Link Worker social prescribing to improve health and well-being for people with long-term conditions: qualitative study of service user perceptions.

PubMed

Moffatt, Suzanne; Steer, Mel; Lawson, Sarah; Penn, Linda; O'Brien, Nicola

2017-07-16

To describe the experiences of patients with long-term conditions who are referred to and engage with a Link Worker social prescribing programme and identify the impact of the Link Worker programme on health and well-being. Qualitative study using semistructured interviews with thematic analysis of the data. Link Worker social prescribing programme comprising personalised support to identify meaningful health and wellness goals, ongoing support to achieve agreed objectives and linkage into appropriate community services. Inner-city area in West Newcastle upon Tyne, UK (population n=132 000) ranked 40th most socioeconomically deprived in England, served by 17 general practices. Thirty adults with long-term conditions, 14 female, 16 male aged 40-74 years, mean age 62 years, 24 white British, 1 white Irish, 5 from black and minority ethnic communities. Most participants experienced multimorbidity combined with mental health problems, low self-confidence and social isolation. All were adversely affected physically, emotionally and socially by their health problems. The intervention engendered feelings of control and self-confidence, reduced social isolation and had a positive impact on health-related behaviours including weight loss, healthier eating and increased physical activity. Management of long-term conditions and mental health in the face of multimorbidity improved and participants reported greater resilience and more effective problem-solving strategies. Findings suggest that tackling complex and long-term health problems requires an extensive holistic approach not possible in routine primary care. This model of social prescribing, which takes into account physical and mental health, and social and economic issues, was successful for patients who engaged with the service. Future research on a larger scale is required to assess when and for whom social prescribing is clinically effective and cost-effective. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Negative Affect during a Collective (but Not an Individual) Task Is Associated with Holistic Attention in East Asian Cultural Context

PubMed Central

Tominaga, Hitoshi; Uchida, Yukiko; Miyamoto, Yuri; Yamasaki, Teruo

2017-01-01

Previous studies have suggested that individuals from East Asian cultures are more likely to show holistic attention—a pattern of attention that incorporates contextual information into focal stimuli—than individuals from North American cultures. Holistic attention is also prevalent in communities that require close cooperation. However, it is not yet known how cooperation is related to holistic attention. We theorized that holistic attention increases when people experience negative affect (e.g., worry, sadness, and frustration) during collective tasks (but not during individual tasks) because negative affect in social contexts signals the existence of potential threats to social harmony, thus indicating a need to restore social harmony. To examine this hypothesis, an experiment was conducted in which participants performed a musical duet either with another participant (a collective task requiring cooperation), or individually with a computer (an individual task). After the musical task, the Framed Line Task (FLT) was administered to examine their holistic attention. Participants also reported their emotional states both before and after the music task. Results suggested that negative affect in the collective task—but not the individual task—was positively correlated with a holistic pattern of attention. The function of negative affect in social contexts as motivation to restore relationships and how this enhances holistic attention is discussed. The moderating effect of social context on the link between negative affect and cognition is also discussed. PMID:28824483

Negative Affect during a Collective (but Not an Individual) Task Is Associated with Holistic Attention in East Asian Cultural Context.

PubMed

Tominaga, Hitoshi; Uchida, Yukiko; Miyamoto, Yuri; Yamasaki, Teruo

2017-01-01

Previous studies have suggested that individuals from East Asian cultures are more likely to show holistic attention-a pattern of attention that incorporates contextual information into focal stimuli-than individuals from North American cultures. Holistic attention is also prevalent in communities that require close cooperation. However, it is not yet known how cooperation is related to holistic attention. We theorized that holistic attention increases when people experience negative affect (e.g., worry, sadness, and frustration) during collective tasks (but not during individual tasks) because negative affect in social contexts signals the existence of potential threats to social harmony, thus indicating a need to restore social harmony. To examine this hypothesis, an experiment was conducted in which participants performed a musical duet either with another participant (a collective task requiring cooperation), or individually with a computer (an individual task). After the musical task, the Framed Line Task (FLT) was administered to examine their holistic attention. Participants also reported their emotional states both before and after the music task. Results suggested that negative affect in the collective task-but not the individual task-was positively correlated with a holistic pattern of attention. The function of negative affect in social contexts as motivation to restore relationships and how this enhances holistic attention is discussed. The moderating effect of social context on the link between negative affect and cognition is also discussed.

Developing Everyone's Learning and Thinking Abilities: A Parenting Programme the Southern Area Experience--10 Years on!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Liz

2006-01-01

The Developing Everyone's Learning and Thinking Abilities (DELTA) parenting programme aims to promote both the holistic development of children and their parent's self-esteem in order to enhance the parent/carer and child relationship. DELTA operates on a multidisciplinary basis using a "Parents as Partners" model. The programme was…

Face to face with emotion: holistic face processing is modulated by emotional state.

PubMed

Curby, Kim M; Johnson, Kareem J; Tyson, Alyssa

2012-01-01

Negative emotions are linked with a local, rather than global, visual processing style, which may preferentially facilitate feature-based, relative to holistic, processing mechanisms. Because faces are typically processed holistically, and because social contexts are prime elicitors of emotions, we examined whether negative emotions decrease holistic processing of faces. We induced positive, negative, or neutral emotions via film clips and measured holistic processing before and after the induction: participants made judgements about cued parts of chimeric faces, and holistic processing was indexed by the interference caused by task-irrelevant face parts. Emotional state significantly modulated face-processing style, with the negative emotion induction leading to decreased holistic processing. Furthermore, self-reported change in emotional state correlated with changes in holistic processing. These results contrast with general assumptions that holistic processing of faces is automatic and immune to outside influences, and they illustrate emotion's power to modulate socially relevant aspects of visual perception.

Education in Human Values (EHV): Alternative Approach for a Holistic Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaliannan, Maniam; Chandran, Suseela Devi

2010-01-01

A good and comprehensive education system is expected to create the necessary human capital and knowledge workers who will bring the country to greater heights. In this regards, a holistic education programme is needed which can equip students with both the hard and soft skills required as well as human values. However, the main emphasis in…

Emergency and crisis management: critical incident stress management for first responders and business organisations.

PubMed

Guenthner, Daniel H

2012-01-01

A literature review was performed on critical incident stress after September 11th, 2001 (9/11), and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which focused on the need to implement a holistic critical incident stress management programme for first responders and business organisations. Critical incident stress management is required to handle acute stress and other distress in the face of natural or man-made disasters, including terrorist attacks. A holistic approach to community resilience through a well-planned and implemented critical incident stress management programme has been shown in the literature to promote self-help and self-efficacy of individuals and organisations. The interventions and programme elements defined clearly show how a number of different intervention and prevention strategies will promote business and community resilience and also self-efficacy in a culturally-diverse community and organisation. Implementing a critical incident stress management programme within a responding business organisation is critical because of the fact that first responders are the most susceptible every day to exposure to critical incidents that will affect their mental health; and business employees will suffer some of the same maladies as first responders in the event of a disaster or crisis. Utilising the framework provided, a holistic critical incident stress management programme can be implemented to help reduce the effects of burnout, absenteeism, acute stress, post-traumatic stress, substance use and traumatic stress, and to work to promote community resilience and toughen individuals against the effects of stress. Taking care of the needs of the employees of a business organisation, and of those of first responders, is clearly required.

A Holistic School-Based Nutrition Program Fails to Improve Teachers' Nutrition-Related Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviour in Rural China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Dongxu; Stewart, Donald; Chang, Chun

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of a holistic school-based nutrition programme using the health-promoting school (HPS) approach, on teachers' knowledge, attitudes and behaviour in relation to nutrition in rural China. Design/methodology/approach: A cluster-randomised intervention trial design was employed. Two…

Not Seeing the Wood for the Trees: Developing a Feedback Analysis Tool to Explore Feed Forward in Modularised Programmes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Gwyneth; Smith, Holly; Creese, Brian

2015-01-01

This paper considers feedback in the context of modularised programmes in higher education in the UK. It is argued that the self-contained nature of modular assessment may limit feedback dialogue between staff and students to assignment-specific issues, and may impede student progress towards holistic programme-level aims and outcomes. A feedback…

Specifying process requirements for holistic care.

PubMed

Poulymenopoulou, M; Malamateniou, F; Vassilacopoulos, G

2013-09-01

Holistic (health and social) care aims at providing comprehensive care to the community, especially to elderly people and people with multiple illnesses. In turn, this requires using health and social care resources more efficiently through enhanced collaboration and coordination among the corresponding organizations and delivering care closer to patient needs and preferences. This paper takes a patient-centered, process view of holistic care delivery and focuses on requirements elicitation for supporting holistic care processes and enabling authorized users to access integrated patient information at the point of care when needed. To this end, an approach to holistic care process-support requirements elicitation is presented which is based on business process modeling and places particular emphasis on empowering collaboration, coordination and information sharing among health and social care organizations by actively involving users and by providing insights for alternative process designs. The approach provides a means for integrating diverse legacy applications in a process-oriented environment using a service-oriented architecture as an appropriate solution for supporting and automating holistic care processes. The approach is applied in the context of emergency medical care aiming at streamlining and providing support technology to cross-organizational health and social care processes to address global patient needs.

Curriculum for Digital Education Leadership: A Concept Paper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Cheryl; Czerniewicz, Laura; Huang, Cheng-Wen; Mayisela, Tabisa

2016-01-01

The Commonwealth Digital Education Leadership Training in Action (C-DELTA) is a long-term programme of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) to promote a digital education environment in Commonwealth Member Nations. This concept paper proposes a holistic approach to conceptualising digital education leadership. The C-DELTA programme will provide a…

Nontraditional Student Withdrawal from Undergraduate Accounting Programmes: A Holistic Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fortin, Anne; Sauvé, Louise; Viger, Chantal; Landry, France

2016-01-01

A collaborative project of several Quebec universities, this study investigates nontraditional student withdrawal from undergraduate accounting programmes. A nontraditional student is older than 24, or is a commuter or a part-time student, or combines some of these characteristics. Univariate and multivariate analyses of student dropout factors…

Towards AN Integrated Scientific and Social Case for Human Space Exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crawford, I. A.

2004-06-01

I will argue that an ambitious programme of human space exploration, involving a return to the Moon, and eventually human missions to Mars, will add greatly to human knowledge. Gathering such knowledge is the primary aim of science, but science’s compartmentalisation into isolated academic disciplines tends to obscure the overall strength of the scientific case. Any consideration of the scientific arguments for human space exploration must therefore take a holistic view, and integrate the potential benefits over the entire spectrum of human knowledge. Moreover, science is only one thread in a much larger overall case for human space exploration. Other threads include economic, industrial, educational, geopolitical and cultural benefits. Any responsibly formulated public space policy must weigh all of these factors before deciding whether or not an investment in human space activities is scientifically and socially desirable.

The holistic worldview in action: evolution of holistic nurses certification programs.

PubMed

Erickson, Helen Lorraine; Erickson, Margaret Elizabeth; Sandor, M Kay; Brekke, Mary E

2013-12-01

The American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation (AHNCC), the only national credentialing body for holistic nurses, has a responsibility to offer valid, reliable, and rigorous certification examinations and to grow and evolve as indicated by social and professional changes. This article describes four major changes in the work of AHNCC since 2004: a detection of an evolution in the domain of holistic nursing through review of the literature; clarification and specification of levels of practice by educational level; development of the nurse coach role in nursing, designed within the precepts of holistic nursing; and AHNCC's response to the social paradigm shift for health care, and nursing's advanced practice registered nurse consensus model. Each of these is discussed in detail describing the circumstances that perpetuated AHNCC's consideration and the actions taken by AHNCC.

Integrating care for older people with complex needs: key insights and lessons from a seven-country cross-case analysis.

PubMed

Wodchis, Walter P; Dixon, Anna; Anderson, Geoff M; Goodwin, Nick

2015-01-01

To address the challenges of caring for a growing number of older people with a mix of both health problems and functional impairment, programmes in different countries have different approaches to integrating health and social service supports. The goal of this analysis is to identify important lessons for policy makers and service providers to enable better design, implementation and spread of successful integrated care models. This paper provides a structured cross-case synthesis of seven integrated care programmes in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, the UK and the USA. All seven programmes involved bottom-up innovation driven by local needs and included: (1) a single point of entry, (2) holistic care assessments, (3) comprehensive care planning, (4) care co-ordination and (5) a well-connected provider network. The process of achieving successful integration involves collaboration and, although the specific types of collaboration varied considerably across the seven case studies, all involved a care coordinator or case manager. Most programmes were not systematically evaluated but the two with formal external evaluations showed benefit and have been expanded. Case managers or care coordinators who support patient-centred collaborative care are key to successful integration in all our cases as are policies that provide funds and support for local initiatives that allow for bottom-up innovation. However, more robust and systematic evaluation of these initiatives is needed to clarify the 'business case' for integrated health and social care and to ensure successful generalization of local successes.

Challenges in Implementation of Early Childhood Education in Nigeria: The Way Forward

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akinrotimi, Adenike A.; Olowe, Peter K.

