHealth) has been described as a health enabling tool that impacts positively on the health system in terms of improved access, quality and cost of health care. The proposed systematic review will examine the impact of mHealth on health systems by assessing access, quality and cost of health care as indicators. The systematic review will include literature from various sources including published and unpublished/grey literature. The databases to be searched include: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, NHS Health Technology Assessment Database and Web of Science. The reference lists of studies will be screened and conference proceedings searched for additional eligible reports. Literature to be included will have mHealth as the primary intervention. Two authors will independently screen the search output, select studies and extract data; discrepancies will be resolved by consensus and discussion with the assistance of the third author. The systematic review will inform policy makers, investors, health professionals, technologists and engineers about the impact of mHealth in strengthening the health system. In particular, it will focus on three metrics to determine whether mHealth strengthens the health system, namely quality of, access to and cost of health care services. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42015026070.
[Oswald Schwarz: a pioneer in psychosomatic urology and sexual medicine].
Berberich, H J; Schultheiss, D; Kieser, B
2015-01-01
Oswald Schwarz, a urologist from Vienna, was a scholar of Anton Ritter von Frisch and Hans Rubritius. As a physician during World War I, he was confronted with numerous bullet wounds to the spinal cord. In 1919, he completed his professorial thesis"Bladder dysfunction as a result of bullet wounds to the spinal cord". Oswald Schwarz was known as a committed surgeon. As an urologist he also treated patients with sexual dysfunction. Besides his practical and scientific urology-related work, he was also interested in psychology and philosophy. He held lectures on both subjects earning himself the nickname, the Urosoph. In the 1920s, Oswald Schwarz belonged to the inner circle of Alfred Adler, the founder of Individual Psychology, and was editor of the first psychosomatic textbook published in German, "Psychological origin and psychotherapy of physical symptoms" (1925). In addition, Schwarz wrote numerous articles and several books on sexual medicine. He also made many valuable contributions to the development of medical anthropology. Altogether, his work includes over 130 publications. Faced with the rise of fascism and National Socialism in Europe, Oswald Schwarz, who was of Jewish origin, emigrated to England in 1934. There he died in 1949. Unfortunately his scientific work has largely been forgotten. The aim of the following article is to remind us of his important contributions to the field.
Gross national happiness as a framework for health impact assessment
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Pennock, Michael; Ura, Karma
2011-01-01
The incorporation of population health concepts and health determinants into Health Impact Assessments has created a number of challenges. The need for intersectoral collaboration has increased; the meaning of 'health' has become less clear; and the distinctions between health impacts, environmental impacts, social impacts and economic impacts have become increasingly blurred. The Bhutanese concept of Gross National Happiness may address these issues by providing an over-arching evidence-based framework which incorporates health, social, environmental and economic contributors as well as a number of other key contributors to wellbeing such as culture and governance. It has the potential to foster intersectoral collaboration by incorporating a more limited definition of health which places the health sector as one of a number of contributors to wellbeing. It also allows for the examination of the opportunity costs of health investments on wellbeing, is consistent with whole-of-government approaches to public policy and emerging models of social progress.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Harris, Patrick J.; Harris, Elizabeth; Thompson, Susan; Harris-Roxas, Ben; Kemp, Lynn
2009-01-01
Internationally the inclusion of health within environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been shown to be limited. While Australian EIA documentation has not been studied empirically to date, deficiencies in practice have been documented. This research developed an audit tool to undertake a qualitative descriptive analysis of 22 Major Project EAs in New South Wales, Australia. Results showed that health and wellbeing impacts were not considered explicitly. They were, however, included indirectly in the identification of traditional public health exposures associated with the physical environment and to a lesser extent the inclusion of social and economic impacts. However, no health data was used to inform any of the assessments, there was no reference to causal pathways between exposures or determinants and physical or mental health effects, and there was no inclusion of the differential distribution of exposures or health impacts on different populations. The results add conceptually and practically to the long standing integration debate, showing that health is in a position to add value to the EIA process as an explicit part of standard environmental, social and economic considerations. However, to overcome the consistently documented barriers to integrating health in EIA, capacity must be developed amongst EIA professionals, led by the health sector, to progress health related knowledge and tools.
Early-life income inequality and adolescent health and well-being.
Elgar, Frank J; Gariépy, Geneviève; Torsheim, Torbjørn; Currie, Candace
2017-02-01
A prevailing hypothesis about the association between income inequality and poor health is that inequality intensifies social hierarchies, increases stress, erodes social and material resources that support health, and subsequently harms health. However, the evidence in support of this hypothesis is limited by cross-sectional, ecological studies and a scarcity of developmental studies. To address this limitation, we used pooled, multilevel data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study to examine lagged, cumulative, and trajectory associations between early-life income inequality and adolescent health and well-being. Psychosomatic symptoms and life satisfaction were assessed in surveys of 11- to 15-year-olds in 40 countries between 1994 and 2014. We linked these data to national Gini indices of income inequality for every life year from 1979 to 2014. The results showed that exposure to income inequality from 0 to 4 years predicted psychosomatic symptoms and lower life satisfaction in females after controlling lifetime mean income inequality, national per capita income, family affluence, age, and cohort and period effects. The cumulative income inequality exposure in infancy and childhood (i.e., average Gini index from birth to age 10) related to lower life satisfaction in female adolescents but not to symptoms. Finally, individual trajectories in early-life inequality (i.e., linear slopes in Gini indices from birth to 10 years) related to fewer symptoms and higher life satisfaction in females, indicating that earlier exposures mattered more to predicting health and wellbeing. No such associations with early-life income inequality were found in males. These results help to establish the antecedent-consequence conditions in the association between income inequality and health and suggest that both the magnitude and timing of income inequality in early life have developmental consequences that manifest in reduced health and well-being in adolescent girls
Oster, Jörg; Poetsch, Stephanie; Danner-Weinberger, Alexandra; von Wietersheim, Jörn
2014-02-01
The aim of this study was the examination of the experiences of patients participating in an art therapy during a psychosomatic day hospital. The data basis were 15 transliterated interviews from the end of the treatment, conducted with a presentation of the pictures painted in the art therapy sessions, as well as the digitised pictures. The evaluation was done with a qualitative analysis of the interviews and an analysis of the pictures, using a specially-developed category system. In the art therapy, most part of the pa-tients dealt with own conflicts. Nearly all pa-tients benefitted from the art therapy and indicated an improvement of their feeling. The picture processes are different; at the beginning, wishes and familiar techniques dominated. Pictures of turning points differed in their dimensions. The art therapy was seen as a part of the complete treatment in which several therapies assembled. The final interviews were experienced as helpful for further reflections. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
Psychosomatic medicine and the philosophy of life.
Schwartz, Michael A; Wiggins, Osborne P
2010-01-21
Basing ourselves on the writings of Hans Jonas, we offer to psychosomatic medicine a philosophy of life that surmounts the mind-body dualism which has plagued Western thought since the origins of modern science in seventeenth century Europe. Any present-day account of reality must draw upon everything we know about the living and the non-living. Since we are living beings ourselves, we know what it means to be alive from our own first-hand experience. Therefore, our philosophy of life, in addition to starting with what empirical science tells us about inorganic and organic reality, must also begin from our own direct experience of life in ourselves and in others; it can then show how the two meet in the living being. Since life is ultimately one reality, our theory must reintegrate psyche with soma such that no component of the whole is short-changed, neither the objective nor the subjective. In this essay, we lay out the foundational components of such a theory by clarifying the defining features of living beings as polarities. We describe three such polarities: 1) Being vs. non-being: Always threatened by non-being, the organism must constantly re-assert its being through its own activity. 2) World-relatedness vs. self-enclosure: Living beings are both enclosed with themselves, defined by the boundaries that separate them from their environment, while they are also ceaselessly reaching out to their environment and engaging in transactions with it. 3) Dependence vs. independence: Living beings are both dependent on the material components that constitute them at any given moment and independent of any particular groupings of these components over time.We then discuss important features of the polarities of life: Metabolism; organic structure; enclosure by a semi-permeable membrane; distinction between "self" and "other"; autonomy; neediness; teleology; sensitivity; values. Moral needs and values already arise at the most basic levels of life, even if only human
Psychosomatic medicine and the philosophy of life
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Wiggins Osborne P
2010-01-01
Full Text Available Abstract Basing ourselves on the writings of Hans Jonas, we offer to psychosomatic medicine a philosophy of life that surmounts the mind-body dualism which has plagued Western thought since the origins of modern science in seventeenth century Europe. Any present-day account of reality must draw upon everything we know about the living and the non-living. Since we are living beings ourselves, we know what it means to be alive from our own first-hand experience. Therefore, our philosophy of life, in addition to starting with what empirical science tells us about inorganic and organic reality, must also begin from our own direct experience of life in ourselves and in others; it can then show how the two meet in the living being. Since life is ultimately one reality, our theory must reintegrate psyche with soma such that no component of the whole is short-changed, neither the objective nor the subjective. In this essay, we lay out the foundational components of such a theory by clarifying the defining features of living beings as polarities. We describe three such polarities: 1 Being vs. non-being: Always threatened by non-being, the organism must constantly re-assert its being through its own activity. 2 World-relatedness vs. self-enclosure: Living beings are both enclosed with themselves, defined by the boundaries that separate them from their environment, while they are also ceaselessly reaching out to their environment and engaging in transactions with it. 3 Dependence vs. independence: Living beings are both dependent on the material components that constitute them at any given moment and independent of any particular groupings of these components over time. We then discuss important features of the polarities of life: Metabolism; organic structure; enclosure by a semi-permeable membrane; distinction between "self" and "other"; autonomy; neediness; teleology; sensitivity; values. Moral needs and values already arise at the most basic levels of
Psychosomatic medicine and the philosophy of life
2010-01-01
Basing ourselves on the writings of Hans Jonas, we offer to psychosomatic medicine a philosophy of life that surmounts the mind-body dualism which has plagued Western thought since the origins of modern science in seventeenth century Europe. Any present-day account of reality must draw upon everything we know about the living and the non-living. Since we are living beings ourselves, we know what it means to be alive from our own first-hand experience. Therefore, our philosophy of life, in addition to starting with what empirical science tells us about inorganic and organic reality, must also begin from our own direct experience of life in ourselves and in others; it can then show how the two meet in the living being. Since life is ultimately one reality, our theory must reintegrate psyche with soma such that no component of the whole is short-changed, neither the objective nor the subjective. In this essay, we lay out the foundational components of such a theory by clarifying the defining features of living beings as polarities. We describe three such polarities: 1) Being vs. non-being: Always threatened by non-being, the organism must constantly re-assert its being through its own activity. 2) World-relatedness vs. self-enclosure: Living beings are both enclosed with themselves, defined by the boundaries that separate them from their environment, while they are also ceaselessly reaching out to their environment and engaging in transactions with it. 3) Dependence vs. independence: Living beings are both dependent on the material components that constitute them at any given moment and independent of any particular groupings of these components over time. We then discuss important features of the polarities of life: Metabolism; organic structure; enclosure by a semi-permeable membrane; distinction between "self" and "other"; autonomy; neediness; teleology; sensitivity; values. Moral needs and values already arise at the most basic levels of life, even if only human
Levenson, James L; Bialer, Philip
2010-01-01
The authors studied how often applicants accept positions at more than one program, or programs offer positions to applicants who have already signed contracts with other programs. An anonymous survey was distributed to all psychosomatic medicine fellowship program directors. It is fairly common for applicants to sign contracts for fellowship positions and then back out of the contracts. Only one program reported ever knowingly offering a contract to an applicant who had accepted a position elsewhere. Programs are divided over whether there are extenuating circumstances under which it would be acceptable to offer a position to an applicant who has already signed a contract with another program. Guidelines for fellowship programs that do not use the National Resident Match Program can improve the recruitment process.
Social impact bonds and their application to preventive health.
Fitzgerald, John L
2013-05-01
Although preventive health in Australia has been acknowledged as central to national health and wellbeing, efforts to reform the delivery of preventive health have to date produced limited results. The financing of preventive health at a national level is based on outcome- or performance-based funding mechanisms; however, delivery of interventions and activities at a state level have not been subjected to outcome-based funding processes. A new financing tool being applied in the area of social services (social impact bonds) has emerged as a possible model for application in the prevention arena. This paper explores key issues in the consideration of this funding model in the prevention arena. When preventive health is conceptualised as a merit good, the role of government is clarified and outcome measures fully articulated, social impact bonds may be a viable funding option to supplement core public health activities. WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE TOPIC? The complexities of outcome monitoring in preventive health are well understood.Likewise, the problem of linking funding to outcomes from preventive health practice has also been debated at length in health policy. However, not much is known about the application of social impact bonds into the preventive health arena.WHAT DOES THIS PAPER ADD? This paper discusses the limitations and opportunities facing the application of the social impact bond financing model in the preventive health arena. This has not been undertaken previously.WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTITIONERS? Social impact bonds have received significant recent attention from federal and state government treasury departments as potential financing tools for government. Health policy practitioners are watching this space very closely to see the outcomes of a New South Wales trial. Health promotion practitioners and primary care practitioners who deliver preventive services will need to keep abreast of this issue as it will have significant impact on their
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
S. A. Misiak
2016-01-01
Full Text Available The article is dedicated to the psychological aspects of the relationship of the organisms of patients suffering from malignisation, and neoplasms, for further study of the disease during the rehabilitation period after standard treatment. If during the treatment of neoplastic disease doctors are encountering with the consequences of illness then the rehabilitation team need to identify the reasons of the disease occurrence. This helps to give the patient rehabilitation in full to improve the life quality and to provide effective socialization. The article analyzes the problems of the psychological characteristics of the origin and course of cancer, psychosomatic theories to explain the origin of the tumor during the illness. Also theories of the models of the patient’s psychological reactions to the presence of the cancer were studied in the article. The rehabilitation period in the cancer patients should include technological methods of psychotherapy.
Health impact assessment of the Atlanta BeltLine.
Ross, Catherine L; Leone de Nie, Karen; Dannenberg, Andrew L; Beck, Laurie F; Marcus, Michelle J; Barringer, Jason
2012-03-01
Although a health impact assessment (HIA) is a tool that can provide decision makers with recommendations to promote positive health impacts and mitigate adverse health impacts of proposed projects and policies, it is not routinely conducted on most major projects or policies. To make health a decision criterion for the Atlanta BeltLine, a multibillion-dollar transit, trails, parks, and redevelopment project. An HIA was conducted in 2005-2007 to anticipate and influence the BeltLine's effect on health determinants. Changes in access and equity, environmental quality, safety, social capital, and physical activity were forecast, and steps to maximize health benefits and reduce negative effects were recommended. Key recommendations included giving priority to the construction of trails and greenspace rather than residential and retail construction, making health an explicit goal in project priority setting, adding a public health professional to decision-making boards, increasing the connectivity between the BeltLine and civic spaces, and ensuring that affordable housing is built. BeltLine project decision makers have incorporated most of the HIA recommendations into the planning process. The HIA was cited in the awarding of additional funds of $7,000,000 for brownfield clean-up and greenspace development. The project is expected to promote the health of local residents more than in the absence of the HIA. This report is one of the first HIAs to tie specific assessment findings to specific recommendations and to identifiable impacts from those recommendations. The lessons learned from this project may help others engaged in similar efforts. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Supervisor behaviour and its associations with employees' health in Europe.
Montano, Diego
2016-02-01
To estimate the magnitude of the associations between different facets of supervisor behaviour and several health-related outcomes, and to assess whether these associations are mediated by known occupational health factors. Cross-sectional data from the European Working Conditions Survey were analysed by generalised linear mixed models (n = 32,770). Six regression models were estimated. Dependent variables include musculoskeletal (upper body, lower limbs, backache) and psychosomatic symptoms (stress and self-assessed general health). Independent variables correspond to several facets of supervisor behaviours such as supervisor support, feedback on work, ability to solve conflicts, encouragement to participate in decisions, and known occupational risk and protective factors. Even though supervisor behaviour is mediated by several known occupational risk factors, it still accounts for a substantial proportion of explained variance. The order of magnitude of associations was comparable to the strength of associations of known occupational risk factors. Odds ratios vary from 0.79 95% CI [0.73-0.86] to 1.12 95% CI [0.97-1.29] for dichotomous dependent variables. Regression coefficients vary from -0.22 95% CI [-0.28 to -0.17] to 0.07 95% CI [0.04-0.10] for metric dependent variables. Results suggest that good conflict solving skills, supervisor's work-planning ability, and a participative leadership style have the strongest predictive power regarding all health-related outcomes considered. Supervisor behaviour seems to play a non-negligible role from an occupational health perspective concerning the prevalence of musculoskeletal and psychosomatic symptoms. Results suggest that supervisor behaviour should be routinely assessed and monitored, especially among occupational groups reporting a lower quality of supervisor behaviours.
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY – ACTUAL DIRECTION IN GROUNDING OF HEALTH MANPOWER
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M.G. Kucherov
2007-09-01
Full Text Available In 90-ies years of last century in our country happened the crash of the system of values with transition to the standards of capitalistic society, and it lead to the formation of chronicle psychosocial stress of high and medium levels. Medics of all directions started to face functional psychosomatic diseases. Raised the necessity in grounding of health manpower in discipline of clinical psychology, with the learning of psychophisiological bases of diseases and possibilities if their correction. This direction of development of soviet medical education and health service in general seems progressive and prospective.
Impacts of globalization in health.
Ioannou, Andriani; Mechili, Aggelos; Kolokathi, Aikaterini; Diomidous, Marianna
2013-01-01
Globalization is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture. Globalization describes the interplay of macro-social forces across cultures. The purpose of this study is a systematic review of the bibliography on the impacts of globalization in health. The consequences of globalization on health present a twofold dimension, on the one hand affects the health of the population and on the other hand organization and functioning of health systems. As a result of globalization, there has been an undeniable economic development and technological progress to support the level of health around the world, improving the health status of certain populations with a beneficial increase in life expectancy. In many aspects globalization is good but there are many problems too.
The Impact of Bariatric Surgery on Psychological Health
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jeremy F. Kubik
2013-01-01
Full Text Available Obesity is associated with a relatively high prevalence of psychopathological conditions, which may have a significant negative impact on the quality of life. Bariatric surgery is an effective intervention in the morbidly obese to achieve marked weight loss and improve physical comorbidities, yet its impact on psychological health has yet to be determined. A review of the literature identified a trend suggesting improvements in psychological health after bariatric surgery. Majority of mental health gain is likely attributed to weight loss and resultant gains in body image, self-esteem, and self-concept; however, other important factors contributing to postoperative mental health include a patient’s sense of taking control of his/her life and support from health care staff. Preoperative psychological health also plays an important role. In addition, the literature suggests similar benefit in the obese pediatric population. However, not all patients report psychological benefits after bariatric surgery. Some patients continue to struggle with weight loss, maintenance and regain, and resulting body image dissatisfaction. Severe preoperative psychopathology and patient expectation that life will dramatically change after surgery can also negatively impact psychological health after surgery. The health care team must address these issues in the perioperative period to maximize mental health gains after surgery.
The impact of bariatric surgery on psychological health.
Kubik, Jeremy F; Gill, Richdeep S; Laffin, Michael; Karmali, Shahzeer
2013-01-01
Obesity is associated with a relatively high prevalence of psychopathological conditions, which may have a significant negative impact on the quality of life. Bariatric surgery is an effective intervention in the morbidly obese to achieve marked weight loss and improve physical comorbidities, yet its impact on psychological health has yet to be determined. A review of the literature identified a trend suggesting improvements in psychological health after bariatric surgery. Majority of mental health gain is likely attributed to weight loss and resultant gains in body image, self-esteem, and self-concept; however, other important factors contributing to postoperative mental health include a patient's sense of taking control of his/her life and support from health care staff. Preoperative psychological health also plays an important role. In addition, the literature suggests similar benefit in the obese pediatric population. However, not all patients report psychological benefits after bariatric surgery. Some patients continue to struggle with weight loss, maintenance and regain, and resulting body image dissatisfaction. Severe preoperative psychopathology and patient expectation that life will dramatically change after surgery can also negatively impact psychological health after surgery. The health care team must address these issues in the perioperative period to maximize mental health gains after surgery.
Employees' perceptions of the impact of work on health behaviours.
Payne, Nicola; Jones, Fiona; Harris, Peter R
2013-07-01
Research examining the impact of work on health behaviours has rarely provided a complete picture of the impact across health behaviours. Twenty-four employees were interviewed about their smoking, drinking, exercise and eating. Themes included the impact of the work environment, including policy, convenience and workplace cultural norms; business events effecting one's routine and again convenience and workplace cultural norms; being busy at work effecting time and energy for healthy behaviour; and work stress leading to health behaviours being used as coping responses on bad and good days. The impact of work is similar across health behaviours and is primarily detrimental.
Fu, Shiwan; Turner, Angus; Tan, Irene; Muir, Josephine
2017-12-01
To identify and assess strategies for evaluating the impact of mobile eye health units on health outcomes. Systematic literature review. Worldwide. Peer-reviewed journal articles that included the use of a mobile eye health unit. Journal articles were included if outcome measures reflected an assessment of the impact of a mobile eye health unit on health outcomes. Six studies were identified with mobile services offering diabetic retinopathy screening (three studies), optometric services (two studies) and orthoptic services (one study). This review identified and assessed strategies in existing literature used to evaluate the impact of mobile eye health units on health outcomes. Studies included in this review used patient outcomes (i.e. disease detection, vision impairment, treatment compliance) and/or service delivery outcomes (i.e. cost per attendance, hospital transport use, inappropriate referrals, time from diabetic retinopathy photography to treatment) to evaluate the impact of mobile eye health units. Limitations include difficulty proving causation of specific outcome measures and the overall shortage of impact evaluation studies. Variation in geographical location, service population and nature of eye care providers limits broad application. © 2017 National Rural Health Alliance Inc.
Impacts on power reactor health physics programs
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Meyer, B.A.
1991-01-01
The impacts on power reactor health physics programs form implementing the revised 10 CFR Part 20 will be extensive and costly. Every policy, program, procedure and training lesson plan involving health physics will require changes and the subsequent retraining of personnel. At each power reactor facility, hundreds of procedures and thousands of people will be affected by these changes. Every area of a power reactor health physics program will be affected. These areas include; ALARA, Respiratory Protection, Exposure Control, Job Coverage, Dosimetry, Radwaste, Effluent Accountability, Emergency Planning and Radiation Worker Training. This paper presents how power reactor facilities will go about making these changes and gives possible examples of some of these changes and their impact on each area of power reactor health physics program
Health impacts of climate change and health and social inequalities in the UK.
Paavola, Jouni
2017-12-05
This article examines how social and health inequalities shape the health impacts of climate change in the UK, and what the implications are for climate change adaptation and health care provision. The evidence generated by the other articles of the special issue were interpreted using social justice reasoning in light of additional literature, to draw out the key implications of health and social inequalities for health outcomes of climate change. Exposure to heat and cold, air pollution, pollen, food safety risks, disruptions to access to and functioning of health services and facilities, emerging infections and flooding are examined as the key impacts of climate change influencing health outcomes. Age, pre-existing medical conditions and social deprivation are found to be the key (but not only) factors that make people vulnerable and to experience more adverse health outcomes related to climate change impacts. In the future, climate change, aging population and decreasing public spending on health and social care may aggravate inequality of health outcomes related to climate change. Health education and public preparedness measures that take into account differential exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity of different groups help address health and social inequalities to do with climate change. Adaptation strategies based on individual preparedness, action and behaviour change may aggravate health and social inequalities due to their selective uptake, unless they are coupled with broad public information campaigns and financial support for undertaking adaptive measures.
IMPACT OF WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES ON HUMAN HEALTH
Pejnović, Natalija
2009-01-01
SUMMARY: This paper explores adverse impacts of wireless technologies on user health. A wide range of situations in which radiation may influence the user was investigated. Emphasis was placed on the adverse impact of non-ionizing radiation. Thermal and non-thermal effects of non-ionizing radiation were explained in accordance with the operating principle of wireless devices. It is necessary to implement appropriate forms of protection in order to eliminate health risks or reduce them to the ...
2015-11-01
A new remuneration system is currently being developed for the hospital care of people with mental disorders. Last year, because of sharp criticism the option phase of the planned Flat-rate Charges in Psychiatry and Psychosomatics (Pauschalierende Entgelte Psychiatrie und Psychosomatik, PEPP) was extended by 2 years. During this time the Federal Ministry of Health wants to look for alternatives and possible starting points for the further development of care. Now, 16 scientific professional associations and organisations have presented a joint concept for a sustainable solution: the budget-based remuneration system. The system is suitable for ensuring that people with mental disorders are treated according to their particular needs and for promoting the appropriate further development of regional care in all treatment settings. It corresponds with the objectives as formulated in Section 17d of the Hospital Finance Act (Krankenhausfinanzierungsgesetz, KHG) and translates the PEPP system, which is currently being developed and focusses on average prices, into a performance-oriented, transparent budgetary system. The fundamental principle is the separation of the individual hospitals' budgeting on the basis of evidence-based, feature- and performance-related modules and billing in the form of advance payments from the agreed budget.
Impact of Health Literacy on Senior Citizen Engagement in Health Care IT Usage.
Noblin, Alice M; Rutherford, Ashley
2017-01-01
Objective: Patient engagement in health care information technology (IT) is required for government reimbursement programs. This research surveyed one older adult group to determine their willingness to use health information from a variety of sources. Health literacy was also measured using the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) and eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) tools. Method: Regression models determined engagement in health care IT usage and impact of literacy levels based on survey data collected from the group. Results: Although most participants have adequate literacy, they are not more likely to use health care IT than those with limited literacy scores. Knowledge of how to use the Internet to answer questions about health was statistically associated with IT usage. Discussion: Health care IT usage is important for healthy aging. The ability of older adults to understand information provided to them can impact population health including medication usage and other important factors.
Integrating Ecosystem Services Into Health Impact Assessment
Health Impact Assessment (HIA) provides a methodology for incorporating considerations of public health into planning and decision-making processes. HIA promotes interdisciplinary action, stakeholder participation, and timeliness and takes into account equity, sustainability, and...
Effect of stapedotomy on pre-operative tinnitus and its psychosomatic burden.
Bast, Florian; Mazurek, Birgit; Schrom, Thomas
2013-12-01
According to the literature, between 40 and 90% of otosclerosis patients suffering from hearing loss also suffer from tinnitus on the affected side. For a lot of these patients tinnitus represents a handicap that is just as debilitating as the hearing loss itself. The main goal of the surgical treatment of otosclerosis is a significant improvement in hearing loss, but frequent reports of reduced tinnitus after surgery suggest that this can be a positive side effect. All patients who underwent stapedotomy were initially included in the study. Retrospectively, the tinnitus questionnaire as compiled by Goebel and Hiller was sent to the patients, and 34 patients (37 ears) replied. The pre- and postoperative cases of tinnitus were divided into compensated and non-compensated tinnitus. In addition the following tinnitus-related factors were evaluated: emotional, cognitive and mental burden; intrusiveness of the tinnitus; hearing problems; somatic ailments; and sleep disturbances. Over 80% of the patients surveyed suffered from tinnitus pre-operation. The tinnitus disappeared or improved in over 60% of the cases after stapedotomy. In addition, the related factors surveyed also improved appreciably post surgery and reached a significant level in patients with compensated tinnitus. Besides a significant improvement in hearing loss the intensity and the psychosomatic burden of a pre-operative tinnitus can be reduced by stapedotomy. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Begun, James W; Kahn, Linda M; Cunningham, Brooke A; Malcolm, Jan K; Potthoff, Sandra
2017-12-13
Many hospitals in the United States are exploring greater investment in community health activities that address upstream causes of poor health. Develop and apply a measure to categorize and estimate the potential impact of hospitals' community health activities on population health and equity. We propose a scale of potential impact on population health and equity, based on the cliff analogy developed by Jones and colleagues. The scale is applied to the 317 activities reported in the community health needs assessment implementation plan reports of 23 health care organizations in the Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota metropolitan area in 2015. Using a 5-point ordinal scale, we assigned a score of potential impact on population health and equity to each community health activity. A majority (50.2%) of health care organizations' community health activities are classified as addressing social determinants of health (level 4 on the 5-point scale), though very few (5.4%) address structural causes of health equity (level 5 on the 5-point scale). Activities that score highest on potential impact fall into the topic categories of "community health and connectedness" and "healthy lifestyles and wellness." Lower-scoring activities focus on sick or at-risk individuals, such as the topic category of "chronic disease prevention, management, and screening." Health care organizations in the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area vary substantially in the potential impact of their aggregated community health activities. Hospitals can be significant contributors to investment in upstream community health programs. This article provides a scale that can be used not only by hospitals but by other health care and public health organizations to better align their community health strategies, investments, and partnerships with programming and policies that address the foundational causes of population health and equity within the communities they serve.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Esben Meulengracht Flachs
2013-01-01
Full Text Available Objective. To explore how three different assumptions on demographics affect the health impact of Danish emitted air pollution in Denmark from 2005 to 2030, with health impact modeled from 2005 to 2050. Methods. Modeled air pollution from Danish sources was used as exposure in a newly developed health impact assessment model, which models four major diseases and mortality causes in addition to all-cause mortality. The modeling was at the municipal level, which divides the approximately 5.5 M residents in Denmark into 99 municipalities. Three sets of demographic assumptions were used: (1 a static year 2005 population, (2 morbidity and mortality fixed at the year 2005 level, or (3 an expected development. Results. The health impact of air pollution was estimated at 672,000, 290,000, and 280,000 lost life years depending on demographic assumptions and the corresponding social costs at 430.4 M€, 317.5 M€, and 261.6 M€ through the modeled years 2005–2050. Conclusion. The modeled health impact of air pollution differed widely with the demographic assumptions, and thus demographics and assumptions on demographics played a key role in making health impact assessments on air pollution.
Current issues in the impacts of transport on health.
van Schalkwyk, M C I; Mindell, J S
2018-03-01
Transport affects health in many ways. Benefits include access to education, employment, goods, services and leisure, and opportunities for incorporating physical activity into daily living. There are major inequalities: benefits generally accrue to wealthier people and harms to the more deprived, nationally and globally. Health on the Move 2; Journal of Transport and Health. Benefits of travel for access and physical activity. Harms include health impacts of air and noise pollution; injuries and fatalities from falls or collisions; sedentary behaviour with motorized transport; community severance (barrier effect of busy roads and transport infrastructure); global climate change; impacts on inequalities; transport's role in facilitating spread of communicable diseases. Biofuels; cycle safety; driving by older people. Effects of default 20 mph speed limits; impacts of autonomous vehicles on health and inequalities.
Impact of Health Literacy on Senior Citizen Engagement in Health Care IT Usage
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alice M. Noblin PhD, RHIA, CCS
2017-04-01
Full Text Available Objective: Patient engagement in health care information technology (IT is required for government reimbursement programs. This research surveyed one older adult group to determine their willingness to use health information from a variety of sources. Health literacy was also measured using the Newest Vital Sign (NVS and eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS tools. Method: Regression models determined engagement in health care IT usage and impact of literacy levels based on survey data collected from the group. Results: Although most participants have adequate literacy, they are not more likely to use health care IT than those with limited literacy scores. Knowledge of how to use the Internet to answer questions about health was statistically associated with IT usage. Discussion: Health care IT usage is important for healthy aging. The ability of older adults to understand information provided to them can impact population health including medication usage and other important factors.
The "Ulysses syndrome": An eponym identifies a psychosomatic disorder in modern migrants.
Bianucci, Raffaella; Charlier, Philippe; Perciaccante, Antonio; Lippi, Donatella; Appenzeller, Otto
2017-06-01
Due to civil wars, violence and persecutions, between 2015 and 2016, more than 1.4 million people, from the Middle East and Africa, fled their counties and migrated to Europe. The vast majority of migrants, who have already experienced enormous level of stressors, are faced with dangerous, often lethal, migratory journeys. Those who survive are exposed to adaptation stressors such as different languages, isolation, lack of work opportunities, diminished social status and a sense of failure in the new countries of residence. These are stressors that go far beyond the usual adaptation stresses to new cultures and migrants experience permanent crises with an imminent risk of developing the "Ulysses syndrome". As a consequence, many individuals often develop symptoms such as irritability, nervousness, migraine, tension headache, insomnia, tiredness, fear, loss of appetite and generalized ill-defined discomfort. If left untreated these symptoms, originally described by Hofer in the 17th century, may degenerate into a severe psychosomatic disorder leading to reactive depression. Here we expand the concept of Ulysses' syndrome and illustrate new initiatives aimed at reducing the level of stressors in migrants and at promoting their successful integration in their new countries. Copyright © 2017 European Federation of Internal Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Simpson, Sarah; Mahoney, Mary; Harris, Elizabeth; Aldrich, Rosemary; Stewart-Williams, Jenny
2005-01-01
In Australasia (Australia and New Zealand) the use of health impact assessment (HIA) as a tool for improved policy development is comparatively new. The public health workforce do not routinely assess the potential health and equity impacts of proposed policies or programs. The Australasian Collaboration for Health Equity Impact Assessment was funded to develop a strategic framework for equity-focused HIA (EFHIA) with the intent of strengthening the ways in which equity is addressed in each step of HIA. The collaboration developed a draft framework for EFHIA that mirrored, but modified the commonly accepted steps of HIA; tested the draft framework in six different health service delivery settings; analysed the feedback about application of the draft EFHIA framework and modified it accordingly. The strategic framework shows promise in providing a systematic process for identifying potential differential health impacts and assessing the extent to which these are avoidable and unfair. This paper presents the EFHIA framework and discusses some of the issues that arose in the case study sites undertaking equity-focused HIA
Fritzsche, Kurt; Schäfer, Inna; Wirsching, Michael; Leonhart, Rainer
2012-01-01
The present study investigates the psycho-social stress, the treatment procedures and the treatment outcomes of stressed patients in the hospital from the perspective of the hospital doctors. Physicians from all disciplines who had completed the course "Psychosomatic Basic Care" as part of their specialist training documented selected treatment cases. 2,028 documented treatment cases of 367 physicians were evaluated. Anxiety, depression and family problems were the most common causes of psychosocial stress. In over 40 % of the cases no information was found on the medical history. Diagnostic and therapeutic conversations took place with almost half the patients (45%). From the vantage point of the physicians patients receiving diagnostic and therapeutic conversations achieved significantly more positive scores with respect to outcome variables than patients without these measures. Collegial counseling was desired for more than half of the patients and took place mainly among the ward team. There were few significant differences in the views of surgical and nonsurgical physicians. Psychosomatic basic care in general hospitals is possible, albeit with some limitations. Patients undergoing psychosocial interventions have better treatment outcomes. Therefore, extending training to 80 hours for all medical disciplines seems reasonable.