2016-01-01

Early Childhood Education (ECE) comprises essential programmes and activities which are critical to holistic development, academic success and future achievements of children. ECE is recognised by the federal government of Nigeria as a foundational and essential programme that Nigerian children must experience. This is why the government has given…

Outcomes in Economic Evaluations of Public Health Interventions in Low‐ and Middle‐Income Countries: Health, Capabilities and Subjective Wellbeing

PubMed Central

Lorgelly, Paula; Yamabhai, Inthira

2016-01-01

Abstract Public health programmes tend to be complex and may combine social strategies with aspects of empowerment, capacity building and knowledge across sectors. The nature of the programmes means that some effects are likely to occur outside the healthcare sector; this breadth impacts on the choice of health and non‐health outcomes to measure and value in an economic evaluation. Employing conventional outcome measures in evaluations of public health has been questioned. There are concerns that such measures are too narrow, overlook important dimensions of programme effect and, thus, lead to such interventions being undervalued. This issue is of particular importance for low‐income and middle‐income countries, which face considerable budget constraints, yet deliver a large proportion of health activities within public health programmes. The need to develop outcome measures, which include broader measures of quality of life, has given impetus to the development of a variety of new, holistic approaches, including Sen's capability framework and measures of subjective wellbeing. Despite their promise, these approaches have not yet been widely applied, perhaps because they present significant methodological challenges. This paper outlines the methodological challenges for the identification and measurement of broader outcomes of public health interventions in economic evaluation in low‐income and middle‐income countries. PMID:26804360

Holistic Health Through Holistic Counseling: Toward a Unified Theory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stensrud, Robert; Stensrud, Kay

1984-01-01

Reviews the trend in health care toward increasing levels of specialization and draws a distinction between specialization and reductionism. A theory of holistic counseling is derived from social learning and transpersonal psychology. (Author)

Integrating natural and social sciences to inspire public confidence in radioactive waste policy case study - Committee on radioactive waste management

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Usher, Sam

2007-07-01

Integrating Natural and Social Sciences to Inspire Public Confidence in Radioactive Waste Policy Case Study: Committee on Radioactive Waste Management Implementing effective long-term radioactive waste management policy is challenging, and both UK and international experience is littered with policy and programme failures. Policy must not only be underpinned by sound science and technical rationale, it must also inspire the confidence of the public and other stakeholders. However, in today's modern society, communities will not simply accept the word of scientists for setting policy based purely on technical grounds. This is particularly so in areas where there are significant social andmore » ethical issues, such as radioactive waste disposal. To develop and implement effective policy, governments, waste owners and implementing bodies must develop processes which effectively integrate both complex technical and scientific issues, with equally challenging social and ethical concerns. These integrating processes must marry often intricate technical issues with broad public and stakeholder engagement programmes, in programmes which can expect the highest levels of public scrutiny, and must invariably be delivered within challenging time and budget constraints. This paper considers a model for how such integrating processes can be delivered. The paper reviews, as a case study, how such challenges were overcome by the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM), which, in July 2006, made recommendations to the UK government for the establishment of a long-term radioactive waste policy. Its recommendations were underpinned by sound science, but also engendered public confidence through undertaking the largest and most significant deliberative public and stakeholder engagement programme on a complex policy issue in the UK. Effective decision-making was enabled through the integration of both proven and bespoke methodologies, including Multi-criteria Decision Analysis and Holistic assessments, coupled with an overarching deliberative approach. How this was managed and delivered to programme demonstrates how important effective integration of different issues, interests and world views can be achieved, and the paper looks forward to how the continued integration of both natural and social sciences is essential if public confidence is to be maintained through implementation stages. This paper will be particularly relevant to governments, waste owners and implementing bodies who are responsible for developing and implementing policy. (author)« less

A Nature-Based Social-Emotional Approach to Supporting Young Children's Holistic Development in Classrooms with and without Walls: The Social-Emotional and Environmental Education Development (SEED) Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Deborah

2016-01-01

This paper describes a nature-based social-emotional approach to supporting young children's holistic development that can be applied in a range of early childhood settings from forest kindergartens and nature-based preschools to more traditional center-based early childhood programs. "The Social-Emotional and Environmental Education…

Promoting Inclusive Practices in Primary Schools in Cyprus: Empowering Pupils to Build Supportive Networks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nicolaidou, Maria; Sophocleous, Antreas; Phtiaka, Helen

2006-01-01

Having ownership of a dream is a core element for school improvement and effectiveness. Believing in the effectiveness of a programme is the beginning of reviving a school's internal capacities for improvement. Any improvement and development programme needs to be inviting and non-threatening, a holistic process involving all stakeholders. In this…

Towards a Sustainable and Holistic Model of Peace Education: A Critique of Conventional Modes of Peace Education through Dialogue in Israel

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schimmel, Noam

2009-01-01

This article explores ways of improving peace education, placing emphasis on peace education programmes in Israel that use dialogue to foster mutual understanding and respect. This article offers a critical assessment of contemporary Israeli peace education initiatives, emphasizing that current peace education programmes in Israel have failed to…

Event-related potentials during individual, cooperative, and competitive task performance differ in subjects with analytic vs. holistic thinking.

PubMed

Apanovich, V V; Bezdenezhnykh, B N; Sams, M; Jääskeläinen, I P; Alexandrov, YuI

2018-01-01

It has been presented that Western cultures (USA, Western Europe) are mostly characterized by competitive forms of social interaction, whereas Eastern cultures (Japan, China, Russia) are mostly characterized by cooperative forms. It has also been stated that thinking in Eastern countries is predominantly holistic and in Western countries analytic. Based on this, we hypothesized that subjects with analytic vs. holistic thinking styles show differences in decision making in different types of social interaction conditions. We investigated behavioural and brain-activity differences between subjects with analytic and holistic thinking during a choice reaction time (ChRT) task, wherein the subjects either cooperated, competed (in pairs), or performed the task without interaction with other participants. Healthy Russian subjects (N=78) were divided into two groups based on having analytic or holistic thinking as determined with an established questionnaire. We measured reaction times as well as event-related brain potentials. There were significant differences between the interaction conditions in task performance between subjects with analytic and holistic thinking. Both behavioral performance and physiological measures exhibited higher variance in holistic than in analytic subjects. Differences in amplitude and P300 latency suggest that decision making was easier for the holistic subjects in the cooperation condition, in contrast to analytic subjects for whom decision making based on these measures seemed to be easier in the competition condition. The P300 amplitude was higher in the individual condition as compared with the collective conditions. Overall, our results support the notion that the brains of analytic and holistic subjects work differently in different types of social interaction conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Relevance of medical rehabilitation in disease management programmes].

PubMed

Lüngen, M; Lauterbach, K W

2003-10-01

Disease management programmes will increasingly be introduced in Germany due to the new risk adjustment scheme. The first disease management programmes started in 2003 for breast cancer and diabetes mellitus type II. German rehabilitation will have to face several challenges. Disease management programmes are strongly based on the notion of Evidence so that proof of the efficacy of a care giving task should be present. Verification of the evidence of the specifically German rehabilitation treatments must therefore be given. However, integration of rehabilitation in disease management programmes could lead to changes in the alignment of German rehabilitation. The essence of German rehabilitation, notably its holistic approach, could get lost with integration in disease management programmes.

A holistic approach on the neurological benefits of music.

PubMed

Jimenez-Dabdoub, Lily; Catterall, Jenn

2015-09-01

A holistic perspective on human beings allows health carers to achieve an understanding of all the physiological, psychological and social disturbances of the patient as a whole. Through this article we wish to focus on how music has holistic neurological benefits. Music-therapy interventions can be more accessible and even "self-managed" by the patient's relatives. They can reinforce social cohesion, family ties and patients' self-esteem and thus produce a better quality of life. Overall, it is important to consider the benefits that an evolutionary understanding of musical behaviour and a holistic clinical perspective of the role of music may bring for rehabilitation of a wide range of symptoms and conditions.

Value orientations and social attitudes in the holistic milieu.

PubMed

Höllinger, Franz

2017-06-01

Based on a representative population survey for Germany this article investigates whether engagement in holistic activities is associated with privatized lifestyles and lack of social responsibility or with countercultural orientations and base-democratic political commitment. To analyse this question, respondents who are engaged in holistic activities are divided into three groups that are compared with each other as well as with Christians and non-religious people. The findings show that the three holistic groups are characterized by clearly different attitudinal patterns: Respondents engaged in body-mind-spirit activities have an affinity to self-directed ways of life, post-materialism and environmentalism. Holistic Christians try to combine the Christian ideal of altruism and post-materialist orientations. Those who are attracted only to magical-occult practices are primarily concerned with individualistic self-improvement and correspond more to the image of the hedonist consumer at the esoteric marketplace. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

Research paradigms and methods for investigating holistic nursing concerns.

PubMed

Hagedorn, Mary Enzman; Zahourek, Rothlyn P

2007-06-01

Holistic nursing is a discipline focused on healing the whole person and dedicated to understanding and supporting the premise of holistic health of the patient and promoting healing in practitioners, patients, families, social groups, and communities. An explication of knowledge related to caring and healing in the human health experience and in holistic nursing is informed by the individual nurse's paradigmatic stance. Holistic nursing research is complex and focuses on healing, particularly healing of self, others, systems, and communities at large. This article discusses the competing paradigmatic perspectives, theoretic perspectives supporting holistic research, fundamental patterns of knowing and knowledge generation, a framework for holistic research, and the challenges of conducting holistic research. Recommendations for future research agenda are presented.

Social reintegration of traumatic brain-injured: the French experience.

PubMed

Truelle, J-L; Wild, K Von; Onillon, M; Montreuil, M

2010-01-01

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) may lead to specific handicap, often hidden, mainly due to cognitive and behavioural sequelae. Social re-entry is a long-term, fluctuant and precarious process. The French experience will be illustrated by 6 initiatives answering to 6 challenges to do with TBI specificities:1. bridging the gap, between initial rehabilitation and community re-entry, via transitional units dealing with assessment, retraining, social/vocational orientation and follow-up. Today, there are 30 such units based on multidisciplinary teams.2. assessing recovery by TBI-specific and validated evaluation tools: EBIS holistic document, BNI Screening of higher cerebral functions, Glasgow outcome extended, and QOLIBRI, a TBI-specific quality of life tool.3. promoting specific re-entry programmes founded on limited medication, ecological neuro-psychological rehabilitation, exchange groups and workshops, violence prevention, continuity of care, environmental structuration, and "resocialisation".4. taking into account the "head injured family"5. facilitating recovery after sports-related concussion6. facing medico-legal consequences and compensation: In that perspective, we developed guidelines for TBI-specific expert appraisal, including mandatory neuro-psychological assessment, family interview and an annual forum gathering lawyers and health professionals.

Complex Solutions for Complex Needs: Towards Holistic and Collaborative Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beadle, Sally

2009-01-01

While the need for holistic health and social service responses is increasingly being articulated in Australia, the discussion is not always matched by improvements in service delivery. This project looked at one service setting where youth workers were encouraged to take a holistic approach to their clients' often-complex needs. Interviews with…

Leadership in Academic Institutions; Preparing Students Holistically for Life: Matters of the Heart and Mind

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sax, Alessandra; Gialamas, Stefanos

2017-01-01

Students spend most hours of their day within Academic Institutions in their classrooms and/or after school and weekend activities. They are able to acquire knowledge and skills needed to be academically, socially, emotionally and physically well. All of these factors contribute to holistic growth and development. However, social and emotional…

Defining interdisciplinary competencies for audiological rehabilitation: findings from a modified Delphi study.

PubMed

Xue, Lina; Le Bot, Gaëlle; Van Petegem, Wim; van Wieringen, Astrid

2018-02-01

The aim of this study is to derive a consensus on an interdisciplinary competency framework regarding a holistic approach for audiological rehabilitation (AR), which includes disciplines from medicine, engineering, social sciences and humanities. We employed a modified Delphi method. In the first round survey, experts were asked to rate an initial list of 28 generic interdisciplinary competencies and to propose specific knowledge areas for AR. In the second round, experts were asked to reconsider their answers in light of the group answers of the first round. An international panel of 27 experts from different disciplines in AR completed the first round. Twenty-two of them completed the second round. We developed a competency framework consisting of 21 generic interdisciplinary competencies grouped in five domains and nine specific competencies (knowledge areas) in three clusters. Suggestions for the implementation of the generic competencies in interdisciplinary programmes were identified. This study reveals insights into the interdisciplinary competencies that are unique for AR. The framework will be useful for educators in developing interdisciplinary programmes as well as for professionals in considering their lifelong training needs in AR.

Health-seeking behaviour and community perceptions of childhood undernutrition and a community management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) programme in rural Bihar, India: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Burtscher, Doris; Burza, Sakib

2015-12-01

Since 2009, Médecins Sans Frontières has implemented a community management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) programme in rural Biraul block, Bihar State, India that has admitted over 10 000 severely malnourished children but has struggled with poor coverage and default rates. With the aim of improving programme outcomes we undertook a qualitative study to understand community perceptions of childhood undernutrition, the CMAM programme and how these affected health-seeking behaviour. Semi-structured and narrative interviews were undertaken with families of severely malnourished children, non-undernourished children and traditional and allopathic health-care workers. Analysis of transcripts was by qualitative content analysis. Biraul, Bihar State, India, 2010. One hundred and fifty people were interviewed in individual or group discussions during fifty-eight interviews. Undernutrition was not viewed as a disease; instead, local disease concepts were identified that described the clinical spectrum of undernutrition. These concepts informed perception, so caregivers were unlikely to consult health workers if children were 'only skinny'. Hindu and Muslim priests and other traditional health practitioners were more regularly consulted and perceived as easier to access than allopathic health facilities. Senior family members and village elders had significant influence on the health-seeking behaviour of parents of severely malnourished children. The results reaffirm how health education and CMAM programmes should encompass local disease concepts, beliefs and motivations to improve awareness that undernutrition is a disease and one that can be treated. CMAM is well accepted by the community; however, programmes must do better to engage communities, including traditional healers, to enable development of a holistic approach within existing social structures.