Health impact and damage cost assessment of pesticides in Europe.
Fantke, Peter; Friedrich, Rainer; Jolliet, Olivier
2012-11-15
Health impacts from pesticide use are of continuous concern in the European population, requiring a constant evaluation of European pesticide policy. However, health impacts have never been quantified accounting for specific crops contributing differently to overall human exposure as well as accounting for individual substances showing distinct environmental behavior and toxicity. We quantify health impacts and related damage costs from exposure to 133 pesticides applied in 24 European countries in 2003 adding up to almost 50% of the total pesticide mass applied in that year. Only 13 substances applied to 3 crop classes (grapes/vines, fruit trees, vegetables) contribute to 90% of the overall health impacts of about 2000 disability-adjusted life years in Europe per year corresponding to annual damage costs of 78 million Euro. Considering uncertainties along the full impact pathway mainly attributable to non-cancer dose-response relationships and residues in treated crops, we obtain an average burden of lifetime lost per person of 2.6 hours (95% confidence interval between 22 seconds and 45.3 days) or costs per person over lifetime of 12 Euro (95% confidence interval between 0.03 Euro and 5142 Euro), respectively. 33 of the 133 assessed substances accounting for 20% of health impacts in 2003 are now banned from the European market according to current legislation. The main limitation in assessing human health impacts from pesticides is related to the lack of systematic application data for all used substances. Since health impacts can be substantially influenced by the choice of pesticides, the need for more information about substance application becomes evident. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Gender and Health Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops in ...
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)
Gender and Health Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops in Developing Countries ... exists, the gender and health impacts have so far received only cursory attention. ... New funding opportunity for gender equality and climate change ... social inequality, promote greater gender parity, and empower women and girls.
Economic value of U.S. fossil fuel electricity health impacts.
Machol, Ben; Rizk, Sarah
2013-02-01
Fossil fuel energy has several externalities not accounted for in the retail price, including associated adverse human health impacts, future costs from climate change, and other environmental damages. Here, we quantify the economic value of health impacts associated with PM(2.5) and PM(2.5) precursors (NO(x) and SO(2)) on a per kilowatt hour basis. We provide figures based on state electricity profiles, national averages and fossil fuel type. We find that the economic value of improved human health associated with avoiding emissions from fossil fuel electricity in the United States ranges from a low of $0.005-$0.013/kWh in California to a high of $0.41-$1.01/kWh in Maryland. When accounting for the adverse health impacts of imported electricity, the California figure increases to $0.03-$0.07/kWh. Nationally, the average economic value of health impacts associated with fossil fuel usage is $0.14-$0.35/kWh. For coal, oil, and natural gas, respectively, associated economic values of health impacts are $0.19-$0.45/kWh, $0.08-$0.19/kWh, and $0.01-$0.02/kWh. For coal and oil, these costs are larger than the typical retail price of electricity, demonstrating the magnitude of the externality. When the economic value of health impacts resulting from air emissions is considered, our analysis suggests that on average, U.S. consumers of electricity should be willing to pay $0.24-$0.45/kWh for alternatives such as energy efficiency investments or emission-free renewable sources that avoid fossil fuel combustion. The economic value of health impacts is approximately an order of magnitude larger than estimates of the social cost of carbon for fossil fuel electricity. In total, we estimate that the economic value of health impacts from fossil fuel electricity in the United States is $361.7-886.5 billion annually, representing 2.5-6.0% of the national GDP. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Wu Liming, E-mail: lmwu@scdc.sh.c [Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai 200336 (China); Center for Environment and Population Health, Griffith University, Nathan 4111 (Australia); Rutherford, Shannon; Chu, Cordia [Center for Environment and Population Health, Griffith University, Nathan 4111 (Australia)
2011-07-15
Health impact assessment (HIA) is a useful tool to predict and estimate the potential health impact associated with programs, projects, and policies by comprehensively identifying relevant health determinants and their consequences. China is undergoing massive and rapid socio-economic changes leading to environment and population health challenges such as a large increase in non-communicable diseases, the emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases, new health risks associated with environmental pollutants and escalating health inequality. These health issues are affected by multiple determinants which can be influenced by planned policies, programs, and projects. This paper discusses the needs for health impact assessment in China in order to minimize the negative health consequences from projects, programs and policies associated with rapid social and economic development. It first describes the scope of China's current impact assessment system and points out its inadequacy in meeting the requirements of population health protection and promotion. It then analyses the potential use of HIA and why China needs to develop and apply HIA as a tool to identify potential health impacts of proposed programs, projects and policies so as to influence decision-making early in the planning process. Thus, the paper recommends the development of HIA as a useful tool in China to enhance decision-making for the protection and promotion of population health. For this to happen, the paper outlines steps necessary for the establishment and successful implementation of HIA in China: beginning with the establishment of a HIA framework, followed by workforce capacity building, methodology design, and intersectoral collaboration and stakeholder engagement.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wu Liming; Rutherford, Shannon; Chu, Cordia
2011-01-01
Health impact assessment (HIA) is a useful tool to predict and estimate the potential health impact associated with programs, projects, and policies by comprehensively identifying relevant health determinants and their consequences. China is undergoing massive and rapid socio-economic changes leading to environment and population health challenges such as a large increase in non-communicable diseases, the emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases, new health risks associated with environmental pollutants and escalating health inequality. These health issues are affected by multiple determinants which can be influenced by planned policies, programs, and projects. This paper discusses the needs for health impact assessment in China in order to minimize the negative health consequences from projects, programs and policies associated with rapid social and economic development. It first describes the scope of China's current impact assessment system and points out its inadequacy in meeting the requirements of population health protection and promotion. It then analyses the potential use of HIA and why China needs to develop and apply HIA as a tool to identify potential health impacts of proposed programs, projects and policies so as to influence decision-making early in the planning process. Thus, the paper recommends the development of HIA as a useful tool in China to enhance decision-making for the protection and promotion of population health. For this to happen, the paper outlines steps necessary for the establishment and successful implementation of HIA in China: beginning with the establishment of a HIA framework, followed by workforce capacity building, methodology design, and intersectoral collaboration and stakeholder engagement.
Concept of waste and its impact on human health.
Pashkov, Vitalii M; Batyhina, Olena M; Trotska, Maryna V
Impact of the environment on human health is increasingly being paid attention both at the international level and at the level of individual countries. Among the factors that anyhow can affect it negatively, various objects are distinguished and waste is not of the last consequence. It has different nature of origin, ways of further utilization and a degree of impact on human health and the environment. Its generation, utilization and neutralization are determined by the relevant processes; their research allows continuous improvement and reduction of their negative impact on human health and the environment. To analyze provisions of the international legislation concerning the concept of waste and its classification, as well as its potential impacts on human health and the environment. The study analyzes and uses international legal documents, data of international organizations and scientists' deductions. Furthermore, the study integrates information from scientific journals with scientific methods from the medical and legal point of view. Within the framework of the system approach, as well as analysis and synthesis, the concept of waste, its classification and impact on human health and the environment have been researched. In consequence of the conducted study, it has been found that at the European level, considerable attention is paid to waste in the context of its possible negative impact on human health and the environment. Solution of this problem is carried out with the integrated approach, which is expressed both in enacting statutory acts and amending existing ones, as well as elucidating various aspects at the scientific, methodological, statistical and other levels. Waste in itself has different nature of origin, negative impact, ways of its further utilization. Some kinds of it can be used further in order to achieve other goals and needs that are not related to their generation, others can no longer be used for human benefits taking into account
Health impact assessment in planning: Development of the design for health HIA tools
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Forsyth, Ann; Slotterback, Carissa Schively; Krizek, Kevin J.
2010-01-01
How can planners more systematically incorporate health concerns into practical planning processes? This paper describes a suite of health impact assessment tools (HIAs) developed specifically for planning practice. Taking an evidence-based approach the tools are designed to fit into existing planning activities. The tools include: a short audit tool, the Preliminary Checklist; a structured participatory workshop, the Rapid HIA; an intermediate health impact assessment, the Threshold Analysis; and a set of Plan Review Checklists. This description provides a basis for future work including assessing tool validity, refining specific tools, and creating alternatives.
van de Wiel, Henricus; Paarlberg, K.M.; Wouda, Jan; Paarlberg, KM; van de Wiel, HBM
2017-01-01
Although professional collaboration is nowadays recognized as of vital importance for the quality and safety of health care (organizations), this is especially the case in psychosomatic obstetrics and gynecology (POG). The scientific fundament for the psychosomatic approach is the biopsychosocial
Mindell, J; Sheridan, L; Joffe, M; Samson-Barry, H; Atkinson, S
2004-03-01
To increase the positive and mitigate the negative health impacts of the mayor's draft transport strategy for London. A rapid prospective health impact assessment (HIA) of the penultimate draft of the strategy, using a review commissioned by the regional director of public health; an appraisal of congestion charging; and a participatory workshop. Two audits of changes were performed to assess the impact on policy of the HIA process. Regional government policy development. Recommendations from the rapid HIA were fed back into the drafting process. Changes (a) between the penultimate draft and the draft for public consultation and (b) between that and the final mayoral strategy. The draft transport strategy published for consultation differed in a number of respects from the previous version. Almost all the recommendations from the HIA were incorporated into the final strategy. Significant changes included promoting sustainable travel plans for workplaces and schools; giving priority to infrastructure and services that benefit London's deprived communities; increased emphasis on promoting walking and cycling and reducing reliance on private cars; and a commitment to track the health impacts of the final strategy and its implementation. Specific additions included re-allocating road space. HIA was successful in influencing the transport strategy for London, resulting in several improvements from a health viewpoint. HIA is an effective method both for bringing about significant change in policy proposals and in increasing policy makers' understanding of determinants of health and hence in changing attitudes of policy makers.
Climate change and Public health: vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation
Guzzone, F.; Setegn, S.
2013-12-01
Climate Change plays a significant role in public health. Changes in climate affect weather conditions that we are accustomed to. Increases in the frequency or severity of extreme weather events such as storms could increase the risk of dangerous flooding, high winds, and other direct threats to people and property. Changes in temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme events could enhance the spread of some diseases. According to studies by EPA, the impacts of climate change on health will depend on many factors. These factors include the effectiveness of a community's public health and safety systems to address or prepare for the risk and the behavior, age, gender, and economic status of individuals affected. Impacts will likely vary by region, the sensitivity of populations, the extent and length of exposure to climate change impacts, and society's ability to adapt to change. Transmissions of infectious disease have been associated with social, economic, ecological, health care access, and climatic factors. Some vector-borne diseases typically exhibit seasonal patterns in which the role of temperature and rainfall is well documented. Some of the infectious diseases that have been documented by previous studies, include the correlation between rainfall and drought in the occurrence of malaria, the influence of the dry season on epidemic meningococcal disease in the sub-Saharan African, and the importance of warm ocean waters in driving cholera occurrence in the Ganges River delta in Asia The rise of climate change has been a major concern in the public health sector. Climate change mainly affects vulnerable populations especially in developing countries; therefore, it's important that public health advocates are involve in the decision-making process in order to provide resources and preventative measures for the challenges that are associated with climate change. The main objective of this study is to assess the vulnerability and impact of climate change
Horter, H; Zapp, W; Driessen, M
2016-07-01
The German fixed rate remuneration system in psychiatry and psychosomatics (PEPP) has been criticized by many specialty associations because negative effects on mental healthcare are expected through economic incentives. Through analysis of performance data in the treatment of alcohol dependency at the Evangelical Hospital Bielefeld (Evangelisches Krankenhaus Bielefeld, EvKB) from 2014 and various simulations, the incentives of the PEPP (version 2015) were analyzed and its potential impact on patient care was evaluated. Groups of cases were created based on the clinical data. Various parameters were evaluated, such as duration of treatment, PEPP coding, loss of income by merging cases and case remuneration. Additionally, changes in the duration of treatment, the intensity of treatment and the intensity of care were simulated. In the simulations a reduction in the duration of treatment by 16.1 % led to additional revenues of 1.9 % per treatment day. The calculated additional costs of 1:1 care and intensive nursing care were not completely covered by the additional revenues, whereas psychotherapeutic inpatient treatment programs showed positive profit contributions. Complicated cases with increased merging of cases showed lower revenues but with above average expenditure of efforts. The current version of the PEPP leads to misdirected incentives in patient care. This is caused, for example, by the fact that higher profit contributions can be realized in some patient groups and intensive nursing care of patients is insufficiently represented. It is not clear whether these incentives will persist or can be compensated in subsequent versions of the system.
how do district health managers experience the impact of family ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
KB Von Pressentin
impact of family physicians within the South African district health system? ... paper (2015) described six aspirational roles of family physicians (FPs) working within the district health system. ... composition and deployment of the primary care workforce.5 ... mental health.30,31 In addition, FPs appear to have some impact.
Lee, K
2000-09-01
There has been substantial discussion of globalization in the scholarly and popular press yet limited attention so far among public health professionals. This is so despite the many potential impacts of globalization on public health. Defining public health broadly, as focused on the collective health of populations requiring a range of intersectoral activities, globalization can be seen to have particular relevance. Globalization, in turn, can be defined as a process that is changing the nature of human interaction across a wide range of spheres and along at least three dimensions. Understanding public health and globalization in these ways suggests the urgent need for research to better understand the linkages between the two, and effective policy responses by a range of public health institutions, including the UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine. The paper is based on a review of secondary literature on globalization that led to the development of a conceptual framework for understanding potential impacts on the determinants of health and public health. The paper then discusses major areas of public health in relation to these potential impacts. It concludes with recommendations on how the UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine might contribute to addressing these impacts through its various activities. Although there is growing attention to the importance of globalization to public health, there has been limited research and policy development in the United Kingdom. The UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine needs to play an active role in bringing relevant issues to the attention of policy makers, and encourage its members to take up research, teaching and policy initiatives. The potential impacts of globalization support a broader understanding and practice of public health that embraces a wide range of health determinants.
Milando, Chad W; Martenies, Sheena E; Batterman, Stuart A
2016-09-01
In air quality management, reducing emissions from pollutant sources often forms the primary response to attaining air quality standards and guidelines. Despite the broad success of air quality management in the US, challenges remain. As examples: allocating emissions reductions among multiple sources is complex and can require many rounds of negotiation; health impacts associated with emissions, the ultimate driver for the standards, are not explicitly assessed; and long dispersion model run-times, which result from the increasing size and complexity of model inputs, limit the number of scenarios that can be evaluated, thus increasing the likelihood of missing an optimal strategy. A new modeling framework, called the "Framework for Rapid Emissions Scenario and Health impact ESTimation" (FRESH-EST), is presented to respond to these challenges. FRESH-EST estimates concentrations and health impacts of alternative emissions scenarios at the urban scale, providing efficient computations from emissions to health impacts at the Census block or other desired spatial scale. In addition, FRESH-EST can optimize emission reductions to meet specified environmental and health constraints, and a convenient user interface and graphical displays are provided to facilitate scenario evaluation. The new framework is demonstrated in an SO2 non-attainment area in southeast Michigan with two optimization strategies: the first minimizes emission reductions needed to achieve a target concentration; the second minimizes concentrations while holding constant the cumulative emissions across local sources (e.g., an emissions floor). The optimized strategies match outcomes in the proposed SO2 State Implementation Plan without the proposed stack parameter modifications or shutdowns. In addition, the lower health impacts estimated for these strategies suggest that FRESH-EST could be used to identify potentially more desirable pollution control alternatives in air quality management planning
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Coretchi, Liubov; Bahnarel, Ion; Ursulean, Ion; Cornescu, Alexandra; Botezatu, Nicolae; Belic, Ghenadie
2011-01-01
The study of the effects of health and the psychological and social rehabilitation of the children born in families of 'liquidators' in the period 1996-2010 reveals compromised immune status and the decrease of the main health indicators. The health status of the children is characterized by a high level of general morbidity, primarily psychosomatic, compared with the general population, a significant frequency of the chromosome aberrations are due to the influence of a large number of endogenous and exogenous factors, most significant exposure to irradiation of the father
Patankar, A M; Trivedi, P L
2011-03-01
Mumbai, a mega city with a population of more than 12 million, is experiencing acute air pollution due to commercial activity, a boom in construction and vehicular traffic. This study was undertaken to investigate the link between air pollution and health impacts for Mumbai, and estimate the monetary burden of these impacts. Cross-sectional data were subjected to logistic regression to analyse the link between air pollution and health impacts, and the cost of illness approach was used to measure the monetary burden of these impacts. Data collected by the Environmental Pollution Research Centre at King Edward Memorial Hospital in Mumbai were analysed using logistic regression to investigate the link between air pollution and morbidity impacts. The monetary burden of morbidity was estimated through the cost of illness approach. For this purpose, information on treatment costs and foregone earnings due to illness was obtained through the household survey and interviews with medical practitioners. Particulate matter (PM(10)) and nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) emerged as the critical pollutants for a range of health impacts, including symptoms such as cough, breathlessness, wheezing and cold, and illnesses such as allergic rhinitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study developed the concentration-response coefficients for these health impacts. The total monetary burden of these impacts, including personal burden, government expenditure and societal cost, is estimated at 4522.96 million Indian Rupees (INR) or US$ 113.08 million for a 50-μg/m(3) increase in PM(10), and INR 8723.59 million or US$ 218.10 million for a similar increase in NO(2). The estimated monetary burden of health impacts associated with air pollution in Mumbai mainly comprises out-of-pocket expenses of city residents. These expenses form a sizable proportion of the annual income of individuals, particularly those belonging to poor households. These findings have implications for public
Integrating health and environmental impact analysis
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Reis, S; Morris, G.; Fleming, L. E.
2015-01-01
which addresses human activity in all its social, economic and cultural complexity. The new approach must be integral to, and interactive, with the natural environment. We see the continuing failure to truly integrate human health and environmental impact analysis as deeply damaging, and we propose...... while equally emphasizing the health of the environment, and the growing calls for 'ecological public health' as a response to global environmental concerns now suffusing the discourse in public health. More revolution than evolution, ecological public health will demand new perspectives regarding...... the interconnections among society, the economy, the environment and our health and well-being. Success must be built on collaborations between the disparate scientific communities of the environmental sciences and public health as well as interactions with social scientists, economists and the legal profession...
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
沈晓红; 姜乾金
2003-01-01
Objective:To study the relationship between pre-operative anxiety and post-operative psychosomatic adjustment and the related psyehosoeial factors in upper- abdominal surgery patients. Methods: Forty patients undergoing upper- abdominalsurgery were assessed in this report. One day before surgery, the Medical Coping Mode Questionnaire (MCMQ), Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), Eysenek Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) of State - Trait Arixiety Invento-ry (STAI) and a self- developed patients'' pre - operative appraisal questionnaire were used. In an hour before operation,the shift of the mean value of the pulse of every ease compared with the base line measured at his (or her ) admission was also recorded. Af-ter surgery, State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) of State- Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), a self-developed postoperative appraisal scale were used, and the indexes of somatic adjustment, including intestinal aerofluxus, total dosage of analgesia and so on were recorded. Results:Firstly, pre - operative anxiety was remarkably correlated to many indexes of post - operative psychosomatic adjustment. Secondly, hopelessness about operation, concern over sequela, resignation coping style and psychosis personality were the significant predictors of pre- operative anxiety. Conclusion: Post- operative psychosomatic adjustment could be handicapped by pre - operative anxiety which might be influenced by stress - related psyehosocial factors.
Health impacts of coal: facts and fallacies
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Finkelman, R.B. [University of Texas, Dallas, TX (United States)
2007-02-15
Coal has contributed enormously to the advance of civilization by providing an abundant, inexpensive, and convenient source of energy. Concurrent with its contributions, coal has extracted a high cost in terms of environmental damage and human health impacts. Unfortunately, the links between coal use and human health are distorted by a great deal of ignorance and misinformation. This paper discusses the facts and fallacies of the direct health impacts caused by coal. These include health problems caused by arsenic, fluorine, mercury and selenium released in coal use in the residential sector. The trace element iodine however may help prevent iodine deficiency disorder. Lignite in the ground in some Balkan areas has been associated with a urinary tract cancer known as Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN). Uncontrolled burning coal seams and coal waste piles contribute to global warming and to respiratory problems. The 10-fold enrichment of trace elements in fly ash and the fine particles released from power plants could present a health threat but where good pollution control technology and disposal practices are applied the health threat is probably minimal. Radioactivity levels in coal are thought to be too low to cause concern. 27 refs., 2 figs.
The Impact of Bariatric Surgery on Psychological Health
Kubik, Jeremy F.; Gill, Richdeep S.; Laffin, Michael; Karmali, Shahzeer
2013-01-01
Obesity is associated with a relatively high prevalence of psychopathological conditions, which may have a significant negative impact on the quality of life. Bariatric surgery is an effective intervention in the morbidly obese to achieve marked weight loss and improve physical comorbidities, yet its impact on psychological health has yet to be determined. A review of the literature identified a trend suggesting improvements in psychological health after bariatric surgery. Majority of mental ...
Impact of ACA Health Reforms for People With Mental Health Conditions.
Thomas, Kathleen C; Shartzer, Adele; Kurth, Noelle K; Hall, Jean P
2018-02-01
This brief report explores the impact of health reform for people with mental illness. The Health Reform Monitoring Survey was used to examine health insurance, access to care, and employment for 1,550 people with mental health conditions pre- and postimplementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and by state Medicaid expansion status. Multivariate logistic regressions with predictive margins were used. Post-ACA reforms, people with mental health conditions were less likely to be uninsured (5% versus 13%; t=-6.89, df=50, peffects were experienced in both Medicaid expansion and nonexpansion states. Findings underscore the importance of ACA improvements in the quality of health insurance coverage.
Validating health impact assessment: Prediction is difficult (especially about the future)
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Petticrew, Mark; Cummins, Steven; Sparks, Leigh; Findlay, Anne
2007-01-01
Health impact assessment (HIA) has been recommended as a means of estimating how policies, programmes and projects may impact on public health and on health inequalities. This paper considers the difference between predicting health impacts and measuring those impacts. It draws upon a case study of the building of a new hypermarket in a deprived area of Glasgow, which offered an opportunity to reflect on the issue of the predictive validity of HIA, and to consider the difference between potential and actual impacts. We found that the actual impacts of the new hypermarket on diet differed from that which would have been predicted based on previous studies. Furthermore, they challenge current received wisdom about the impact of food retail outlets in poorer areas. These results are relevant to the validity of HIA as a process and emphasise the importance of further research on the predictive validity of HIA, which should help improve its value to decision-makers
Health impact assessment – A survey on quantifying tools
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Fehr, Rainer, E-mail: rainer.fehr@uni-bielefeld.de [Fakultaet fuer Gesundheitswissenschaften, Universitaet Bielefeld, Universitaetsstr. 25, 33615 Bielefeld (Germany); Mekel, Odile C.L., E-mail: odile.mekel@lzg.nrw.de [Gesundheitsdaten und analysen, Versorgungsstrukturen, Landeszentrum Gesundheit Nordrhein-Westfalen (LZG.NRW), Westerfeldstr. 35-37, 33611 Bielefeld (Germany); Fintan Hurley, J., E-mail: fintan.hurley@iom-world.org [Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM), Research Avenue North, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AP, Scotland (United Kingdom); Mackenbach, Johan P., E-mail: j.mackenbach@erasmusmc.nl [Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, P.O. Box 2040, 3000 CA Rotterdam (Netherlands)
2016-02-15
Integrating human health into prospective impact assessments is known to be challenging. This is true for both approaches: dedicated health impact assessments (HIA) as well as inclusion of health into more general impact assessments. Acknowledging the full range of participatory, qualitative, and quantitative approaches, this study focuses on the latter, especially on computational tools for quantitative health modelling. We conducted a survey among tool developers concerning the status quo of development and availability of such tools; experiences made with model usage in real-life situations; and priorities for further development. Responding toolmaker groups described 17 such tools, most of them being maintained and reported as ready for use and covering a wide range of topics, including risk & protective factors, exposures, policies, and health outcomes. In recent years, existing models have been improved and were applied in new ways, and completely new models emerged. There was high agreement among respondents on the need to further develop methods for assessment of inequalities and uncertainty. The contribution of quantitative modeling to health foresight would benefit from building joint strategies of further tool development, improving the visibility of quantitative tools and methods, and engaging continuously with actual and potential users. - Highlights: • A survey investigated computational tools for health impact quantification. • Formal evaluation of such tools has been rare. • Handling inequalities and uncertainties are priority areas for further development. • Health foresight would benefit from tool developers and users forming a community. • Joint development strategies across computational tools are needed.
Health impact assessment – A survey on quantifying tools
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Fehr, Rainer; Mekel, Odile C.L.; Fintan Hurley, J.; Mackenbach, Johan P.
2016-01-01
Integrating human health into prospective impact assessments is known to be challenging. This is true for both approaches: dedicated health impact assessments (HIA) as well as inclusion of health into more general impact assessments. Acknowledging the full range of participatory, qualitative, and quantitative approaches, this study focuses on the latter, especially on computational tools for quantitative health modelling. We conducted a survey among tool developers concerning the status quo of development and availability of such tools; experiences made with model usage in real-life situations; and priorities for further development. Responding toolmaker groups described 17 such tools, most of them being maintained and reported as ready for use and covering a wide range of topics, including risk & protective factors, exposures, policies, and health outcomes. In recent years, existing models have been improved and were applied in new ways, and completely new models emerged. There was high agreement among respondents on the need to further develop methods for assessment of inequalities and uncertainty. The contribution of quantitative modeling to health foresight would benefit from building joint strategies of further tool development, improving the visibility of quantitative tools and methods, and engaging continuously with actual and potential users. - Highlights: • A survey investigated computational tools for health impact quantification. • Formal evaluation of such tools has been rare. • Handling inequalities and uncertainties are priority areas for further development. • Health foresight would benefit from tool developers and users forming a community. • Joint development strategies across computational tools are needed.
Huh, Hyu Jung; Huh, Seung; Lee, So Hee; Chae, Jeong-Ho
2017-05-01
This study examined the overall mental health consequences of the bereaved parents after the Sewol ferry accident. Eighty-four bereaved parents participated in the study. Self-report scales assessing the severity of psychiatric symptoms and other related psychosomatic problems were used at 18 months following the accident. Univariate descriptive statistics and regression analyses were performed to report the prevalence, severity, and correlates of psychiatric symptoms. 94% of the participants appeared to suffer from complicated grief based on scores on the Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG). Half of the participants were categorized as having severe depression and 70.2% reported clinically significant post-traumatic symptoms according to scores on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and PTSD Check List-5 (PCL-5). No significant differences by gender were observed in the severity of psychiatric symptoms. A higher educational level was associated with more severe psychiatric symptoms in fathers. The loss of a child due to a disaster caused by human error may continue to have a substantial impact on parental mental health at 18 months after the event. A longitudinal study following parents' mental health state would be necessary to investigate the long-term effects of the traumatic experience in the future.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Vitaliy Omelyanovich
2017-11-01
Full Text Available Background. Mental disorders prevention in specific professional groups is impossible without scientifically substantiated allocation of groups with increased neuropsychiatric and psychosomatic disorders risk. This fact indicates the need to study the gender, age and professional characteristics in law enforcement workers who already have problems with psychological adaptation. Methods and materials. The study involved 1630 law enforcement officers (1,301 men and 329 women who were evaluated with the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R. As the statistical methods were used the partial regression calculation coefficient η2, cohort calculation risk measures, φ*-total Fischer transformation method, and single-factor dispersion Fisher's analysis. Results. According to gender characteristics, the problems with psychological adaptation in men were significantly less pronounced than in women (φ*=1.79; p=0.37. These data were confirmed by the cohort calculation and risk measures results: men – 0.261, women – 0.349 (the psychological disadaptation risk in women was 1.3 times higher than men. There weren’t any statistically significant age differences between the representatives of both gender groups with psychological adaptation disturbances and healthy ones (φ* ≤1.19; p≥0.1. Among patients who suffered from psychosomatic diseases, were men over the age of 35 (φ* ≥2.28; p≤0.0001 and women over 26 years old (φ*= 2.16; p=0.014 prevailed. There were significantly fewer people among men with psychosomatic illnesses with 4-9 years of professional working experience than in a healthy group. On the contrary, there were significantly more patients in a law enforcement workers group with 10-15 years working experience than in the healthy one (φ*>1.73; p<0.0001. Conclusion. The risk of mental health problems in female police officers is much higher than in men. Disadaptation development is not related to the age and length of working
Arms trade and its impact on global health.
Mahmudi-Azer, Salahaddin
2006-01-01
The most obvious adverse impact of the arms trade on health is loss of life and maiming from the use of weapons in conflicts. Wealthy countries suffer damage to their health and human services when considerable resources are diverted to military expenditure. However, the relative impact of military expenditures and conflict on third world countries is much greater, and often devastating, by depriving a significant portion of the population of essential food, medicine, shelter, education, and economic opportunities. Further, the physical and psychological damage inflicted specifically on children is debilitating - through loss of (or separation from) families, loss of education, destruction of homes, exposure to murder and other violence, sexual abuse, abduction, torture, slavery, and forcible conscription as soldiers. This article outlines the socio-economic impact of the global arms trade in general and the damage done to human health and the environment, specifically.
Health impact assessment of climate change in Bangladesh
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nelson, Deborah Imel
2003-01-01
Global climate change (GCC) may have serious and irreversible impacts. Improved methods are needed to predict and quantify health impacts, so that appropriate risk management strategies can be focused on vulnerable areas. The disability-adjusted life year (DALY) is proposed as an effective tool in environmental health impact assessment (HIA). The DALY accounts for years of life lost to premature death and/or morbidity. Both the DALY and the determinants-of-health approach are applied to HIA of GCC in Bangladesh. Based on historical data, a major storm event may result in approximately 290 DALY per 1000 population, including both deaths and injuries, compared to a current all-cause rate of about 280 per 1000 in the region. A more precise result would require a large input of data; however, this level of analysis may be sufficient to rank risks, and to motivate and target risk management efforts
Making effective links to decision-making: Key challenges for health impact assessment
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Elliott, Eva; Francis, Sarah
2005-01-01
This paper draws on an exploratory research study to examine the effectiveness of health impact assessments in Wales. Through the review of five case study health impact assessments the research identified a number of benefits of the process in terms of skills and knowledge development amongst participants. The indirect contributions to decision-making were also evident including the way in which health impact assessment provided useful insights into the local community's perspective and raised awareness about the wider determinants of health. The process was also useful in establishing a dialogue between different stakeholders, which indirectly assisted decision-making and implementation. The direct links between health impact assessment and decision-making were more difficult to trace and this paper puts forward a number of suggestions for making those links more transparent. Suggestions include integrating decision-makers and clarifying the intended links to decision-making at the start of the health impact assessment process. Mainstreaming health impact assessment so that it is triggered as a routine part of all decision-making would help ensure it stands the best chance of informing decisions
Public Health-Related Impacts of Climate Change inCalifornia
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Drechsler, D.M.; Motallebi, N.; Kleeman, M.; Cayan, D.; Hayhoe,K.; Kalkstein, L.S.; Miller, N.L.; Jin, J.; VanCuren, R.A.
2005-12-01
In June 2005 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued Executive Order S-3-05 that set greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for California, and directed the Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency to report to the governor and the State legislature by January 2006 and biannually thereafter on the impacts to California of global warming, including impacts to water supply, public health, agriculture, the coastline, and forestry, and to prepare and report on mitigation and adaptation plans to combat these impacts. This report is a part of the report to the governor and legislature, and focuses on public health impacts that have been associated with climate change. Considerable evidence suggests that average ambient temperature is increasing worldwide, that temperatures will continue to increase into the future, and that global warming will result in changes to many aspects of climate, including temperature, humidity, and precipitation (McMichael and Githeko, 2001). It is expected that California will experience changes in both temperature and precipitation under current trends. Many of the changes in climate projected for California could have ramifications for public health (McMichael and Githeko, 2001), and this document summarizes the impacts judged most likely to occur in California, based on a review of available peer-reviewed scientific literature and new modeling and statistical analyses. The impacts identified as most significant to public health in California include mortality and morbidity related to temperature, air pollution, vector and water-borne diseases, and wildfires. There is considerable complexity underlying the health of a population with many contributing factors including biological, ecological, social, political, and geographical. In addition, the relationship between climate change and changes in public health is difficult to predict for the most part, although more detailed information is available on temperature
Health Impacts of Tobacco Cultivation in Bangladesh | IDRC ...
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)
... health problems among men, women, and children in Bangladesh will examine the health and socio-economic impact of tobacco cultivation. To date, the health hazards of growing tobacco have not been documented or well researched, particularly in low-and middle-income countries with high rates of tobacco cultivation.
Climate Change-Related Water Disasters' Impact on Population Health.
Veenema, Tener Goodwin; Thornton, Clifton P; Lavin, Roberta Proffitt; Bender, Annah K; Seal, Stella; Corley, Andrew
2017-11-01
Rising global temperatures have resulted in an increased frequency and severity of cyclones, hurricanes, and flooding in many parts of the world. These climate change-related water disasters (CCRWDs) have a devastating impact on communities and the health of residents. Clinicians and policymakers require a substantive body of evidence on which to base planning, prevention, and disaster response to these events. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature concerning the impact of CCRWDs on public health in order to identify factors in these events that are amenable to preparedness and mitigation. Ultimately, this evidence could be used by nurses to advocate for greater preparedness initiatives and inform national and international disaster policy. A systematic literature review of publications identified through a comprehensive search of five relevant databases (PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature [CINAHL], Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science) was conducted using a modified Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach in January 2017 to describe major themes and associated factors of the impact of CCRWDs on population health. Three major themes emerged: environmental disruption resulting in exposure to toxins, population susceptibility, and health systems infrastructure (failure to plan-prepare-mitigate, inadequate response, and lack of infrastructure). Direct health impact was characterized by four major categories: weather-related morbidity and mortality, waterborne diseases/water-related illness, vector-borne and zoonotic diseases, and psychiatric/mental health effects. Scope and duration of the event are factors that exacerbate the impact of CCRWDs. Discussion of specific factors amenable to mitigation was limited. Flooding as an event was overrepresented in this analysis (60%), and the majority of the research reviewed was conducted in high-income or upper
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF A HEALTH TECHNOLOGY: A SCOPING REVIEW.
Polisena, Julie; De Angelis, Gino; Kaunelis, David; Gutierrez-Ibarluzea, Iñaki
2018-06-13
The Health Technology Expert Review Panel is an advisory body to Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) that develops recommendations on health technology assessments (HTAs) for nondrug health technologies using a deliberative framework. The framework spans several domains, including the environmental impact of the health technology(ies). Our research objective was to identify articles on frameworks, methods or case studies on the environmental impact assessment of health technologies. A literature search in major databases and a focused gray literature search were conducted. The main search concepts were HTA and environmental impact/sustainability. Eligible articles were those that described a conceptual framework or methods used to conduct an environmental assessment of health technologies, and case studies on the application of an environmental assessment. From the 1,710 citations identified, thirteen publications were included. Two articles presented a framework to incorporate environmental assessment in HTAs. Other approaches described weight of evidence practices and comprehensive and integrated environmental impact assessments. Central themes derived include transparency and repeatability, integration of components in a framework or of evidence into a single outcome, data availability to ensure the accuracy of findings, and familiarity with the approach used. Each framework and methods presented have different foci related to the ecosystem, health economics, or engineering practices. Their descriptions suggested transparency, repeatability, and the integration of components or of evidence into a single outcome as their main strengths. Our review is an initial step of a larger initiative by CADTH to develop the methods and processes to address the environmental impact question in an HTA.
Nigatu, Andualem S; Asamoah, Benedict O; Kloos, Helmut
2014-06-11
Climate change affects human health in various ways. Health planners and policy makers are increasingly addressing potential health impacts of climate change. Ethiopia is vulnerable to these impacts. Assessing students' knowledge, understanding and perception about the health impact of climate change may promote educational endeavors to increase awareness of health impacts linked to climate change and to facilitate interventions. A cross-sectional study using a questionnaire was carried out among the health science students at Haramaya University. Quantitative methods were used to analyze the results. Over three quarters of the students were aware of health consequences of climate change, with slightly higher rates in females than males and a range from 60.7% (pharmacy students) to 100% (environmental health and post-graduate public health students). Electronic mass media was reportedly the major source of information but almost all (87.7%) students stated that their knowledge was insufficient to fully understand the public health impacts of climate change. Students who knew about climate change were more likely to perceive it as a serious health threat than those who were unaware of these impacts [OR: 17.8, 95% CI: 8.8-32.1] and also considered their departments to be concerned about climate change (OR: 7.3, 95% CI: 2.8-18.8), a perception that was also significantly more common among students who obtained their information from the electronic mass media and schools (p health impacts of climate change. Health sciences students at Haramaya University may benefit from a more comprehensive curriculum on climate change and its impacts on health.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Pizzol, Massimo; Christensen, Per; Schmidt, Jannick Højrup
This study looks into the uncertainties in determining the impact of “metals” emissions to human health, in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA). Metals are diverse substances, with different proprieties and characteristics, considered important in LCIA because of their toxicity to humans or ecosy......This study looks into the uncertainties in determining the impact of “metals” emissions to human health, in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA). Metals are diverse substances, with different proprieties and characteristics, considered important in LCIA because of their toxicity to humans...... be considered in an impact assessment focused on human health, and defined a list of 14 metals. We performed a contribution analysis in order to compare methods in relative terms; an approach successfully used in other studies. Various processes have been analyzed with 8 different LCIA methods in order...... to assess both how much each metal contributes to the total impact on human health, when only metal emissions are present, and how much metals in total contribute when also other toxic substances are included in the inventory of emissions. Differences between the methods are great and due...
Health Impacts from Human Interaction with the Environment
Hasan, S. E.
2008-12-01
Humans have produced far greater impact on the environment than any other living form. The impact has been so significant-particularly during the past 50 years-that a new word, Anthrposphere has started appearing in recent literature. It is now being used along with the four major components of the system earth to underscore humans' influence on the environment. Human activities have produced a myriad of impacts on the environment that span the scale from local to global. The slow process that brought humanity to the present environmental crisis began with the Industrial Revolution and has greatly accelerated since the World War II. The past 50 years mark a unique period in human history that is characterized by rapid technological advances and unprecedented population growth. While the use of technology has been very effective in meeting the needs of the growing population, it has also produced serious impact on the environment. Large scale exploitation of mineral, fuel, water, forest, and marine resources has led to severe environmental degradation; and the resulting pollution of air, water, and land has caused serious consequences to human and ecological health. The presentation deals with the adverse impact on human health associated with mining, dam and reservoir construction, improper waste management, use of fossil fuels, and climate change. Case studies are included to illustrate health impacts from metal and coal mining; dam and reservoir construction and preponderance of disease vectors; pollution caused by improper waste disposal and the resulting incidence of cancer and other diseases; and emergence of vector-borne diseases at hitherto unknown locations, cardiovascular and respiratory track ailments, and increased morbidity and mortality triggered by elevated temperatures associated with climate change. A brief discussion of possible measures to mitigate the health consequences is also included in the presentation.
Potential health impact of wind turbines
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2010-05-01
In response to public health concerns about wind turbines, a study was conducted to review the scientific evidence on the potential health effects of wind turbines. Several research questions were examined, including scientific evidence on the potential health impacts of wind turbines; the relationship between wind turbine noise and health; the relationship between low frequency sound, infrasound and health; assessment of exposure to wind turbines; wind turbine health and safety hazards and Ontario wind turbine setbacks; community consultation prior to wind farm construction and data gaps and research needs. The study showed that although some people living near wind turbines reported symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, and sleep disturbance, the scientific evidence available to date does not demonstrate a direct causal link between wind turbine noise and adverse health effects. The sound level from wind turbines at common residential setbacks is not sufficient to cause hearing impairment or other direct health effects, although some people may find it annoying. 41 refs., 1 appendix.
Advancing Social Work Education for Health Impact
Keefe, Robert H.; Ruth, Betty J.; Cox, Harold; Maramaldi, Peter; Rishel, Carrie; Rountree, Michele; Zlotnik, Joan; Marshall, Jamie
2017-01-01
Social work education plays a critical role in preparing social workers to lead efforts that improve health. Because of the dynamic health care landscape, schools of social work must educate students to facilitate health care system improvements, enhance population health, and reduce medical costs. We reviewed the existing contributions of social work education and provided recommendations for improving the education of social workers in 6 key areas: aging, behavioral health, community health, global health, health reform, and health policy. We argue for systemic improvement in the curriculum at every level of education, including substantive increases in content in health, health care, health care ethics, and evaluating practice outcomes in health settings. Schools of social work can further increase the impact of the profession by enhancing the curricular focus on broad content areas such as prevention, health equity, population and community health, and health advocacy. PMID:29236540
Burning Fossil Fuels: Impact of Climate Change on Health.
Sommer, Alfred
2016-01-01
A recent, sophisticated granular analysis of climate change in the United States related to burning fossil fuels indicates a high likelihood of dramatic increases in temperature, wet-bulb temperature, and precipitation, which will dramatically impact the health and well-being of many Americans, particularly the young, the elderly, and the poor and marginalized. Other areas of the world, where they lack the resources to remediate these weather impacts, will be even more greatly affected. Too little attention is being paid to the impending health impact of accumulating greenhouse gases. © The Author(s) 2015.
Huh, Hyu Jung; Huh, Seung; Lee, So Hee; Chae, Jeong-Ho
2017-01-01
Objective This study examined the overall mental health consequences of the bereaved parents after the Sewol ferry accident. Methods Eighty-four bereaved parents participated in the study. Self-report scales assessing the severity of psychiatric symptoms and other related psychosomatic problems were used at 18 months following the accident. Univariate descriptive statistics and regression analyses were performed to report the prevalence, severity, and correlates of psychiatric symptoms. Resul...
2014-09-01
Psychosomatics , vol. 51, no. 6 (Nov. - Dec. 2010): 505. 21 D. Baker, P. Heppner, N. Afari, S. Nunnink, M. Kilmer, A. Simmons, L. Harder, and B. Bosse, “Trauma...Psychiatric, and Alcohol-Related Disorders Among Veterans Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan,” Psychosomatics , vol. 51, no. 6 (Nov. - Dec. 2010): 503...September 28, 2012. Defense Health: Coordinating Authority Needed for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Activities. GAO-12-154
Extended impacts of climate change on health and wellbeing
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Thomas, Felicity; Sabel, Clive E.; Morton, Katherine; Hiscock, Rosemary; Depledge, Michael H.
2014-01-01
Highlights: • Incorporates wellbeing into understandings of climate change impacts on health. • Considers a range of secondary impacts of climate change on health and wellbeing. • Examines co-benefits and dis-benefits of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies for health and wellbeing. • Emphasises the spatially and socially differentiated repercussions of adaptation and mitigation measures. - Abstract: Anthropogenic climate change is progressively transforming the environment despite political and technological attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to tackle global warming. Here we propose that greater insight and understanding of the health-related impacts of climate change can be gained by integrating the positivist approaches used in public health and epidemiology, with holistic social science perspectives on health in which the concept of ‘wellbeing’ is more explicitly recognised. Such an approach enables us to acknowledge and explore a wide range of more subtle, yet important health-related outcomes of climate change. At the same time, incorporating notions of wellbeing enables recognition of both the health co-benefits and dis-benefits of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies across different population groups and geographical contexts. The paper recommends that future adaptation and mitigation policies seek to ensure that benefits are available for all since current evidence suggests that they are spatially and socially differentiated, and their accessibility is dependent on a range of contextually specific socio-cultural factors
Gibbons, M C
2013-01-01
The rapid evolution in the world-wide use of Social Media tools suggests the emergence of a global phenomenon that may have implications in the Personal Health and Consumer Health Informatics domains. However the impact of these tools on health outcomes is not known. The goal of this research was to review the randomized controlled trial (RCT) evidence of the impact of health oriented Social Media informatics tools on health outcomes. Evaluations of Social Media consumer health tools were systematically reviewed. Research was limited to studies published in the English language, published in Medline, published in the calendar year 2012 and limited to studies that utilized a RCT methodological design. Two high quality Randomized Controlled Trials among over 600 articles published in Medline were identified. These studies indicate that Social Media interventions may be able to significantly improve pain control among patients with chronic pain and enhance weight loss maintenance among individuals attempting to lose weight. Significantly more research needs to be done to confirm these early findings, evaluate additional health outcomes and further evaluate emerging health oriented Social Media interventions. Chronic pain and weight control have both socially oriented determinants. These studies suggest that understanding the social component of a disease may ultimately provide novel therapeutic targets and socio-clinical interventional strategies.
Cyberbullying and adolescent mental health: systematic review
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sara Mota Borges Bottino
2015-03-01
Full Text Available Cyberbullying is a new form of violence that is expressed through electronic media and has given rise to concern for parents, educators and researchers. In this paper, an association between cyberbullying and adolescent mental health will be assessed through a systematic review of two databases: PubMed and Virtual Health Library (BVS. The prevalence of cyberbullying ranged from 6.5% to 35.4%. Previous or current experiences of traditional bullying were associated with victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying. Daily use of three or more hours of Internet, web camera, text messages, posting personal information and harassing others online were associated with cyberbullying. Cybervictims and cyberbullies had more emotional and psychosomatic problems, social difficulties and did not feel safe and cared for in school. Cyberbullying was associated with moderate to severe depressive symptoms, substance use, ideation and suicide attempts. Health professionals should be aware of the violent nature of interactions occurring in the virtual environment and its harm to the mental health of adolescents.
Cyberbullying and adolescent mental health: systematic review.
Bottino, Sara Mota Borges; Bottino, Cássio M C; Regina, Caroline Gomez; Correia, Aline Villa Lobo; Ribeiro, Wagner Silva
2015-03-01
Cyberbullying is a new form of violence that is expressed through electronic media and has given rise to concern for parents, educators and researchers. In this paper, an association between cyberbullying and adolescent mental health will be assessed through a systematic review of two databases: PubMed and Virtual Health Library (BVS). The prevalence of cyberbullying ranged from 6.5% to 35.4%. Previous or current experiences of traditional bullying were associated with victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying. Daily use of three or more hours of Internet, web camera, text messages, posting personal information and harassing others online were associated with cyberbullying. Cybervictims and cyberbullies had more emotional and psychosomatic problems, social difficulties and did not feel safe and cared for in school. Cyberbullying was associated with moderate to severe depressive symptoms, substance use, ideation and suicide attempts. Health professionals should be aware of the violent nature of interactions occurring in the virtual environment and its harm to the mental health of adolescents.
Measuring the Impact of the Human Rights on Health in Global Health Financing.
Davis, Sara L M
2015-12-10
In response to new scientific developments, UNAIDS, WHO, and global health financing institutions have joined together to promote a "fast-track" global scale-up of testing and treatment programs. They have set ambitious targets toward the goal of ending the three diseases by 2030. These numerical indicators, based on infectious disease modeling, can assist in measuring countries' progressive realization of the right to health. However, they only nominally reference the catastrophic impact that human rights abuses have on access to health services; they also do not measure the positive impact provided by law reform, legal aid, and other health-related human rights programs. Drawing on experience at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which has incorporated expanded stakeholder consultation and human rights programming into its grants, the article argues that addressing human rights barriers to access is often an ad hoc activity occurring on the sidelines of a health grantmaking process that has focused on the scale-up of biomedical programs to meet global health indicators. To ensure that these biomedical programs have impact, UN agencies and health financing mechanisms must begin to more systematically and proactively integrate human rights policy and practice into their modeling and measurement tools. Copyright © 2015 Davis. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Air Pollution and Climate Change Health Impact Assessment. The ACHIA Project
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kinney, P.L.
2013-01-01
Climate change may affect human health via interactions with air pollutants such as ozone and PM 2.5 . These air pollutants are linked to climate because they can be both affected by and have effects on climate. In coming decades, substantial, cost-effective improvements in public health may be achieved with well-planned strategies to mitigate climate impacts while also reducing health effects of ozone and PM 2.5 . Climate mitigation actions affect greenhouse pollutant emissions, including methane and black carbon, but also may affect other key air pollution precursors such as NOx, CO, and SOx. To better understand the potential of such strategies, studies are needed that assess possible future health impacts under alternative assumptions about future emissions and climate across multiple spatial scales. The overall objective of this project is to apply state of the art climate, air quality, and health modelling tools to assess future health impacts of ozone and PM 2.5 under different IPCCs scenario of climate change, focusing specifically on pollution-related health co-benefits which could be achieved under alternative climate mitigation pathways in the period 2030-2050. This question will be explored at three spatial scales: global, regional (Europe), and urban (Paris). ACHIA is comprised of an integrated set of four work packages: WP1. Global Climate and Air Pollution Impacts of Alternative Emissions Pathways; WP2. Climate and Air Quality at Regional and Urban Scales: Results for Europe and Paris; WP3. Health Impact Assessment; WP4. Dissemination, Evaluation, Management. ACHIA is designed to create an interdisciplinary approach to the impacts of climate change on health through air quality changes, and to start longer-term collaborations between communities. We expect the project to advance state of art across all WPs, with important implications for research groups around the world. A particular innovation of the project is the multi-scale aspect, i.e., the
Binge drinking: Health impact, prevalence, correlates and interventions
Kuntsche, E.N.; Kuntsche, S.; Thrul, J.; Gmel, G.
2017-01-01
Objective: Binge drinking (also called heavy episodic drinking, risky single-occasion drinking etc.) is a major public health problem. This paper provides an overview of recently published evidence concerning the definition and measurement, prevalence rates, health impact, demographic and
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
夏凌翔
2011-01-01
Self-supporting personality is viewed as an excellent personality factor in traditional Chinese culture and hypothesized as a health personality. In order to explore the role of self-supporting personality resisting psychosomatic symptoms, the trait-stress-symptom congruence and mediation model was developed, which included stress-mediator model hypothesis, trait-stress congruent hypothesis, and trait-symptoms congruent hypothesis.To test this model, the Self-Supporting Personality Scale of Adolescent Students, Life-Events Scale of Adolescence and Symptom Check List90 (SCL-90) were administered to 674 valid subjects.The results indicate: (1) The moderate model was not supported, and some self-supporting personality traits could predict psychosomatic symptoms through the mediating effect of stress. (2) The negative predicting effect of interpersonal self-supporting on psychosomatic symptoms was greater than personal self-supporting. Interpersonal self-supporting could negatively predict interpersonal and personal symptoms independently. Personal self-supporting could not independently predict interpersonal symptoms. (3) The negative predicting effect of personal self-supporting on stress was greater than interpersonal self-supporting. Personal self-supporting could negatively predict interpersonal and personal stress independently. Interpersonal self-supporting could not independently predict personal stress. (4) The modified trait-stress-symptom congruence and mediation model of self-supporting personality could be supported.In sum, it can be concluded that interpersonal self-supporting negatively predicts psychosomatic symptoms through meditation of interpersonal stress. Personal self-supporting negatively predicts personal psychosomatic symptoms through mediation of stress
Employees’ perceptions of the impact of work on health behaviours
Payne, Nicola; Jones, Fiona; Harris, Peter R.
2013-01-01
Research examining the impact of work on health behaviours has rarely provided a complete picture of the impact across health behaviours. Twenty-four employees were interviewed about their smoking, drinking, exercise and eating. Themes included the impact of the work environment, including policy, convenience and workplace cultural norms; business events effecting one’s routine, and again convenience and workplace cultural norms; being busy at work effecting time and energy for healthy behavi...
Integrating health and environmental impact analysis.
Reis, S; Morris, G; Fleming, L E; Beck, S; Taylor, T; White, M; Depledge, M H; Steinle, S; Sabel, C E; Cowie, H; Hurley, F; Dick, J McP; Smith, R I; Austen, M
2015-10-01
Scientific investigations have progressively refined our understanding of the influence of the environment on human health, and the many adverse impacts that human activities exert on the environment, from the local to the planetary level. Nonetheless, throughout the modern public health era, health has been pursued as though our lives and lifestyles are disconnected from ecosystems and their component organisms. The inadequacy of the societal and public health response to obesity, health inequities, and especially global environmental and climate change now calls for an ecological approach which addresses human activity in all its social, economic and cultural complexity. The new approach must be integral to, and interactive, with the natural environment. We see the continuing failure to truly integrate human health and environmental impact analysis as deeply damaging, and we propose a new conceptual model, the ecosystems-enriched Drivers, Pressures, State, Exposure, Effects, Actions or 'eDPSEEA' model, to address this shortcoming. The model recognizes convergence between the concept of ecosystems services which provides a human health and well-being slant to the value of ecosystems while equally emphasizing the health of the environment, and the growing calls for 'ecological public health' as a response to global environmental concerns now suffusing the discourse in public health. More revolution than evolution, ecological public health will demand new perspectives regarding the interconnections among society, the economy, the environment and our health and well-being. Success must be built on collaborations between the disparate scientific communities of the environmental sciences and public health as well as interactions with social scientists, economists and the legal profession. It will require outreach to political and other stakeholders including a currently largely disengaged general public. The need for an effective and robust science-policy interface has
Impact of secondary cardiovascular events on health status
van Stel, Henk F.; Busschbach, Jan J. V.; Hunink, M. G. Myriam; Buskens, Erik
2012-01-01
Objectives: Estimates regarding the impact of secondary cardiovascular events on health status in patients treated for cardiovascular disease are scarce and of limited accuracy. Methods: We obtained individual patient data on health status (EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire) and secondary
The Development of Psychosomatic Reasoning in General Practitioners: An Empirical Study
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alireza Monajemi
2017-08-01
Full Text Available Background: Monajemi, Goli, and Scheidt (2014 proposed a theory of development of psychosomatic (PSM reasoning. They hypothesized that the integration of psychosocial knowledge with biomedical (BM knowledge may have started at the level of GPs. An experimental study was conducted to explore and compare junior and senior practitioners regarding their shift from BM to PSM in terms of their decision-making.Methods: Two cases were presented to GPs in a sequential manner based on the reports of different settings (inpatient vs. outpatient. Each participant read each part of the case carefully in order to provide the management plan (Mx, determine which parts of the scenario were the most important, and write down, first, an explanatory model, and then, the management plan for the patient. The accuracy of item selection, explanatory models, and management plans were analysed.Results: GPs have already acquired some PSM knowledge, and thus, they will be able to differentiate between the two focuses (i.e., BM and PSM, but are not yet proficient enough to deal with a case in a PSM focus efficiently. This results in ineffective judgment. In other words, GPs discern the importance that should be given to psychosocial factors when examining their patients; however, they do not take into consideration such factors in the management plan.Conclusion: The results were largely in line with our assumptions based on the theory of the development of PSM reasoning; however, there is a definite need for more experimental studies here to support this argument.
Desova, A A; Dorofeyuk, A A; Anokhin, A M
2017-01-01
We performed a comparative analysis of the types of spectral density typical of various parameters of pulse signal. The experimental material was obtained during the examination of school age children with various psychosomatic disorders. We also performed a typological analysis of the spectral density functions corresponding to the time series of different parameters of a single oscillation of pulse signals; the results of their comparative analysis are presented. We determined the most significant spectral components for two disordersin children: arterial hypertension and mitral valve prolapse.
The impact of health information technology on patient safety
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yasser K. Alotaibi
2017-12-01
Full Text Available Since the original Institute of Medicine (IOM report was published there has been an accelerated development and adoption of health information technology with varying degrees of evidence about the impact of health information technology on patient safety. This article is intended to review the current available scientific evidence on the impact of different health information technologies on improving patient safety outcomes. We conclude that health information technology improves patient’s safety by reducing medication errors, reducing adverse drug reactions, and improving compliance to practice guidelines. There should be no doubt that health information technology is an important tool for improving healthcare quality and safety. Healthcare organizations need to be selective in which technology to invest in, as literature shows that some technologies have limited evidence in improving patient safety outcomes.
The impact of health information technology on patient safety.
Alotaibi, Yasser K; Federico, Frank
2017-12-01
Since the original Institute of Medicine (IOM) report was published there has been an accelerated development and adoption of health information technology with varying degrees of evidence about the impact of health information technology on patient safety. This article is intended to review the current available scientific evidence on the impact of different health information technologies on improving patient safety outcomes. We conclude that health information technology improves patient's safety by reducing medication errors, reducing adverse drug reactions, and improving compliance to practice guidelines. There should be no doubt that health information technology is an important tool for improving healthcare quality and safety. Healthcare organizations need to be selective in which technology to invest in, as literature shows that some technologies have limited evidence in improving patient safety outcomes.
Impacts of Climate Change on Inequities in Child Health
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Charmian M. Bennett
2014-12-01
Full Text Available This paper addresses an often overlooked aspect of climate change impacts on child health: the amplification of existing child health inequities by climate change. Although the effects of climate change on child health will likely be negative, the distribution of these impacts across populations will be uneven. The burden of climate change-related ill-health will fall heavily on the world’s poorest and socially-disadvantaged children, who already have poor survival rates and low life expectancies due to issues including poverty, endemic disease, undernutrition, inadequate living conditions and socio-economic disadvantage. Climate change will exacerbate these existing inequities to disproportionately affect disadvantaged children. We discuss heat stress, extreme weather events, vector-borne diseases and undernutrition as exemplars of the complex interactions between climate change and inequities in child health.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Winkler, Mirko S., E-mail: mirko.winkler@unibas.ch [Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel (Switzerland); University of Basel, P.O. Box, CH-4003 Basel (Switzerland); Divall, Mark J., E-mail: mdivall@shapeconsulting.org [SHAPE Consulting Ltd., Pretoria 0062 (South Africa); Krieger, Gary R., E-mail: gkrieger@newfields.com [NewFields, LLC, Denver, CO 80202 (United States); Schmidlin, Sandro, E-mail: sandro.schmidlin@gmail.com [Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel (Switzerland); University of Basel, P.O. Box, CH-4003 Basel (Switzerland); Magassouba, Mohamed L., E-mail: laminemagass@yahoo.fr [Clinique Ambroise Pare, P.O. Box, 1042 Conakry (Guinea); Knoblauch, Astrid M., E-mail: astrid.knoblauch@me.com [SHAPE Consulting Ltd., Pretoria 0062 (South Africa); Singer, Burton H., E-mail: bhsinger@epi.ufl.edu [Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610 (United States); Utzinger, Juerg, E-mail: juerg.utzinger@unibas.ch [Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel (Switzerland); University of Basel, P.O. Box, CH-4003 Basel (Switzerland)
2012-02-15
The quantitative assessment of health impacts has been identified as a crucial feature for realising the full potential of health impact assessment (HIA). In settings where demographic and health data are notoriously scarce, but there is a broad range of ascertainable ecological, environmental, epidemiological and socioeconomic information, a diverse toolkit of data collection strategies becomes relevant for the mainly small-area impacts of interest. We present a modular, cross-sectional baseline health survey study design, which has been developed for HIA of industrial development projects in the humid tropics. The modular nature of our toolkit allows our methodology to be readily adapted to the prevailing eco-epidemiological characteristics of a given project setting. Central to our design is a broad set of key performance indicators, covering a multiplicity of health outcomes and determinants at different levels and scales. We present experience and key findings from our modular baseline health survey methodology employed in 14 selected sentinel sites within an iron ore mining project in the Republic of Guinea. We argue that our methodology is a generic example of rapid evidence assembly in difficult-to-reach localities, where improvement of the predictive validity of the assessment and establishment of a benchmark for longitudinal monitoring of project impacts and mitigation efforts is needed.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Winkler, Mirko S.; Divall, Mark J.; Krieger, Gary R.; Schmidlin, Sandro; Magassouba, Mohamed L.; Knoblauch, Astrid M.; Singer, Burton H.; Utzinger, Jürg
2012-01-01
The quantitative assessment of health impacts has been identified as a crucial feature for realising the full potential of health impact assessment (HIA). In settings where demographic and health data are notoriously scarce, but there is a broad range of ascertainable ecological, environmental, epidemiological and socioeconomic information, a diverse toolkit of data collection strategies becomes relevant for the mainly small-area impacts of interest. We present a modular, cross-sectional baseline health survey study design, which has been developed for HIA of industrial development projects in the humid tropics. The modular nature of our toolkit allows our methodology to be readily adapted to the prevailing eco-epidemiological characteristics of a given project setting. Central to our design is a broad set of key performance indicators, covering a multiplicity of health outcomes and determinants at different levels and scales. We present experience and key findings from our modular baseline health survey methodology employed in 14 selected sentinel sites within an iron ore mining project in the Republic of Guinea. We argue that our methodology is a generic example of rapid evidence assembly in difficult-to-reach localities, where improvement of the predictive validity of the assessment and establishment of a benchmark for longitudinal monitoring of project impacts and mitigation efforts is needed.
ABORTION IN BRAZIL: IMPACTS OF ILLEGALITY IN PUBLIC HEALTH
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Vanessa Cruz Santos
2013-12-01
Full Text Available Abortion in Brazil provides public health impacts, mainly due to the high rate of maternal morbidity and mortality, because it most often occurs in an illegal practice and / or unsafe, because of the illegality of abortion in certain situations in the country. Therefore, it is an issue that refers to the various reflections, such as legal, moral, cultural, socio-economic and bioethical. Given the above, the study aims to address about abortion in Brazil and the impacts of illegality in public health. Study of literature review, descriptive and discursive, held in the database SciELO sites and governmental and non-governmental organizations. It was evident that the illegality of abortion in Brazil is harmful to the health of women who resort to unsafe practices and / or illegal, a violation of human rights, the women’s autonomy, as well as providing public health impacts, and sometimes this actually happens because the deficit in quality of care, specifically to sexual and reproductive health, as the actions of Family Planning. It is considered that the way of abortion in Brazil requires modifications, especially with regard to legislative and bioethics conflicts.
Wutzler, Uwe; Venner, Margit; Villmann, Thomas; Decker, Oliver; Ott, Undine; Steiner, Thomas; Gumz, Antje
2009-01-01
Objective: Living organ donation involves interference with a healthy organism. Therefore, most transplantation centres ascertain the voluntariness of the donation as well as its motivation by means of a psychosomatic evaluation. The circumstance that the evaluation is compulsory and not a primary concern of the donor-recipient pair may occasion respondents to present only what they consider innocuous and socially adequate. Thus, the information value of the results can be considerably affected. Methods: In the context of a psychosomatic evaluation prior to living kidney transplantation, 71 donor-recipient pairs were screened at the transplantation centre of Friedrich Schiller University, Jena. Using the validity scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) (“infrequency” (F), “lie” (L) and “correction-scales” (K)) and the Dissimulation Index according to Gough (“F-K”), we tried to find traits of dissimulation and denial. Results: About 50% of the participants showed an infrequency raw score of zero. This means that at least half of the sample is apprehensive which may cause a cautious and controlled attitude towards the examination. The K-value (T≥59) and the Dissimulation Index (F-K≤–15) indicated dissimulation in 29% and 26% of the overall sample. Moreover, it affects the score of 11 respondents (8%) so profoundly that any significance regarding the personality traits is lost. Conclusion: In the setup of the examination situation as well as in the interpretation of test-psychological findings, the occurrence and possible influence of dissimulation should be considered. The validity scale of the MMPI can help to obtain an objective clinical impression of dissimulation in problem cases. PMID:19911073
Beierlein, V; Köllner, V; Neu, R; Schulz, H
2016-12-01
Objectives: The assessment of work pressures is of particular importance in psychosomatic rehabilitation. An established questionnaire is the Occupational Stress and Coping Inventory (German abbr. AVEM), but it is quite long and with regard to scoring time-consuming in routine clinical care. It should therefore be tested, whether a shortened version of the AVEM can be developed, which is able to assess the formerly described three second-order factors of the AVEM, namely Working Commitment, Resilience, and Emotions, sufficiently reliable and valid, and which also may be used for screening of patients with prominent work-related behavior and experience patterns. Methods: Data were collected at admission from consecutive samples of three hospitals of psychosomatic rehabilitation ( N = 10,635 patients). The sample was randomly divided in two subsamples (design and validation sample). Using exploratory principal component analyses in the design sample, items with the highest factor loadings for the three new scales were selected and evaluated psychometrically using the validation sample. Possible Cut-off values ought to be derived from distribution patterns of scores in the scales. Relationships with sociodemographic, occupational and diagnosis-related characteristics, as well as with patterns of work-related experiences and behaviors are examined. Results: The three performed principal component analyses explained in the design sample on the respective first factor between 31 % and 34 % of the variance. The selected 20 items were assigned to the 3-factor structure in the validation sample as expected. The three new scales are sufficiently reliable with values of Cronbach's α between 0,84 and 0,88. The naming of the three new scales is based on the names of the secondary factors. Cut-off values for the identification of distinctive patient-reported data are proposed. Conclusion: Main advantages of the proposed shortened version AVEM-3D are that with a
Exploring available options in characterising the health impact of industrially contaminated sites.
Pasetto, Roberto; Martin-Olmedo, Piedad; Martuzzi, Marco; Iavarone, Ivano
2016-01-01
Industrially contaminated sites (ICS) are of high concern from an environmental public health perspective, since industrial plants may produce a widespread contamination that can result in several health impacts on the populations living in their neighbourhood. The objective of this contribution is to briefly explore available options in studying the health impact of ICS, mainly referring to information provided by documents and activities developed by the WHO and the WHO Collaborating Center for Environmental Health in Contaminated Sites. In current practice the health impact of ICS is evaluated using studies and assessments falling in two broad types of strategies: one based on epidemiology and the other on risk assessment methods. In recent years, traditional approaches to assess relationships between environmental risks and health has been evolved considering the intricate nature between them and other factors. New developments should be explored in the context of ICS to find common strategies and tools to assess their impacts and to guide public health interventions.