Training a new generation of speech-language pathologists with competences in the management of literacy disorders and learning disabilities in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Yuen, Kevin C P

2014-01-01

One of the recent developments in the education of speech-language pathology is to include literacy disorders and learning disabilities as key training components in the training curriculum. Disorders in reading and writing are interwoven with disorders in speaking and listening, which should be managed holistically, particularly in children and adolescents. With extensive training in clinical linguistics, language disorders, and other theoretical knowledge and clinical skills, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are the best equipped and most competent professionals to screen, identify, diagnose, and manage individuals with literacy disorders. To tackle the challenges of and the huge demand for services in literacy as well as language and learning disorders, the Hong Kong Institute of Education has recently developed the Master of Science Programme in Educational Speech-Language Pathology and Learning Disabilities, which is one of the very first speech-language pathology training programmes in Asia to blend training components of learning disabilities, literacy disorders, and social-emotional-behavioural-developmental disabilities into a developmentally and medically oriented speech-language pathology training programme. This new training programme aims to prepare a new generation of SLPs to be able to offer comprehensive support to individuals with speech, language, literacy, learning, communication, and swallowing disorders of different developmental or neurogenic origins, particularly to infants and adolescents as well as to their family and educational team. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

'Doing with …' rather than 'doing for …' older adults: rationale and content of the 'Stay Active at Home' programme.

PubMed

Metzelthin, Silke F; Zijlstra, Gertrud Ar; van Rossum, Erik; de Man-van Ginkel, Janneke M; Resnick, Barbara; Lewin, Gill; Parsons, Matthew; Kempen, Gertrudis Ijm

2017-11-01

Owing to increasing age, accidents or periods of illness, home care services are provided to community-dwelling older adults. Traditionally, these services focus on doing things for older adults rather than with them; though from a rehabilitative perspective, it is important to assist older adults to attain and maintain their highest level of functioning. Consequently, a re-orientation of home care services is required away from treating disease and creating dependency towards focusing on capabilities and opportunities and maximising independence. To achieve this behavioural change in home care professionals, the 'Stay Active at Home' programme was developed. The aim of this article is to give a detailed description of the rationale and content of the 'Stay Active at Home' programme by making use of the TIDieR (Template for Intervention Description and Replication) Checklist. 'Stay Active at Home' is a comprehensive training programme that aims to equip home care professionals (i.e. community nurses and domestic support workers) with the necessary knowledge, attitude, skills and social and organisational support to deliver day-to-day services at home from a more rehabilitative perspective. More specifically, home care professionals are expected to deliver goal-oriented, holistic and person-centred services focusing on supporting older adults to maintain, gain or restore their competences to engage in physical and daily activities so that they can manage their everyday life as independently as possible.

The Good Life: A Holistic Approach to the Health of the Population

PubMed Central

Shahtahmasebi, Said

2006-01-01

The idea of a holistic approach towards public health planning presented itself through a food-related and trivial curiosity. It is, however, emphasized that food and nutrition are only one aspect of public health. The aim is to reintroduce a holistic approach to achieve sustainable public health with emphasis on the interpretation of the term “holistic”. Holistic decision making is not a new phenomenon and has historical basis. In line with shifts in social norms, decision making has evolved. In particular, various complex models for public health have been proposed to respond to ever-increasing health issues. The advancement in mathematical sciences and technology has led to the quantification of health models. However, mathematical representations pose a major limitation on the holistic approach. Due to its evolutionary nature, human health is dynamically related to social, environmental, and other processes. With the current knowledge, it is difficult to quantify the evolution and feedback effects in holistic models. In this paper, the individual's and public's health is viewed as a dynamic process, but not independent of other dynamic processes (e.g., agriculture, economy, politics) that are all part of a much bigger process. Furthermore, it is argued that it is not merely sufficient to account for all known factors to be holistic. In this paper, the holistic conceptual model is illustrated, using public health as the central issue. The application of the conceptual model is also discussed using two practical examples. PMID:17370007

Selection and visualisation of outcome measures for complex post-acute acquired brain injury rehabilitation interventions

PubMed Central

Ford, Catherine Elaine Longworth; Malley, Donna; Bateman, Andrew; Clare, Isabel C.H.; Wagner, Adam P.; Gracey, Fergus

2016-01-01

Background Outcome measurement challenges rehabilitation services to select tools that promote stakeholder engagement in measuring complex interventions. Objectives To examine the suitability of outcome measures for complex post-acute acquired brain injury (ABI) rehabilitation interventions, report outcomes of a holistic, neuropsychological ABI rehabilitation program and propose a simple way of visualizing complex outcomes. Methods Patient/carer reported outcome measures (PROMS), experience measures (PREMS) and staff-rated measures were collected for consecutive admissions over 1 year to an 18-week holistic, neuropsychological rehabilitation programme at baseline, 18 weeks and 3- and 6-month follow-up. Results Engagement with outcome measurement was poorest for carers and at follow-up for all stakeholders. Dependence, abilities, adjustment, unmet needs, symptomatology including executive dysfunction, and self-reassurance showed improvements at 18 weeks. Adjustment, social participation, perceived health, symptomatology including dysexecutive difficulties, and anxiety were worse at baseline for those who did not complete rehabilitation, than those who did. A radar plot facilitated outcome visualization. Conclusions Engagement with outcome measurement was best when time and support were provided. Supplementing patient- with staff-rated and attendance measures may explain missing data and help quantify healthcare needs. The MPAI4, EBIQ and DEX-R appeared suitable measures to evaluate outcomes and distinguish those completing and not completing neuropsychological rehabilitation. PMID:27341362

Holistic nurses' examinations: past, present, future.

PubMed

Erickson, Helen L

2009-09-01

Social and professional paradigm shifts of the 1990s moved holistic nursing into the mainstream of health care, resulting in the need for national certification of Holistic Nurses. Given the assumptions that certification examinations are based on the knowledge, skills, and abilities prerequisite for competent practice in a given specialty, and that the certification credential tells the public and peers that the certificant has such knowledge, The American Holistic Nurses Association's Leadership Council (AHNA-LC) initiated certification processes in 1994. On the request of AHNA-LC, the American Holistic Nurses' Certification Corporation (AHNCC) assumed these responsibilities in April, 1997. Since then, AHNCC has overseen the revision of the first certification process for holistic nursing prepared at the baccalaureate level and development of a second one designed for holistic nurses prepared in graduate nursing programs. This article describe these developmental processes.

Holistic measurement of well-being: psychometric properties of the physical, mental and social well-being scale (PMSW-21) for adults.

PubMed

Supranowicz, Piotr; Paź, Małgorzata

2014-01-01

A holistic approach to health requires the development of tools that would allow to measure the inner world of individuals within its physical, mental and social dimensions. To create the Physical, Mental and Social Well-being scale (PMSW-21) that allows a holistic representation of various dimensions of well-being in such a way as they are perceived by the individuals and how affected their health. The study was conducted on the sample of 406 inhabitants of Warsaw involving in the Social Participation in Health Reform project. The PMSW-21 scale included: headache, tiredness, abdominal pain, palpitation, joint pain, backache, sleep disturbance (physical domain), anxiety, guiltiness, helplessness, hopelessness, sadness, self-dissatisfaction, hostility (mental domain), security, communicability, protection, loneliness, rejection, sociability and appreciation (social domain). The five criterial variables of health and seven of life experiences were adopted to assess the discriminative power of the PMSW-21 scale. The total well-being scale as well as its physical, mental and social domains showed high reliability (Cronbach a 0.81, 0.77, 0.90, 0.72, respectively). The analysis confirmed the construct validity. All the items stronger correlated with their own domain than with the others (ranges for physical: 0.41 - 0.55, mental: 0.49 - 0.80 and social: 0.31 - 0.50). The total scale demonstrate high sensitivity; it significantly differentiated almost all criterial variables. Physical domain showed high sensitivity for health as well as for negative life events variables, while the mental and social domains were more sensitive for life events. The analysis confirmed the usefulness of PMSW-21 scale for measure the holistic well-being. The reliability of the total scale and its domains, construct validity and sensitivity for health and life determinants were at acceptable level.

Longitudinal data analyses using linear mixed models in SPSS: concepts, procedures and illustrations.

PubMed

Shek, Daniel T L; Ma, Cecilia M S

2011-01-05

Although different methods are available for the analyses of longitudinal data, analyses based on generalized linear models (GLM) are criticized as violating the assumption of independence of observations. Alternatively, linear mixed models (LMM) are commonly used to understand changes in human behavior over time. In this paper, the basic concepts surrounding LMM (or hierarchical linear models) are outlined. Although SPSS is a statistical analyses package commonly used by researchers, documentation on LMM procedures in SPSS is not thorough or user friendly. With reference to this limitation, the related procedures for performing analyses based on LMM in SPSS are described. To demonstrate the application of LMM analyses in SPSS, findings based on six waves of data collected in the Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) in Hong Kong are presented.

Longitudinal Data Analyses Using Linear Mixed Models in SPSS: Concepts, Procedures and Illustrations

PubMed Central

Shek, Daniel T. L.; Ma, Cecilia M. S.

2011-01-01

Although different methods are available for the analyses of longitudinal data, analyses based on generalized linear models (GLM) are criticized as violating the assumption of independence of observations. Alternatively, linear mixed models (LMM) are commonly used to understand changes in human behavior over time. In this paper, the basic concepts surrounding LMM (or hierarchical linear models) are outlined. Although SPSS is a statistical analyses package commonly used by researchers, documentation on LMM procedures in SPSS is not thorough or user friendly. With reference to this limitation, the related procedures for performing analyses based on LMM in SPSS are described. To demonstrate the application of LMM analyses in SPSS, findings based on six waves of data collected in the Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) in Hong Kong are presented. PMID:21218263

Medical social sciences. Their potential contributions to medical education reforms in Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Al-Borie, Hussein M

2012-07-01

This article emphasizes a holistic definition of health. It then introduces the concept of Medical social sciences, and drawing from the literature, argues for the inevitability of social sciences in medical education, especially in the health systems of developing countries including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This is followed by a brief history of medical education in KSA, and an examination of some important social science issues. Finally, this article suggests how a holistic approach involving inputs from the social and behavioral sciences could be incorporated into undergraduate medical education to produce medical professionals who could better meet the community and public health needs of the country.

Social Reintegration of Traumatic Brain-Injured: The French Experience

PubMed Central

Truelle, J.-L.; Wild, K. Von; Onillon, M.; Montreuil, M.

2010-01-01

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) may lead to specific handicap, often hidden, mainly due to cognitive and behavioural sequelae. Social re-entry is a long-term, fluctuant and precarious process. The French experience will be illustrated by 6 initiatives answering to 6 challenges to do with TBI specificities: 1. bridging the gap, between initial rehabilitation and community re-entry, via transitional units dealing with assessment, retraining, social/vocational orientation and follow-up. Today, there are 30 such units based on multidisciplinary teams. 2. assessing recovery by TBI-specific and validated evaluation tools: EBIS holistic document, BNI Screening of higher cerebral functions, Glasgow outcome extended, and QOLIBRI, a TBI-specific quality of life tool. 3. promoting specific re-entry programmes founded on limited medication, ecological neuro-psychological rehabilitation, exchange groups and workshops, violence prevention, continuity of care, environmental structuration, and “resocialisation”. 4. taking into account the “head injured family” 5. facilitating recovery after sports-related concussion 6. facing medico-legal consequences and compensation: In that perspective, we developed guidelines for TBI-specific expert appraisal, including mandatory neuro-psychological assessment, family interview and an annual forum gathering lawyers and health professionals. PMID:22028740

Growing a Nurturing Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boorn, Clare; Dunn, Paula Hopkins; Page, Claire

2010-01-01

"Growing a nurturing classroom" is an awareness training programme presented by educational psychologists in Leicestershire for professionals working in primary schools with the aim of promoting an optimal environment for learning and emotional well-being. The training helps primary school staff to take a holistic approach to education;…

USE Efficiency: an innovative educational programme for energy efficiency in buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papadopoulos, Theofilos A.; Christoforidis, Georgios C.; Papagiannis, Grigoris K.

2017-10-01

Power engineers are expected to play a pivotal role in transforming buildings into smart and energy-efficient structures, which is necessary since buildings are responsible for a considerable amount of the total energy consumption. To fulfil this role, a holistic approach in education is required, tackling subjects traditionally related to other engineering disciplines. In this context, USE Efficiency is an inter-institutional and interdisciplinary educational programme implemented in nine European Universities targeting energy efficiency in buildings. The educational programme effectively links professors, students, engineers and industry experts, creating a unique learning environment. The scope of the paper is to present the methodology and the general framework followed in the USE Efficiency programme. The proposed methodology can be adopted for the design and implementation of educational programmes on energy efficiency and sustainable development in higher education. End-of-course survey results showed positive feedback from the participating students, indicating the success of the programme.