Health Impacts Of Radiofrequency Exposure From Mobile Phone ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Background: The widespread use of mobile phones and indiscriminate siting of transmitter base stations near residential buildings in our environment may have serious health impacts. Objective: To investigate the possible health risks associated with radiofrequency (RF) exposure from mobile phones and other transmitter ...
The impact of leadership development on GP mental health commissioning.
Dickerson, Emma; Fenge, Lee-Ann; Rosenorn-Lanng, Emily
2017-07-03
Purpose This paper aims to explore the learning needs of general practitioners (GPs) involved in commissioning mental health provision in England, and offer an evaluation of a leadership and commissioning skills development programme for Mental Health Commissioners. Design/methodology/approach Retrospective mixed method, including online mixed method survey, rating participants' knowledge, skills, abilities, semi-structured telephone interviews and third-party questionnaires were used. Results were analysed for significant differences using the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test. Open-ended responses and interview transcripts were analysed thematically. Findings Indicative results showed that participants perceived significant impacts in ability across eight key question groups evaluated. Differences were found between the perceived and observed impact in relation to technical areas covered within the programme which were perceived as the highest scoring impacts by participants. Research limitations/implications The indicative results show a positive impact on practice has been both perceived and observed. Findings illustrate the value of this development programme on both the personal development of GP Mental Health Commissioners and commissioning practice. Although the findings of this evaluation increase understanding in relation to an important and topical area, larger scale, prospective evaluations are required. Impact evaluations could be embedded within future programmes to encourage higher participant and third-party engagement. Future evaluations would benefit from collection and analysis of attendance data. Further research could involve patient, service user and carer perspectives on mental health commissioning. Originality value Results of this evaluation could inform the development of future learning programmes for mental health commissioners as part of a national approach to improve mental health provision.
Health impacts of rapid economic changes in Thailand.
Tangcharoensathien, V; Harnvoravongchai, P; Pitayarangsarit, S; Kasemsup, V
2000-09-01
The economic crisis in Thailand in July 1997 had major social implications for unemployment, under employment, household income contraction, changing expenditure patterns, and child abandonment. The crisis increased poverty incidence by 1 million, of whom 54% were the ultra-poor. This paper explores and explains the short-term health impact of the crisis, using existing data and some special surveys and interviews for 2 years during 1998-99. The health impacts of the crisis are mixed, some being negative and some being positive. Household health expenditure reduced by 24% in real terms; among the poorer households, institutional care was replaced by self-medication. The pre-crisis rising trend in expenditure on alcohol and tobacco consumption was reversed. Immunization spending and coverage were sustained at a very high level after the crisis, but reports of increases in diphtheria and pertussis indicate declining programme quality. An increase in malaria, despite budget increases, had many causes but was mainly due to reduced programme effectiveness. STD incidence continued the pre-crisis downward trend. Rates of HIV risky sexual behaviour were higher among conscripts than other male workers, but in both groups there was lower condom use with casual partners. HIV serosurveillance showed a continuation of the pre-crisis downward trend among commercial sex workers (CSW, both brothel and non-brothel based), pregnant women and donated blood; this trend was slightly reversed among male STD patients and more among intravenous drug users. Condom coverage among brothel based CSW continued to increase to 97.5%, despite a 72% budget cut in free condom distribution. Poverty and lack of insurance coverage are two major determinants of absence of or inadequate antenatal care, and low birthweight. The Low Income Scheme could not adequately cover the poor but the voluntary Health Card Scheme played a health safety net role for maternal and child health. Low birthweight and
Mutagenesis and teratogenesis as end points in health impact assessment
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Bender, M.A.
1976-01-01
The genetic and teratogenic effects of agents released to the environment as a consequence of energy production are exceedingly difficult to evaluate. Nevertheless, these effects on human health may be very costly in the context of cost-benefit analysis. In fact, the procedures required to limit mutagenic or teratogenic agents to the levels considered acceptable by regulatory bodies may constitute a major fraction of the cost of energy, especially where prudence dictates that a lack of empirical data requires extremely conservative regulations. Experience with ionizing radiation and with regulation of nuclear power installations illustrates the difficulty of genetic and teratogenic health impact assessment and the great uncertainties involved, as well as the influence of these impacts on the regulatory process and the consequent increased cost of power from this source. Data on genetic and teratogenic impacts on human health from chemical agents released to the environment by other energy technologies are much less complete, and, because of the large number of potentially active agents involved, it is evident that generic solutions to health impact assessment will be required to evaluate these energy alternatives
The public health impact of obesity
Visscher, T.L.S.
2001-01-01
The prevalence of obesity (severe overweight) has been increasing in western societies during the last decades. Epidemiological studies to the public health impact of obesity are therefore warranted. This thesis aimed at describing the long-term and recent time trends of obesity in the
[Pre- and posttreatment results of an inpatient neurotologic and psychosomatic tinnitus therapy].
Schaaf, H; Hesse, G
2015-08-01
Inpatient treatment of chronic complex tinnitus can be necessary for patients with a high symptomatic strain, mostly accompanied by a corresponding mental comorbidity, and/or for patients that can only perceive their psychogenic suffering through somatization into tinnitus. We report the results of 368 consecutively treated inpatients with chronic complex tinnitus. Patients' audiometric data were collected, and at the beginning and end of treatment, the Mini-Tinnitus Questionnaire (Mini-TQ12; Hiller und Goebel) was completed, as was the German version of the Hospitality Anxiety and Depression Score (HADS). Effect sizes were calculated for both questionnaires. Mean treatment duration was 38.8 days (standard deviation, SD: 13.6 days). The main therapeutic elements were intensive disorder-specific neurotologic counselling and psychoeducation; improvement of hearing by fitting of hearing aids, complemented by an individualized hearing therapy; and intensive individual and group-based psychotherapy. In addition to tinnitus, 82.1% of the patients had reduced hearing requiring rehabilitation with hearing aids. After hospitalization, a highly significant improvement in tinnitus strain could be demonstrated by the Mini-TQ12. Furthermore, a significant reduction in the depression and anxiety components of HADS was also achieved, with high effect sizes of 1.6 to 2.2. No reduction of tinnitus symptoms to a medium- or low-range level was experienced by 8.9% of patients. With corresponding symptomatic suffering, disorder-specific inpatient tinnitus treatment comprising neurotologic and psychosomatic alignment can achieve medium- to high-range therapeutic effects.
Health Care Facilities Resilient to Climate Change Impacts
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jaclyn Paterson
2014-12-01
Full Text Available Climate change will increase the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events and create risks that will impact health care facilities. Health care facilities will need to assess climate change risks and adopt adaptive management strategies to be resilient, but guidance tools are lacking. In this study, a toolkit was developed for health care facility officials to assess the resiliency of their facility to climate change impacts. A mixed methods approach was used to develop climate change resiliency indicators to inform the development of the toolkit. The toolkit consists of a checklist for officials who work in areas of emergency management, facilities management and health care services and supply chain management, a facilitator’s guide for administering the checklist, and a resource guidebook to inform adaptation. Six health care facilities representing three provinces in Canada piloted the checklist. Senior level officials with expertise in the aforementioned areas were invited to review the checklist, provide feedback during qualitative interviews and review the final toolkit at a stakeholder workshop. The toolkit helps health care facility officials identify gaps in climate change preparedness, direct allocation of adaptation resources and inform strategic planning to increase resiliency to climate change.
Electric vehicles in China: emissions and health impacts.
Ji, Shuguang; Cherry, Christopher R; J Bechle, Matthew; Wu, Ye; Marshall, Julian D
2012-02-21
E-bikes in China are the single largest adoption of alternative fuel vehicles in history, with more than 100 million e-bikes purchased in the past decade and vehicle ownership about 2× larger for e-bikes as for conventional cars; e-car sales, too, are rapidly growing. We compare emissions (CO(2), PM(2.5), NO(X), HC) and environmental health impacts (primary PM(2.5)) from the use of conventional vehicles (CVs) and electric vehicles (EVs) in 34 major cities in China. CO(2) emissions (g km(-1)) vary and are an order of magnitude greater for e-cars (135-274) and CVs (150-180) than for e-bikes (14-27). PM(2.5) emission factors generally are lower for CVs (gasoline or diesel) than comparable EVs. However, intake fraction is often greater for CVs than for EVs because combustion emissions are generally closer to population centers for CVs (tailpipe emissions) than for EVs (power plant emissions). For most cities, the net result is that primary PM(2.5) environmental health impacts per passenger-km are greater for e-cars than for gasoline cars (3.6× on average), lower than for diesel cars (2.5× on average), and equal to diesel buses. In contrast, e-bikes yield lower environmental health impacts per passenger-km than the three CVs investigated: gasoline cars (2×), diesel cars (10×), and diesel buses (5×). Our findings highlight the importance of considering exposures, and especially the proximity of emissions to people, when evaluating environmental health impacts for EVs.
Assessment of the Health Impacts of Climate Change in Kiribati
McIver, Lachlan; Woodward, Alistair; Davies, Seren; Tibwe, Tebikau; Iddings, Steven
2014-01-01
Kiribati—a low-lying, resource-poor Pacific atoll nation—is one of the most vulnerable countries in the World to the impacts of climate change, including the likely detrimental effects on human health. We describe the preparation of a climate change and health adaptation plan for Kiribati carried out by the World Health Organization and the Kiribati Ministry of Health and Medical Services, including an assessment of risks to health, sources of vulnerability and suggestions for highest priority adaptation responses. This paper identifies advantages and disadvantages in the process that was followed, lays out a future direction of climate change and health adaptation work in Kiribati, and proposes lessons that may be applicable to other small, developing island nations as they prepare for and adapt to the impacts of climate change on health. PMID:24830452
Individual and organizational impact of enterprises resources planning system in health care sector
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ilyas, A.; Fiaz, M.; Tayyaba, A.
2016-01-01
Use of ERPS (Enterprise Resource Planning System) in health care sector has positive impacts. The purpose of this research is to find out the individual and organizational impact in health care sector. Hypotheses were postulated that the use of ERPS has positive individual and organizational impacts. A research questionnaire was used to test these hypotheses which have twelve dimensions for both impacts. This instrument was adopted from literature and self-administrated to 504 individuals with response rate of 60 percentage and only 56 percentage of questionnaires were used. The results of this study revealed that the use of ERPS has positive individual and organizational impacts. This study will help the health care organizations to find out impacts of ERPS in health care sector and also to better understand the individual and organizational impacts. (author)
Syeda, Javeria N; Rutkofsky, Ian H; Muhammad, Adnan S; Balla Abdalla, Tarig H; Saghir, Zahid
2018-04-11
The association of major depressive disorder (MDD) with myocardial infarction (MI) and vice versa is not unknown. Depression, along with many other systemic factors like atherosclerosis, obesity, diabetes and vascular dysfunction, contributes to the development of adverse cardiac events in the future and, has always been a topic of interest in the fields of cardiology and psychosomatics. We wrote this review article to elaborate this relationship in detail. This article suggests that the individuals with type D personality who already had cardiovascular disease had undergone more serious myocardial damage. In addition, we elucidated the effects of depression on sympathetic activity and remodeling of myocardium after MI. The alterations in the neuroendocrine factors, which included the changes in levels of Serotonin (5-HT), Norepinephrine and Corticosterone, also geared towards the changes associated with depression-induced myocardial injury. However, we need more studies in the near future to further dig into this association process. Therefore, we recommend more research to explore the relationship of psychological factors and adverse cardiac outcomes.
Impact of Construction Health & Safety Regulations on Project ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Impact of Construction Health & Safety Regulations on Project Parameters in Nigeria: Consultants and Contractors View. ... The study recommends that better attention is given to health and safety should as a project parameter and that related practice notes and guidelines should be evolved for all project stakeholders.
Impact of organisational characteristics on health and safety ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
The construction industry makes a contribution to occupational accidents and ill health records in Nigeria. This study was designed to evaluate the impact of organisational characteristics on health and safety (H&S) management practices of Nigerian small and medium-sized construction enterprises (SMEs). The study ...
Does Indigenous health research have impact? A systematic review of reviews.
Kinchin, Irina; Mccalman, Janya; Bainbridge, Roxanne; Tsey, Komla; Lui, Felecia Watkin
2017-03-21
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians (hereafter respectfully Indigenous Australians) claim that they have been over-researched without corresponding research benefit. This claim raises two questions. The first, which has been covered to some extent in the literature, is about what type(s) of research are likely to achieve benefits for Indigenous people. The second is how researchers report the impact of their research for Indigenous people. This systematic review of Indigenous health reviews addresses the second enquiry. Fourteen electronic databases were systematically searched for Indigenous health reviews which met eligibility criteria. Two reviewers assessed their characteristics and methodological rigour using an a priori protocol. Three research hypotheses were stated and tested: (1) reviews address Indigenous health priority needs; (2) reviews adopt best practice guidelines on research conduct and reporting in respect to methodological transparency and rigour, as well as acceptability and appropriateness of research implementation to Indigenous people; and (3) reviews explicitly report the incremental impacts of the included studies and translation of research. We argue that if review authors explicitly address each of these three hypotheses, then the impact of research for Indigenous peoples' health would be explicated. Seventy-six reviews were included; comprising 55 journal articles and 21 Australian Government commissioned evidence review reports. While reviews are gaining prominence and recognition in Indigenous health research and increasing in number, breadth and complexity, there is little reporting of the impact of health research for Indigenous people. This finding raises questions about the relevance of these reviews for Indigenous people, their impact on policy and practice and how reviews have been commissioned, reported and evaluated. The findings of our study serve two main purposes. First, we have identified knowledge and
Mental health effects from radiological accidents and their social management
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Brenot, J.; Charron, S.; Verger, P.
2000-01-01
Mental health effects resulting from exposure to radiation have been identified principally in the context of large radiological accidents. They cover an extended scope of manifestations in relation with the notion of stress: increase of some hormones, modifications in mental concentration, symptoms of anxiety and depression, psycho-somatic diseases, deviation behaviours, and, on the long term, a possible post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The main results come from the Three Mile Island, Goiania, and Chernobyl accidents and several modifying factors have been identified. Considering those facts, diverse social responses can be brought to reduce the detriment to affected individuals and communities. Medical treatments are necessary for persons who suffer from pathological diseases. In most cases, a structured public health follow-up is required to establish the seriousness of the health problems, to forecast the extent of medical and psychological assistance, and to inform people who express fears and worries. Social assistance is always valuable under various forms: financial compensations, preferential medical care, and particular advantages concerning working and living conditions. If this social assistance is necessary and helpful, it also induces a loss in personal adjustment capability and initiative capacity. To overcome those negative impacts, some guidelines to authorities' action can be set up. But the best approach, not excluding the previous ones, remains problem solving at the local level through community responsibilization; some instructive examples come from the Chernobyl experience. (author)
Mental health effects from radiological accidents and their social management
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Brenot, J.; Charron, S.; Verger, P. [Institute for Protection and Nuclear Safety, Fontenay-aux-Roses Cedex (France)
2000-05-01
Mental health effects resulting from exposure to radiation have been identified principally in the context of large radiological accidents. They cover an extended scope of manifestations in relation with the notion of stress: increase of some hormones, modifications in mental concentration, symptoms of anxiety and depression, psycho-somatic diseases, deviation behaviours, and, on the long term, a possible post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The main results come from the Three Mile Island, Goiania, and Chernobyl accidents and several modifying factors have been identified. Considering those facts, diverse social responses can be brought to reduce the detriment to affected individuals and communities. Medical treatments are necessary for persons who suffer from pathological diseases. In most cases, a structured public health follow-up is required to establish the seriousness of the health problems, to forecast the extent of medical and psychological assistance, and to inform people who express fears and worries. Social assistance is always valuable under various forms: financial compensations, preferential medical care, and particular advantages concerning working and living conditions. If this social assistance is necessary and helpful, it also induces a loss in personal adjustment capability and initiative capacity. To overcome those negative impacts, some guidelines to authorities' action can be set up. But the best approach, not excluding the previous ones, remains problem solving at the local level through community responsibilization; some instructive examples come from the Chernobyl experience. (author)
Norlander, T; Dahlin, A; Archer, T
2000-02-01
This study examined the effects of life events, social support, personality traits, and siblings' birth-order on the health of women. 199 middle-class participants were included. 95 women, randomly assigned from four different patient groups, were compared with a control group of 96 randomly selected women without any special health problems. They completed a questionnaire which included questions regarding family background, health, different life events, social support, and signs of disease and a projective test, the Sivik Psychosomatism Test. Analysis indicated that report of negative life events was associated with more physical symptoms than positive life events and that the patient groups reported more negative life events and less social support than the control group.
Health impact assessment in environmental impact assessment in China: Status, practice and problems
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Chang, I-Shin; Yilihamu, Qimanguli; Wu, Jing; Wu, Huilei; Nan, Bo
2017-01-01
In China, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) system has gradually developed into an integrated evaluation system, owing to continuous improvement on institutional framework, system infrastructure, technical methods and professionals training, since EIA was first introduced in 1979. Though health impact assessment (HIA) is a part of the EIA system, the development of HIA is so slow as to remain at the early developing stage. This research aims to understand the extent and main issues concerning “health considerations” under the context of EIA, in China. Through case study on 42 environmental impact statements, the results demonstrate that HIA was not implemented in most of the cases, and health issues were not even mentioned in more than half of these cases. Where HIA was implemented, various problems were revealed through this study, including lacks of systematic approaching tools, insufficient supporting data on health effects, ineffective public participation, limited health considerations on biophysics, and so forth. Nevertheless, these problems can be attributed to lacks of legal supports, systematic evaluation methods, knowledge on evaluation technologies, and professional training institutions for HIA in China. In order to improve HIA methodologies, technologies, and management, to perfect HIA evaluation system, and to enhance public participation system within HIA, some recommendations from institutional, technical, administrative, and managerial aspects were then proposed in this study. - Highlights: •The status and deficiencies of HIA in EIA in China were identified and evaluated. •There were great industrial differences for the implementation of HIA in EIA. •Public participation was not well executed within HIA in EIA.
Health Impacts of Environmental Mycobacteria†
Primm, Todd P.; Lucero, Christie A.; Falkinham, Joseph O.
2004-01-01
Environmental mycobacteria are emerging pathogens causing opportunistic infections in humans and animals. The health impacts of human-mycobacterial interactions are complex and likely much broader than currently recognized. Environmental mycobacteria preferentially survive chlorination in municipal water, using it as a vector to infect humans. Widespread chlorination of water has likely selected more resistant environmental mycobacteria species and potentially explains the shift from M. scrof...
What is Health Impact Assessment?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ahmet Soysal
2010-12-01
Full Text Available Health Impact Assessment (HIA was disseminated by World Health Organization (WHO European Region in Gothenburg consensus paper in 1999. In this consensus, HIA is defined as ‘a combination of procedures, methods and tools by which a policy, program or project may be judged as to its potential effects on the health of population and the distribution of those effects within the population’. HIA was accepted as a goal for 4th phase of healthy city projects between 2003- 2008. HIA is a new process for our country and especially municipal boroughs, local authorities interest with it. There is no legal base for HIA in our country. EIA practices conducted since 1993 showed us that, environmental and public health was postponed. Functional and decisive implementation of HAI depends on legal basis and national acceptance. If legal basis is supplied, society must take care about it, work for strict application and have to put a crimp in going back. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2010; 9(6.000: 689-694
Experiencing racism in health care: the mental health impacts for Victorian Aboriginal communities.
Kelaher, Margaret A; Ferdinand, Angeline S; Paradies, Yin
2014-07-07
To examine experiences of racism in health settings and their impact on mental health among Aboriginal Australians. A cross-sectional survey of experiences of racism and mental health was conducted in two metropolitan and two rural Victorian local government areas (LGAs) between 1 December 2010 and 31 October 2011. Participants included 755 Aboriginal Australians aged over 18 years who had resided in the relevant LGA for at least a year. The response rate across all LGAs was 99%. Being above or below the threshold for high or very high psychological distress on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. 221 participants reported experiences of racism in health settings in the past 12 months. The results suggested that people experiencing racism in health settings (OR, 4.49; 95% CI, 2.28-8.86) and non-health settings (OR, 2.66; 95% CI, 1.39-5.08) were more likely than people who did not experience racism to be above the threshold for high or very high psychological distress. Experiencing interpersonal racism in health settings is associated with increased psychological distress over and above what would be expected in other settings. This finding supports the rationale for improving cultural competency and reducing racism as a means of closing the health gap between Aboriginal and other Australians. Capitalising on this investment will require explicitly evaluating the impact of these initiatives on reducing patient experiences of racism.
Bennett, Hayley; Jones, Rhys; Keating, Gay; Woodward, Alistair; Hales, Simon; Metcalfe, Scott
2014-11-28
Human-caused climate change poses an increasingly serious and urgent threat to health and health equity. Under all the climate projections reported in the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment, New Zealand will experience direct impacts, biologically mediated impacts, and socially mediated impacts on health. These will disproportionately affect populations that already experience disadvantage and poorer health. Without rapid global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (particularly from fossil fuels), the world will breach its carbon budget and may experience high levels of warming (land temperatures on average 4-7 degrees Celsius higher by 2100). This level of climate change would threaten the habitability of some parts of the world because of extreme weather, limits on working outdoors, and severely reduced food production. However, well-planned action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could bring about substantial benefits to health, and help New Zealand tackle its costly burden of health inequity and chronic disease.
Health impacts of climate change in Vanuatu: an assessment and adaptation action plan.
Spickett, Jeffery T; Katscherian, Dianne; McIver, Lachlan
2013-01-30
Climate change is one of the greatest global challenges and Pacific island countries are particularly vulnerable due to, among other factors, their geography, demography and level of economic development. A Health Impact Assessment (HIA) framework was used as a basis for the consideration of the potential health impacts of changes in the climate on the population of Vanuatu, to assess the risks and propose a range of potential adaptive responses appropriate for Vanuatu. The HIA process involved the participation of a broad range of stakeholders including expert sector representatives in the areas of bio-physical, socio-economic, infrastructure, environmental diseases and food, who provided informed comment and input into the understanding of the potential health impacts and development of adaptation strategies. The risk associated with each of these impacts was assessed with the application of a qualitative process that considered both the consequences and the likelihood of each of the potential health impacts occurring. Potential adaptation strategies and actions were developed which could be used to mitigate the identified health impacts and provide responses which could be used by the various sectors in Vanuatu to contribute to future decision making processes associated with the health impacts of climate change.
Assessing the health impact of transnational corporations: its importance and a framework.
Baum, Frances E; Sanders, David M; Fisher, Matt; Anaf, Julia; Freudenberg, Nicholas; Friel, Sharon; Labonté, Ronald; London, Leslie; Monteiro, Carlos; Scott-Samuel, Alex; Sen, Amit
2016-06-15
The adverse health and equity impacts of transnational corporations' (TNCs) practices have become central public health concerns as TNCs increasingly dominate global trade and investment and shape national economies. Despite this, methodologies have been lacking with which to study the health equity impacts of individual corporations and thus to inform actions to mitigate or reverse negative and increase positive impacts. This paper reports on a framework designed to conduct corporate health impact assessment (CHIA), developed at a meeting held at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in May 2015. On the basis of the deliberations at the meeting it was recommended that the CHIA should be based on ex post assessment and follow the standard HIA steps of screening, scoping, identification, assessment, decision-making and recommendations. A framework to conduct the CHIA was developed and designed to be applied to a TNC's practices internationally, and within countries to enable comparison of practices and health impacts in different settings. The meeting participants proposed that impacts should be assessed according to the TNC's global and national operating context; its organisational structure, political and business practices (including the type, distribution and marketing of its products); and workforce and working conditions, social factors, the environment, consumption patterns, and economic conditions within countries. We anticipate that the results of the CHIA will be used by civil society for capacity building and advocacy purposes, by governments to inform regulatory decision-making, and by TNCs to lessen their negative health impacts on health and fulfil commitments made to corporate social responsibility.
The Energy Burden and Environmental Impact of Health Services
Buettner, Petra G.; Canyon, Deon V.
2012-01-01
Objectives. We reviewed the English-language literature on the energy burden and environmental impact of health services. Methods. We searched all years of the PubMed, CINAHL, and ScienceDirect databases for publications reporting energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, or the environmental impact of health-related activities. We extracted and tabulated data to enable cross-comparisons among different activities and services; where possible, we calculated per patient or per event emissions. Results. We identified 38 relevant publications. Per patient or per event, health-related energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are quite modest; in the aggregate, however, they are considerable. In England and the United States, health-related emissions account for 3% and 8% of total national emissions, respectively. Conclusions. Although reducing health-related energy consumption and emissions alone will not resolve all of the problems of energy scarcity and climate change, it could make a meaningful contribution. PMID:23078475
Wang, Wenjuan; Temsah, Gheda; Mallick, Lindsay
2017-04-01
While research has assessed the impact of health insurance on health care utilization, few studies have focused on the effects of health insurance on use of maternal health care. Analyzing nationally representative data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), this study estimates the impact of health insurance status on the use of maternal health services in three countries with relatively high levels of health insurance coverage-Ghana, Indonesia and Rwanda. The analysis uses propensity score matching to adjust for selection bias in health insurance uptake and to assess the effect of health insurance on four measurements of maternal health care utilization: making at least one antenatal care visit; making four or more antenatal care visits; initiating antenatal care within the first trimester and giving birth in a health facility. Although health insurance schemes in these three countries are mostly designed to focus on the poor, coverage has been highly skewed toward the rich, especially in Ghana and Rwanda. Indonesia shows less variation in coverage by wealth status. The analysis found significant positive effects of health insurance coverage on at least two of the four measures of maternal health care utilization in each of the three countries. Indonesia stands out for the most systematic effect of health insurance across all four measures. The positive impact of health insurance appears more consistent on use of facility-based delivery than use of antenatal care. The analysis suggests that broadening health insurance to include income-sensitive premiums or exemptions for the poor and low or no copayments can increase use of maternal health care. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
[Impact of small-area context on health: proposing a conceptual model].
Voigtländer, S; Mielck, A; Razum, O
2012-11-01
Recent empirical studies stress the impact of features related to the small-area context on individual health. However, so far there exists no standard explanatory model that integrates the different kinds of such features and that conceptualises their relation to individual characteristics of social inequality. A review of theoretical publications on the relationship between social position and health as well as existing conceptual models for the impact of features related to the small-area context on health was undertaken. In the present article we propose a conceptual model for the health impact of the small-area context. This model conceptualises the location of residence as one dimension of social inequality that affects health through the resources as well as stressors which are inherent in the small-area context. The proposed conceptual model offers an orientation for future empirical studies and can serve as a basis for further discussions concerning the health relevance of the small-area context. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
The 6/94 gap in health impact assessment
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Erlanger, Tobias E.; Krieger, Gary R.; Singer, Burton H.; Utzinger, Juerg
2008-01-01
Health impact assessment (HIA), a methodology that aims to facilitate the mitigation of negative and enhancement of positive health effects due to projects, programmes and policies, has been developed over the past 20-30 years. There is an underlying assumption that HIA has become a full fledged critical piece of the impact assessment process with a stature equal to both environmental and social impact assessments. This assumption needs to be supported by evidence however. Within the context of projects in developing country settings, HIA is simply a slogan without a clearly articulated and relevant methodology, offered by academia and having little or no salience in the decision-making process regarding impacts. This harsh assertion is supported by posing a simple question: 'Where in the world have HIAs been carried out?' To answer this question, we systematically searched the peer-reviewed literature and online HIA-specific databases. We identified 237 HIA-related publications, but only 6% of these publications had a focus on the developing world. What emerges is, therefore, a huge disparity, which we coin the 6/94 gap in HIA, even worse than the widely known 10/90 gap in health research (10% of health research funding is utilized for diseases causing 90% of the global burden of disease). Implications of this 6/94 gap in HIA are discussed with pointed emphasis on extractive industries (oil/gas and mining) and water resources development. We conclude that there is a pressing need to institutionalize HIA in the developing world, as a consequence of current predictions of major extractive industry and water resources development, with China's investments in these sectors across Africa being particularly salient
Health impact of air pollution to children
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Šrám, Radim; Binková, B.; Dostál, Miroslav; Merkerová-Dostálová, M.; Líbalová, Helena; Milcová, Alena; Rössner ml., Pavel; Rössnerová, Andrea; Schmuczerová, Jana; Švecová, Vlasta; Topinka, Jan; Votavová, H.
2013-01-01
Roč. 216, č. 5 (2013), s. 533-540 ISSN 1438-4639 R&D Projects: GA MŽP(CZ) SP/1B3/8/08; GA MŠk 2B08005; GA ČR GAP503/11/0084; GA ČR GAP503/11/0142 Institutional support: RVO:68378041 Keywords : PM2.5 * carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons * pregnancy outcome Subject RIV: DN - Health Impact of the Environment Quality Impact factor: 3.276, year: 2013
A summary of LED lighting impacts on health
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Cosmin Ticleanu
2017-06-01
Full Text Available Lighting can affect the health of people in buildings. This goes beyond the safety aspects of providing enough illumination to see by; lighting affects mood and human circadian rhythms, while poor lighting can cause glare, headaches, eyestrain, aches and pains associated with poor body posture or, in extreme cases, skin conditions and various types of sight loss. These aspects ought to be considered by designers and building owners and occupiers in order to improve the lit environment and use adequate lighting and lighting controls that meet the recommendations of codes and standards. Various types of lighting can have different impacts depending on their spectral, optical and electrical characteristics. This paper discusses potential impacts of LED lighting on human health, and is based on a recent BRE review of research investigating the most typical effects of lighting on human health.
Health Impacts of Climate Change-Induced Subzero Temperature Fires.
Metallinou, Maria-Monika; Log, Torgrim
2017-07-20
General fire risk and the special risk related to cold climate cellulosic drying processes are outlined. Four recent subzero temperatures fires are studied with respect to health impacts: a wooden village fire, a single wood structure fire, a wildland urban interface (WUI) fire and a huge wildland fire. The health impacts range from stress related to loss of jobs, psychological effects of lost possessions, exposure to smoke and heat as well as immediate, or delayed, loss of lives. These four fires resulted in 32 fatalities, 385 persons hospitalized for shorter or longer periods, 104 structures lost and 1015 km² of wildland burned north of, and just south of, the Arctic Circle. It is shown that the combination of subzero temperature dry weather, strong winds, changing agricultural activities and declining snowpack may lead to previously anticipated threats to people and the environment. There are reasons to believe that these fires are a result of the ongoing climate changes. Risk impacts are discussed. Rural districts and/or vulnerable populations seem to be most affected. Training methods to identify and better monitor critical fire risk parameters are suggested to mitigate the health impacts of a possibly increasing number of such fires.
The impact of biomedical innovation on longevity and health
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Frank R Lichtenberg
2015-03-01
Full Text Available Many authors have expressed the view that a substantial portion of recent gains in longevity and health is due to biomedical research and innovation. This article describes the methodologies and findings of a number of studies based on observational data that have sought to measure the impact of biomedical innovation on the longevity and health of Americans and other populations during recent decades. Most of these studies have examined the impact of innovation in pharmaceuticals, the most research-intensive medical good or service. Two measures of medical innovation that have been used are the mean vintage of the medical goods or procedures used by an individual or population, and the number of distinct products (e.g. drugs available for treating a condition. Longevity (e.g. time till death is the health outcome that has been analyzed the most, but several studies have studied the impact of medical (i.e. pharmaceutical innovation on the ability of people to work or engage in activities of daily living. Some studies have been based on cross-sectional patient-level data. Others have been based on longitudinal, region-level data; they have investigated whether regions (e.g. states undergoing more rapid medical innovation have exhibited larger improvements in health. And some studies have been based on longitudinal, disease-level data; they have investigated whether the medical conditions undergoing more rapid innovation have exhibited larger gains in health outcomes. Innovation related to some specific major diseases (e.g. cardiovascular disease and cancer has been investigated, but the overall impact of innovation related to other major diseases (e.g. diabetes has not.These studies provide considerable support for the hypothesis that a substantial portion of recent gains in longevity and health is due to biomedical research and innovation. It would be desirable to apply these methods to data from developing countries.
Wright, John; Parry, Jayne; Scully, Edward
2005-01-01
European Union (EU) Member States are interested in using health impact assessment (HIA) as a means of safeguarding their obligations to protect human health under the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam. However, several have encountered difficulties institutionalizing HIA with the policy-making process. As a consequence, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe has suggested coupling HIA with strategic environmental assessment (SEA). Traditionally, the incorporation of HIA into o...
Wiklund Axelsson, S; Nyberg, L; Näslund, A; Melander Wikman, A
2013-01-01
This study investigates the anticipated psychosocial impact of present web-based e-health services and future mobile health applications among older Swedes. Random sample's of Swedish citizens aged 55 years old and older were given a survey containing two different e-health scenarios which respondents rated according to their anticipated psychosocial impact by means of the PIADS instrument. Results consistently demonstrated the positive anticipation of psychosocial impacts for both scenarios. The future mobile health applications scored more positively than the present web-based e-health services. An increase in age correlated positively to lower impact scores. These findings indicate that from a psychosocial perspective, web-based e-health services and mobile health applications are likely to positively impact quality of life. This knowledge can be helpful when tailoring and implementing e-health services that are directed to older people.
Climate change impacts health in Tunisia | IDRC - International ...