Natural Hazards Education in the Himalayan Region of Ladakh, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gill, Joel; Tostevin, Rosalie

2015-04-01

Here we present a review of a geohazards education and engagement project in the Indian region of Ladakh. Located in the Indian Himalaya, Ladakh is home to historically-disadvantaged and endangered indigenous groups. It is also an area of extreme topography, climate and vulnerability, with a growing tourist industry. This combination of factors makes it an important region to improve geohazards understanding and observe the complex interactions between nature, society, and culture. This project: (i) delivered a geoscience education programme, in conjunction with a range of local and international partners, to multiple schools in the region; (ii) utilised interactive demonstrations to teach students about the key physical dynamics of landslides and earthquakes; and (iii) integrated aspects of physical and social science within the teaching, to give students a holistic understanding of natural hazards and disaster risk reduction. In total three programmes were delivered, to a range of different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. This presentation will particularly highlight (i) the importance of delivering material in a culturally appropriate way, (ii) challenges regarding the sustainability of delivering high quality geoscience education projects, and (iii) ways in which geoscience education outreach can be mainstreamed into overseas research visits.

Intuitive Face Judgments Rely on Holistic Eye Movement Pattern

PubMed Central

Mega, Laura F.; Volz, Kirsten G.

2017-01-01

Non-verbal signals such as facial expressions are of paramount importance for social encounters. Their perception predominantly occurs without conscious awareness and is effortlessly integrated into social interactions. In other words, face perception is intuitive. Contrary to classical intuition tasks, this work investigates intuitive processes in the realm of every-day type social judgments. Two differently instructed groups of participants judged the authenticity of emotional facial expressions, while their eye movements were recorded: an ‘intuitive group,’ instructed to rely on their “gut feeling” for the authenticity judgments, and a ‘deliberative group,’ instructed to make their judgments after careful analysis of the face. Pixel-wise statistical maps of the resulting eye movements revealed a differential viewing pattern, wherein the intuitive judgments relied on fewer, longer and more centrally located fixations. These markers have been associated with a global/holistic viewing strategy. The holistic pattern of intuitive face judgments is in line with evidence showing that intuition is related to processing the “gestalt” of an object, rather than focusing on details. Our work thereby provides further evidence that intuitive processes are characterized by holistic perception, in an understudied and real world domain of intuition research. PMID:28676773

Intuitive Face Judgments Rely on Holistic Eye Movement Pattern.

PubMed

Mega, Laura F; Volz, Kirsten G

2017-01-01

Non-verbal signals such as facial expressions are of paramount importance for social encounters. Their perception predominantly occurs without conscious awareness and is effortlessly integrated into social interactions. In other words, face perception is intuitive. Contrary to classical intuition tasks, this work investigates intuitive processes in the realm of every-day type social judgments. Two differently instructed groups of participants judged the authenticity of emotional facial expressions, while their eye movements were recorded: an 'intuitive group,' instructed to rely on their "gut feeling" for the authenticity judgments, and a 'deliberative group,' instructed to make their judgments after careful analysis of the face. Pixel-wise statistical maps of the resulting eye movements revealed a differential viewing pattern, wherein the intuitive judgments relied on fewer, longer and more centrally located fixations. These markers have been associated with a global/holistic viewing strategy. The holistic pattern of intuitive face judgments is in line with evidence showing that intuition is related to processing the "gestalt" of an object, rather than focusing on details. Our work thereby provides further evidence that intuitive processes are characterized by holistic perception, in an understudied and real world domain of intuition research.

Impaired holistic coding of facial expression and facial identity in congenital prosopagnosia.

PubMed

Palermo, Romina; Willis, Megan L; Rivolta, Davide; McKone, Elinor; Wilson, C Ellie; Calder, Andrew J

2011-04-01

We test 12 individuals with congenital prosopagnosia (CP), who replicate a common pattern of showing severe difficulty in recognising facial identity in conjunction with normal recognition of facial expressions (both basic and 'social'). Strength of holistic processing was examined using standard expression composite and identity composite tasks. Compared to age- and sex-matched controls, group analyses demonstrated that CPs showed weaker holistic processing, for both expression and identity information. Implications are (a) normal expression recognition in CP can derive from compensatory strategies (e.g., over-reliance on non-holistic cues to expression); (b) the split between processing of expression and identity information may take place after a common stage of holistic processing; and (c) contrary to a recent claim, holistic processing of identity is functionally involved in face identification ability. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clinical Holistic Medicine: The Dean Ornish Program (“Opening the Heart”) in Cardiovascular Disease

PubMed Central

Ventegodt, Søren; Merrick, Efrat; Merrick, Joav

2006-01-01

Dean Ornish of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California has created an intensive holistic treatment for coronary heart patients with improved diet (low fat, whole foods, plant based), exercise, stress management, and social support that has proven to be efficient. In this paper, we analyze the rationale behind his cure in relation to contemporary holistic medical theory. In spite of a complex treatment program, the principles seem to be simple and in accordance with holistic medical theories, like the Antonovsky concept of rehabilitating the sense of coherence and the life mission theory for holistic medicine. We believe there is a need for the allocation of resources for further research into the aspects of holistic health and its methods, where positive and significant results have been proven and reproduced at several sites. PMID:17369996

Clinical holistic medicine: the Dean Ornish program ("opening the heart") in cardiovascular disease.

PubMed

Ventegodt, Søren; Merrick, Efrat; Merrick, Joav

2006-02-02

Dean Ornish of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California has created an intensive holistic treatment for coronary heart patients with improved diet (low fat, whole foods, plant based), exercise, stress management, and social support that has proven to be efficient. In this paper, we analyze the rationale behind his cure in relation to contemporary holistic medical theory. In spite of a complex treatment program, the principles seem to be simple and in accordance with holistic medical theories, like the Antonovsky concept of rehabilitating the sense of coherence and the life mission theory for holistic medicine. We believe there is a need for the allocation of resources for further research into the aspects of holistic health and its methods, where positive and significant results have been proven and reproduced at several sites.

‘Doing with …’ rather than ‘doing for …’ older adults: rationale and content of the ‘Stay Active at Home’ programme

PubMed Central

Metzelthin, Silke F; Zijlstra, Gertrud AR; van Rossum, Erik; de Man-van Ginkel, Janneke M; Resnick, Barbara; Lewin, Gill; Parsons, Matthew; Kempen, Gertrudis IJM

2017-01-01

Background: Owing to increasing age, accidents or periods of illness, home care services are provided to community-dwelling older adults. Traditionally, these services focus on doing things for older adults rather than with them; though from a rehabilitative perspective, it is important to assist older adults to attain and maintain their highest level of functioning. Consequently, a re-orientation of home care services is required away from treating disease and creating dependency towards focusing on capabilities and opportunities and maximising independence. To achieve this behavioural change in home care professionals, the ‘Stay Active at Home’ programme was developed. Aims and methods: The aim of this article is to give a detailed description of the rationale and content of the ‘Stay Active at Home’ programme by making use of the TIDieR (Template for Intervention Description and Replication) Checklist. Approach: ‘Stay Active at Home’ is a comprehensive training programme that aims to equip home care professionals (i.e. community nurses and domestic support workers) with the necessary knowledge, attitude, skills and social and organisational support to deliver day-to-day services at home from a more rehabilitative perspective. More specifically, home care professionals are expected to deliver goal-oriented, holistic and person-centred services focusing on supporting older adults to maintain, gain or restore their competences to engage in physical and daily activities so that they can manage their everyday life as independently as possible. PMID:29050508

Pull and Push in Educational Innovation: Study of an Interfaculty Programme.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnett, S. A.; Brown, Valerie A.

1981-01-01

A multidisciplinary, holistic course was introduced at the Australian National University to relate scientific evidence to the demands of decision making and problem solving. Student participants are shown to improve in independent judgment and decline in dogmatism. Program design and implementation are discussed. (MSE)

Investing in the foundation of sustainable development: pathways to scale up for early childhood development

PubMed Central

Richter, Linda M; Daelmans, Bernadette; Lombardi, Joan; Heymann, Jody; Boo, Florencia Lopez; Behrman, Jere R; Lu, Chunling; Lucas, Jane E; Perez-Escamilla, Rafael; Dua, Tarun; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A; Stenberg, Karin; Gertler, Paul; Darmstadt, Gary L

2018-01-01

Building on long-term benefits of early intervention (Paper 2 of this Series) and increasing commitment to early childhood development (Paper 1 of this Series), scaled up support for the youngest children is essential to improving health, human capital, and wellbeing across the life course. In this third paper, new analyses show that the burden of poor development is higher than estimated, taking into account additional risk factors. National programmes are needed. Greater political prioritisation is core to scale-up, as are policies that afford families time and financial resources to provide nurturing care for young children. Effective and feasible programmes to support early child development are now available. All sectors, particularly education, and social and child protection, must play a role to meet the holistic needs of young children. However, health provides a critical starting point for scaling up, given its reach to pregnant women, families, and young children. Starting at conception, interventions to promote nurturing care can feasibly build on existing health and nutrition services at limited additional cost. Failure to scale up has severe personal and social consequences. Children at elevated risk for compromised development due to stunting and poverty are likely to forgo about a quarter of average adult income per year, and the cost of inaction to gross domestic product can be double what some countries currently spend on health. Services and interventions to support early childhood development are essential to realising the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals. PMID:27717610

Social Media for the Promotion of Holistic Self-Participatory Care: An Evidence Based Approach. Contribution of the IMIA Social Media Working Group.

PubMed

Miron-Shatz, T; Hansen, M M; Grajales, F J; Martin-Sanchez, F; Bamidis, P D

2013-01-01

As health information is becoming increasingly accessible, social media offers ample opportunities to track, be informed, share and promote health. These authors explore how social media and holistic care may work together; more specifically however, our objective is to document, from different perspectives, how social networks have impacted, supported and helped sustain holistic self-participatory care. A literature review was performed to investigate the use of social media for promoting health in general and complementary alternative care. We also explore a case study of an intervention for improving the health of Greek senior citizens through digital and other means. The Health Belief Model provides a framework for assessing the benefits of social media interventions in promoting comprehensive participatory self-care. Some interventions are particularly effective when integrating social media with real-world encounters. Yet not all social media tools are evidence-based and efficacious. Interestingly, social media is also used to elicit patient ratings of treatments (e.g., for depression), often demonstrating the effectiveness of complementary treatments, such as yoga and mindfulness meditation. To facilitate the use of social media for the promotion of complementary alternative medicine through self-quantification, social connectedness and sharing of experiences, exploration of concrete and abstract ideas are presented here within. The main mechanisms by which social support may help improve health - emotional support, an ability to share experiences, and non-hierarchal roles, emphasizing reciprocity in giving and receiving support - are integral to social media and provide great hope for its effective use.

A Left-Hemisphere Model for Right-Hemisphere Programmers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krantz, Gordon C.

The paper presents an action-and-decision (left-hemisphere) algorithm as a model for planning by holistic, intuitive (right-hemisphere) managers of service programs, including programs for exceptional children. Because the model is not based upon an established literature in the field of service to exceptional individuals, and because it appears…

Interventions to Support Integrated Psychological Care and Holistic Health Outcomes in Paediatrics.

PubMed

Shafran, Roz; Bennett, Sophie D; McKenzie Smith, Mhairi

2017-08-16

There are strong calls from many national and international bodies for there to be a 'holistic' and integrated approach to the understanding and management of psychological and physical health needs. Such holistic approaches are characterized by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the symptoms of a disease. Holistic approaches can impact on mental and physical health and are cost-effective. Several psychological interventions have demonstrated efficacy in improving holistic health outcomes, for example Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Behavioural Therapies and Problem Solving Therapies. They have shown to impact upon a wide range of outcomes, including psychological distress, pain, physical health, medication adherence, and family outcomes. There is increasing recognition that the holistic goals of the child and family should be prioritised, and that interventions and outcomes should reflect these goals. A focus on holistic goals in therapy can be achieved through a combination of personalised goal-based outcomes in addition to symptom-based measures.

Identification and Management of Chronic Pain in Primary Care: a Review.

PubMed

Mills, Sarah; Torrance, Nicola; Smith, Blair H

2016-02-01

Chronic pain is a common, complex, and challenging condition, where understanding the biological, social, physical and psychological contexts is vital to successful outcomes in primary care. In managing chronic pain the focus is often on promoting rehabilitation and maximizing quality of life rather than achieving cure. Recent screening tools and brief intervention techniques can be effective in helping clinicians identify, stratify and manage both patients already living with chronic pain and those who are at risk of developing chronic pain from acute pain. Frequent assessment and re-assessment are key to ensuring treatment is appropriate and safe, as well as minimizing and addressing side effects. Primary care management should be holistic and evidence-based (where possible) and incorporates both pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches, including psychology, self-management, physiotherapy, peripheral nervous system stimulation, complementary therapies and comprehensive pain-management programmes. These may either be based wholly in primary care or supported by appropriate specialist referral.

Evaluation of programs for adolescents with greater psychosocial needs: community-based Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Shek, Daniel T L; Law, Moon Y M

2017-02-01

This study examined the perceptions of the Tier 2 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social programmes) among Chinese secondary school students displaying greater psychosocial needs. Results showed that participants held positive views of program qualities, implementer qualities, as well as the perceived effectiveness of the program. Significant grade differences in terms of various indicators of satisfaction related to program qualities, implementer qualities, and program effectiveness were found. Correlation analyses showed that there were significant inter-relationships amongst program qualities, implementer qualities and program effectiveness. In line with the predictions, both program qualities and implementer qualities were significant predictors of perceived program effectiveness. The present study provides support for the perceived effectiveness of the Tier 2 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in the community-based project context.

Program Implementers' Evaluation of the Project P.A.T.H.S.: Findings Based on Different Datasets over Time

PubMed Central

Shek, Daniel T. L.; Ma, Cecilia M. S.