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)
2012-03-26
Mar 26, 2012 ... Research is showing that climate change is having major impacts on human health. Weather-related disasters are on the rise and water- and vector-borne diseases are spreading. Strategies to adapt to the effects of climate change may also pose unforeseen health risks. Read more about a project in ...
Greenough, G; McGeehin, M; Bernard, S M; Trtanj, J; Riad, J; Engelberg, D
2001-05-01
Extreme weather events such as precipitation extremes and severe storms cause hundreds of deaths and injuries annually in the United States. Climate change may alter the frequency, timing, intensity, and duration of these events. Increases in heavy precipitation have occurred over the past century. Future climate scenarios show likely increases in the frequency of extreme precipitation events, including precipitation during hurricanes, raising the risk of floods. Frequencies of tornadoes and hurricanes cannot reliably be projected. Injury and death are the direct health impacts most often associated with natural disasters. Secondary effects, mediated by changes in ecologic systems and public health infrastructure, also occur. The health impacts of extreme weather events hinge on the vulnerabilities and recovery capacities of the natural environment and the local population. Relevant variables include building codes, warning systems, disaster policies, evacuation plans, and relief efforts. There are many federal, state, and local government agencies and nongovernmental organizations involved in planning for and responding to natural disasters in the United States. Future research on health impacts of extreme weather events should focus on improving climate models to project any trends in regional extreme events and as a result improve public health preparedness and mitigation. Epidemiologic studies of health effects beyond the direct impacts of disaster will provide a more accurate measure of the full health impacts and will assist in planning and resource allocation.
REVIEW ARTICLE: Fast Foods and their Impact on Health
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ashakiran
2012-07-01
Full Text Available Eat healthy and live healthy is one of the essential requirements for long life. Unfortunately, todays world has been adapted to a system of consumption of foods which has several adverse effects on health. Lifestyle changes has compelled us so much that one has so little time to really think what we are eating is right Globalisation and urbanisation have greatly affected ones eating habits and forced many people to consume fancy and high calorie fast foods, popularly known as Junk foods. Research into the possible health hazards on consumption of such high calorie foods has given an insight to avoid them, but unfortunately measures taken are not aseffective as they need to be. Diseases like coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus have seen a profound rise in developing countries and such unhealthy junk food consumption is one of the notable factors to its contribution. This global problem of consuming junk food on a large scale and its impact on health needs emphasis and health education which can greatly contribute to itslimited consumption and switching over to healthy eating habits for the better living. knowledge highlighting about the eating habits,nutritional aspects, quality of unhealthy foods, their health impact and preventive measures should be given to create awareness and render health education for a change towards good eating practices. Junk food and its impact on health have been reviewed from variousresources and have been systematically presented, so as to emphasize its ill effects and measures to be adapted towards healthy living.
Environmental health impacts of tobacco farming: a review of the literature.
Lecours, Natacha; Almeida, Guilherme E G; Abdallah, Jumanne M; Novotny, Thomas E
2012-03-01
To review the literature on environmental health impacts of tobacco farming and to summarise the findings and research gaps in this field. A standard literature search was performed using multiple electronic databases for identification of peer-reviewed articles. The internet and organisational databases were also used to find other types of documents (eg, books and reports). The reference lists of identified relevant documents were reviewed to find additional sources. The selected studies documented many negative environmental impacts of tobacco production at the local level, often linking them with associated social and health problems. The common agricultural practices related to tobacco farming, especially in low-income and middle-income countries, lead to deforestation and soil degradation. Agrochemical pollution and deforestation in turn lead to ecological disruptions that cause a loss of ecosystem services, including land resources, biodiversity and food sources, which negatively impact human health. Multinational tobacco companies' policies and practices contribute to environmental problems related to tobacco leaf production. Development and implementation of interventions against the negative environmental impacts of tobacco production worldwide are necessary to protect the health of farmers, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries. Transitioning these farmers out of tobacco production is ultimately the resolution to this environmental health problem. In order to inform policy, however, further research is needed to better quantify the health impacts of tobacco farming and evaluate the potential alternative livelihoods that may be possible for tobacco farmers globally.
Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United ...
Climate change threatens human health and well-being in the United States. To address this growing threat, the Interagency Group on Climate Change and Human Health (CCHHG), a working group of the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s (USGCRP), has developed this assessment as part of the ongoing efforts of the USGCRP’s National Climate Assessment (NCA) and as called for under the President’s Climate Action Plan. The authors of this assessment have compiled and assessed current research on human health impacts of climate change and summarized the current “state of the science” for a number of key impact areas. This assessment provides a comprehensive update to the most recent detailed technical assessment for the health impacts of climate change, 2008 Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.6 (SAP 4.6) Analyses of the Effects of Global Change on Human Health and Welfare and Human Systems (CCSP 2008). It also updates and builds upon the health chapter of the third NCA (Melillo et al. 2014). The lead and coordinating Federal agencies for the USGCRP Climate and Health Assessment are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Institute of Health (NIH), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Available at https://health2016.globalchange.gov/ The interagency U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) has developed this assessment as part of the ongoing efforts of their National C
Health impacts of power-exporting plants in northern Mexico
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Blackman, Allen; Chandru, Santosh; Mendoza-Domínguez, Alberto; Russell, A.G.
2012-01-01
In the past two decades, rapid population and economic growth on the U.S.–Mexico border has spurred a dramatic increase in electricity demand. In response, American energy multinationals have built power plants just south of the border that export most of their electricity to the U.S. This development has stirred considerable controversy because these plants effectively skirt U.S. air pollution regulations in a severely degraded international airshed. Yet to our knowledge, this concern has not been subjected to rigorous scrutiny. This paper uses a suite of air dispersion, health impacts, and valuation models to assess the human health damages in the U.S. and Mexico caused by air emissions from two power-exporting plants in Mexicali, Baja California. We find that these emissions have limited but nontrivial health impacts, mostly by exacerbating particulate pollution in the U.S., and we value these damages at more than half a million dollars per year. These findings demonstrate that power-exporting plants can have cross-border health effects and bolster the case for systematically evaluating their environmental impacts. - Highlights: ► We estimate the health effects of emissions from Mexican electric power plants exporting to the U.S. ► The plants have limited but nontrivial effects, mostly from particulate pollution in the U.S. ► We value these damages at more than half a million dollars per year. ► Hence, power-exporting plants can have significant cross-border health effects.
Human health impacts in the life cycle of future European electricity generation
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Treyer, Karin; Bauer, Christian; Simons, Andrew
2014-01-01
This paper presents Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) based quantification of the potential human health impacts (HHI) of base-load power generation technologies for the year 2030. Cumulative Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions per kWh electricity produced are shown in order to provide the basis for comparison with existing literature. Minimising negative impacts on human health is one of the key elements of policy making towards sustainable development: besides their direct impacts on quality of life, HHI also trigger other impacts, e.g. external costs in the health care system. These HHI are measured using the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods “ReCiPe” with its three different perspectives and “IMPACT2002+”. Total HHI as well as the shares of the contributing damage categories vary largely between these perspectives and methods. Impacts due to climate change, human toxicity, and particulate matter formation are the main contributors to total HHI. Independently of the perspective chosen, the overall impacts on human health from nuclear power and renewables are substantially lower than those caused by coal power, while natural gas can have lower HHI than nuclear and some renewables. Fossil fuel combustion as well as coal, uranium and metal mining are the life cycle stages generating the highest HHI. - Highlights: • Life cycle human health impacts (HHI) due to electricity production are analysed. • Results are shown for the three ReCiPe perspectives and IMPACT2002+LCIA method. • Total HHI of nuclear and renewables are much below those of fossil technologies. • Climate change and human toxicity contribute most to total HHI. • Fossil fuel combustion and coal mining are the most polluting life cycle stages
Wright, John; Parry, Jayne; Scully, Edward
2005-06-01
European Union (EU) Member States are interested in using health impact assessment (HIA) as a means of safeguarding their obligations to protect human health under the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam. However, several have encountered difficulties institutionalizing HIA with the policy-making process. As a consequence, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe has suggested coupling HIA with strategic environmental assessment (SEA). Traditionally, the incorporation of HIA into other forms of impact assessment has been resisted, for fear of losing its focus on health issues to environmental concerns, and compromising its social model of health with the introduction of biophysical indicators. But can these fears be substantiated? In this paper, we investigate the grounds for such concerns by reviewing the relevant policy documents and departmental guidelines of four non-European countries that have considered the use of integrated assessment. We found that the case for associating HIA with SEA in Europe is strong, and offers potential solutions to problems of screening, theoretical framework, causal pathways and ready entry to the policy process. Coupling HIA with SEA may thus be the next step forward in a longer journey towards institutionalizing HIA as an independent policy-linked device.
Turner, Lyle R; Alderman, Katarzyna; Connell, Des; Tong, Shilu
2013-03-22
Climate change presents risks to health that must be addressed by both decision-makers and public health researchers. Within the application of Environmental Health Impact Assessment (EHIA), there have been few attempts to incorporate climate change-related health risks as an input to the framework. This study used a focus group design to examine the perceptions of government, industry and academic specialists about the suitability of assessing the health consequences of climate change within an EHIA framework. Practitioners expressed concern over a number of factors relating to the current EHIA methodology and the inclusion of climate change-related health risks. These concerns related to the broad scope of issues that would need to be considered, problems with identifying appropriate health indicators, the lack of relevant qualitative information that is currently incorporated in assessment and persistent issues surrounding stakeholder participation. It was suggested that improvements are needed in data collection processes, particularly in terms of adequate communication between environmental and health practitioners. Concerns were raised surrounding data privacy and usage, and how these could impact on the assessment process. These findings may provide guidance for government and industry bodies to improve the assessment of climate change-related health risks.
A Review of the impact of the health literacy status of patients on ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Alasia Datonye
health, economic and social impacts; it will also discuss the implications for ... Key words: Low health literacy, healthcare impact, health outcomes. .... mouth every 6 hours as needed”. To test ... media and many more need to collaborate to take.
Zee-Neuen, A. van der; Putrik, P.; Ramiro, S.; Keszei, A.; Bie, R. de; Chorus, A.; Boonen, A.
2016-01-01
Objective: Chronic diseases are increasingly prevalent and often occur as multimorbidity. This study compares the impact of musculoskeletal disorders (MSKDs) on health and health care costs with other chronic diseases, and assesses the additional impact of MSKDs on these outcomes when occurring as
The Impact of Fiscal Policies on the Socioeconomic Determinants of Health.
Mosquera, Isabel; González-Rábago, Yolanda; Bacigalupe, Amaia; Suhrcke, Marc
2017-04-01
There has been considerable recent debate around the alleged impact of discretionary fiscal policies - especially austerity policies - on health and health inequalities. Assuming that most of the impact will have to run via the effect of fiscal policies on socioeconomic determinants of health (SDH), it is of interest to gain a further understanding of the relationship between fiscal policies and SDH. Therefore, the aim of this article is to review the recent evidence on the impact of discretionary fiscal policies on key SDH, i.e. income, poverty, education, and employment, in high income OECD countries. We find that there are no simple answers as to how fiscal policy affects those determinants of health. The effects of contractionary and expansionary fiscal policies on the analyzed SDH vary considerably across countries and will largely depend on the pre-crisis situation. Contractionary fiscal policies seem to have increased poverty, while their impact on income inequality will be influenced by the composition of the implemented measures. More empirical research trying to directly link fiscal policies to health outcomes, while taking into account of some of the mechanisms encountered here, would be worthwhile.
Building-related health impacts in European and Chinese cities: a scalable assessment method.
Tuomisto, Jouni T; Niittynen, Marjo; Pärjälä, Erkki; Asikainen, Arja; Perez, Laura; Trüeb, Stephan; Jantunen, Matti; Künzli, Nino; Sabel, Clive E
2015-12-14
Public health is often affected by societal decisions that are not primarily about health. Climate change mitigation requires intensive actions to minimise greenhouse gas emissions in the future. Many of these actions take place in cities due to their traffic, buildings, and energy consumption. Active climate mitigation policies will also, aside of their long term global impacts, have short term local impacts, both positive and negative, on public health. Our main objective was to develop a generic open impact model to estimate health impacts of emissions due to heat and power consumption of buildings. In addition, the model should be usable for policy comparisons by non-health experts on city level with city-specific data, it should give guidance on the particular climate mitigation questions but at the same time increase understanding on the related health impacts and the model should follow the building stock in time, make comparisons between scenarios, propagate uncertainties, and scale to different levels of detail. We tested The functionalities of the model in two case cities, namely Kuopio and Basel. We estimated the health and climate impacts of two actual policies planned or implemented in the cities. The assessed policies were replacement of peat with wood chips in co-generation of district heat and power, and improved energy efficiency of buildings achieved by renovations. Health impacts were not large in the two cities, but also clear differences in implementation and predictability between the two tested policies were seen. Renovation policies can improve the energy efficiency of buildings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly, but this requires systematic policy sustained for decades. In contrast, fuel changes in large district heating facilities may have rapid and large impacts on emissions. However, the life cycle impacts of different fuels is somewhat an open question. In conclusion, we were able to develop a practical model for city
Nutrition economics - characterising the economic and health impact of nutrition.
Lenoir-Wijnkoop, I; Dapoigny, M; Dubois, D; van Ganse, E; Gutiérrez-Ibarluzea, I; Hutton, J; Jones, P; Mittendorf, T; Poley, M J; Salminen, S; Nuijten, M J C
2011-01-01
There is a new merging of health economics and nutrition disciplines to assess the impact of diet on health and disease prevention and to characterise the health and economic aspects of specific changes in nutritional behaviour and nutrition recommendations. A rationale exists for developing the field of nutrition economics which could offer a better understanding of both nutrition, in the context of having a significant influence on health outcomes, and economics, in order to estimate the absolute and relative monetary impact of health measures. For this purpose, an expert meeting assessed questions aimed at clarifying the scope and identifying the key issues that should be taken into consideration in developing nutrition economics as a discipline that could potentially address important questions. We propose a first multidisciplinary outline for understanding the principles and particular characteristics of this emerging field. We summarise here the concepts and the observations of workshop participants and propose a basic setting for nutrition economics and health outcomes research as a novel discipline to support nutrition, health economics and health policy development in an evidence and health-benefit-based manner.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Fatemeh Azizi
2006-09-01
Full Text Available Background: Iran has received Afghan refugees for many years. Few studies have been done to assess psychiatric morbidity among Afghan refugees in Iran, especially those who are resettled in camps. This study has been designed to determine the prevalence of mental health problems and the associated demographic factors, in Afghan refugees resettled in Dalakee refugee camp of Bushehr Province, in 2005. Methods: In this cross-sectional survey, a Persian version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28 was administered to 321 resettled Afghan refugees with the minimum age of 15 years old who were randomly selected among 2200 residents of Dalakee refugee camp in Bushehr Province. Results: Among mental health subscales, the prevalence of social dysfunction, psychosomatic problem, anxiety and depression in the studied population were 80.1%, 48.9%, 39.3% and 22.1%, respectively. The total prevalence of mental health disorders in this camp was 88.5%. Male gender, living with more than eight persons per house, and being age ten or under at migration time were associated with higher level of social dysfunction. Higher rate of psychosomatic problem was associated with unemployment, being born in Iran, being age ten or under at migration time, and having no entertaining programs. Having 1-3 children, living with more than eight persons per house, and positive history of chronic disease were associated with higher level of anxiety. Having no entertaining programs, and family members' death during migration were associated with higher level of depression. Conclusion: Mental health problems related to immigration and living in camps, are common among Afghan refugees.
Current and future impact of osteoarthritis on health care
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Turkiewicz, A; Petersson, I F; Björk, J
2014-01-01
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the current and future (to year 2032) impact of osteoarthritis (OA) health care seeking. METHOD: Population-based study with prospectively ascertained data from the Skåne Healthcare Register (SHR), Sweden, encompassing more than 15 million person-years of primary and specia......OBJECTIVE: To estimate the current and future (to year 2032) impact of osteoarthritis (OA) health care seeking. METHOD: Population-based study with prospectively ascertained data from the Skåne Healthcare Register (SHR), Sweden, encompassing more than 15 million person-years of primary...
Comparing the health impacts of different energy sources
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hamilton, L.D.
1982-01-01
Assessing health impacts of different energy sources requires synthesis of research results from many different disciplines into a rational framework. Information is often scanty; qualitatively different risks, or energy systems with substantially different end uses, must be put on a common footing. Historically institutional constraints have inhibited agencies from making incisive intercomparisons necessary for formulating energy policy; this has exacerbated public controversy over appropriate energy sources. Risk assessment methods reviewed include examples drawn from work of the Biomedical and Environmental Assessment Division at Brookhaven National Laboratory and elsewhere. Uncertainty over the mechanism and size of air pollution health damage is addressed through a probabilistic health-damage function, using sulphate-particle exposure as an indicator. This facilitates intercomparison through analysis of each step in the whole fuel cycle between a typical coal and nuclear power plant. Occupational health impacts, a significant fraction of overall damage, are illustrated by accident trends in coal-mining. In broadening comparisons to include new technologies, one must include the impact of manufacturing the energy-producing device as part of an expanded fuel cycle, via input/output methods. Throughout the analysis, uncertainties must be made explicit in the results, including uncertainty of data and uncertainty in choice of appropriate models and methods. No single method of comparative risk assessment is fully satisfactory; each has its limitations. Several methods must be compared if decision-making is to be realistic. (author)
The health impact of tourism on local and indigenous populations in resource-poor countries.
Bauer, Irmgard
2008-09-01
In the vast Travel Health literature there is still a considerable dearth on tourism's impact on local communities. This review attempts to remedy the situation. Its focus is on potential health impacts on populations living at tourist destinations outside the industrialised world. To facilitate a better understanding of how health is linked to tourism today, a brief overview of the historical and theoretical evolution of tourism is presented. Ecotourism is given special attention as it is perceived as a version of the industry that is more benign on environment and people. After discussing Indigenous Tourism, a variety of potential health implications is outlined. These follow a previously suggested classification of indirect and direct impacts, with the indirect impacts being based on economic, environmental, socio-cultural and, more recently, political impacts, and the direct impacts originating from immediate encounters between tourism and people. Finally, the urgent need for more research is highlighted, and some solutions to minimize health impact are suggested.
Haby, Michelle M; Chapman, Evelina; Clark, Rachel; Galvão, Luiz A C
2016-04-01
Objective To inform policy by providing an overview of systematic reviews on interventions that facilitate sustainable energy use and have a positive impact on health. Methods Systematic review methods were used to synthesize evidence from multiple systematic reviews and economic evaluations through a comprehensive search of 13 databases and nine websites based on a pre-defined protocol, including clear inclusion criteria. Both grey and peer-reviewed literature published in English, Spanish, and Portuguese during the 17 years from January 1997 - January 2014 was included. To classify as "sustainable," interventions needed to aim to positively impact at least two dimensions of the integrated framework for sustainable development and include measures of health impact. Results Five systematic reviews and one economic evaluation met the inclusion criteria. The most promising interventions that impacted health were electricity for lighting and other uses (developing countries); improved stoves for cooking and health and/or cleaner fuels for cooking (developing countries); and household energy efficiency measures (developed countries). These interventions also had potential environmental and economic impacts. Their cost-effectiveness is not known, nor is their impact on health inequalities. Conclusions What is needed now is careful implementation of interventions where the impacts are likely to be positive but their implementation needs to be rigorously evaluated, including possible adverse impacts. Care needs to be taken not to exacerbate health inequalities and to consider context, human behavior and cultural factors so that the potential health benefits are realized in real-life implementation. Possible impact on health inequalities needs to be considered and measured in future primary studies and systematic reviews.
Quantitative health impact assessment: current practice and future directions
J.L. Veerman (Lennert); J.J.M. Barendregt (Jan); J.P. Mackenbach (Johan)
2005-01-01
textabstractSTUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess what methods are used in quantitative health impact assessment (HIA), and to identify areas for future research and development. DESIGN: HIA reports were assessed for (1) methods used to quantify effects of policy on determinants of health
Text messaging in health care: a systematic review of impact studies.
Yeager, Valerie A; Menachemi, Nir
2011-01-01
Studies suggest text messaging is beneficial to health care; however, no one has synthesized the overall evidence on texting interventions. In response to this need, we conducted a systematic review of the impacts of text messaging in health care. PubMed database searches and subsequent reference list reviews sought English-language, peer-reviewed studies involving text messaging in health care. Commentaries, conference proceedings, and feasibilities studies were excluded. Data was extracted using an article coding sheet and input into a database for analysis. Of the 61 papers reviewed, 50 articles (82%) found text messaging had a positive effect on the primary outcome. Average sample sizes in articles reporting positive findings (n=813) were significantly larger than those that did not find a positive impact (n=178) on outcomes (p = 0.032). Articles were categorized into focal groups as follows: 27 articles (44.3%) investigated the impact of texting on disease management, 24 articles (39.3%) focused texting's impact to public health related outcomes, and 10 articles (16.4%) examined texting and its influence on administrative processes. Articles in focal groups differed by the purpose of the study, direction of the communication, and where they were published, but not in likelihood of reporting a positive impact from texting. Current evidence indicates that text messaging health care interventions are largely beneficial clinically, in public health related uses, and in terms of administrative processes. However, despite the promise of these findings, literature gaps exist, especially in primary care settings, across geographic regions and with vulnerable populations.
Outcome and Impact Evaluation of a Transgender Health Course for Health Profession Students.
Braun, Hannan M; Garcia-Grossman, Ilana R; Quiñones-Rivera, Andrea; Deutsch, Madeline B
2017-02-01
Being transgender is associated with numerous health disparities, and transgender individuals face mistreatment and discrimination in healthcare settings. At the same time, healthcare professionals report inadequate preparation to care for transgender people, and patients often have to teach their own medical providers about transgender care. Our study aimed to evaluate the impact of an elective course for health profession students in transgender health that was implemented to address these gaps in provider knowledge. Students participated in a 10-session, lunch-hour elective course during the spring of 2015. To evaluate impact, course participants completed pre-, immediately post-, and 3-month postcourse questionnaires, including a previously validated nine-item transphobia scale, to determine the course's effect on knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about transgender health. Forty-six students completed the pre- and immediately postelective questionnaire (74% response rate). Compared with pre-elective surveys, immediately postelective scores demonstrated increased knowledge in most domains and reduced transphobia. Specific knowledge domains with improvements included terminology, best practices for collecting gender identity, awareness of the DSM-V gender dysphoria diagnosis, medications used for gender affirmation, and relevant federal policies. A previously validated transphobia scale was found to have good reliability in the current sample. This elective course led to positive short-term changes in measures of multiple knowledge domains and reduced measures of transphobia among health profession students. Further study is needed to assess the long-term impact. Our methods and findings, including the demonstration of reliability of a previously validated nine-item transphobia scale, serve as formative data for the future development of theory-based transgender medicine curricula and measures.
Fuertes Goñi, Maria Carmen; Elizalde, L; De Andrés, M R; García Castellano, P; Urmeneta, S; Uribe, J M; Bustince, P
2010-01-01
To describe utilisation of health care services and motives for consultation in Primary Care in the native and the immigrant population, and compare this with the perception of primary care professionals. Data was collected on health care activity during the year 2006 for all people registered (N=86,966) in the 6 basic health care zones with the highest proportion of immigrants (14.4%) and on the following variables: country of origin, age, sex, year of inscription in the public health service. The health card and OMI-AP programme databases were used. A qualitative methodology of focus groups and in-depth interviews was employed. Seventy-two point four percent of immigrants requested care from the primary care professionals in 2006, of whom 50% proceeded from Ecuador and 70% were between 25 and 44 years old. Eighty-two percent of the natives made consultations and required more referrals to specialised care than the immigrants of the same age group. The most frequent consultation with natives and with immigrants was "acute respiratory infections" (7 to 23% according to age group). The second most frequent with immigrants was "administrative problems". The consultations with immigrants were not related to preventive aspects such as smoking and there were more consultations (p>0.001) for gynaeco-obstetric episodes (10.7%) and those related to work (19%) or psychosomatic problems (8.5%). The perception of the primary care professionals was that the immigrants carry out more consultations than the natives and generate a certain "disorder" in the clinic. Immigrants use healthcare services less than the native population. Nonetheless, this fact is not perceived in this way by the primary care professionals. Fewer preventive activities are carried out with immigrants, who suffer from more labour and psychosomatic problems.
Environmental Impacts of the U.S. Health Care System and Effects on Public Health.
Eckelman, Matthew J; Sherman, Jodi
2016-01-01
The U.S. health care sector is highly interconnected with industrial activities that emit much of the nation's pollution to air, water, and soils. We estimate emissions directly and indirectly attributable to the health care sector, and potential harmful effects on public health. Negative environmental and public health outcomes were estimated through economic input-output life cycle assessment (EIOLCA) modeling using National Health Expenditures (NHE) for the decade 2003-2013 and compared to national totals. In 2013, the health care sector was also responsible for significant fractions of national air pollution emissions and impacts, including acid rain (12%), greenhouse gas emissions (10%), smog formation (10%) criteria air pollutants (9%), stratospheric ozone depletion (1%), and carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic air toxics (1-2%). The largest contributors to impacts are discussed from both the supply side (EIOLCA economic sectors) and demand side (NHE categories), as are trends over the study period. Health damages from these pollutants are estimated at 470,000 DALYs lost from pollution-related disease, or 405,000 DALYs when adjusted for recent shifts in power generation sector emissions. These indirect health burdens are commensurate with the 44,000-98,000 people who die in hospitals each year in the U.S. as a result of preventable medical errors, but are currently not attributed to our health system. Concerted efforts to improve environmental performance of health care could reduce expenditures directly through waste reduction and energy savings, and indirectly through reducing pollution burden on public health, and ought to be included in efforts to improve health care quality and safety.
Environmental Impacts of the U.S. Health Care System and Effects on Public Health.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Matthew J Eckelman
Full Text Available The U.S. health care sector is highly interconnected with industrial activities that emit much of the nation's pollution to air, water, and soils. We estimate emissions directly and indirectly attributable to the health care sector, and potential harmful effects on public health. Negative environmental and public health outcomes were estimated through economic input-output life cycle assessment (EIOLCA modeling using National Health Expenditures (NHE for the decade 2003-2013 and compared to national totals. In 2013, the health care sector was also responsible for significant fractions of national air pollution emissions and impacts, including acid rain (12%, greenhouse gas emissions (10%, smog formation (10% criteria air pollutants (9%, stratospheric ozone depletion (1%, and carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic air toxics (1-2%. The largest contributors to impacts are discussed from both the supply side (EIOLCA economic sectors and demand side (NHE categories, as are trends over the study period. Health damages from these pollutants are estimated at 470,000 DALYs lost from pollution-related disease, or 405,000 DALYs when adjusted for recent shifts in power generation sector emissions. These indirect health burdens are commensurate with the 44,000-98,000 people who die in hospitals each year in the U.S. as a result of preventable medical errors, but are currently not attributed to our health system. Concerted efforts to improve environmental performance of health care could reduce expenditures directly through waste reduction and energy savings, and indirectly through reducing pollution burden on public health, and ought to be included in efforts to improve health care quality and safety.
[Work in mental health: a job satisfaction and work impact study].
Rebouças, Denise; Abelha, Lúcia; Legay, Letícia Fortes; Lovisi, Giovanni Marcos
2008-03-01
Knowledge of job satisfaction and work impact among psychiatric staff is highly useful for policymakers and mental health professionals. Since there are few studies on this issue in Brazil, a cross-sectional study was carried out among mental health professionals. Data were collected for 133 professionals from 4 mental health services in Rio de Janeiro, using SATIS-BR and IMPACTO-BR scales and a socio-demographic questionnaire. Statistical associations were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and chi-square tests and multiple linear regression. SPSS 10.1 for Windows was used for statistical analyses. Mean satisfaction was 3.30 and mean work impact was 2.08 (on a scale from 1 to 5). 62.4% of subjects reported moderate satisfaction. Mental health workers with less schooling showed higher satisfaction. Work impact was not associated with any explanatory variable. The results for job satisfaction were similar to those of other studies. Work impact was very low. Unlike studies from the United States and Europe, there were no differences between the community-based and in-hospital staff.
Trichotillomania: the impact of treatment history on the outcome of an Internet-based intervention
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Weidt S
2017-04-01
Full Text Available Steffi Weidt,1 Annette Beatrix Bruehl,2,3 Aba Delsignore,1 Gwyneth Zai,2,4–6 Alexa Kuenburg,1 Richard Klaghofer,1 Michael Rufer1 1Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; 2Department of Psychiatry, Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; 3Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Psychiatry, Zurich, Switzerland; 4Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, 5Neurogenetics Section, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 6Department of Psychiatry, Frederick W. Thompson Anxiety Disorders Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada Background: Many patients suffering from trichotillomania (TTM have never undergone treatment. Without treatment, TTM often presents with a chronic course. Characteristics of TTM individuals who have never been treated (untreated remain largely unknown. Whether treatment history impacts Internet-based interventions has not yet been investigated. We aimed to answer whether Internet-based interventions can reach untreated individuals and whether treatment history is associated with certain characteristics and impacts on the outcome of an Internet-based intervention.Methods: We provided Internet-based interventions. Subjects were characterized at three time points using the Massachusetts General Hospital Hairpulling Scale, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire.Results: Of 105 individuals, 34 were untreated. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL was markedly impaired in untreated and treated individuals. Symptom severity did not differ between untreated and treated individuals. Nontreatment was associated with fewer depressive symptoms (P=0.002. Treatment history demonstrated no impact on the outcome of Internet-based interventions.Conclusion: Results
Turner, Lyle R.; Alderman, Katarzyna; Connell, Des; Tong, Shilu
2013-01-01
Climate change presents risks to health that must be addressed by both decision-makers and public health researchers. Within the application of Environmental Health Impact Assessment (EHIA), there have been few attempts to incorporate climate change-related health risks as an input to the framework. This study used a focus group design to examine the perceptions of government, industry and academic specialists about the suitability of assessing the health consequences of climate change within...
Harper, S L; Edge, V L; Cunsolo Willox, A
2012-03-01
Global climate change and its impact on public health exemplify the challenge of managing complexity and uncertainty in health research. The Canadian North is currently experiencing dramatic shifts in climate, resulting in environmental changes which impact Inuit livelihoods, cultural practices, and health. For researchers investigating potential climate change impacts on Inuit health, it has become clear that comprehensive and meaningful research outcomes depend on taking a systemic and transdisciplinary approach that engages local citizens in project design, data collection, and analysis. While it is increasingly recognised that using approaches that embrace complexity is a necessity in public health, mobilizing such approaches from theory into practice can be challenging. In 2009, the Rigolet Inuit Community Government in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Canada partnered with a transdisciplinary team of researchers, health practitioners, and community storytelling facilitators to create the Changing Climate, Changing Health, Changing Stories project, aimed at developing a multi-media participatory, community-run methodological strategy to gather locally appropriate and meaningful data to explore climate-health relationships. The goal of this profile paper is to describe how an EcoHealth approach guided by principles of transdisciplinarity, community participation, and social equity was used to plan and implement this climate-health research project. An overview of the project, including project development, research methods, project outcomes to date, and challenges encountered, is presented. Though introduced in this one case study, the processes, methods, and lessons learned are broadly applicable to researchers and communities interested in implementing EcoHealth approaches in community-based research.
SOLID WASTE FOR HEALTH: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT HEALTH AND FEEDBACK IN CASE-DISEASE
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Vanessa Cruz Santos
2008-05-01
Full Text Available Considering the reality of the city of Vitoria da Conquista, with regard to the handling and final provisions of solid waste, health, it becomes imperative to raise so reflective, environmental impact Resíduos sólidos de saúde: impacto ambiental... and harm to health caused by them. This aims to describe research on the environmental impacts generated by Solid Wastes of Health (RSS and its implicativos in the health-disease; reflect on the ethical point of view focusing on professional negligence on the part of these, identifying the responsibilities of each involved in context; propose suggestions for improvements to creation of specific areas and handling appropriate to their final destination, to promote a balance of the environment and a healthy life. Through bibliographic methods, descriptive and exploratory with empirical basis, it was emphasized the conduct of that employed the landfill council, whose information based on photographic images of the site, showing thus the breach of the rules of the National Environmental Council ( CONAMA, the resolution 5 / 93 establishing standards of environmental quality in ralação to RSS1. Among other bodies engaged in monitoring the performance of health standards, is also SURVEILLANCE OF DIRECTORS AND CONTROL HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT (DIVISAM 2. The situation, if not circumvented quickly, tends to increase the rates of infections caused by such waste and degradation of the environment due to the exorbitant amount of them, that the landfill receives daily from various establishments of health. To this apparatus pejorativo, perceives itself as a city seen as a model in health, and this concept is linked directly with the environment, once you see an unconnected with reality and nature, and this source and stage of human life and well divides his words as a form of protest or a coincidence "Natu Reza".
Solid waste for health: environmental impact health and feedback in case-disease
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Karla Ferraz dos Anjos
2008-01-01
Full Text Available Considering the reality of the city of Vitoria da Conquista, with regard to the handling and final provisions of solid waste, health, it becomes imperative to raise so reflective, environmental impact and harm to health caused by them. This aims to describe research on the environmental impacts generated by Solid Wastes of Health (RSS and its implicativos in the health-disease; reflect on the ethical point of view focusing on professional negligence on the part of these, identifying the responsibilities of each involved in context; propose suggestions for improvements to creation of specific areas and handling appropriate to their final destination, to promote a balance of the environment and a healthy life. Through bibliographic methods, descriptive and exploratory with empirical basis, it was emphasized the conduct of that employed the landfill council, whose information based on photographic images of the site, showing thus the breach of the rules of the National Environmental Council ( CONAMA, the resolution 5 / 93 establishing standards of environmental quality in ralação to RSS1. Among other bodies engaged in monitoring the performance of health standards, is also SURVEILLANCE OF DIRECTORS AND CONTROL HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT (DIVISAM 2. The situation, if not circumvented quickly, tends to increase the rates of infections caused by such waste and degradation of the environment due to the exorbitant amount of them, that the landfill receives daily from various establishments of health. To this apparatus pejorativo, perceives itself as a city seen as a model in health, and this concept is linked directly with the environment, once you see an unconnected with reality and nature, and this source and stage of human life and well divides his words as a form of protest or a coincidence "Natu Reza"
Evaluation of health and safety impacts of defense high-level waste in geologic repositories
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Smith, E.D.; Kocher, D.C.; Witherspoon, J.P.
1985-02-01
Pursuant to the requirement of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 that the President evaluate the use of commercial high-level waste repositories for the disposal of defense high-level wastes, a comparative assessment has been performed of the potential health and safety impacts of disposal of defense wastes in commercial or defense-only repositories. Simplified models were used to make quantitative estimates of both long- and short-term health and safety impacts of several options for defense high-level waste disposal. The results indicate that potential health and safety impacts are not likely to vary significantly among the different disposal options for defense wastes. Estimated long-term health and safety impacts from all defense-waste disposal options are somewhat less than those from commercial waste disposal, while short-term health and safety impacts appear to be insensitive to the differences between defense and commercial wastes. In all cases, potential health and safety impacts are small because of the need to meet stringent standards promulgated by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. We conclude that health and safety impacts should not be a significant factor in the choice of a disposal option for defense high-level wastes. 20 references, 14 tables
Mental strain among staff at medical rehabilitation clinics in Germany.
Koerner, Mirjam
2011-01-20
The aim of the study is to compare the frequency of mental strain effects on employees in somatic and psychosomatic rehabilitation clinics as well as between the different occupational groups. Associations between mental strain effects and working conditions, cooperation in the team and employee satisfaction are also investigated. The present study is cross-sectional with a descriptive-explorative design. It is composed of a survey with standardized questionnaires (Human Service Workload, Questionnaire on Teamwork and Questionnaire on Staff Satisfaction in Medical Rehabilitation) and global items, and was conducted among all employees of twelve rehabilitation teams (five somatic and seven psychosomatic rehabilitation clinics (n=549)). The response rate of the survey averaged 45% (n=252). One in four participants reported being emotionally exhausted. There were significantly more emotionally exhausted employees working in the psychosomatic (31%) than in the somatic rehabilitation clinics (16%) (X(2)=7.403, df=1, pemployee satisfaction (r=-.38 to r=-.50, pintrinsic motivation, dissatisfaction). The results clearly show that the employees in medical rehabilitation clinics have a high stress level at work, a situation which is also known in other health care organizations. Observations of strong associations between cooperation in the team and strain effects confirm the positive impact of social support in the daily work routine. Correlation between the subjective appraisal of working conditions and the impact of strain is mostly high. It can be assumed that the strain effects can be influenced positively with supportive team and human resource development (person-related interventions) and interventions that enhance working conditions (condition-related interventions).
Impacts of a Documentary about Masculinity and Men's Health.
King, Kylie; Schlichthorst, Marisa; Reifels, Lennart; Keogh, Louise; Spittal, Matthew J; Phelps, Andrea; Pirkis, Jane
2018-05-01
As part of a larger study, we developed a three-part documentary called Man Up that explored the relationship between masculinity, mental health, and suicide. In this study, we examine in detail the qualitative feedback provided by those who viewed Man Up, in order to gain a more in-depth understanding of its impact on them. A total of 169 participants provided qualitative feedback via an online survey 4 weeks after viewing Man Up. We examined their opinions about the show and whether they reported any changes in their attitudes and/or behaviors as a result of watching it. All the men who provided feedback on Man Up were overwhelmingly positive about it. The majority reported significant and profound impacts of viewing the documentary. They reported being more aware of others, more willing to help others, and more open about their emotions and problems, as well as demonstrating associated behavioral changes related to helping others and being more emotionally expressive. The data presented here demonstrate the potential for men's health outcomes to be positively impacted by novel, media-based public health interventions.
How do we define the policy impact of public health research? A systematic review.
Alla, Kristel; Hall, Wayne D; Whiteford, Harvey A; Head, Brian W; Meurk, Carla S
2017-10-02
In order to understand and measure the policy impact of research we need a definition of research impact that is suited to the task. This article systematically reviewed both peer-reviewed and grey literature for definitions of research impact to develop a definition of research impact that can be used to investigate how public health research influences policy. Keyword searches of the electronic databases Web of Science, ProQuest, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Informit, PsycINFO, The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Google Scholar were conducted between August 2015 and April 2016. Keywords included 'definition' and 'policy' and 'research impact' or 'research evidence'. The search terms 'health', public health' or 'mental health' and 'knowledge transfer' or 'research translation' were used to focus the search on relevant health discipline approaches. Studies included in the review described processes, theories or frameworks associated with public health, health services or mental health policy. We identified 108 definitions in 83 publications. The key findings were that literature on research impact is growing, but only 23% of peer-reviewed publications on the topic explicitly defined the term and that the majority (76%) of definitions were derived from research organisations and funding institutions. We identified four main types of definition, namely (1) definitions that conceptualise research impacts in terms of positive changes or effects that evidence can bring about when transferred into policies (example Research Excellence Framework definition), (2) definitions that interpret research impacts as measurable outcomes (Research Councils UK), and (3) bibliometric and (4) use-based definitions. We identified four constructs underpinning these definitions that related to concepts of contribution, change, avenues and levels of impact. The dominance of bureaucratic definitions, the tendency to discuss but not define the concept of research impact, and the
The critical role of psychosomatics in promoting a new perspective upon health and disease.
Dragoş, Dorin; Tănăsescu, Maria Daniela
2009-01-01
In an evolutionary model, health and disease are regarded as successful and respectively failed adaptation to the demands of the environment. The social factors are critical for a successful adaptation, while emotions are means of both signaling the organism's state and of adapting the physiological responses to environmental challenges. Hence the importance of a biopsychosocial model of health and disease. Psychoemotional distress generates and/or amplifies somatic symptoms. Somatization may be viewed as an altered cognitive process, inclining the individual to an augmented perception of bodily sensations and to an increased degree of complexity in reporting negative experiences (hence the greater cognitive effort allocated thereto). Somatosensory amplification and alexithymia are key elements in this process. The brain's right hemisphere is more involved in the generation of emotionally conditioned somatization symptoms. Somatic symptoms have various psychological and social functions and are strongly influenced by the particular belief system of the individual. Inappropriately perceiving the environment as an aggressor and excessively responding to it (by activating the cytokine system in correlation with the arousal of the psychic, nervous, and endocrine systems) may be a key element in the altered cognition conducive to ill health.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Shilu Tong
2013-03-01
Full Text Available Climate change presents risks to health that must be addressed by both decision-makers and public health researchers. Within the application of Environmental Health Impact Assessment (EHIA, there have been few attempts to incorporate climate change-related health risks as an input to the framework. This study used a focus group design to examine the perceptions of government, industry and academic specialists about the suitability of assessing the health consequences of climate change within an EHIA framework. Practitioners expressed concern over a number of factors relating to the current EHIA methodology and the inclusion of climate change-related health risks. These concerns related to the broad scope of issues that would need to be considered, problems with identifying appropriate health indicators, the lack of relevant qualitative information that is currently incorporated in assessment and persistent issues surrounding stakeholder participation. It was suggested that improvements are needed in data collection processes, particularly in terms of adequate communication between environmental and health practitioners. Concerns were raised surrounding data privacy and usage, and how these could impact on the assessment process. These findings may provide guidance for government and industry bodies to improve the assessment of climate change-related health risks.
Bhatia, Rajiv; Wernham, Aaron
2008-08-01
The National Environmental Policy Act and related state laws require many public agencies to analyze and disclose potentially significant environmental effects of agency actions, including effects on human health. In this paper we review the purpose and procedures of environmental impact assessment (EIA), existing regulatory requirements for health effects analysis, and potential barriers to and opportunities for improving integration of human health concerns within the EIA process. We use statutes, regulations, guidelines, court opinions, and empirical research on EIA along with recent case examples of integrated health impact assessment (HIA)/EIA at both the state and federal level. We extract lessons and recommendations for integrated HIA/EIA practice from both existing practices as well as case studies. The case studies demonstrate the adequacy, scope, and power of existing statutory requirements for health analysis within EIA. The following support the success of integrated HIA/EIA: a proponent recognizing EIA as an available regulatory strategy for public health; the openness of the agency conducting the EIA; involvement of public health institutions; and complementary objectives among community stakeholders and health practitioners. We recommend greater collaboration among institutions responsible for EIA, public health institutions, and affected stakeholders along with guidance, resources, and training for integrated HIA/EIA practice.
Kelly, Muireann; Wills, Jane; Sykes, Susie
2017-11-01
There is a growing expectation in national and international policy and from professional bodies that nurses be role models for healthy behaviours, the rationale being that there is a relationship between nurses' personal health and the adoption of healthier behaviours by patients. This may be from patients being motivated by, and modelling, the visible healthy lifestyle of the nurse or that nurses are more willing to promote the health of their patients by offering public health or health promotion advice and referring the patient to support services. An integrated systematic review was conducted to determine if nurses' personal health behaviour impacted on (1) their health promotion practices, and (2) patient responses to a health promotion message. Medline, CINAHL, SCOPUS, and PsycINFO databases were searched. A narrative synthesis was conducted. 31 studies were included in the review. No consistent associations were noted between nurses' weight, alcohol use, or physical activity level and their health promotion practice, although smoking appeared to negatively impact on the likelihood of discussing and engaging in cessation counselling. Nurses who reported confidence and skills around health promotion practice were more likely to raise lifestyle issues with patients, irrespective of their own personal health behaviours. The two studies included in the review that examined patient responses noted that the perceived credibility of a public health message was not enhanced by being delivered by a nurse who reported adopting healthy behaviours. Although it is assumed that nurses' personal health behaviour influences their health promotion practice, there is little evidence to support this. The assertion in health care policy that nurses should be role models for healthy behaviours assumes a causal relationship between their health behaviours and the patient response and adoption of public health messages that is not borne out by the research evidence. Copyright
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rosenkotter, N.; Vondeling, H.; Blancquaert, I.
2011-01-01
contribute to the systematic translation and assessment of genomic health applications by focussing at population level and on public health policy making. It is shown to what extent HTA, HNA and HIA contribute to translational research by using the continuum of translational research (T1-T4) in genomic...... into the impact on public health and health care practice of those technologies that are actually introduced. This paper aims to give an overview of the major assessment instruments in public health [ health technology assessment (HTA), health needs assessment (HNA) and health impact assessment (HIA)] which could...... medicine as an analytic framework. The selected assessment methodologies predominantly cover 2 to 4 phases within the T1-T4 system. HTA delivers the most complete set of methodologies when assessing health applications. HNA can be used to prioritize areas where genomic health applications are needed...
Environment, Health and Climate: Impact of African aerosols
Liousse, C.; Doumbia, T.; Assamoi, E.; Galy-Lacaux, C.; Baeza, A.; Penner, J. E.; Val, S.; Cachier, H.; Xu, L.; Criqui, P.
2012-12-01
Fossil fuel and biofuel emissions of particles in Africa are expected to significantly increase in the near future, particularly due to rapid growth of African cities. In addition to biomass burning emissions prevailing in these areas, air quality degradation is then expected with important consequences on population health and climatic/radiative impact. In our group, we are constructing a new integrated methodology to study the relations between emissions, air quality and their impacts. This approach includes: (1) African combustion emission characterizations; (2) joint experimental determination of aerosol chemistry from ultrafine to coarse fractions and health issues (toxicology and epidemiology). (3) integrated environmental, health and radiative modeling. In this work, we show some results illustrating our first estimates of African anthropogenic emission impacts: - a new African anthropogenic emission inventory adapted to regional specificities on traffic, biofuel and industrial emissions has been constructed for the years 2005 and 2030. Biomass burning inventories were also improved in the frame of AMMA (African Monsoon) program. - carbonaceous aerosol radiative impact in Africa has been modeled with TM5 model and Penner et al. (2011) radiative code for these inventories for 2005 and 2030 and for two scenarios of emissions : a reference scenario, with no further emission controls beyond those achieved in 2003 and a ccc* scenario including planned policies in Kyoto protocol and regulations as applied to African emission specificities. In this study we will show that enhanced heating is expected with the ccc* scenarios emissions in which the OC fraction is relatively lower than in the reference scenario. - results of short term POLCA intensive campaigns in Bamako and Dakar in terms of aerosol chemical characterization linked to specific emissions sources and their inflammatory impacts on the respiratory tract through in vitro studies. In this study, organic
Impact of climate change on human health and health systems in ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
It is therefore important that Tanzania prepares itself to appropriately address CC impact on human health. It is equally important that policy makers and other stakeholders are engaged in a process to update and adapt priorities, mobilize resources and build interdisciplinary research and implementation capacity on climate ...
Marijuana Legalization: Impact on Physicians and Public Health.
Wilkinson, Samuel T; Yarnell, Stephanie; Radhakrishnan, Rajiv; Ball, Samuel A; D'Souza, Deepak Cyril
2016-01-01
Marijuana is becoming legal in an increasing number of states for both medical and recreational use. Considerable controversy exists regarding the public health impact of these changes. The evidence for the legitimate medical use of marijuana or cannabinoids is limited to a few indications, notably HIV/AIDS cachexia, nausea/vomiting related to chemotherapy, neuropathic pain, and spasticity in multiple sclerosis. Although cannabinoids show therapeutic promise in other areas, robust clinical evidence is still lacking. The relationship between legalization and prevalence is still unknown. Although states where marijuana use is legal have higher rates of use than nonlegal states, these higher rates were generally found even prior to legalization. As states continue to proceed with legalization for both medical and recreational use, certain public health issues have become increasingly relevant, including the effects of acute marijuana intoxication on driving abilities, unintentional ingestion of marijuana products by children, the relationship between marijuana and opioid use, and whether there will be an increase in health problems related to marijuana use, such as dependence/addiction, psychosis, and pulmonary disorders. In light of this rapidly shifting legal landscape, more research is urgently needed to better understand the impact of legalization on public health.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Stylianou, Katerina S.; Fantke, Peter; Fulgoni, Victor L.
2017-01-01
Nutritional effects from the 'use stage' of the life cycle of food products can have a substantial effect on human health; yet, they are often not considered in life cycle assessment (LCA). In this study we explore the trade-offs between environmental and nutritional health effects associated wit...... be extended to other human health impacts (e.g. water use) and used in making sustainable diets decisions.[GRAPHICS]...... diet could result in an avoided health impact of 19.0 mu DALY (respective avoided impact for vegetables: 5.25 mu DALY). Overall, adding one fruits serving to the average US diet may lead to substantial health benefits: nutrition-related avoided impact (benefit) is 50 times higher than environmental...... health impacts (Figure 2). The benefit is slightly enhanced when increased fruit intake is substituted by food associated with adverse health outcomes, such as trans-fat and red meat, with the benefit mainly linked to avoided nutritional health impact. Benefits exceed impacts even when considering...
[Health impact of ozone in 13 Italian cities].
Mitis, Francesco; Iavarone, Ivano; Martuzzi, Marco
2007-01-01
to estimate the health impact of ozone in 13 Italian cities over 200,000 inhabitants and to produce basic elements to permit the reproducibility of the study in other urban locations. the following data have been used: population data (2001), health data (2001 or from scientific literature), environmental data (2002-2004), from urban background monitoring station and concentration/response risk coefficients derived from recent metanalyses. The indicators SOMO35 and SOMO0 have been used as a proxi of the average exposure to calcolate attributable deaths (and years of life lost) and several causes of morbility for ozone concentrations over 70 microg/m3. acute mortality for all causes and for cardiovascular mortality, respiratory-related hospital admissions in elderly, asthma exacerbation in children and adults, minor restricted activity days, lower respiratory symptoms in children. over 500 (1900) deaths, the 0.6% (2.1%) of total mortality, equivalent to about 6000 (22,000) years of life lost are attributable to ozone levels over 70 microg/m3 in the 13 Italian cities under study. Larger figures, in the order of thousands, are attributable to less severe morbidity outcomes. The health impact of ozone in Italian towns is relevant in terms of acute mortality and morbidity, although less severe than PM10 impact. Background ozone levels are increasing. Abatement strategies for ozone concentrations should consider the whole summer and not only "peak" days and look at policies limiting the concentration of precursors produced by traffic sources. Relevant health benefits can be obtained also under levels proposed as guidelines in the present environmental regulations.
Allied health research positions: a qualitative evaluation of their impact.
Wenke, Rachel J; Ward, Elizabeth C; Hickman, Ingrid; Hulcombe, Julie; Phillips, Rachel; Mickan, Sharon
2017-02-06
Research positions embedded within healthcare settings have been identified as an enabler to allied health professional (AHP) research capacity; however, there is currently limited research formally evaluating their impact. In 2008, a Health Practitioner industrial agreement funded a research capacity building initiative within Queensland Health, Australia, which included 15 new allied health research positions. The present project used a qualitative and realist approach to explore the impact of these research positions, as well as the mechanisms which facilitated or hindered their success within their respective organisations. Forty-four AHP employees from six governmental health services in Queensland, Australia, participated in the study. Individual interviews were undertaken, with individuals in research positions (n = 8) and their reporting line managers (n = 8). Four stakeholder focus groups were also conducted with clinicians, team leaders and professional heads who had engaged with the research positions. Nine key outcomes of the research positions were identified across individual, team/service and organisational/community levels. These outcomes included clinician skill development, increased research activity, clinical and service changes, increased research outputs and collaborations, enhanced research and workplace culture, improved profile of allied health, development of research infrastructure, and professional development of individuals in the research positions. Different mechanisms that influenced these outcomes were identified. These mechanisms were grouped by those related to the (1) research position itself, (2) organisational factors and (3) implementation factors. The present findings highlight the potential value of the research positions for individuals, teams and clinical services across different governmental healthcare services, and demonstrate the impact of the roles on building the internal and external profile of allied health
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
NONE
2005-09-15
The report made by a working group is written for experts in health risk assessment or for professionals involved in risk management. It proposes a methodological and conceptual framework which could build a unified approach to a quantitative assessment of health risks. In the first part, under the form of questions and answers, it defines the health impact, describes how to assess the excess of individual risk and the related hypothesis, how to pass from the excess of individual risk to the health impact, how to express the results of an health impact calculation, how to take the lack of knowledge into account at the different steps of this calculation, what is the significance of the result of such a calculation, and how useful an health impact assessment can be. The second part proposes a more detailed presentation of the scientific background for the health impact calculation with its indicators, its uncertainties, its practice in other countries, its relevance, and its fields of application. Then, after a comment of the dose-response relationship, it reports the scientific validity of the assessment of a number of cases.
The short-term impacts of Earned Income Tax Credit disbursement on health.
Rehkopf, David H; Strully, Kate W; Dow, William H
2014-12-01
There are conflicting findings regarding long- and short-term effects of income on health. Whereas higher average income is associated with better health, there is evidence that health behaviours worsen in the short-term following income receipt.Prior studies revealing such negative short-term effects of income receipt focus on specific subpopulations and examine a limited set of health outcomes. The United States Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is an income supplement tied to work, and is the largest poverty reduction programme in the USA. We utilize the fact that EITC recipients typically receive large cash transfers in the months of February,March and April, in order to examine associated changes in health outcomes that can fluctuate on a monthly basis. We examine associations with 30 outcomes in the categories of diet, food security, health behaviours, cardiovascular biomarkers, metabolic biomarkers and infection and immunity among 6925 individuals from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Survey. Our research design approximates a natural experiment,since whether individuals were sampled during treatment or non-treatment months is independent of social, demographic and health characteristics that do not vary with time. There are both beneficial and detrimental short-term impacts of income receipt.Although there are detrimental impacts on metabolic factors among women, most other impacts are beneficial, including those for food security, smoking and trying to lose weight. The short-term impacts of EITC income receipt are not universally health promoting, but on balance there are more health benefits than detriments.
Impact evaluation on health: three case studies for Colombia
Gaviria Garces, Carlos Felipe
2017-01-01
The present work uses impact evaluation tools in health economics to analyze three different issues in Colombia. The first issue is how losing health insurance for young adults affects medical service usage and health outcomes. Results show that losing health insurance when turning 18 years old increases visits to the ED, reduces preventive care visits with a physician, and increases the usage of private medical services (out-of-pocket) for young adults. For the second issue, we measure how e...
Mental Health Status and Relevant Factors of the Patients with Hepatitis B%乙肝患者心理健康状况及有关因素的调查
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
梁秀娥; 任秋芸
2001-01-01
Objective:To study the the mental health and relevant factors of patients with hepatitis B. Methods: 58 cases of patients with hepatitis B were assessed with the Social Support Scale, Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), Trait Coping Questionnaire and compared with healthy person. Results: All patients had obvious psychosomatic symptoms. The mental health level was negatively correlated with postive coping style and social support. Conclusion: Several psychosocial factors played an important role in the onset and trealment of Hepatitis B disease.
Ghislandi, Simone; Manachotphong, Wanwiphang; Perego, Viviana M E
2015-07-01
Thailand is among the first non-OECD countries to have introduced a form of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). This policy represents a natural experiment to evaluate the effects of public health insurance on health behaviours. In this paper, we examine the impact of Thailand's UHC programme on preventive activities, unhealthy or risky behaviours and health care consumption using data from the Thai Health and Welfare Survey. We use doubly robust estimators that combine propensity scores and linear regressions to estimate differences-in-differences (DD) and differences-in-DD models. Our results offer important insights. First, UHC increases individuals' likelihood of having an annual check-up, especially among women. Regarding health care consumption, we observe that UHC increases hospital admissions by over 2% and increases outpatient visits by 13%. However, there is no evidence that UHC leads to an increase in unhealthy behaviours or a reduction of preventive efforts. In other words, we find no evidence of ex ante moral hazard. Overall, these findings suggest positive health impacts among the Thai population covered by UHC.
Habermas, T
1992-01-01
German-language publications on anorexia nervosa and Simmonds' disease from between 1900 and 1945 are reviewed in order to trace factors inherent in medical thinking which have mostly hindered German-language medicine in understanding anorexia nervosa. It is demonstrated that a) the few German-language physicians who did describe central and possible characteristics of a.n. (weight-phobia, overactivity, bulimia, self-induced vomiting) were enabled to do so by valuing detailed clinical description, also of psychic characteristics, and an interest in the neuroses; b) the concept of anorexia nervosa was better known than previously assumed, though largely misunderstood; c) typical diagnostic misinterpretations led to typical biases in the description of the syndrome; d) in Germany more than in other countries a.n. was confounded with Simmonds' disease; and e) in addition to other factors, one reason for this lay in the 'holistic' ideal of psychosomatic medicine in the 1930s.
Oral health impact on quality of life assessment among dental patients in Bangalore city
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Y Pradeep
2014-01-01
Full Text Available Introduction: Over the past few decades mankind has been mainly affected with chronic noncommunicable diseases, which led to compromised quality of life. Common dental diseases come under same categories that are largely social and behavioral in origin. Health-related quality of life helps us address the limitations of traditional clinical indicators of health. Aim: To measure the impact of oral health on quality of life among patients visiting dental teaching hospitals and private clinics in Bangalore city using oral health-related quality of life (OHQoL - U.K index. Materials and Methods: A total of 1200 individuals who are above 16-year of age were selected through stratified cluster random sampling technique for this study. Data were collected using OHQoL-U.K instrument. Results: Most of the subjects (78% perceived their oral health as impacting their quality of life. Many participants perceived their oral health had positive impact on life quality through enhancing their smile, appearance, speech. But 44.9% and 28.5% of respondents said their oral health has a negative impact on quality of life because of breath odor and finance respectively. Subjects are belonging to lower socioeconomic background, women and older adults (>45 years perceived their oral health has a negative impact on quality of life compared to subjects from higher social class, men and young adults. Conclusion: Oral health has more impact on physical and functional aspects rather than on social and psychological domains.
Assessment of the health impacts of the 2011 summer floods in Brisbane.
Alderman, Katarzyna; Turner, Lyle R; Tong, Shilu
2013-08-01
To assess the effects of the 2011 floods in Brisbane, Australia, on residents' physical and mental health. Residents who had been affected by the floods completed a community-based survey that examined the direct impact of flooding on households and their perceived physical and mental health. Outcome variables included overall and respiratory health and mental health outcomes related to psychological distress, sleep quality, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association between flooding and perceived health outcome variables, adjusted for current health status and sociodemographic factors. Residents whose households were directly affected by flooding were more likely to report poor overall (Odds Ratio [OR] 5.3; 95% CI, 2.8-10.1) and respiratory (OR 2.3; 95% CI, 1.1-4.6) health, psychological distress (OR 1.9; 95% CI, 1.1-3.5), poor sleep quality (OR 2.3; 95% CI, 1.2-4.4), and probable PTSD (OR 2.3; 95% CI, 1.2-4.5). The 2011 Brisbane floods had significant impact on the physical and psychosocial health of residents. Improved support strategies may need to be integrated into existing disaster management programs to reduce flood-related health impacts, particularly those related to mental health.
DYNAMO-HIA--a Dynamic Modeling tool for generic Health Impact Assessments.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Stefan K Lhachimi
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Currently, no standard tool is publicly available that allows researchers or policy-makers to quantify the impact of policies using epidemiological evidence within the causal framework of Health Impact Assessment (HIA. A standard tool should comply with three technical criteria (real-life population, dynamic projection, explicit risk-factor states and three usability criteria (modest data requirements, rich model output, generally accessible to be useful in the applied setting of HIA. With DYNAMO-HIA (Dynamic Modeling for Health Impact Assessment, we introduce such a generic software tool specifically designed to facilitate quantification in the assessment of the health impacts of policies. METHODS AND RESULTS: DYNAMO-HIA quantifies the impact of user-specified risk-factor changes on multiple diseases and in turn on overall population health, comparing one reference scenario with one or more intervention scenarios. The Markov-based modeling approach allows for explicit risk-factor states and simulation of a real-life population. A built-in parameter estimation module ensures that only standard population-level epidemiological evidence is required, i.e. data on incidence, prevalence, relative risks, and mortality. DYNAMO-HIA provides a rich output of summary measures--e.g. life expectancy and disease-free life expectancy--and detailed data--e.g. prevalences and mortality/survival rates--by age, sex, and risk-factor status over time. DYNAMO-HIA is controlled via a graphical user interface and is publicly available from the internet, ensuring general accessibility. We illustrate the use of DYNAMO-HIA with two example applications: a policy causing an overall increase in alcohol consumption and quantifying the disease-burden of smoking. CONCLUSION: By combining modest data needs with general accessibility and user friendliness within the causal framework of HIA, DYNAMO-HIA is a potential standard tool for health impact assessment based
A systematic review of the health impacts of mass Earth movements (landslides).
Kennedy, Iain T R; Petley, Dave N; Williams, Richard; Murray, Virginia
2015-04-30
Background. Mass ground movements (commonly referred to as 'landslides') are common natural hazards that can have significant economic, social and health impacts. They occur as single events, or as clusters, and are often part of 'disaster' chains, occurring secondary to, or acting as the precursor of other disaster events. Whilst there is a large body of literature on the engineering and geological aspects of landslides, the mortality and morbidity caused by landslides is less well documented. As far as we are aware, this is the first systematic review to examine the health impacts of landslides. Methods. The MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, SCOPUS databases and the Cochrane library were systematically searched to identify articles which considered the health impacts of landslides. Case studies, case series, primary research and systematic reviews were included. News reports, editorials and non-systematic reviews were excluded. Only articles in English were considered. The references of retrieved papers were searched to identify additional articles. Findings. 913 abstracts were reviewed and 143 full text articles selected for review. A total of 27 papers reporting research studies were included in the review (25 from initial search, 1 from review of references and 1 from personal correspondence). We found a limited number of studies on the physical health consequences of landslides. Only one study provided detail of the causes of mortality and morbidity in relation a landslide event. Landslides cause significant mental health impacts, in particular the prevalence of PTSD may be higher after landslides than other types of disaster, though these studies tend to be older with only 3 papers published in the last 5 years, with 2 being published 20 years ago, and diagnostic criteria have changed since they were produced. Discussion. We were disappointed at the small number of relevant studies, and the generally poor documentation of the health impacts of landslides. Mental
Global health impacts due to infectious diseases and climate change: A narrative review
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sameera Karnik
2013-01-01
Full Text Available According to the World Health Organization (WHO, environment is explained in terms of human health, such as physical, chemical and biological factors that are external to a person and all the related behavioral changes that affect population health. Quality of life and health is generally affected by people’s interaction with the environment.The purpose of this narrative review was to address various global health impacts such as heat wave impact, impact of floods and droughts, impact of allergens and impact of air pollution. A major emphasis of this review was on climatic impact on a variety of infectious diseases, particularly the interplay between ‘global warming’ and its effects on transmission of infectious diseases across the world. An analysis of vector borne disease transmission, infectious disease transmission modeling, in the backdrop of global warming, the concept of ‘one health’ and the effects of rising sea levels, which are purported to be due to global warming, were some of the highlighted issues addressed in this review. Towards the end, attention was drawn towards the limitations of addressing vector disease transmission related insufficient studies particularly studies which conduct predictive modeling of infectious disease transmission, which were marred by lack of innovation.
Global health impacts due to infectious diseases and climate change: A narrative review
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sameera Karnik
2013-05-01
Full Text Available According to the World Health Organization (WHO, environment is explained in terms of human health, such as physical, chemical and biological factors that are external to a person and all the related behavioral changes that affect population health. Quality of life and health is generally affected by people’s interaction with the environment.The purpose of this narrative review was to address various global health impacts such as heat wave impact, impact of floods and droughts, impact of allergens and impact of air pollution. A major emphasis of this review was on climatic impact on a variety of infectious diseases, particularly the interplay between ‘global warming’ and its effects on transmission of infectious diseases across the world. An analysis of vector borne disease transmission, infectious disease transmission modeling, in the backdrop of global warming, the concept of ‘one health’ and the effects of rising sea levels, which are purported to be due to global warming, were some of the highlighted issues addressed in this review. Towards the end, attention was drawn towards the limitations of addressing vector disease transmission related insufficient studies particularly studies which conduct predictive modeling of infectious disease transmission, which were marred by lack of innovation.
Health and safety impacts of renewable, geothermal, and rusion energy
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Holdren, J.P.; Anderson, K.B.; Deibler, P.M.; Gleick, P.H.; Mintzer, I.M.; Morris, G.P.
1983-01-01
The public may view many renewable energy sources as having no direct public impacts because they produce no pollutants during normal operation. However, these energy technologies produce health impacts during their fabricatin and construction, and also through the materials-supply sectors required to support them. This survey of the health risks associated with renewable energy technologies concludes that some of the renewable options have particular promise for reducing health and environmental costs per unit of energy delivered to well below levels associated with the use of oil and coal; Holdren and his co-authors feel that few, if any, pose the indirect threats of fossil fuels and nuclear fission. 46 references, 7 tables
Validation of public health competencies and impact variables for low- and middle-income countries
2014-01-01
Background The number of Master of Public Health (MPH) programmes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is increasing, but questions have been raised regarding the relevance of their outcomes and impacts on context. Although processes for validating public health competencies have taken place in recent years in many high-income countries, validation in LMICs is needed. Furthermore, impact variables of MPH programmes in the workplace and in society have not been developed. Method A set of public health competencies and impact variables in the workplace and in society was designed using the competencies and learning objectives of six participating institutions offering MPH programmes in or for LMICs, and the set of competencies of the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice as a reference. The resulting competencies and impact variables differ from those of the Council on Linkages in scope and emphasis on social determinants of health, context specificity and intersectoral competencies. A modified Delphi method was used in this study to validate the public health competencies and impact variables; experts and MPH alumni from China, Vietnam, South Africa, Sudan, Mexico and the Netherlands reviewed them and made recommendations. Results The competencies and variables were validated across two Delphi rounds, first with public health experts (N = 31) from the six countries, then with MPH alumni (N = 30). After the first expert round, competencies and impact variables were refined based on the quantitative results and qualitative comments. Both rounds showed high consensus, more so for the competencies than the impact variables. The response rate was 100%. Conclusion This is the first time that public health competencies have been validated in LMICs across continents. It is also the first time that impact variables of MPH programmes have been proposed and validated in LMICs across continents. The high degree of consensus between
Impact of trismus on health-related quality of life and mental health.