2012-01-01

This paper integrates the evaluation findings based on program implementers in nine datasets collected from 2005 to 2009 (244 schools and 7,926 implementers). Using consolidated data with schools as the unit of analysis, results showed that program implementers generally had positive perceptions of the program, themselves, and benefits of the program, with more than four-fifths of the implementers regarding the program as beneficial to the program participants. The subjective outcome evaluation instrument was found to be internally consistent. Multiple regression analyses revealed that perceived qualities of the program and program implementers predicted perceived effectiveness of the program. In conjunction with evaluation findings based on other sources, the present study provides support for the effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) in Hong Kong. PMID:22629224

Interim evaluation of the Tier 1 Program of Project P.A.T.H.S.: continuation of evidence.

PubMed

Shek, Daniel T L; Yu, Lu; Chan, Alex C W

2012-01-17

An interim evaluation study was conducted to understand the implementation of the Tier 1 Program of Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) in the 2008/09 school year. One hundred and twenty-eight schools were randomly selected to provide information on the implementation details of the program via interviews, telephone interviews and self-completed questionnaires. Results showed that a majority of the workers perceived that the students had positive responses to the program and the program was helpful to the students. Program workers' views toward the implementation of the Tier 1 Program were positive across different grades and program implementation modes. In conjunction with previous studies, the present findings suggest that the Tier 1 Program of Project P.A.T.H.S. is well received by different stakeholders.

Social Management of Gender Imbalance in China: A Holistic Governance Framework

PubMed Central

Shuzhuo, Li; Zijuan, Shang; Feldman, Marcus W.

2015-01-01

Since the 1980s, the sex ratio at birth (abbreviated as SRB) in China has been rising and has remained extremely high. With rapid social transition, gender imbalance has become one of the most significant issues of China's social management and has raised many problems and challenges. Innovation in the management principles and public policies of social management urgently needs a new perspective of holistic governance framework. Based on the latest trends in gender imbalance, using data from China's 2010 Population Census, this paper firstly reviews China's strategic policy responses and actions concerning the governance of the male-skewed SRB. With holistic governance theory, we focus on China's “Care for Girls” campaign to analyze the current public policy system. This paper then reveals fragmentation in the current management of China's gender imbalance. Finally we propose a social management framework for addressing China's gender imbalance. The public system needs to be strengthened, and the Chinese government should focus more on vulnerable groups such as forced bachelors in rural areas, and try to bring those groups into the policy framework for governance of gender imbalance. The proposed theoretical framework may help Chinese governments at various levels to design and implement improved social management of gender imbalance issues. PMID:26663948

Social Management of Gender Imbalance in China: A Holistic Governance Framework.

PubMed

Shuzhuo, Li; Zijuan, Shang; Feldman, Marcus W

2013-08-31

Since the 1980s, the sex ratio at birth (abbreviated as SRB) in China has been rising and has remained extremely high. With rapid social transition, gender imbalance has become one of the most significant issues of China's social management and has raised many problems and challenges. Innovation in the management principles and public policies of social management urgently needs a new perspective of holistic governance framework. Based on the latest trends in gender imbalance, using data from China's 2010 Population Census, this paper firstly reviews China's strategic policy responses and actions concerning the governance of the male-skewed SRB. With holistic governance theory, we focus on China's "Care for Girls" campaign to analyze the current public policy system. This paper then reveals fragmentation in the current management of China's gender imbalance. Finally we propose a social management framework for addressing China's gender imbalance. The public system needs to be strengthened, and the Chinese government should focus more on vulnerable groups such as forced bachelors in rural areas, and try to bring those groups into the policy framework for governance of gender imbalance. The proposed theoretical framework may help Chinese governments at various levels to design and implement improved social management of gender imbalance issues.

Cerebral Lateralization of Pro- and Anti-Social Tendencies

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Mounting evidence suggest that the right-hemisphere (RH) has a relative advantage, over the left-hemisphere (LH), in mediating social intelligence - identifying social stimuli, understanding the intentions of other people, awareness of the dynamics in social relationships, and successful handling of social interactions. Furthermore, a review and synthesis of the literature suggest that pro-social attitudes and behaviors are associated with physiological activity in the RH, whereas unsocial and anti-social tendencies are mediated primarily by the LH. This hemispheric asymmetry is rooted in several neurobiological and functional differences between the two hemispheres. (I) Positive social interactions often require inhibiting one's immediate desires and considering the perspectives and needs of others. Given that self-control is mediated by the RH, pro-social emotions and behaviors are, therefore, inherently associated with the RH as it subserves the brain's self-restraint mechanisms. (II) The RH mediates experiences of vulnerability. It registers the relative clumsiness and motor weakness of the left limbs, and it is involved, more than the LH, in processing threats and mediating fear. Emotional states of vulnerability trigger the need for affiliation and sociality, therefore the RH has a greater role in mediating pro-social attitudes and behaviors. (III) The RH mediates a holistic mode of representing the world. Holistic perception emphasizes similarities rather than differences, takes a long-term perspective, is associated with divergent thinking and seeing other points-of-view, and it mediates a personal mode of relating to people. All these features of holistic perception facilitate a more empathetic attitude toward others and pro-social behaviors. PMID:24737936

Holistic science: An understanding of science education encompassing ethical and social issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malekpour, Susan

Science has often been viewed, by the majority of our educators and the general public, as being objective and emotionless. Based on this view, our educators teach science in the same manner, objectively and in an abstract form. This manner of teaching has hindered our learners' ability for active learning and distanced them from the subject matter. In this action research, I have examined holistic science pedagogy in conjunction with a constructivism theory. In holistic science pedagogy, scientific knowledge is combined with subjective personal experiences and social issues. There is an interaction between student and scientific data when the student's context, relationships, and lived experiences that play a role in the scientific recognition of the world were incorporated into the learning process. In this pedagogical model, the factual content was viewed from the context of social and ethical implications. By empowering learners with this ability, science knowledge will no longer be exclusive to a select group. This process empowers the general population with the ability to understand scientific knowledge and therefore the ability to make informed decisions based on this knowledge. The goal was to make curriculum developers more conscious of factors that can positively influence the learning process and increase student engagement and understanding within the science classroom. The holistic approach to science pedagogy has enlightened and empowered our adult learners more effectively. Learners became more actively engaged in their own process of learning. Teachers must be willing to listen and implement student suggestions on improving the teaching/learning process. Teachers should be willing to make the effort in connecting with their students by structuring courses so the topics would be relevant to the students in relation to real world and social/ethical and political issues. Holistic science pedagogy strives for social change through the empowerment of adult learners with scientific knowledge. This research has demonstrated that learners can better understand the decision-making process and more easily relate their experiences, and therefore their knowledge, to social/political and ethical issues.

Control programme for cystic echinococcosis in Uruguay.

PubMed

Irabedra, Pilar; Ferreira, Ciro; Sayes, Julio; Elola, Susana; Rodríguez, Miriam; Morel, Noelia; Segura, Sebastian; Santos, Estela Dos; Guisantes, Jorge A

2016-05-24

Cystic echinococcosis is a highly endemic parasitic zoonosis that is present in the Southern Cone countries of America. For several decades, various prevention and control programmes have been implemented in different countries and regions, with varying results. In Uruguay, a new control programme was implemented in 2006 that employed new strategies for canine diagnosis and treatment, dog population control, diagnosis in humans, epidemiological surveillance, and health education, including community participation. The control programme in Uruguay addresses the control and surveillance of the disease from a holistic perspective based on Primary Health Care, which has strengthened the community's participation in developing and coordinating activities in an interdisciplinary manner. Similarly, the control programme that is currently implemented is based on a risk-focused approach. The surveillance and control measures were focused on small villages and extremely poor urban areas. In this study, the strategies used and the results obtained from 2008-2013 are analysed and discussed.

Holistic Wellness and Its Impact on First-Semester Grades

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cereola, Sandy J.; Snyder, Cathleen S.; Cereola, Ronald J.; Horton, Brett W.

2014-01-01

Students enrolled in a first-semester, critical-thinking course assessed their perception of their own wellness using a 52-question survey. Within the survey, holistic wellness was measured along seven dimensions: (a) physical, (b) intellectual, (c) social, (d) occupational, (e) spiritual, (f) emotional, and (g) environmental. Individual…

Interaction between Social Categories in the Composite Face Paradigm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Wenfeng; Ren, Naixin; Young, Andrew W.; Liu, Chang Hong

2018-01-01

The composite face paradigm (Young, Hellawell, & Hay, 1987) is widely used to demonstrate holistic perception of faces (Rossion, 2013). In the paradigm, parts from different faces (usually the top and bottom halves) are recombined. The principal criterion for holistic perception is that responses involving the component parts of composites in…

A holistic model for the selection of environmental assessment indicators to assess the impact of industrialization on indigenous health.

PubMed

Kryzanowski, Julie A; McIntyre, Lynn

2011-01-01

Mainstream environmental assessment (EA) methodologies often inadequately address health, social and cultural impacts of concern for Canadian indigenous communities affected by industrialization. Our objective is to present a holistic, culturally-appropriate framework for the selection of indigenous health indicators for baseline health assessment, impact prediction, or monitoring of impacts over time. We used a critical population health approach to explore the determinants of health and health inequities in indigenous communities and conceptualize the pathways by which industrialization affects these determinants. We integrated and extended key elements from three indigenous health frameworks into a new holistic model for the selection of indigenous EA indicators. The holistic model conceptualizes individual and community determinants of health within external social, economic and political contexts and thus provides a comprehensive framework for selecting indicators of indigenous health. Indigenous health is the product of interactions among multiple determinants of health and contexts. Potential applications are discussed using case study examples involving indigenous communities affected by industrialization. Industrialization can worsen indigenous health inequities by perpetuating the health, social and cultural impacts of historic environmental dispossession. To mitigate impacts, EA should explicitly recognize linkages between environmental dispossession and the determinants of health and health inequities and meaningfully involve indigenous communities in the process.

Development of a competency mapping tool for undergraduate professional degree programmes, using mechanical engineering as a case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holmes, David W.; Sheehan, Madoc; Birks, Melanie; Smithson, John

2018-01-01

Mapping the curriculum of a professional degree to the associated competency standard ensures graduates have the competence to perform as professionals. Existing approaches to competence mapping vary greatly in depth, complexity, and effectiveness, and a standardised approach remains elusive. This paper describes a new mapping software tool that streamlines and standardises the competency mapping process. The available analytics facilitate ongoing programme review, management, and accreditation. The complete mapping and analysis of an Australian mechanical engineering degree programme is described as a case study. Each subject is mapped by evaluating the amount and depth of competence development present. Combining subject results then enables highly detailed programme level analysis. The mapping process is designed to be administratively light, with aspects of professional development embedded in the software. The effective competence mapping described in this paper enables quantification of learning within a professional degree programme, and provides a mechanism for holistic programme improvement.

Institutional Barriers for Adults' Participation in Higher Education in Thirteen European Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saar, Ellu; Täht, Kadri; Roosalu, Triin

2014-01-01

This study focuses on institutional barriers that adult learners experience while participating in higher education programmes. We developed a holistic measure of diversification, accessibility, flexibility and affordability of higher education for adults. Based on pre-economic-crisis data across Europe we then explored the impact of macro-level…

Effect of Training Programme on Developing Functional Sign Language among Parents of Students with Deafness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bhuvaneswari, N. R.; Srivastava, Abhishek Kumar

2016-01-01

Parents' involvement is highly needed for ensuring holistic development of their words; however parents can only assist the child when they themselves have adequate knowledge, required skills, and proper awareness regarding various aspects of children's growth and development. To have adequate communication skill among parents, ensuring better…

Intercultural University of Veracruz: A Holistic Project Promoting Intercultural Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tellez, Sergio; Sandoval, Juan Carlos; Gonzalez, Octaviano

2006-01-01

This paper describes the Intercultural University of Veracruz (UVI), an institutional Programme at the University of Veracruz in Mexico (Universidad Veracruzana Intercultural), as a product of the analysis and research carried out over a 10-year period on cultural diversity and education. There were several institutions and over 20 people involved…

A Holistic Approach to Delivering Sustainable Design Education in Civil Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vemury, Chandra Mouli; Heidrich, Oliver; Thorpe, Neil; Crosbie, Tracey

2018-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present pedagogical approaches developed and implemented to deliver sustainable design education (SDE) to second-year undergraduate students on civil engineering programmes in the (then) School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences at Newcastle University. In doing so, the work presented offers an example of…

Changing Perceptions of Teachers Regarding the Importance and Competence of Their Principals as Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grobler, Bernardus; Bisschoff, Thomas; Beeka, Amrat

2012-01-01

We examined the perceptions of teachers on the importance and competence of principals as leaders before and after an intervention programme on holistic leadership. The research was quantitative and contextualized in the Secunda region of Mpumalanga province in South Africa. The methodology followed a literature study and an empirical…

The bubbles or the boiling pot? An ecosystemic approach to culture, environment and quality of life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pilon, André Francisco

2009-03-01

For the diagnosis and prognosis of the problems of quality of life, a multidisciplinary ecosystemic approach encompasses four dimensions of being-in-the-world, as donors and recipients: intimate, interactive, social and biophysical. Social, cultural and environmental vulnerabilities are understood and dealt with, in different circumstances of space and time, as the conjugated effect of all dimensions of being-in-the-world, as they induce the events (deficits and assets), cope with consequences (desired or undesired) and contribute for change. Instead of fragmented and reduced representations of reality, diagnosis and prognosis of cultural, educational, environmental and health problems considers the connections (assets) and ruptures (deficits) between the different dimensions, providing a planning model to develop and evaluate research, teaching programmes, public policies and field projects. The methodology is participatory, experiential and reflexive; heuristic-hermeneutic processes unveil cultural and epistemic paradigms that orient subject-object relationships; giving people the opportunity to reflect on their own realities, engage in new experiences and find new ways to live better in a better world. The proposal is a creative model for thought and practice, providing many opportunities for discussion, debate and development of holistic projects integrating different scientific domains (social sciences, psychology, education, philosophy, etc.).

"I'm not trying to be cured, so there's not much he can do for me": hospice patients' constructions of hospice's holistic care approach in a biomedical culture.

PubMed

Pederson, Sarah Nebel; Emmers-Sommer, Tara M

2012-01-01

The hospice philosophy was founded on a mission to provide comprehensive and holistic services to individuals at the end of life. Hospice interdisciplinary teams work together to offer therapies such as spiritual services, comfort care, and massage therapy to meet patients' physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual needs. Although the hospice philosophy is guided toward patient-centered care, limited research has examined how patients understand holistic care services. Through a social constructionist lens and qualitative interviews, we examined hospice patients' understandings of holistic care and argue that these perceptions of care are constructed through the biomedical model of medicine.

Exploration and Description of Faith-Based Health Resources: Findings Inform Advancing Holistic Health Care.

PubMed

Dyess, Susan MacLeod

2015-01-01

It is important to use all holistic resource opportunities in communities, such as integrative healing centers, and mind-body-spirit approaches to health. These holistic approaches may be realized through nontraditional avenues, such as faith-based resources. This article reports on an exploratory study that describes faith-based resources supporting holistic health in a southeastern region of the United States. A working definition for "faith-based health resources" was "ecumenical and interfaith community-based, open-access health resources that include in mission for service a reference to faith." Excluded from the definition were institutional services from hospitals, focused social services from area agencies, and federally funded services.

Tackling the Sustainability Dilemma: A Holistic Approach to Preparing Students for the Professional Organization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mabry, Sibylle

2011-01-01

Increased knowledge of business sustainability as the basis of a holistic approach to value creation has inspired many managers to integrate ecological and social stewardship into their strategic business innovation plans. However, the coverage of sustainability issues in business courses remains small at many universities. This article…

Nursing Students' Attitudes and Use of Holistic Therapies for Stress Relief.

PubMed

Kinchen, Elizabeth V; Loerzel, Victoria

2018-03-01

The purpose of this study was to explore student nurses' openness to using or recommending holistic therapies, the strategies they use to manage stress from school or work, and their perceptions of the impact of holistic therapies on personal health. Qualitative component of a quasi-experimental, mixed-methods study. A convenience sample of undergraduate nursing students in a southeastern U.S. university completed baseline surveys, including demographics and three open-ended questions regarding attitudes toward holistic therapies and strategies used for stress management. Qualitative thematic analysis was undertaken to identify recurring themes in textual data. Students are open to using or recommending holistic therapies but identify lack of knowledge and lack of time as barriers to their practice. Among strategies used by student nurses to manage stress from school or work were physical activity, prayer and meditation, time management, distraction, socialization, artistic pursuits, animal interactions, and other activities. Themes describing holistic therapies' impact on personal health were wholeness, self-empowerment, relaxation/restoration, and alternative/complement to traditional medicine. Findings indicate receptiveness by student nurses to the use of holistic therapies but point to the need for the inclusion of informational as well as experiential education on holistic therapies within nursing curricula.

Social presence and the composite face effect.

PubMed

Garcia-Marques, Teresa; Fernandes, Alexandre; Fonseca, Ricardo; Prada, Marilia

2015-06-01

A robust finding in social psychology research is that performance is modulated by the social nature of a given context, promoting social inhibition or facilitation effects. In the present experiment, we examined if and how social presence impacts holistic face perception processes by asking participants, in the presence of others and alone, to perform the composite face task. Results suggest that completing the task in the presence of others (i.e., mere co-action) is associated with better performance in face recognition (less bias and higher discrimination between presented and non-presented targets) and with a reduction in the composite face effect. These results make clear that social presence impact on the composite face effect does not occur because presence increases reliance on holistic processing as a "dominant" well-learned response, but instead, because it increases monitoring of the interference produced by automatic response. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The holistic claims of the biopsychosocial conception of WHO's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF): a conceptual analysis on the basis of a pluralistic-holistic ontology and multidimensional view of the human being.

PubMed

Solli, Hans Magnus; da Silva, António Barbosa

2012-06-01

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), designed by the WHO, attempts to provide a holistic model of functioning and disability by integrating a medical model with a social one. The aim of this article is to analyze the ICF's claim to holism. The following components of the ICF's complexity are analyzed: (1) health condition, (2) body functions and structures, (3) activity, (4) participation, (5) environmental factors, (6) personal factors, and (7) health. Although the ICF claims to be holistic, it presupposes a monistic materialistic ontology. We indicate some limitations of this ontology, proposing instead: (a) a pluralistic-holistic ontology (PHO) and (b) a multidimensional view of the human being, with individual and environmental aspects, in relation to three levels of reality implied by the PHO. For the ICF to attain its holistic claim, the interactions between its components should be based on (a) and (b).

Language and human nature: Kurt Goldstein's neurolinguistic foundation of a holistic philosophy.

PubMed

Ludwig, David

2012-01-01

Holism in interwar Germany provides an excellent example for social and political influences on scientific developments. Deeply impressed by the ubiquitous invocation of a cultural crisis, biologists, physicians, and psychologists presented holistic accounts as an alternative to the "mechanistic worldview" of the nineteenth century. Although the ideological background of these accounts is often blatantly obvious, many holistic scientists did not content themselves with a general opposition to a mechanistic worldview but aimed at a rational foundation of their holistic projects. This article will discuss the work of Kurt Goldstein, who is known for both his groundbreaking contributions to neuropsychology and his holistic philosophy of human nature. By focusing on Goldstein's neurolinguistic research, I want to reconstruct the empirical foundations of his holistic program without ignoring its cultural background. In this sense, Goldstein's work provides a case study for the formation of a scientific theory through the complex interplay between specific empirical evidences and the general cultural developments of the Weimar Republic. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

An evaluation of the Leading an Empowered Organisation programme.

PubMed

Cooper, Simon J

To evaluate outcomes from the NHS leadership development programme Leading an Empowered Organisation (LEO). A prospective case study based on a pre- and post-course quantitative analysis with interpretative methodological support. Role conflict, whether nurse or manager, was apparent in nurses' perceptions of their roles. Respondents claimed many positive leadership attributes but lacked assertiveness and the skills for handling conflict. The LEO programme had a statistically significant effect on workplace leadership performance and positive benefits related to communication competence, articulation of goals, networking, assertiveness, zones of responsibility and problem solving. LEO is having an effect on workplace performance. However it could be improved by considering the package holistically, including not only the course content, but the entry level, pre-course preparation and post-course mentorship.

Investing in the foundation of sustainable development: pathways to scale up for early childhood development.

PubMed

Richter, Linda M; Daelmans, Bernadette; Lombardi, Joan; Heymann, Jody; Boo, Florencia Lopez; Behrman, Jere R; Lu, Chunling; Lucas, Jane E; Perez-Escamilla, Rafael; Dua, Tarun; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A; Stenberg, Karin; Gertler, Paul; Darmstadt, Gary L

2017-01-07

Building on long-term benefits of early intervention (Paper 2 of this Series) and increasing commitment to early childhood development (Paper 1 of this Series), scaled up support for the youngest children is essential to improving health, human capital, and wellbeing across the life course. In this third paper, new analyses show that the burden of poor development is higher than estimated, taking into account additional risk factors. National programmes are needed. Greater political prioritisation is core to scale-up, as are policies that afford families time and financial resources to provide nurturing care for young children. Effective and feasible programmes to support early child development are now available. All sectors, particularly education, and social and child protection, must play a role to meet the holistic needs of young children. However, health provides a critical starting point for scaling up, given its reach to pregnant women, families, and young children. Starting at conception, interventions to promote nurturing care can feasibly build on existing health and nutrition services at limited additional cost. Failure to scale up has severe personal and social consequences. Children at elevated risk for compromised development due to stunting and poverty are likely to forgo about a quarter of average adult income per year, and the cost of inaction to gross domestic product can be double what some countries currently spend on health. Services and interventions to support early childhood development are essential to realising the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Primary health care nurses implement and evaluate a community outreach approach to health care in the South African agricultural sector.

PubMed

Dick, J; Clarke, M; van Zyl, H; Daniels, K

2007-12-01

Early detection and effective case management of tuberculosis (TB) among a high-risk group of materially poor farm workers in an area of the Cape Winelands, South Africa, presents special challenges to the health community, where resource constraints lead to service reduction. In order to address this problem, local nurses established a collaborative partnership between permanent farm workers and their families, their employers, selected non-governmental organizations and the public health sector. In consultation with stakeholders, they developed an intervention primarily focusing on having peer selected trained lay health workers (LHWs) on farms, mentored and managed by nurses. To describe the complex process of implementation and evaluation of the LHW project, and provide a summary of a number of discrete studies evaluating the effectiveness, cost implications, and the perceptions and experiences of key stakeholders of the intervention. Quantitative and qualitative research methods conducted within the context of a pragmatic unblinded community cluster randomized control trial were used. Emphasis was placed on an iterative participatory interaction between the researchers and key stakeholders. The intervention contributed to significantly better successful treatment completion rates among adult new smear-positive TB cases. The process implemented proved cost-effective and was pivotal in initiating a community-based social development programme. The use of peer-selected LHWs within a wider programme of integrated care designed to merge technical biomedical approaches to disease management with more holistic social development activities, appears essential to meet the complex health needs in conjunction with public health of the rural poor.

Creating the Joyful Writer: Introducing the Holistic Approach in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schiller, Susan A.

2007-01-01

This book is a teacher resource based on holistic education for those educators who want to go beyond "traditional approaches" but do not know how. The author places emphasis on the whole person (intellectual, physical, social, emotional, spiritual, and environmental) rather than the intellectual way of knowing. Written in an easy-to-read format,…

Physics Teachers: A Holistic Plan for Professional Education during Both the Pedagogical Stage and the Probation Year

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sá, M. V.; de Almeida, M. J. B. M.

2016-01-01

Despite the Bologna agreement implementation in 2008, teachers' education in Portugal has not changed significantly from earlier practice. The major modification in the requirements of master's level teacher education programmes was the introduction of a strong component of educational research in a master's degree; this is designed to replace an…

Recruitment and Retention of Students--An Integrated and Holistic Vision of Mathematics Support

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Croft, A. C.; Harrison, M. C.; Robinson, C. L.

2009-01-01

Students' lack of preparedness for the mathematical demands of higher education is affecting a wide range of programmes in universities worldwide. In the UK this has been recognized at the highest levels and provoked several inquiries. The ability to use mathematics in courses as varied as nursing, biosciences, and business is an essential skill…

Rethinking the Use of Video in Teacher Education: A Holistic Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Masats, Dolors; Dooly, Melinda

2011-01-01

Video case studies are commonly used in teacher training programmes, usually to develop one specific area of competence. The need for an integrative model that meets diverse learning objectives and competences led to a study on how to effectively use videos to guide student-teachers towards professional development. The analysis of case studies…

Holistic Understanding in Geography Education (HUGE)--An Alternative Approach to Curriculum Development and Learning at Key Stage 3

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Renshaw, Simon; Wood, Phil

2011-01-01

This article reports the results of a small-scale curriculum development project focusing on two of the seven "key concepts" identified in the revised Key Stage 3 (KS3) National Curriculum programme of study for geography, introduced into schools in 2007. The study used "interdependence" and "physical processes" as…

Bridging the Gap between Health and Social Care for Rare Diseases: Key Issues and Innovative Solutions.

PubMed

Castro, Raquel; Senecat, Juliette; de Chalendar, Myriam; Vajda, Ildikó; Dan, Dorica; Boncz, Béata

2017-01-01

Bridging the gaps between health and social care for rare diseases is not only necessary but crucial to increase the life expectancy, quality of life and autonomy of people living with a rare disease, supporting them in the full realisation of their fundamental human rights.The complexity of rare diseases, their strong relation to disability and the current unmet social and daily life needs of people living with a rare disease must not be underestimated and require urgent attention from all stakeholders involved in care provision, from healthcare to social and community services.The Commission Expert Group Recommendations to Support the Incorporation of Rare Diseases into Social Services and Policies, adopted unanimously in April 2016, by the representatives of European Member States and the other rare disease stakeholders, clearly set the tone for the need to promote measures that facilitate multidisciplinary, holistic, continuous, person-centred and participative care provision to people living with rare diseases.These recommendations, sided by other recent policy developments at European and national levels, represent an important policy step into approaching rare diseases' complex challenges in regards to holistic care provision.Innovative approaches aiming at bridging the gap between health, social and community service and support providers are currently being developed and tested in different European countries: standards of care, networks of expertise, case management services, one-stop-shop services, amongst others.These ongoing pilot approaches, presented in this chapter, have the power to inspire future policies and the effective and efficient implementation of holistic care pathways for people living with a rare disease, bringing about significant changes for patients, carers, care providers, competent authorities and the society at large.Nonetheless, the challenges to fully address this issue remain numerous and other key issues will also need to be taken into account when moving forward with the implementation of measures that aim at bridging the gaps between care providers and providing holistic care to people living with a rare disease.