Johnson, Joakim; Johansson, Mia; Rydén, Anna; Houltz, Erik; Finizia, Caterina
2015-11-01
Trismus is a common symptom often related to the treatment for head and neck cancer and to temporomandibular disorders. The purpose of the present study was to measure the impact of trismus on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and mental health in patients with head and neck cancer and temporomandibular disorder. We used the criteria for trismus of maximum interincisal opening (MIO) ≤35 mm and the study subjects responded to the following instruments: the Gothenburg Trismus Questionnaire (GTQ), the Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The study also comprised an age-matched and sex-matched control group without trismus. Patients with trismus reported significantly more dysfunction in all GTQ domains and more facial pain compared to the control group. The patients with head and neck cancer and trismus scored significantly lower on all SF-36 domains except general health compared to the control group, and the patients with temporomandibular disorder with trismus scored significantly lower in 3 of the 8 domains in SF-36. According to the HADS, a greater proportion of patients with head and neck cancer with trismus displayed more depression compared to the control group. The results showed that trismus is associated with a significant impact on HRQOL and that patients with trismus should be approached in a holistic way with respect for the underlying cause, treating not only the physical aspects of trismus but also addressing the patients' mental health. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Global health and economic impacts of future ozone pollution
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Selin, N E; Nam, K M; Reilly, J M; Paltsev, S; Prinn, R G; Webster, M D; Wu, S
2009-01-01
We assess the human health and economic impacts of projected 2000-2050 changes in ozone pollution using the MIT Emissions Prediction and Policy Analysis - Health Effects (EPPA-HE) model, in combination with results from the GEOS-Chem global tropospheric chemistry model of climate and chemistry effects of projected future emissions. We use EPPA-HE to assess the human health damages (including mortality and morbidity) caused by ozone pollution, and quantify their economic impacts in sixteen world regions. We compare the costs of ozone pollution under scenarios with 2000 and 2050 ozone precursor and greenhouse gas emissions (using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A1B scenario). We estimate that health costs due to global ozone pollution above pre-industrial levels by 2050 will be $580 billion (year 2000$) and that mortalities from acute exposure will exceed 2 million. We find that previous methodologies underestimate costs of air pollution by more than a third because they do not take into account the long-term, compounding effects of health costs. The economic effects of emissions changes far exceed the influence of climate alone.
Psychological Stressors and Burden of Medical Conditions in Older Adults: A Psychosomatic Approach
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Arash Mani
2009-12-01
Full Text Available "n "n "nObjective: "nIn geriatric practice, the impact of psychological distress on health status has been undermined due to ageism, atypical presentation and less tendency to report negative affect among elderly people. Few studies have examined the impact of psychological stressors on medical burden in older adults. The current study has investigated the correlation of psychological distress and burden of medical conditions in a sample of older people . "n "n "nMethod: A convenient study sample of 120 elderly subjects was recruited from the places where there was greater chance for the elderly people to attend. Data were collected by a trained research assistant using perceived stress scale, cumulative illness rating scale, geriatric depressive scale and a demographic questionnaire. "n "n "nResults: "nOur participants perceived more level of stress than the average for their age. In the current study, the burden of medical condition was significantly correlated with the level of perceived stress(r = .197, p = .044. Moreover, in regression analysis, perceived stress was the strongest predictor for physical health morbidity (R2 =.049, significant f= .03. "n "n "nConclusions: "nThe result of this study suggested that the psychological stressors contribute to poor health outcome in older adults ; the area that is usually overlooked due to ageism and its physiological related changes. The medical practitioners should consider the psychological distress as a part of etiological factors implicating in health morbidity among their aged patients.
Changes in extreme events and the potential impacts on human health.
Bell, Jesse E; Brown, Claudia Langford; Conlon, Kathryn; Herring, Stephanie; Kunkel, Kenneth E; Lawrimore, Jay; Luber, George; Schreck, Carl; Smith, Adam; Uejio, Christopher
2018-04-01
Extreme weather and climate-related events affect human health by causing death, injury, and illness, as well as having large socioeconomic impacts. Climate change has caused changes in extreme event frequency, intensity, and geographic distribution, and will continue to be a driver for change in the future. Some of these events include heat waves, droughts, wildfires, dust storms, flooding rains, coastal flooding, storm surges, and hurricanes. The pathways connecting extreme events to health outcomes and economic losses can be diverse and complex. The difficulty in predicting these relationships comes from the local societal and environmental factors that affect disease burden. More information is needed about the impacts of climate change on public health and economies to effectively plan for and adapt to climate change. This paper describes some of the ways extreme events are changing and provides examples of the potential impacts on human health and infrastructure. It also identifies key research gaps to be addressed to improve the resilience of public health to extreme events in the future. Extreme weather and climate events affect human health by causing death, injury, and illness, as well as having large socioeconomic impacts. Climate change has caused changes in extreme event frequency, intensity, and geographic distribution, and will continue to be a driver for change in the future. Some of these events include heat waves, droughts, wildfires, flooding rains, coastal flooding, surges, and hurricanes. The pathways connecting extreme events to health outcomes and economic losses can be diverse and complex. The difficulty in predicting these relationships comes from the local societal and environmental factors that affect disease burden.
CAPACITY BUILDING PROCESS IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR A THAI COMMUNITY.
Chaithui, Suthat; Sithisarankul, Pornchai; Hengpraprom, Sarunya
2017-03-01
This research aimed at exploring the development of the capacitybuilding process in environmental and health impact assessment, including the consideration of subsequent, capacity-building achievements. Data were gathered through questionnaires, participatory observations, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and capacity building checklist forms. These data were analyzed using content analysis, descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics. Our study used the components of the final draft for capacity-building processes consisting of ten steps that were formulated by synthesis from each respective process. Additionally, the evaluation of capacity building levels was performed using 10-item evaluation criteria for nine communities. The results indicated that the communities performed well under these criteria. Finally, exploration of the factors influencing capacity building in environmental and health impact assessment indicated that the learning of community members by knowledge exchange via activities and study visits were the most influential factors of the capacity building processes in environmental and health impact assessment. The final revised version of capacitybuilding process in environmental and health impact assessment could serve as a basis for the consideration of interventions in similar areas, so that they increased capacity in environmental and health impact assessments.
Marijuana Legalization: Impact on Physicians and Public Health
Wilkinson, Samuel T.; Yarnell, Stephanie; Radhakrishnan, Rajiv; Ball, Samuel A.; D'Souza, Deepak Cyril
2016-01-01
Marijuana is becoming legal in an increasing number of states for both medical and recreational use. Considerable controversy exists regarding the public health impact of these changes. The evidence for the legitimate medical use of marijuana or cannabinoids is limited to a few indications, notably HIV/AIDS cachexia, nausea/vomiting related to chemotherapy, neuropathic pain, and spasticity in multiple sclerosis. Although cannabinoids show therapeutic promise in other areas, robust clinical evidence is still lacking. The relationship between legalization and prevalence is still unknown. Although states where marijuana use is legal have higher rates of use than nonlegal states, these higher rates were generally found even prior to legalization. As states continue to proceed with legalization for both medical and recreational use, certain public health issues have become increasingly relevant, including the effects of acute marijuana intoxication on driving abilities, unintentional ingestion of marijuana products by children, the relationship between marijuana and opioid use, and whether there will be an increase in health problems related to marijuana use, such as dependence/addiction, psychosis, and pulmonary disorders. In light of this rapidly shifting legal landscape, more research is urgently needed to better understand the impact of legalization on public health. PMID:26515984
Sulfur impacts on forest health in west-central Alberta
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Maynard, D.G.; Stadt, J.J.; Mallett, K.I.; Volney, W.J.A.
1994-01-01
A study was conducted to evaluate forest health and tree growth in relation to sulfur deposition in mature and immature lodgepole pine and mature trembling aspen. Soil samples were taken in forests near two sour gas processing plants in west-central Alberta. The soil sample sites were classified into high, medium and low deposition classes. The impact of sulfur deposition on soil and foliar chemistry, tree growth, and forest health was evaluated. The analysis of tree growth, using radial increments, revealed no impact associated with the sulfur deposition class. The only indicators of extensive sulfur impacts on major forest communities detected to date are elevated sulfur concentrations in the surface organic horizon and foliage, the proportion of healthy lodgepole pines, and a depression in the annual specific volume increment. No evidence of widespread forest decline has been found. 42 refs., 35 tabs., 29 figs
The impact of HTA reports on health policy: a systematic review.
Gerhardus, Ansgar; Dintsios, Charalabos-Markos
2005-11-02
The objective of health technology assessment (HTA) is to support decision-making in the health sector by assessing health technologies systematically under medical, economic, social, and ethical aspects. The present study aims at identifying ways of enabling the impact of HTA on decision-making processes in the German health sector. The authors formulate three research questions: (1) Can methods be identified that allow a valid assessment of the impact of HTA reports on the decision-making processes? (2) Has been shown an impact of HTA reports on decision-making processes in the health sector? (3) Which are the factors responsible for a high or a low impact of HTA? The authors include studies that present a methodology to assess the impact of HTA, that investigate the impact of HTA on decision-making processes, or study the factors that might enhance or hinder the impact of HTA. Medical and social science electronic databases, lists of publications and projects of the European, North American, Canadian, and Australian HTA agencies, as well as the bibliography of the identified articles and documents are looked through. The writers do a handsearch of the International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care and contact 64 HTA agencies by a letter, requesting information on investigations that might not have been published. Abstracts from about 5,000 articles are read. 57 articles are ordered as full-text, 43 are finally included and 14 excluded. (1) In eight studies interviews with decision-makers are used to elicit the information, in three studies document analysis is employed, and in six surveys the results rely only on the observations and interpretations of the authors. One study analyses service data and in nine examinations more than one of the methods listed above are employed. Only in two studies pre-defined indicators were used and only in one clinical trial a prospective design is chosen. (2) In nine studies the impact of a population of HTA
The impact of HTA reports on health policy: a systematic review
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Gerhardus, Ansgar
2005-11-01
Full Text Available Research Question: The objective of health technology assessment (HTA is to support decision-making in the health sector by assessing health technologies systematically under medical, economic, social, and ethical aspects. The present study aims at identifying ways of enabling the impact of HTA on decision-making processes in the German health sector. The authors formulate three research questions: (1 Can methods be identified that allow a valid assessment of the impact of HTA reports on the decision-making processes? (2 Has been shown an impact of HTA reports on decision-making processes in the health sector? (3 Which are the factors responsible for a high or a low impact of HTA? Methods: The authors include studies that present a methodology to assess the impact of HTA, that investigate the impact of HTA on decision-making processes, or study the factors that might enhance or hinder the impact of HTA. Medical and social science electronic databases, lists of publications and projects of the European, North American, Canadian, and Australian HTA agencies, as well as the bibliography of the identified articles and documents are looked through. The writers do a handsearch of the International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care and contact 64 HTA agencies by a letter, requesting information on investigations that might not have been published. Results: Abstracts from about 5,000 articles are read. 57 articles are ordered as full-text, 43 are finally included and 14 excluded. (1 In eight studies interviews with decision-makers are used to elicit the information, in three studies document analysis is employed, and in six surveys the results rely only on the observations and interpretations of the authors. One study analyses service data and in nine examinations more than one of the methods listed above are employed. Only in two studies pre-defined indicators were used and only in one clinical trial a prospective design is chosen. (2 In
Revenue and Health Impacts of Restructuring Tobacco Excise Tax ...
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)
Revenue and Health Impacts of Restructuring Tobacco Excise Tax in the Philippines. A proposed law in the Philippines to increase the excise tax on tobacco by 215% will likely have implications for tobacco control and consumption, and public health, not just for that country but for the region. Although half of deaths due to ...
Tooey, Mary Joan M J; Arnold, Gretchen N
2014-10-01
Ethical behavior in libraries goes beyond service to users. Academic health sciences library directors may need to adhere to the ethical guidelines and rules of their institutions. Does the unique environment of an academic health center imply different ethical considerations? Do the ethical policies of institutions affect these library leaders? Do their personal ethical considerations have an impact as well? In December 2013, a survey regarding the impact of institutional ethics was sent to the director members of the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries. The objective was to determine the impact of institutional ethics on these leaders, whether through personal conviction or institutional imperative.
Impact of social media on the health of children and young people.
Richards, Deborah; Caldwell, Patrina H Y; Go, Henry
2015-12-01
This paper reviews the literature on the impact of social media on the health of children and young people. Relevant papers were identified from Medline, Embase and PsycINFO databases. The studies identified that the health impact of social media on children and young people was greatest on mental health and specifically in the areas of self-esteem and well-being, with related issues around cyberbullying and 'Facebook Depression', with an association between the use of social media and self-esteem and body image. However, it is difficult to determine the cause and effect, which is likely to be related to the nature of the young person. There is little work on the impact of social media on younger children. More research is needed to identify those most at risk of harm from social media and risk mitigation strategies to assist health-care professionals to provide essential education for parents and young people. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2015 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).
AbstractBackground: There are over 80,000 chemicals in commerce with little data available describing their impacts on human health. Biomonitoring surveys, such as the NHANES, offer one route to identifying possible relationships between environmental chemicals and health impacts...
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Doryab, Afsaneh; Frost, Mads; Faurholt-Jepsen, Maria
2015-01-01
An increasing number of healthcare systems allow people to monitor behavior and provide feedback on health and wellness. Most applications, however, only offer feedback on behavior in form of visualization and data summaries. This paper presents a different approach—called impact factor analysis—...... in monitoring and control of mental illness, and we argue that the impact factor analysis can be useful in the design of other health and wellness systems....... ten bipolar patients, in which we were able to estimate mood values with an average mean absolute error of 0.5. This was used to rank the behavior parameters whose variations indicate changes in the mental state. The rankings acquired from our algorithms correspond to the patients’ rankings......, identifying physical activity and sleep as the highest impact parameters. These results revealed the feasibility of identifying behavioral impact factors. This data analysis motivated us to design an impact factor inference engine as part of the MONARCA system. To our knowledge, this is a novel approach...
Gabardo, Marilisa Carneiro Leão; Moysés, Simone Tetu; Moysés, Samuel Jorge
2013-06-01
To systematically evaluate the literature to investigate associations between social, demographic, economic, psychosocial, and behavioral factors and the self-perception of oral health measured using the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP). In this systematic review of the literature, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) were adapted for the performance of a qualitative metasummary, without meta-analysis. Articles about oral health and associated factors with implications for quality of life were selected, with a focus on the tool for self-rating of the oral health-disease process, the OHIP. Pubmed/National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the Virtual Health Library (Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde - BVS/BIREME) were searched. Articles published between 2001 and 2011 were included. The following Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) were employed: oral health, quality of life, sickness impact profile, and socioeconomic factors. Of 57 articles identified, 20 met the inclusion criteria. The metasummary revealed that a poor self-perception of oral health was associated with unfavorable social, economic, demographic, and psychosocial factors, as well as with undesirable habits and poor clinical oral conditions. There is consensus in the literature about the influence of the investigated factors on the self-perception of oral health and on quality of life. The OHIP is an important aid for determining oral health needs and for developing strategies to control/reduce disease and promote oral health, with a consequent positive impact on quality of life.
Health impact assessment: where does the law come in?
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hart, David Q.C.
2004-01-01
The European Convention on Human Rights has profound implications for HIA. Public authorities have a positive obligation to stop others from infringing citizens' rights to life and to respect for private and family life. These rights are qualified and have now been interpreted in many thousands of cases. Authorities must, as best they reasonably can, secure the safety of citizens and inform the citizens about the safety or otherwise of any development. Authorities have to strike a balance between the individuals rights and the public benefit. Any public authority before approving a scheme or reaching a regulatory decision which may impact on human rights must consider the nature of that impact, its seriousness and whether it can be justified on public interest grounds. A number of court judgements in cases concerning these issues are discussed. This article is not about how certain of the ideas underlying Health Impact Assessment, in certain circumstances, are or can be incorporated in existing legally recognised instruments such as Environmental Impact Assessments. Nor is it about the statutory powers which authorities--local and national--could, if so inclined, exercise, to further the health and well-being of their constituents. It is about something rather more general, important and yet rather formless, namely the duties identified by the European Court of Human Rights as resting upon public authorities to take steps to safeguard the public health rights of their citizens
Prioritizing health: a systematic approach to scoping determinants in health impact assessment
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lindsay McCallum
2016-08-01
Full Text Available The determinants of health are those factors that have the potential to affect health, either positively or negatively, and include a range of personal, social, economic, and environmental factors. In the practice of Health Impact Assessment (HIA, the stage at which the determinants of health are considered for inclusion is during the scoping step. The scoping step is intended to identify how the HIA will be carried out and to set the boundaries (e.g., temporal and geographical for the assessment. There are several factors that can help to inform the scoping process, many of which are considered in existing HIA tools and guidance; however, a systematic method of prioritizing determinants was found to be lacking. In order to analyze existing HIA scoping tools that are available, a systematic literature review was conducted including both primary and grey literature. A total of 10 HIA Scoping tools met the inclusion/exclusion criteria and were carried forward for comparative analysis. The analysis focused on minimum elements and practice standards of HIA scoping that have been established in the field. The analysis determined that existing approaches lack a clear, systematic method of prioritization of health determinants for inclusion in HIA. This finding led to the development of a Systematic HIA Scoping tool that addressed this gap. The decision matrix tool uses factors such as impact, public concern and data availability to prioritize health determinants. Additionally, the tool allows for identification of data gaps and provides a transparent method for budget allocation and assessment planning. In order to increase efficiency and improve utility, the tool was programmed into Microsoft Excel. Future work in the area of HIA methodology development is vital to the ongoing success of the practice and utilization of HIA as a reliable decision-making tool.
Phelps, Randall A; Pinter, Joseph D; Lollar, Donald J; Medlen, Joan Guthrie; Bethell, Christina D
2012-04-01
The functional, financial, and social impact on families of children with Down syndrome (DS) in the United States and the role of the US health care system in ameliorating these impacts have not been well characterized. We sought to describe the demographic characteristics and functional difficulties of these children and to determine whether children with DS, compared with children with "intellectual disability" (ID) generally, and compared with other "children and youth with special health care needs" (CYSHCN), are more or less likely to receive health care that meets quality standards related to care coordination and to have their health care service needs met. This study analyzed data from the 2005-2006 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (n = 40,723). Children and youth aged 0 to 17 years with special health care need (CYSHCN) who experience DS (n = 395) and/or IDs (n = 4252) were compared with each other and other CYSHCN on a range of functioning, family impact, and health care quality variables using bivariate and multivariate methods. Data were weighted to represent all CYSHCN in the United States. Compared with CYSHCN without DS, children with DS were significantly less likely to receive comprehensive care within a medical home (29.7% vs 47.3%; p work due to their child's health needs (23.5% vs 55.1%; p performance was poorer for children with DS compared with those with ID and no DS after adjustment for family income, prevalence on most aspects of quality of care and family impacts evaluated were similar for these 2 groups. In this study, the families of children with DS, and ID generally, are burdened disproportionately when compared with other CYSHCN, reflecting the combination of impairments intrinsic to DS and ID and impacts of suboptimal medical care coordination and social support.
Impact of extreme weather events and climate change for health and social care systems.
Curtis, Sarah; Fair, Alistair; Wistow, Jonathan; Val, Dimitri V; Oven, Katie
2017-12-05
This review, commissioned by the Research Councils UK Living With Environmental Change (LWEC) programme, concerns research on the impacts on health and social care systems in the United Kingdom of extreme weather events, under conditions of climate change. Extreme weather events considered include heatwaves, coldwaves and flooding. Using a structured review method, we consider evidence regarding the currently observed and anticipated future impacts of extreme weather on health and social care systems and the potential of preparedness and adaptation measures that may enhance resilience. We highlight a number of general conclusions which are likely to be of international relevance, although the review focussed on the situation in the UK. Extreme weather events impact the operation of health services through the effects on built, social and institutional infrastructures which support health and health care, and also because of changes in service demand as extreme weather impacts on human health. Strategic planning for extreme weather and impacts on the care system should be sensitive to within country variations. Adaptation will require changes to built infrastructure systems (including transport and utilities as well as individual care facilities) and also to institutional and social infrastructure supporting the health care system. Care sector organisations, communities and individuals need to adapt their practices to improve resilience of health and health care to extreme weather. Preparedness and emergency response strategies call for action extending beyond the emergency response services, to include health and social care providers more generally.
Facilitating communities in designing and using their own community health impact assessment tool
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Cameron, Colleen; Ghosh, Sebanti; Eaton, Susan L.
2011-01-01
Reducing health inequities and improving the health of communities require an informed public that is aware of the social determinants of health and how policies and programs have an impact on the health of their communities. People Assessing Their Health (PATH) is a process that uses community-driven health impact assessment to build the capacity of people to become active participants in the decisions that affect the well-being of their community. The PATH process is both a health promotion and a community development approach that builds people's ability to bring critical analysis to a situation and to engage in effective social action to bring about desired change. Because it increases analytical skills and provides communities with their own unique tool to assess the potential impact of projects, programs or policies on the health and well-being of their community it is an empowering process. PATH was originally used in three communities in northeastern Nova Scotia, Canada in 1996 when the Canadian health care system was being restructured to a more decentralized system. Since then it has been used in other communities in Nova Scotia and India. This paper will describe the PATH process and the use of the community health impact assessment as well as the methodology used in the PATH process. The lessons learned from PATH's experiences of building capacity among the community in Canada and India will be presented.
What research impacts do Australian primary health care researchers expect and achieve?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Reed Richard L
2011-11-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Funding for research is under pressure to be accountable in terms of benefits and translation of research findings into practice and policy. Primary health care research has considerable potential to improve health care in a wide range of settings, but little is known about the extent to which these impacts actually occur. This study examines the impact of individual primary health care research projects on policy and practice from the perspective of Chief Investigators (CIs. Methods The project used an online survey adapted from the Buxton and Hanney Payback Framework to collect information about the impacts that CIs expected and achieved from primary health care research projects funded by Australian national competitive grants. Results and Discussion Chief Investigators (CIs provided information about seventeen completed projects. While no CI expected their project to have an impact in every domain of the framework used in the survey, 76% achieved at least half the impacts they expected. Sixteen projects had published and/or presented their work, 10 projects included 11 doctorate awards in their research capacity domain. All CIs expected their research to lead to further research opportunities with 11 achieving this. Ten CIs achieved their expectation of providing information for policy making but only four reported their research had influenced policy making. However 11 CIs achieved their expectation of providing information for organizational decision making and eight reported their research had influenced organizational decision making. Conclusion CIs reported that nationally funded primary health care research projects made an impact on knowledge production, staff development and further research, areas within the realm of influence of the research team and within the scope of awareness of the CIs. Some also made an impact on policy and organizational decision-making, and on localized clinical practice and service
Managing environmental and health impacts of uranium mining
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Vance, R.E.; Cameron, R., E-mail: robert.vance@oecd.org, E-mail: ron.cameron@oecd.org [OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (France)
2014-07-01
As the raw material that fuels nuclear power plants that generate significant amounts of electricity with full life cycle carbon emissions as low as renewable energy sources, uranium is a valuable commodity. Yet uranium mining remains controversial, principally because of environmental and health impacts created when mining was undertaken by governments to meet Cold War strategic requirements. Uranium mining is conducted under significantly different circumstances today. Since the era of military production, societal expectations of environmental protection and the safety of workers and the public have evolved as the outcomes of the early era of mining became apparent, driving changes in regulatory oversight and mining practices. Key aspects of leading practice uranium mining are presented (conventional worker health and safety, worker radiation protection, public health and safety, water quality, tailings and waste rock management) and compared with historic practices to demonstrate the scale of differences. The application of additional aspects of uranium mine life cycle management (public consultation, environmental impact assessment, analysis of socio-economic impacts/benefits, environmental monitoring, financial assurance, product transport, security and safeguards, emergency planning and knowledge transfer), introduced as the industry matured, enhance overall management practices for the long term. Results from several case studies show that improved management of key aspects of uranium mining, combined with the incorporation of new life cycle parameters, have transformed the industry into the most regulated and arguably one of the safest and environmentally responsible types of mining in the world. (author)
The Impact of Work and Volunteer Hours on the Health of Undergraduate Students.
Lederer, Alyssa M; Autry, Dana M; Day, Carol R T; Oswalt, Sara B
2015-01-01
To examine the impact of work and volunteer hours on 4 health issues among undergraduate college students. Full-time undergraduate students (N = 70,068) enrolled at 129 institutions who participated in the Spring 2011 American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II survey. Multiple linear regression and binary logistic regression were used to examine work and volunteer hour impact on depression, feelings of being overwhelmed, sleep, and physical activity. The impact of work and volunteer hours was inconsistent among the health outcomes. Increased work hours tended to negatively affect sleep and increase feelings of being overwhelmed. Students who volunteered were more likely to meet physical activity guidelines, and those who volunteered 1 to 9 hours per week reported less depression. College health professionals should consider integrating discussion of students' employment and volunteering and their intersection with health outcomes into clinical visits, programming, and other services.
Transportation Matters: A Health Impact Assessment in Rural New Mexico.
Del Rio, Michelle; Hargrove, William L; Tomaka, Joe; Korc, Marcelo
2017-06-13
This Health Impact Assessment (HIA) informed the decision of expanding public transportation services to rural, low income communities of southern Doña Ana County, New Mexico on the U.S./Mexico border. The HIA focused on impacts of access to health care services, education, and economic development opportunities. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from surveys of community members, key informant interviews, a focus group with community health workers, and passenger surveys during an initial introduction of the transit system. Results from the survey showed that a high percentage of respondents would use the bus system to access the following: (1) 84% for health services; (2) 83% for formal and informal education opportunities; and (3) 81% for economic opportunities. Results from interviews and the focus group supported the benefits of access to services but many were concerned with the high costs of providing bus service in a rural area. We conclude that implementing the bus system would have major impacts on resident's health through improved access to: (1) health services, and fresh foods, especially for older adults; (2) education opportunities, such as community colleges, universities, and adult learning, especially for young adults; and (3) economic opportunities, especially jobs, job training, and consumer goods and services. We highlight the challenges associated with public transportation in rural areas where there are: (1) long distances to travel; (2) difficulties in scheduling to meet all needs; and (3) poor road and walking conditions for bus stops. The results are applicable to low income and fairly disconnected rural areas, where access to health, education, and economic opportunities are limited.
Transportation Matters: A Health Impact Assessment in Rural New Mexico
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Michelle Del Rio
2017-06-01
Full Text Available This Health Impact Assessment (HIA informed the decision of expanding public transportation services to rural, low income communities of southern Doña Ana County, New Mexico on the U.S./Mexico border. The HIA focused on impacts of access to health care services, education, and economic development opportunities. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from surveys of community members, key informant interviews, a focus group with community health workers, and passenger surveys during an initial introduction of the transit system. Results from the survey showed that a high percentage of respondents would use the bus system to access the following: (1 84% for health services; (2 83% for formal and informal education opportunities; and (3 81% for economic opportunities. Results from interviews and the focus group supported the benefits of access to services but many were concerned with the high costs of providing bus service in a rural area. We conclude that implementing the bus system would have major impacts on resident’s health through improved access to: (1 health services, and fresh foods, especially for older adults; (2 education opportunities, such as community colleges, universities, and adult learning, especially for young adults; and (3 economic opportunities, especially jobs, job training, and consumer goods and services. We highlight the challenges associated with public transportation in rural areas where there are: (1 long distances to travel; (2 difficulties in scheduling to meet all needs; and (3 poor road and walking conditions for bus stops. The results are applicable to low income and fairly disconnected rural areas, where access to health, education, and economic opportunities are limited.
[Health impact assessment of "white-collar exemption" in Japan].
Fujino, Yoshihisa; Matsuda, Shinya
2007-03-01
This work conducted a health impact assessment (HIA) of the Japanese Government's proposal concerning the introduction of so called "white-collar exemption" into the Japanese labor market. We adopted the Merseyside model and performed a rapid health impact assessment to assess the potential health effects of white-collar exemption. In this HIA, several health determinants which may possibly be affected, both positively and negatively, were identified based on experts' judgments. Literature evidence was assessed using PubMed and other databases. In addition, we searched for the opinions of those affected by white-collar exemption from internet web sites, and six concerns were identified. Long working hours were identified as the most serious concern by both experts and those affected. White-collar exemption may increase irregular working patterns which may be related to sleep disorder, stress, and cardiovascular disease. Family function and social participation will also be affected by irregular working patterns. On the other hand, in terms of stress, white-collar exemption may benefit from a higher degree of job control. There are possibilities that white-collar exemption may enable an improved work-life balance and enable access of some groups of the population, such as people with disabilities or parents looking after children, greater access to the labour market. However, it is uncertain whether the benefits of white-collar exemption would overcome those of the current free-time or flex-time systems. The present work provides a wide range of health impacts of white-collar exemption, and will hopefully attract the attentions of decision-makers and those likely to be affected in order to contribute to policy-making.
Learmonth, Alyson; Curtis, Sarah
2013-11-01
In a political milieu where there is pressure towards localised and participative decisionmaking, and an environment of global recession and environmental degradation, it is crucial that population health considerations inform strategic decisions. The paper puts forward 'place shaping to create health and wellbeing' as a strategic tool, drawing on ideas that are fundamental in health geography, and argues that this is an important emerging application of Health Impact Assessment (HIA), as part of evidence-based practice. These views developed primarily from case study work in the North East of England aiming to enhance health and wellbeing in a population with significant health disadvantages. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Understanding the impact of the economic crisis on child health: the case of Spain.
Rajmil, Luis; Siddiqi, Arjumand; Taylor-Robinson, David; Spencer, Nick
2015-10-14
The objectives of the study were to explore the effect of the economic crisis on child health using Spain as a case study, and to document and assess the policies implemented in response to the crisis in this context. Serial cross-sectional data from Eurostat, the Spanish Health Interview Survey, and the database of childhood hospitalisation were analysed to explore impacts on child health, and key determinants of child health. A content analysis of National data sources/government legislation, and Spanish literature was used to describe policies implemented following the crisis. Unemployment rates in the general population (8.7% in 2005 and 25.6% in 2013), and children living in unemployed families (5.6% and 13.8%) increased in the study period. The percentage of children living under the poverty line, and income inequalities increased 15-20% from 2005 to 2012. Severe material deprivation rate has worsened in families with Primary Education, while the number of families attending Non-Governmental Organisations has increased. An impact on children's health at the general population level has not currently been detected; however an impact on general health, mental health and use of healthcare services was found in vulnerable groups. Investment in social protection and public policy for children showed a reduction as part of austerity measures taken by the Spanish governments. Despite the impact on social determinants, a short-term impact on child health has been detected only in specific vulnerable groups. The findings suggest the need to urgently protect vulnerable groups of children from the impact of austerity.
Climate change and food security: health impacts in developed countries.
Lake, Iain R; Hooper, Lee; Abdelhamid, Asmaa; Bentham, Graham; Boxall, Alistair B A; Draper, Alizon; Fairweather-Tait, Susan; Hulme, Mike; Hunter, Paul R; Nichols, Gordon; Waldron, Keith W
2012-11-01
Anthropogenic climate change will affect global food production, with uncertain consequences for human health in developed countries. We investigated the potential impact of climate change on food security (nutrition and food safety) and the implications for human health in developed countries. Expert input and structured literature searches were conducted and synthesized to produce overall assessments of the likely impacts of climate change on global food production and recommendations for future research and policy changes. Increasing food prices may lower the nutritional quality of dietary intakes, exacerbate obesity, and amplify health inequalities. Altered conditions for food production may result in emerging pathogens, new crop and livestock species, and altered use of pesticides and veterinary medicines, and affect the main transfer mechanisms through which contaminants move from the environment into food. All these have implications for food safety and the nutritional content of food. Climate change mitigation may increase consumption of foods whose production reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Impacts may include reduced red meat consumption (with positive effects on saturated fat, but negative impacts on zinc and iron intake) and reduced winter fruit and vegetable consumption. Developed countries have complex structures in place that may be used to adapt to the food safety consequences of climate change, although their effectiveness will vary between countries, and the ability to respond to nutritional challenges is less certain. Climate change will have notable impacts upon nutrition and food safety in developed countries, but further research is necessary to accurately quantify these impacts. Uncertainty about future impacts, coupled with evidence that climate change may lead to more variable food quality, emphasizes the need to maintain and strengthen existing structures and policies to regulate food production, monitor food quality and safety, and
Assessing the health impact of transnational corporations: a case study on McDonald's Australia.
Anaf, Julia; Baum, Frances E; Fisher, Matt; Harris, Elizabeth; Friel, Sharon
2017-02-06
The practices of transnational corporations affect population health through production methods, shaping social determinants of health, or influencing the regulatory structures governing their activities. There has been limited research on community exposures to TNC policies and practices. Our pilot research used McDonald's Australia to test methods for assessing the health impacts of one TNC within Australia. We adapted existing Health Impact Assessment methods to assess McDonald's activities. Data identifying potential impacts were sourced through document analysis, including McDonald's corporate literature; media analysis and semi-structured interviews. We commissioned a spatial and socioeconomic analysis of McDonald's restaurants in Australia through Geographic Information System technology. The data was mapped against a corporate health impact assessment framework which included McDonald's Australia's political and business practices; products and marketing; workforce, social, environmental and economic conditions; and consumers' health related behaviours. We identified both positive and detrimental aspects of McDonald's Australian operations across the scope of the CHIA framework. We found that McDonald's outlets were slightly more likely to be located in areas of lower socioeconomic status. McDonald's workplace conditions were found to be more favourable than those in many other countries which reflects compliance with Australian employment regulations. The breadth of findings revealed the need for governments to strengthen regulatory mechanisms that are conducive to health; the opportunity for McDonald's to augment their corporate social responsibility initiatives and bolster reputational endorsement; and civil society actors to inform their advocacy towards health and equity outcomes from TNC operations. Our study indicates that undertaking a corporate health impact assessment is possible, with the different methods revealing sufficient information to
Rosenkötter, N; Vondeling, H; Blancquaert, I; Mekel, O C L; Kristensen, F B; Brand, A
2011-01-01
The European Union has named genomics as one of the promising research fields for the development of new health technologies. Major concerns with regard to these fields are, on the one hand, the rather slow and limited translation of new knowledge and, on the other hand, missing insights into the impact on public health and health care practice of those technologies that are actually introduced. This paper aims to give an overview of the major assessment instruments in public health [health technology assessment (HTA), health needs assessment (HNA) and health impact assessment (HIA)] which could contribute to the systematic translation and assessment of genomic health applications by focussing at population level and on public health policy making. It is shown to what extent HTA, HNA and HIA contribute to translational research by using the continuum of translational research (T1-T4) in genomic medicine as an analytic framework. The selected assessment methodologies predominantly cover 2 to 4 phases within the T1-T4 system. HTA delivers the most complete set of methodologies when assessing health applications. HNA can be used to prioritize areas where genomic health applications are needed or to identify infrastructural needs. HIA delivers information on the impact of technologies in a wider scope and promotes informed decision making. HTA, HNA and HIA provide a partly overlapping and partly unique set of methodologies and infrastructure for the translation and assessment of genomic health applications. They are broad in scope and go beyond the continuum of T1-T4 translational research regarding policy translation. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.