Are Rural Development Programmes Socially Inclusive? Social Inclusion, Civic Engagement, Participation, and Social Capital: Exploring the Differences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shortall, Sally

2008-01-01

Considerable importance is attached to social exclusion/inclusion in recent EU rural development programmes. At the national/regional operation of these programmes groups of people who are not participating are often identified as "socially excluded groups". This article contends that rural development programmes are misinterpreting the…

An Online Social Constructivist Course: Toward a Framework for Usability Evaluations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips, Alana S.; Sheffield, Anneliese; Moore, Michelle; Robinson, Heather A.

2016-01-01

There is a need for a holistic usability evaluation framework that accommodates social constructivist online courses. Social knowledge construction may not be adequately evaluated using current frameworks. This qualitative research study examined the usability needs of a social constructivist online course. Data from an online course were analyzed…

Communicating without the Face: Holistic Perception of Emotions of People with Facial Paralysis

PubMed Central

Bogart, Kathleen; Tickle-Degnen, Linda; Ambady, Nalini

2015-01-01

People with facial paralysis (FP) report social difficulties, but some attempt to compensate by increasing expressivity in their bodies and voices. We examined perceivers’ emotion judgments of videos of people with FP to understand how they interpret the combination of an inexpressive face with an expressive body and voice. Results suggest perceivers form less favorable impressions of people with severe FP, but compensatory expression is effective in improving impressions. Perceivers seemed to form holistic impressions when rating happiness and possibly sadness. Findings have implications for basic emotion research and social functioning interventions for people with FP. PMID:26412919

Developing a holistic approach to obesity management.

PubMed

Brown, Jenny; Wimpenny, Peter

2011-02-01

The aim of this paper is to discuss the theoretical background and relevance of a holistic approach to obesity management by nurses. There is a global rise in the number of people with obesity, such that it now represents one of the major health challenges. However, nurses are often influenced by physical and dietetic focused approaches and could fail to acknowledge a range of other factors that can impact on weight management. As part of the development of a holistic approach to obesity a literature search was undertaken to establish relevant theoretical perspectives that underpin practice in physical, psychological and social aspects of care (focused on the period 1995-2005). In addition, experiences of working in a secondary care weight management clinic were also drawn upon. Psychobiological, attribution and social support theories were identified that could contribute to a better understanding of obesity. If these theoretical perspectives and supporting evidence can be integrated in a holistic approach to care and management it might be possible to promote better health and well-being in those with obesity. Creating a greater understanding of the range of theoretical perspectives and supporting evidence related to obesity could, it is argued, provide enhanced care and management. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

A Nontraditional Education Model with Indian Indigenous Social Service Workers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelley, M. L.; Nelson, C. H.

1986-01-01

Describes educational processes to enable non-Indian social work educators to support development of Indian social service workers. Suggests holistic/ecological/systems perspective, facilitator/mentor role, mutuality, maximizing differences, empowerment, and structural approach. Discusses effective helping methods and roles for Indian social…

Desperately seeking fusion: on 'joined-up thinking', 'holistic practice' and the new economy of welfare professional power.

PubMed

Allen, Chris

2003-06-01

This paper argues that social welfare research on joined-up thinking is underpinned by two theses. The 'systemic move' thesis suggests that joined-up thinking is needed to fill gaps in welfare service provision arising from a lack of interorganizational co-ordination. The 'epistemological move' thesis advises that joined-up thinking is needed to overcome deficiencies in the institutional division and distribution of welfare knowledge. Both theses macro-systematize blame for previous social welfare failures, and both are teleological because they present joined-up thinking as a progressive solution that results in a more effective (and thus less fallible) welfare system. In this paper, I argue thatjoined-up thinking can also create a new economy of welfare professional power. First, I show how some versions of 'joined-up' thinking manifest themselves in holistic practices that can 'see everything', 'know everything' and 'do anything', and thus a 'holistic power' to discipline and control every aspect of welfare recipients lives. Since holistic power is seen as infallible, its failure to produce 'active bodies' necessitates the creation of secondary 'joined-up powers' that individualize blame and exclude those to blame from welfare resources. These 'secondary powers' match the social disciplines enforced by one welfare agency (e.g. the responsibility to work enforced by the employment service) with legal rights under another agency (e.g. the right to housing from social landlords), so that breach of the former leads to exclusion from the latter. I conclude that this power strategy is primitive and punitive because it simply excludes welfare recipients. Exclusion is also uneconomic because it pushes welfare recipients into the shade of welfare institutional power.

Comprehensive Sexuality Education, Culture and Gender: The Effect of the Cultural Setting on a Sexuality Education Programme in Ethiopia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Browes, Natalie C.

2015-01-01

Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is recognised as an effective method of sexual health education, with the school identified as a fitting site of implementation. Its holistic and participatory nature endeavours to develop the knowledge, attitudes and life-skills of students to help them secure their sexual and reproductive health and rights…

Foundations for value education in engineering: the Indian experience.

PubMed

Gupta, Amitabha

2015-04-01

The objective of this paper is to discuss some of the foundational issues centering around the question of integrating education in human values with professional engineering education: its necessity and justification. The paper looks at the efforts in 'tuning' the technical education system in India to the national goals in the various phases of curriculum development. The contribution of the engineering profession in national development and India's self-sufficiency is crucially linked with the institutionalization of expertise and the role of morality and responsibility. This linkage can be created through a proper understanding of the social role of the profession-what motivates the professionals and what makes professional life meaningful. Value education facilitates the process of moral maturity and the development of a 'holistic' mindset. This paper deals with the need to create such a mindset, the human values associated with it and gives examples of efforts to impart such education through 'action-oriented' programmes introduced in some institutes of engineering in India.

Implementation of the Secondary 3 Program of Project P.A.T.H.S.: observations based on the co-walker scheme.

PubMed

Shek, Daniel T L; Ma, Cecilia M S

2012-01-17

The present study was conducted to explore the implementation quality of the Secondary 3 Program of the Tier 1 Program of Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) in the third year of the Full Implementation Phase. Classroom observations of 182 units in 129 schools were conducted. Results showed that the overall level of program adherence was 73.9%. Thirteen aspects concerning program delivery were significantly correlated. Multiple regression analyses revealed that overall implementation quality was significantly predicted by student participation and involvement, strategies to enhance student motivation, use of positive and supportive feedback, degree of achievement of the objectives, and lesson preparation. Success of implementation was significantly predicted by student participation and involvement, classroom control, use of positive and supportive feedback, opportunity for reflection, degree of achievement of the objectives and time management. The present findings generally suggest that the implementation quality of Project P.A.T.H.S. was high.

The need for a holistic approach in mangrove-related fisheries research: a specific review of the German and Brazilian research project MADAM.

PubMed

Saint-Paul, U; Schneider, H

2016-07-01

The main objective of the bilateral German-Brazilian mangrove development and management (MADAM) programme (mangrove dynamics and management) was to generate the scientific basis to enable the sustainable stewardship of the resources of the Caeté mangrove estuary in north-east Brazil in the sense of integrated coastal (zone) management. Main emphasis was given to fishes and crabs captured by artisanal fishermen. This paper describes the project strategy as developed and modified in the context of research results obtained over a period of 10 years. It is argued that a continuous discussion process is essential to assess the validity of the strategies formulated at the beginning of a medium-term project, particularly if the project is of an interdisciplinary nature. To achieve this, it was necessary to acquire in-depth knowledge of natural processes as well as of the relevant institutional, cultural, economic, social and political dynamics. © 2016 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Toward a Holistic Theory of Informal Jewish Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shapiro, Harvey

2007-01-01

Contrary to the view that socialization ought to precede education, in this article the author suggests that social and emotional dimensions are always present in religious, educational, moral, and aesthetic collective experience. In educational settings, socialization is part of the intentional process of creating a community of learners and is…

Applying Indigenous Knowledge to Innovations in Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hertel, Amy Locklear

2017-01-01

Grounded in an indigenous holistic worldview and borrowing from the four Rs (values of relationships, responsibility, reciprocity, and redistribution), this article supports the inclusion of translational science and the integration of core metacompetencies into social work doctoral education as innovations in the field of social work science. The…

Fostering Social and Emotional Skills for Well-Being and Social Progress

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miyamoto, Koji; Huerta, Maria C.; Kubacka, Katarzyna

2015-01-01

Children need a balanced set of cognitive, social and emotional capabilities to adapt to today's demanding, changing and unpredictable world. OECD countries and partner economies recognise the importance on the holistic development of individuals. However, there are big gaps between stakeholders' knowledge, expectations and practices on how to…

Cross-national differences in the holistic use of traditional East Asian medicine in East Asia.

PubMed

Shim, Jae-Mahn; Kim, Jibum

2016-12-23

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been one of the popular strategies for health promotion. Traditional East Asian medicine (TEAM) is one of the most popular CAM practices in the world and there are suggestions that its holistic utilization is important for users to gain its effects for health promotion. In this context, this study investigates the extent to which TEAM users in East Asian countries utilize various modalities of TEAM holistically. It provides a model that explains cross-national differences in the extent of the holistic use of TEAM between China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Using the 2010 East Asian Social Survey, regression models specify the relationship between the holistic use of TEAM and the geographical location (country). The presence of TEAM doctors who hold the comprehensive and exclusive practice rights over TEAM is found to be conducive to the holistic utilization of various TEAM modalities. Thus, Taiwanese and Koreans use TEAM more holistically than Chinese and even more so than Japanese. The result suggests that the manner in which TEAM is institutionalized affect the extent to which TEAM users utilize various TEAM modalities together and potentially the health promotion effects of TEAM. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Implementation of a Social Constructivist Approach in Primary Science Education in Confucian Heritage Culture: The Case of Vietnam

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

H?ng, Ngô Vu Thu; Meijer, Marijn Roland; Bulte, Astrid M. W.; Pilot, Albert

2015-01-01

Social constructivism has been increasingly studied and implemented in science school education. Nevertheless, there is a lack of holistic studies on the implementation of social constructivist approach in primary science education in Confucian heritage culture. This study aims to determine to what extent a social constructivist approach is…

Promoting Interdisciplinary Education: The Vienna Doctoral Programme on Water Resource Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blöschl, Günter; Bucher, Christian; Carr, Gemma; Farnleitner, Andreas; Rechberger, Helmut; Wagner, Wolfgang; Zessner, Matthias

2010-05-01

An interdisciplinary approach is often described as a valuable strategy to assist in overcoming the existing and emerging challenges to water resource management. The development of educational approaches to instil a culture of interdisciplinarity in the future generation of water resource professionals will help to meet this strategic need. The Vienna Doctoral Programme on Water Resource Systems demonstrates how the adoption of an interdisciplinary education framework has been applied to a graduate programme in the water sciences. The interdisciplinary approach aims to provide doctoral research students with an understanding of the wide spectrum of processes relevant to water resource systems. This will enable them to bring together a range of ideas, strategies and methods to their current research and future careers. The education programme also aims to teach the softer skills required for successful interdisciplinary work such as the ability to communicate clearly with non-specialist professionals and the capacity to listen to and accommodate suggestions from experts in different disciplines, which have often not traditionally been grouped together. The Vienna Doctoral Programme achieves these aims through teaching an appreciation for a wide variety of approaches including laboratory analysis, field studies and numerical methods across the fields of hydrology, remote sensing, hydrogeology, structural mechanics, microbiology, water quality and resource management. Teaching takes the form of a detailed study programme on topics such as socio-economic concepts, resource and river basin management, modelling and simulation methods, health related water quality targets, urban water management, spatial data from remote sensing and basics for stochastic mechanics. Courses are also held by internationally recognised top scientists, and a guest scientist seminar series allows doctoral researchers to profit from the expertise of senior researchers from around the world. Through a structured one-on-one mentoring programme close interaction is ensured between the students and the internationally reputed staff of the programme. This gives the opportunity for the encouragement of interdisciplinary thinking at the individual level. Interdisciplinarity also evolves passively through interactions between the doctoral students in their daily research work, during journal clubs, meetings, workshops and courses. A total of 22 doctoral students are enrolled in the programme at any time which allows for cross-fertilisation across the wide range of research projects. Finally, the programme is holistic, incorporating all aspects of the hydrological system at the catchment and multi-catchment scale. The ultimate aim is to provide an education programme which not only equips the students with an understanding of the need for interdisciplinarity, but also with the skills required to deliver interdisciplinary work in keeping with the holistic catchment management paradigm adopted by the hydrological science community.

The Holistic Development of Teachers: A Conceptual Model of Integrative Education and Pilot Program for Pre-Service Teachers Based on Mindfulness and Social Emotional Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMullin, Laura

2014-01-01

This dissertation explores the role that teacher education can play in preparing new teachers to meet the challenges of the profession by offering a more holistic approach to preservice education. Upon entering the classroom, new teachers are oftentimes overwhelmed with the realities of teaching and feel unprepared to handle the challenges they…

Holistic self-care for rehabilitation experienced by thai buddhist trauma patients in areas of political and social unrest.