Impacts of Extreme Events on Human Health. Chapter 4
Bell, Jesse E.; Herring, Stephanie C.; Jantarasami, Lesley; Adrianopoli, Carl; Benedict, Kaitlin; Conlon, Kathryn; Escobar, Vanessa; Hess, Jeremy; Luvall, Jeffrey; Garcia-Pando, Carlos Perez;
2016-01-01
Increased Exposure to Extreme Events Key Finding 1: Health impacts associated with climate-related changes in exposure to extreme events include death, injury, or illness; exacerbation of underlying medical conditions; and adverse effects on mental health[High Confidence]. Climate change will increase exposure risk in some regions of the United States due to projected increases in the frequency and/or intensity of drought, wildfires, and flooding related to extreme precipitation and hurricanes [Medium Confidence].Disruption of Essential Infrastructure Key Finding 2: Many types of extreme events related to climate change cause disruption of infrastructure, including power, water, transportation, and communication systems, that are essential to maintaining access to health care and emergency response services and safeguarding human health [High Confidence].Vulnerability to Coastal Flooding Key Finding 3: Coastal populations with greater vulnerability to health impacts from coastal flooding include persons with disabilities or other access and functional needs, certain populations of color, older adults, pregnant women and children, low-income populations, and some occupational groups [High Confidence].Climate change will increase exposure risk to coastal flooding due to increases in extreme precipitation and in hurricane intensity and rainfall rates, as well as sea level rise and the resulting increases in storm surge.
Mulhern, Brendan; Shah, Koonal; Janssen, Mathieu F Bas; Longworth, Louise; Ibbotson, Rachel
2016-01-01
Health states defined by multiattribute instruments such as the EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire with five response levels (EQ-5D-5L) can be valued using time trade-off (TTO) or discrete choice experiment (DCE) methods. A key feature of the tasks is the order in which the health state dimensions are presented. Respondents may use various heuristics to complete the tasks, and therefore the order of the dimensions may impact on the importance assigned to particular states. To assess the impact of different EQ-5D-5L dimension orders on health state values. Preferences for EQ-5D-5L health states were elicited from a broadly representative sample of members of the UK general public. Respondents valued EQ-5D-5L health states using TTO and DCE methods across one of three dimension orderings via face-to-face computer-assisted personal interviews. Differences in mean values and the size of the health dimension coefficients across the arms were compared using difference testing and regression analyses. Descriptive analysis suggested some differences between the mean TTO health state values across the different dimension orderings, but these were not systematic. Regression analysis suggested that the magnitude of the dimension coefficients differs across the different dimension orderings (for both TTO and DCE), but there was no clear pattern. There is some evidence that the order in which the dimensions are presented impacts on the coefficients, which may impact on the health state values provided. The order of dimensions is a key consideration in the design of health state valuation studies. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.
The impact of public employment on health and health inequalities: evidence from China.
Zhang, Wei
2011-01-01
Because the public and private sectors often operate with different goals, individuals employed by the two sectors may receive different levels of welfare. This can potentially lead to different health status. As such, employment sector offers an important perspective for understanding labor market outcomes. Using micro-level data from a recent Chinese household survey, this study empirically evaluated the impact of employment sector on health and within-sector health inequalities. It found that public sector employment generated better health outcomes than private sector employment, controlling for individual characteristics. The provision of more job security explained an important part of the association between public sector employment and better health. The study also found less health inequality by social class within the public sector. These findings suggest that policymakers should think critically about the "conventional wisdom" that private ownership is almost always superior, and should adjust their labor market policies accordingly.
Moloughney, Brent W; Bursey, Gayle E; Neumann, Jana; Leeming, Daniel H; Gutmann, Christine E; Sivanand, Bhavna; Mowat, David L
2014-09-12
This project involved development of a Health Background Study (HBS) Framework to support consideration of health impacts within municipalities' approval process for land use development. Peel Public Health and Toronto Public Health led the project with the participation of planners, urban designers, engineers, public health staff and development industry representatives. Historical growth in the Region of Peel and suburban Toronto has resulted in extensive low-density development, creating car-dependent communities with disconnected streets and segregated land uses. The inclusion of an HBS in developers' applications to municipalities is one approach by which health-related expectations for the built environment can be established within the approval process. Development of the HBS Framework used the six core elements of the built environment with the strongest evidence for impact on health and was informed by analysis of the provincial and local policy contexts, practices of other municipalities and stakeholder interviews. The Framework's contents were refined according to feedback from multidisciplinary stakeholder workshops. The HBS Framework identifies minimum standards for built environment core elements that developers need to address in their applications. The Framework was created to be simple and instructive with applicability to a range of development locations and scales, and to various stages of the development approval process. Peel Public Health is leading several initiatives to support the use of the HBS as a part of the development application process. The HBS Framework is a tool that public health and planning can use to support the consideration of health impacts within municipalities' land use development processes.
Perceived and calculated health risks: do the impacts differ
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Payne, B.A.; Williams, R.G.
1986-01-01
In many cases of radioactive and hazardous waste management, some members of the general public perceive that human health risks associated with the wastes are higher than the calculated risks. Calculated risks are projections that have been derived from models, and it is these risks that are usually used as the basis for waste management. However, for various reasons, the calculated risks are often considered by the public as too low or inappropriate. The reasons that calculated risks are not perceived as accurate and the factors that affect these perceptions are explored in this paper. Also discussed are the impacts related to the perceived and calculated health risks: what they are, and if and how they differ. The kinds of potential impacts examined are health effects, land value changes, and social, transportation, and economic effects. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of incorporating these different risk perspectives in decisions on waste management
Metabolomics in Sepsis and Its Impact on Public Health.
Evangelatos, Nikolaos; Bauer, Pia; Reumann, Matthias; Satyamoorthy, Kapaettu; Lehrach, Hans; Brand, Angela
2017-01-01
Sepsis, with its often devastating consequences for patients and their families, remains a major public health concern that poses an increasing financial burden. Early resuscitation together with the elucidation of the biological pathways and pathophysiological mechanisms with the use of "-omics" technologies have started changing the clinical and research landscape in sepsis. Metabolomics (i.e., the study of the metabolome), an "-omics" technology further down in the "-omics" cascade between the genome and the phenome, could be particularly fruitful in sepsis research with the potential to alter the clinical practice. Apart from its benefit for the individual patient, metabolomics has an impact on public health that extends beyond its applications in medicine. In this review, we present recent developments in metabolomics research in sepsis, with a focus on pneumonia, and we discuss the impact of metabolomics on public health, with a focus on free/libre open source software. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.
The Mass Media Influence on the Impact of Health Policy
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Cătălin BABA
2007-02-01
Full Text Available The theme of this study is a distinct examination of the issues regarding health policy, social representations and mass media. The analysis of the mass media influence on the impact of health policy leads to a portrayal of the related programs and the way they are received by citizens through mass media. Owing to the mass media quality to be an indicator of democracy it is very important to study its role in setting people daily agenda considering how it is able to maintain and create trends merely through recurrent messages. The issues frequently conveyed by media industry influences citizens’ interest with regard to community, producing effects on public policy. We must bear in mind that the more persistent in media they are, the more relevant for community this issues will be. The authors of the study put forward a method through which diverse programmes can be analysed. A comparative analysis of mass media and citizens’ social representations and its findings provide information about the influence between them. According to agenda setting theory and many international studies on health policy the authors conclude that mass media institution highly influence the impact of the health policy in health. Moreover, it is important to mention that the impact refers to all the stages of a policy-making: beginning with the problem identification and ending with the evaluation of the implementation process.
Nutrition economics – characterising the economic and health impact of nutrition
Lenoir-Wijnkoop, I.; Dapoigny, M.; Dubois, D.; van Ganse, E.; Gutiérrez-Ibarluzea, I.; Hutton, J.; Jones, P.; Mittendorf, T.; Poley, M. J.; Salminen, S.; Nuijten, M. J. C.
2011-01-01
There is a new merging of health economics and nutrition disciplines to assess the impact of diet on health and disease prevention and to characterise the health and economic aspects of specific changes in nutritional behaviour and nutrition recommendations. A rationale exists for developing the field of nutrition economics which could offer a better understanding of both nutrition, in the context of having a significant influence on health outcomes, and economics, in order to estimate the absolute and relative monetary impact of health measures. For this purpose, an expert meeting assessed questions aimed at clarifying the scope and identifying the key issues that should be taken into consideration in developing nutrition economics as a discipline that could potentially address important questions. We propose a first multidisciplinary outline for understanding the principles and particular characteristics of this emerging field. We summarise here the concepts and the observations of workshop participants and propose a basic setting for nutrition economics and health outcomes research as a novel discipline to support nutrition, health economics and health policy development in an evidence and health-benefit-based manner. PMID:20797310
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Stevens, Gonneke W J M; Walsh, Sophie D; Huijts, Tim
2015-01-01
psychosomatic symptoms than native adolescents. Effect sizes varied considerable for the different outcomes, and similar effects were found for first- and second-generation immigrant adolescents. Differences in these indicators of emotional and behavioral problems between immigrant and native adolescents did......PURPOSE: Although the potential consequences of immigration for adolescent problem behaviors have been addressed in many former studies, internationally comparative research is scarce. This study investigated the impact of immigration on four indicators of adolescents' emotional and behavioral...... not vary significantly with the receiving country. With two exceptions, effects of immigrant status were similar for boys and girls. Although no differences in psychosomatic symptoms were found between first-generation immigrant and native girls, first-generation immigrant boys reported less psychosomatic...
International trade of health services: global trends and local impact.
Lautier, Marc
2014-10-01
Globalization is a key challenge facing health policy-makers. A significant dimension of this is trade in health services. Traditionally, the flow of health services exports went from North to South, with patients travelling in the opposite direction. This situation is changing and a number of papers have discussed the growth of health services exports from Southern countries in its different dimensions. Less attention has been paid to assess the real scope of this trade at the global level and its potential impact at the local level. Given the rapid development of this area, there are little empirical data. This paper therefore first built an estimate of the global size and of the growth trend of international trade in health services since 1997, which is compared with several country-based studies. The second purpose of the paper is to demonstrate the significant economic impact of this trade at the local level for the exporting country. We consider the case of health providers in the South-Mediterranean region for which the demand potential, the economic effects and the consequence for the health system are presented. These issues lead to the overall conclusion that different policy options would be appropriate, in relation to the nature of the demand. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Nove, Andrea; Cometto, Giorgio; Campbell, James
2017-11-09
In their adoption of WHA resolution 69.19, World Health Organization Member States requested all bilateral and multilateral initiatives to conduct impact assessments of their funding to human resources for health. The High-Level Commission for Health Employment and Economic Growth similarly proposed that official development assistance for health, education, employment and gender are best aligned to creating decent jobs in the health and social workforce. No standard tools exist for assessing the impact of global health initiatives on the health workforce, but tools exist from other fields. The objectives of this paper are to describe how a review of grey literature informed the development of a draft health workforce impact assessment tool and to introduce the tool. A search of grey literature yielded 72 examples of impact assessment tools and guidance from a wide variety of fields including gender, health and human rights. These examples were reviewed, and information relevant to the development of a health workforce impact assessment was extracted from them using an inductive process. A number of good practice principles were identified from the review. These informed the development of a draft health workforce impact assessment tool, based on an established health labour market framework. The tool is designed to be applied before implementation. It consists of a relatively short and focused screening module to be applied to all relevant initiatives, followed by a more in-depth assessment to be applied only to initiatives for which the screening module indicates that significant implications for HRH are anticipated. It thus aims to strike a balance between maximising rigour and minimising administrative burden. The application of the new tool will help to ensure that health workforce implications are incorporated into global health decision-making processes from the outset and to enhance positive HRH impacts and avoid, minimise or offset negative impacts.
The health impacts of climate-related migration.
Schwerdtle, Patricia; Bowen, Kathryn; McMichael, Celia
2017-12-11
Changes in climate, in conjunction with other drivers of mobility, shape human migration. While there is an increasing focus on the adaptive potential of migration, the health impacts of climate-related migration, including planned relocation and forced displacement, have not been thoroughly examined. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that migration is currently, and will increasingly be, influenced by environmental degradation and climate change, and that it needs to be addressed in a focused and coordinated manner. This paper examines the links between climate change, migration, and health, considering diverse migration responses, including immobility, forced displacement and planned migration, as well as the associated health risks and opportunities in different contexts. Using case studies, the paper illustrates strategies to reduce the health risks associated with climate change-related migration. While there is an increasing body of research examining the climate change-migration nexus, a dual approach is now required. This approach must include debate and further research regarding the health consequences and responses associated with climate migration as well as immediate strengthening of health systems to make them both climate resilient and migrant inclusive.
The health impacts of climate change and variability in developing countries
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Menne, B. [WHO European Centre for Environment and Health, Rome (Italy). Global Change and Health; Kunzil, N. [Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine University, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Basel and Keck School of Medicine; Bertollini, R. [WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen (Denmark). Technical Support Div.
2002-07-01
Health is a focus reflecting the combined impacts of climate change on the physical environment, ecosystems, the economic environment and society. Long-term changes in the world's climate may affect many requisites of good health - sufficient food, safe and adequate drinking water and secure dwelling. The current large-scale social and environmental changes mean that we must assign a much higher priority to population health in the policy debate on climate change. Climate change will affect human health and wellbeing through a variety of mechanisms. Climate change can adversely impact on the availability of fresh water supply and the efficiency of local sewerage systems. It is also likely to affect food security. Cereal yields are expected to increase at high and mid latitudes but decrease at lower latitudes. Changes in food production are likely to significantly affect health in Africa. In addition, the distribution and seasonal transmission of several vector-borne infectious diseases (such as malaria and dengue) may be affected by climate change. Altered distribution of some vector species may be among the early signals of climate change. A change in the world climate could increase the frequency and severity of extreme weather events. The impacts on health of natural disasters are considerable - the number of people killed, injured or made homeless from such causes is increasingly alarming. The vulnerability of people living in risk-prone areas is an important contributor to disaster casualties and damage. An increase in heatwaves (and possibly air pollution) will be a problem in urban areas, where excess mortality and morbidity is currently observed during hot weather episodes. We can assume that climate change will affect the most vulnerable in developing countries. These might be socio-economic deprived populations, people who lack access to a health care system, technology and communication, as well as immuno compromised persons. The health community
Improved patient-reported health impact of multiple sclerosis
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Macdonell, Richard; Nagels, Guy; Laplaud, David-Axel
2016-01-01
BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating disease that negatively impacts patients' lives. OBJECTIVE: ENABLE assessed the effect of long-term prolonged-release (PR) fampridine (dalfampridine extended release in the United States) treatment on patient-perceived health impact in patients...... with MS with walking impairment. METHODS: ENABLE was a 48-week, open-label, Phase 4 study of PR-fampridine 10 mg twice daily. Patients who showed any improvement in Timed 25-Foot Walk walking speed at weeks 2 and 4 and any improvement in 12-item MS Walking Scale score at week 4 remained on treatment....... The primary endpoint was change from baseline in 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) physical component summary (PCS) score. RESULTS: At week 4, 707/901 (78.5%) patients met the criteria to remain on treatment. Patients on treatment demonstrated significant and clinically meaningful improvements in SF-36...
Bell, Shannon M; Edwards, Stephen W
2015-11-01
There are > 80,000 chemicals in commerce with few data available describing their impacts on human health. Biomonitoring surveys, such as the NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey), offer one route to identifying possible relationships between environmental chemicals and health impacts, but sparse data and the complexity of traditional models make it difficult to leverage effectively. We describe a workflow to efficiently and comprehensively evaluate and prioritize chemical-health impact relationships from the NHANES biomonitoring survey studies. Using a frequent itemset mining (FIM) approach, we identified relationships between chemicals and health biomarkers and diseases. The FIM method identified 7,848 relationships between 219 chemicals and 93 health outcomes/biomarkers. Two case studies used to evaluate the FIM rankings demonstrate that the FIM approach is able to identify published relationships. Because the relationships are derived from the vast majority of the chemicals monitored by NHANES, the resulting list of associations is appropriate for evaluating results from targeted data mining or identifying novel candidate relationships for more detailed investigation. Because of the computational efficiency of the FIM method, all chemicals and health effects can be considered in a single analysis. The resulting list provides a comprehensive summary of the chemical/health co-occurrences from NHANES that are higher than expected by chance. This information enables ranking and prioritization on chemicals or health effects of interest for evaluation of published results and design of future studies. Bell SM, Edwards SW. 2015. Identification and prioritization of relationships between environmental stressors and adverse human health impacts. Environ Health Perspect 123:1193-1199; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1409138.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Logue, Jennifer M. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Sherman, Max H. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Singer, Bret C. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
2014-08-01
The inability to monetize the health costs of acute exposures in homes and the benefits of various control options is a barrier to justifying policies and approaches that can reduce exposure and improve health.We synthesized relationships between short-term outdoor concentration changes and health outcomes to estimate the health impacts of short-term in-home exposures. Damage and cost impacts of specific health outcomes were taken from the literature. We assessed the impact of vented and non-vented residential natural gas cooking burners on Southern California occupants for two pollutants (NO2 and CO).
The Economic and Health Impacts of Legislative Fiscal Policies to ...
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)
Journal articles. Empowering healthy food and beverage choices in the workplace. Download PDF. Journal articles. Modelling the potential impact of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax on stroke mortality, costs and health-adjusted life years in South Africa. Download PDF. Journal articles. Sugar and health in South Africa ...
Health impacts of different energy sources
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
1982-01-01
Energy is needed to sustain the economy, health and welfare of nations. As a consequence of this, energy consumption figures are frequently used as an index of a nation's advancement. As a result of the global energy crisis, almost every nation has had to develop all its available energy resources and plan its future use of energy. The planners of national and international energy policies are however often faced with a problem of 'public acceptance' arising from the potential health and environmental impacts of developing energy resources. The public's desire to preserve the quality of man's health and his environment frequently results in opposition to many industrial innovations, including the generation and use of energy. Reliable, quantitative data and information are needed on the risks to health and the environment of different contemporary energy systems, to improve public understanding, and to serve as the basis from which national planners can choose between different energy supply options. With the exception of nuclear energy, even in technologically advanced countries little systematic research and development has been done on the quantitative assessment of the effects on health and the environment of the conventional energy sources. The need for this information has only been realized over the past decade as the climate and environment in many regions of the world has deteriorated with the unabated release of pollutants from factories and energy generating plants in particular. A number of countries have started national environmental health research programmes to monitor and regulate toxic emissions from industry and energy plants. Energy-related environmental health research has been supported and co-ordinated by various international organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). WHO has supported expert reviews on the potential health risks posed
The impact of mental health on labour market outcomes in China.
Lu, Chunling; Frank, Richard G; Liu, Yuanli; Shen, Jian
2009-09-01
Mental illnesses account for 20% of the total burden of disease in China. Yet, health policy in China has not devoted much attention to mental health problems and their impact on Chinese society. The objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of mental health status on labour market outcomes, such as employment and income, and provide evidence about some of the economic consequences of mental illnesses. Using the China Health Surveillance Baseline 2001 Survey and an instrumental variables estimation approach, we address possible reverse causation between work and mental health. To estimate the impact of self-reported mental health status, we use the two-part model, the first part estimating a logit equation for the probability of being employed and the second-part estimating an ordinary least squares (OLS) model on the log of individual income condition on being employed. We use a list of symptoms of mental disorders to constitute a measure of mental health status. Our identification strategy relies on instruments that measure average mental health status by zip code other than the observed individual to implement an instrumental variables model. Both men and women suffer a significant reduction in the employment rate and annual income if the average mental health deteriorates at a population level. The mental health index has a positive and significant effect on the likelihood of being employed. Our findings are consistent with what has been found in industrialised countries. This is the first empirical study that reveals that poor mental health status can be disruptive of labour market activities in China. A rapid rise of mental and behavioural problems in population reflects the transition to a market economy and indicates pressing problems that have gone unrecognised and unaddressed. The negative economic consequences in labour market outcomes suggest a potential gain from preventing and curing the mental disorder. Our study about the impact of mental
Climate change and health in the United States of America: impacts, adaptations, and research
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Jouan, R.; Magaud, M.
2009-11-01
After a description of the various impacts of climate change on human health, this report describes and comments the impacts of climate change on health in the USA: impacts of heat waves, of air quality degradation, of extreme climate events, of climate change on infectious diseases and allergies, regional impacts of climate change. In a second part, it describes the strategies of adaptation to the 'climate change and health' issue in the USA: mitigation and adaptation to climate change, adaptation challenges, insufficiently prepared public health system, adaptation to heat waves, adaptation to air quality degradation, adaptation to extreme climate events, adaptation to food- and water-based diseases and to vector-based diseases, examples of proactive adaptation. The last part describes the organisation of research on 'climate change and health' in the USA: nowadays and in the future, role of federal agencies, priority research axes. The 'United States Global Change Research Program' is presented in appendix, as well as the most important research centres (mostly in universities)
Crisis in the health sector: Impact on nurses' working conditions.
Granero-Lázaro, Alberto; Blanch-Ribas, Josep M; Roldán-Merino, Juan Francisco; Torralbas-Ortega, Jordi; Escayola-Maranges, Ana María
In a context of economic crisis and policies to reduce the public deficit, the budgets of the Catalan Health Institute (CHI) were cut by 15.33% between 2010 and 2014. To assess the perceived impact on nurses' work conditions of measures to contain health spending. The study design was descriptive and transversal. A sample of 1,760 nurses from the province of Barcelona answered a questionnaire on the perceived impact of health spending containment measures implemented in their workplace during the early years of the crisis. Among the main aspects of the perceived impact of these measures, 86.6% of the nurses identified a pay cut and an increase in the following relevant parameters of their working conditions: number of hours worked (66.7%), final ratio of treated patients (35.2%), task complexity and workload (75.3%), rotation through various departments (31.5%), work shifts (21.4%) or work areas (23.4%), job insecurity (58.4%) and loss of employment by dismissal (6.6%) or non-renewal of contract (9%). The perceived impact of the crisis showed a triple negative component: Pay cut, work overload and job insecurity. As a combined effect of this multiple trend, the nurses acknowledged a deterioration in their working conditions and quality of working life. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.
The impact of weather on human health.
Sulman, F G
1984-01-01
The impact of weather on human health is a well-known fact, yet, alas, neglected in the past. Bioclimatology, a vast field of medical knowledge, has only been developed in the past few years. It shows that the air we breathe has a profound influence on our well-being. Electrical charges of the air, such as ions, spherics and electrofields can affect our endocrine, vegetative and autonomous nerve system. It may even be responsible for post-operative thromboembolism. The present article describes weather reactions, electric radiations, climate rhythm, medical aspects of weather changes, and their effect on health and disease. Special devotion is also given to the manifestations of evil winds.
Shift Work and Health: Current Problems and Preventive Actions
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Giovanni Costa
2010-12-01
Full Text Available The paper gives an overview of the problems to be tackled nowadays by occupational health with regards to shift work as well as the main guidelines at organizational and medical levels on how to protect workers’ health and well-being. Working time organization is becoming a key factor on account of new technologies, market globalization, economic competition, and extension of social services to general populations, all of which involve more and more people in continuous assistance and control of work processes over the 24 hours in a day. The large increase of epidemiological and clinical studies on this issue document the severity of this risk factor on human health and well being, at both social and psychophysical levels, starting from a disruption of biological circadian rhythms and sleep/wake cycle and ending in several psychosomatic troubles and disorders, likely also including cancer, and extending to impairment of performance efficiency as well as family and social life. Appropriate interventions on the organization of shift schedules according to ergonomic criteria and careful health surveillance and social support for shift workers are important preventive and corrective measures that allow people to keep working without significant health impairment.
Impact of climate change on human health and health systems in Tanzania: a review.
Mboera, Leonard E G; Mayala, Benjamin K; Kweka, Eliningaya J; Mazigo, Humphrey D
2011-12-01
Climate change (CC) has a number of immediate and long-term impacts on the fundamental determinants of human health. A number of potential human health effects have been associated either directly or indirectly with global climate change. Vulnerability to the risks associated with CC may exacerbate ongoing socio-economic challenges. The objective of this review was to analyse the potential risk and vulnerability in the context of climate-sensitive human diseases and health system in Tanzania. Climate sensitive vector- and waterborne diseases and other health related problems and the policies on climate adaptation in Tanzania during the past 50 years are reviewed. The review has shown that a number of climate-associated infectious disease epidemics have been reported in various areas of the country; mostly being associated with increase in precipitation and temperature. Although, there is no single policy document that specifically addresses issues of CC in the country, the National Environmental Management Act of 1997 recognizes the importance of CC and calls for the government to put up measures to address the phenomenon. A number of strategies and action plans related to CC are also in place. These include the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, the National Action Programme, and the National Bio-safety Framework. The government has put in place a National Climate Change Steering Committee and the National Climate Change Technical Committee to oversee and guide the implementation of CC activities in the country. Recognizing the adverse impacts of natural disasters and calamities, the government established a Disaster Management Division under the Prime Minister's Office. Epidemic Preparedness and Response Unit of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is responsible for emergency preparedness, mostly disease outbreaks. However, specific climate changes associated with human health issues are poorly addressed in the MoHSW strategies and the national
Health care: economic impact of caring for geriatric patients.
Rich, Preston B; Adams, Sasha D
2015-02-01
National health care expenditures constitute a continuously expanding component of the US economy. Health care resources are distributed unequally among the population, and geriatric patients are disproportionately represented. Characterizing this group of individuals that accounts for the largest percentage of US health spending may facilitate the introduction of targeted interventions in key high-impact areas. Changing demographics, an increasing incidence of chronic disease and progressive disability, rapid technological advances, and systemic market failures in the health care sector combine to drive cost. A multidisciplinary approach will become increasingly necessary to balance the delicate relationship between our constrained supply and increasing demand. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The evolution of biotechnology and its impact on health care.
Evens, Ronald; Kaitin, Kenneth
2015-02-01
For more than three decades the field of biotechnology has had an extraordinary impact on science, health care, law, the regulatory environment, and business. During this time more than 260 novel biotechnology products were approved for over 230 indications. Global sales of these products exceeded $175 billion in 2013 and have helped sustain a vibrant life sciences sector that includes more than 4,600 biotech companies worldwide. In this article we examine the evolution of biotechnology during the past three decades and the profound impact that it has had on health care through four interrelated and interdependent tracks: innovations in science, government activity, business development, and patient care. The future impact of biotechnology is promising, as long as the public and private sectors continue to foster policies and provide funds that lead to scientific breakthroughs; governments continue to offer incentives for private-sector biotech innovation; industry develops business models for cost-effective research and development; and all stakeholders establish policies to ensure that the therapeutic advances that mitigate or cure medical conditions that currently have inadequate or no available therapies are accessible to the public at a reasonable cost. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.
Impact of actinide recycle on nuclear fuel cycle health risks
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Michaels, G.E.
1992-06-01
The purpose of this background paper is to summarize what is presently known about potential impacts on the impacts on the health risk of the nuclear fuel cycle form deployment of the Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor (ALMR) 1 and Integral Fast Reactor (IF) 2 technology as an actinide burning system. In a companion paper the impact on waste repository risk is addressed in some detail. Therefore, this paper focuses on the remainder of the fuel cycle
Impact of health-related claims on the perception of other product attributes
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Lähteenmäki, Liisa; Lampila, Piritta; Grunert, Klaus G.
2010-01-01
countries explored consumers' perceptions of attractiveness, healthiness, naturalness, tastiness and ability to reduce risk of disease by comparing ratings of products with and without health claims. Used claims varied in their benefit, active ingredient, claim structure and framing. The results showed...... that health claims had a moderate but mostly negative impact on the perception of other product attributes; the most significant impact was decrease in perceived naturalness. Consumers could also interpret the benefits in claims as intended. The wording of the claim had only small impact on the perception...... is not likely to cause any unrealistic positive inferences in perceived product quality....
Impact of the east Asian economic crisis on health and health care: Malaysia's response.
Suleiman, A B; Lye, M S; Yon, R; Teoh, S C; Alias, M
1998-01-01
In the wake of the east Asian economic crisis, the health budget for the public sector in Malaysia was cut by 12%. The Ministry of Health responded swiftly with a series of broad-based and specific strategies. There was a careful examination of the operating expenditure and where possible measures were taken to minimise the effects of the budget constraints at the service interface. The MOH reprioritised the development of health projects. Important projects such as rural health projects and training facilities, and committed projects, were continued. In public health, population-based preventive and promotive activities were expected to experience some form of curtailment. There is a need to refocus priorities, maximise the utilisation of resources, and increase productivity at all levels and in all sectors, both public and private, in order to minimise the impact of the economic downturn on health.
The Human-Nature Relationship and Its Impact on Health: A Critical Review.
Seymour, Valentine
2016-01-01
Within the past four decades, research has been increasingly drawn toward understanding whether there is a link between the changing human-nature relationship and its impact on people's health. However, to examine whether there is a link requires research of its breadth and underlying mechanisms from an interdisciplinary approach. This article begins by reviewing the debates concerning the human-nature relationship, which are then critiqued and redefined from an interdisciplinary perspective. The concept and chronological history of "health" is then explored, based on the World Health Organization's definition. Combining these concepts, the human-nature relationship and its impact on human's health are then explored through a developing conceptual model. It is argued that using an interdisciplinary perspective can facilitate a deeper understanding of the complexities involved for attaining optimal health at the human-environmental interface.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gunning, Colleen; Harris, Patrick; Mallett, John
2011-01-01
Health service and partners completed an equity focussed health impact assessment to influence the consideration of health and equity within regional land-use planning in Queensland, Australia. This project demonstrated how an equity oriented assessment matrix can assist in testing regional planning scenarios. It is hoped that this HIA will contribute to the emerging interest in ensuring that potential differential health impacts continue to be considered as part of land-use planning processes.
Assessing the impact of aflatoxin consumption on animal health and ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
They are toxic to humans, fish and many other animals, even in low concentrations. Susceptibility to aflatoxins varies by age, health status, species and other factors. Most research has focused on aflatoxins in maize or groundnuts and their impacts on human health. However, aflatoxins are found in other foods and can also ...
The impact and effectiveness of health impact assessment: A conceptual framework
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Harris-Roxas, Ben; Harris, Elizabeth
2013-01-01
The use of health impact assessment (HIA) has expanded rapidly and there are increasing demands for it to demonstrate its effectiveness. This paper presents a conceptual framework for evaluating HIA and describes its development through (i) a review of the literature, (ii) a review of work undertaken as part of a major HIA capacity building project and (iii) an in-depth study of seven completed HIAs. The framework emphasises context, process and impacts as key domains in understanding and evaluating the effectiveness of an HIA. This new framework builds upon the existing approaches to evaluating HIA and extends them to reflect the broad range of factors that comprise and influence the effectiveness of HIAs. It may be of use in evaluating completed HIAs and in planning HIAs that are yet to be undertaken. -- Highlights: ► The first empirically-derived conceptual framework for evaluating HIA ► It may also be useful for planning and reporting on HIAs. ► The framework emphasises context, process and impacts as key domains. ► A broad range of factors influence the effectiveness of HIAs
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kolehmainen-Aitken Riitta-Liisa
2004-05-01
Full Text Available Abstract Designers and implementers of decentralization and other reform measures have focused much attention on financial and structural reform measures, but ignored their human resource implications. Concern is mounting about the impact that the reallocation of roles and responsibilities has had on the health workforce and its management, but the experiences and lessons of different countries have not been widely shared. This paper examines evidence from published literature on decentralization's impact on the demand side of the human resource equation, as well as the factors that have contributed to the impact. The elements that make such an impact analysis exceptionally complex are identified. They include the mode of decentralization that a country is implementing, the level of responsibility for the salary budget and pay determination, and the civil service status of transferred health workers. The main body of the paper is devoted to examining decentralization's impact on human resource issues from three different perspectives: that of local health managers, health workers themselves, and national health leaders. These three groups have different concerns in the human resource realm, and consequently, have been differently affected by decentralization processes. The paper concludes with recommendations regarding three key concerns that national authorities and international agencies should give prompt attention to. They are (1 defining the essential human resource policy, planning and management skills for national human resource managers who work in decentralized countries, and developing training programs to equip them with such skills; (2 supporting research that focuses on improving the knowledge base of how different modes of decentralization impact on staffing equity; and (3 identifying factors that most critically influence health worker motivation and performance under decentralization, and documenting the most cost-effective best