PubMed

Songwathana, Praneed; Watanasiriwanich, Wachiraya; Kitrungrote, Luppana

2013-01-01

This study describes the meaning and practice of holistic self-care for rehabilitation among Thai Buddhist trauma patients living in areas of political unrest where acts of terrorism occur. Eleven Thai Buddhist trauma patients were selected as specified. The data were collected by in-depth interviews between November 2011 and April 2012, and analyzed using the Van Manen method.Those interviewed described "holistic self-care for rehabilitation" as learning (1) to acquire a new life and (2) to bear the increased demands of care as a chronic disease. Health care responses fell into 3 categories: (1) improving physical self-sufficiency and rehabilitation by increasing muscle strength, pain management, and pressure sores; (2) improving psychological well-being by applying positive thinking, making an effort to live independently, and following a set of religious practices; and (3) finding harmony in life through caution and a willingness to adjust one's lifestyle. Although the participants seemed to adapt well to their new lifestyles, extensive support from health care professionals was necessary. This study promotes better understanding of the holistic health care experiences the survivors of trauma have as a result of an unstable political situation that includes aspects of social unrest and terrorism.

Towards a Holistic Framework for the Evaluation of Emergency Plans in Indoor Environments

PubMed Central

Serrano, Emilio; Poveda, Geovanny; Garijo, Mercedes

2014-01-01

One of the most promising fields for ambient intelligence is the implementation of intelligent emergency plans. Because the use of drills and living labs cannot reproduce social behaviors, such as panic attacks, that strongly affect these plans, the use of agent-based social simulation provides an approach to evaluate these plans more thoroughly. (1) The hypothesis presented in this paper is that there has been little interest in describing the key modules that these simulators must include, such as formally represented knowledge and a realistic simulated sensor model, and especially in providing researchers with tools to reuse, extend and interconnect modules from different works. This lack of interest hinders researchers from achieving a holistic framework for evaluating emergency plans and forces them to reconsider and to implement the same components from scratch over and over. In addition to supporting this hypothesis by considering over 150 simulators, this paper: (2) defines the main modules identified and proposes the use of semantic web technologies as a cornerstone for the aforementioned holistic framework; (3) provides a basic methodology to achieve the framework; (4) identifies the main challenges; and (5) presents an open and free software tool to hint at the potential of such a holistic view of emergency plan evaluation in indoor environments. PMID:24662453

Holistic processing of human body postures: evidence from the composite effect.

PubMed

Willems, Sam; Vrancken, Leia; Germeys, Filip; Verfaillie, Karl

2014-01-01

The perception of socially relevant stimuli (e.g., faces and bodies) has received considerable attention in the vision science community. It is now widely accepted that human faces are processed holistically and not only analytically. One observation that has been taken as evidence for holistic face processing is the face composite effect: two identical top halves of a face tend to be perceived as being different when combined with different bottom halves. This supports the hypothesis that face processing proceeds holistically. Indeed, the interference effect disappears when the two face parts are misaligned (blocking holistic perception). In the present study, we investigated whether there is also a composite effect for the perception of body postures: are two identical body halves perceived as being in different poses when the irrelevant body halves differ from each other? Both a horizontal (i.e., top-bottom body halves; Experiment 1) and a vertical composite effect (i.e., left-right body halves; Experiment 2) were examined by means of a delayed matching-to-sample task. Results of both experiments indicate the existence of a body posture composite effect. This provides evidence for the hypothesis that body postures, as faces, are processed holistically.

Holistic processing of human body postures: evidence from the composite effect

PubMed Central

Willems, Sam; Vrancken, Leia; Germeys, Filip; Verfaillie, Karl

2014-01-01

The perception of socially relevant stimuli (e.g., faces and bodies) has received considerable attention in the vision science community. It is now widely accepted that human faces are processed holistically and not only analytically. One observation that has been taken as evidence for holistic face processing is the face composite effect: two identical top halves of a face tend to be perceived as being different when combined with different bottom halves. This supports the hypothesis that face processing proceeds holistically. Indeed, the interference effect disappears when the two face parts are misaligned (blocking holistic perception). In the present study, we investigated whether there is also a composite effect for the perception of body postures: are two identical body halves perceived as being in different poses when the irrelevant body halves differ from each other? Both a horizontal (i.e., top-bottom body halves; Experiment 1) and a vertical composite effect (i.e., left-right body halves; Experiment 2) were examined by means of a delayed matching-to-sample task. Results of both experiments indicate the existence of a body posture composite effect. This provides evidence for the hypothesis that body postures, as faces, are processed holistically. PMID:24999337

A community of citizens: disability rehabilitation in the Palestinian transition to statehood.

PubMed

Giacaman, R

2001-09-20

It has been widely argued that community based programmes offer considerable advantages to the classical institutional forms of health and rehabilitation services delivery. With about 10 years of experience in operating community based rehabilitation projects (CBR) for the disabled, the Palestinian experience points to potentially serious problems relating to the conception and operationalization of such programmes in real life situations. Of importance is the issue of the impact of communal care on the already burdened lives of women, especially when such care is expected to be voluntary in nature. Caretaking in the Palestinian context, especially of the disabled, elderly and the sick, is a pre-defined sex linked role dictated by a patriarchal society and system of policy making that excludes women from economic and social life. The voluntary care aspect entailed in the CBR conception and practice, can and does contribute further to the exclusion of women not only from the labour force, but from most other aspects of life as well. This represents an apparent contradiction between the needs of two excluded groups, the disabled and women. The other problematic entailed in the communal model of caring for the disabled is the strategic and operational bias focusing on community, to the exclusion of the notion of social rights of all citizens, and the role and duty of state structures in the fulfilment of the disabled basic needs. Such an approach can only relegate the disabled rights back to their original place as charity. On the other hand, when CBR projects are operated holistically, in the context of social movements existing within power relation and with a broader democratic agenda engaging different groups-including a disability movement-as is currently taking place in Palestine, CBR projects can also turn into a mobilizing force for the social rights of all excluded groups. Thus the question is not merely one of governmental involvement as opposed to the involvement of non-governmental organizations and charitable societies in community based projects. Rather, it is a question of the right to a decent life for all, in dignity and security, that citizenship and statehood promise, but have yet to deliver in many developing countries, especially in Palestine.

An Integrative Model of Organizational Learning and Social Capital on Effective Knowledge Transfer and Perceived Organizational Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rhodes, Jo; Lok, Peter; Hung, Richard Yu-Yuan; Fang, Shih-Chieh

2008-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to set out to examine the relationships of organizational learning, social capital and the effectiveness of knowledge transfer and perceived organisational performance. Integrating organizational learning capability with social capital networks to shape a holistic knowledge sharing and management enterprise…

Adapted yoga to improve physical function and health-related quality of life in physically-inactive older adults: a randomised controlled pilot trial.

PubMed

Tew, Garry A; Howsam, Jenny; Hardy, Matthew; Bissell, Laura

2017-06-23

Yoga is a holistic therapy of expanding popularity, which has the potential to produce a range of physical, mental and social benefits. This trial evaluated the feasibility and effects of an adapted yoga programme on physical function and health-related quality of life in physically-inactive older adults. In this randomised controlled pilot trial, 52 older adults (90% female; mean age 74.8 years, SD 7.2) were randomised 1:1 to a yoga programme or wait-list control. The yoga group (n = 25) received a physical activity education booklet and were invited to attend ten yoga sessions during a 12-week period. The control group (n = 27) received the education booklet only. Measures of physical function (e.g., Short Physical Performance Battery; SPPB), health status (EQ-5D) and mental well-being (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale; WEMWBS) were assessed at baseline and 3 months. Feasibility was assessed using course attendance and adverse event data, and participant interviews. Forty-seven participants completed follow-up assessments. Median class attendance was 8 (range 3 to 10). At the 3-month follow-up, the yoga group had a higher SPPB total score compared with the control group (mean difference 0.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.3 to 2.0), a faster time to rise from a chair five times (mean difference - 1.73 s, 95% CI -4.08 to 0.62), and better performance on the chair sit-and-reach lower-limb flexibility test (mean difference 5 cm, 95% CI 0 to 10). The yoga group also had superior health status and mental well-being (vs. control) at 3 months, with mean differences in EQ-5D and WEMWBS scores of 0.12 (95% CI, 0.03 to 0.21) and 6 (95% CI, 1 to 11), respectively. The interviews indicated that participants valued attending the yoga programme, and that they experienced a range of benefits. The adapted yoga programme appeared to be feasible and potentially beneficial in terms of improving mental and social well-being and aspects of physical function in physically-inactive older adults. An appropriately-powered trial is required to confirm the findings of the present study and to determine longer-term effects. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02663726 .

Challenges in the management of support and care programmes for child-headed households in South Africa.

PubMed

Human, Sarie P; van Rensburg, Gisela H

2011-10-01

The present study reports on data collected in a larger study on 'A situational analysis of child-headed households in South Africa'. The purpose of this study was to explore the management and control of available and required services, resources and safety nets for children in child-headed households. The significance of having a better understanding of the challenges, limitations but importance for government structures to manage and control programmes will enhance the implementation and maintenance of focused and sustainable support structures and programmes which will effectively address the needs of child-headed households. An exploratory and descriptive, quantitative survey was conducted to provide information on government structures at a national level and the nine provinces in South Africa. The population consisted of the Departments of Social Development, Education, Health and Agriculture, at both national and provincial levels. The main findings included a lack of clarity regarding the concept and definition of a child-headed household, lack of empirical data, a diversity of needs and challenges in terms of location and geographical distribution of available infrastructure and support systems; programmes that are not inclusive and integrated; and contradictions in the stipulations and implementation of existing policies and capacity and human resources shortages. It was concluded that the magnitude, uniqueness and complexity of the phenomenon necessitate effective and sound scientific management principles. This is achieved by providing legal clarity of the concept; developing relevant policies and ensuring effective implementation thereof; rigorous monitoring and evaluation based on comprehensive empirical data; and protecting the rights and safety of these children and ensuring an enabling environment for all stakeholders to address needs and challenges. The role of the nurse manager is to ensure a holistic approach to children living in child-headed households by acting as a facilitator, advocate, leader, coordinator and consultant. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Exploring the comparative responsiveness of a core set of outcome measures in a school-based conductive education programme.

PubMed

Wright, F V; Boschen, K; Jutai, J

2005-05-01

Conductive education (CE) is a holistic educational system that uses an active cognitive approach to teach individuals with motor disorders to become more functional participants in daily activities. While CE's popularity continues to grow in North America and Europe, its effectiveness has not been established. The lack of definition of responsive outcome measures for evaluation of CE programmes has limited the interpretability of conclusions from earlier studies evaluating effectiveness. To determine which measures from a core set were most responsive to physical, functional and psychosocial changes associated with a school-based CE programme. This was a one-group before and after data collection design using an 8-month follow-up period. We enrolled a referral sample of nine children with cerebral palsy in Kindergarten or Grade 1 (Gross Motor Function Classification System levels 3, 4 or 5). The study took place within a school-based CE programme at a Canadian children's rehabilitation centre. Children participated in a CE full-day class for an entire school year. Physical, functional, psychosocial and participation measures included: Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM), Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test (QUEST), Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, Paediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI), Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children, Individualized Educational Plan, and Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS). Four children from the study's second year were also evaluated on the Impact on Family Scale (IFS), GAS and School Function Assessment. The Gross Motor Function Measure, QUEST, PEDI (Caregiver Assistance) and IFS were most responsive to change. GAS was useful in documenting and quantifying goals. Problems were encountered in evaluating self-esteem and school participation. Several strong measures of outcome were identified. Further work is needed to find valid and sensitive psychosocial and school participation measures for these young children.

The use of programme planning and social marketing models by a state public health agency: a case study.

PubMed

Kohr, J M; Strack, R W; Newton-Ward, M; Cooke, C H

2008-03-01

To investigate the use of planning models and social marketing planning principles within a state's central public health agency as a means for informing improved planning practices. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 key programme planners in selected division branches, and a quantitative survey was distributed to 63 individuals responsible for programme planning in 12 programme-related branches. Employees who have an appreciation of and support for structured programme planning and social marketing may be considered the 'low hanging fruit' or 'early adopters'. On the other hand, employees that do not support or understand either of the two concepts have other barriers to using social marketing when planning programmes. A framework describing the observed factors involved in programme planning on an individual, interpersonal and organizational level is presented. Understanding the individual and structural barriers and facilitators of structured programme planning and social marketing is critical to increase the planning capacity within public health agencies.

Determining Open Education Related Social Media Usage Trends in Turkey Using a Holistic Social Network Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Firat, Mehmet; Altinpulluk, Hakan; Kilinç, Hakan; Büyük, Köksal

2017-01-01

The aim of this study is to reveal Open Education related social media usage in Turkey through social network analyses. To this end, the most widely used social media network in Turkey, Facebook, was chosen. All the pages and groups created on Facebook related to Open Education were found. A total of 207 groups and 521 pages were accessed and…

The social well-being of nurses shows a thirst for a holistic support: A qualitative study.

PubMed

Mozaffari, Naser; Peyrovi, Hamid; Nayeri, Nahid Dehghan

2015-01-01

Social well-being is one of the important aspects of health. In fact, this is a reflection of experience in a social environment, indicating how social challenges are determined. In other words, social well-being is an explanation of people's perception and experience of being in a good situation, satisfaction with the structure, and social interaction. This qualitative study intended to explore nurses' experience of social well-being. Qualitative content analysis was used to conduct the study. Through purposive sampling, a total of 18 nurses with various clinical experiences participated in semi-structured interviews. The data were analysed using the five-step, qualitative content analysis introduced by Graneheim and Lundman. The main theme extracted from the data analysis was "thirst for a holistic support" in nurses. It consisted of two subthemes including internal support (family's support, colleague's support, and organizational support) and external support (society's support and media's support). Nurses' experiences in shaping their social well-being show that nurses need support in order to rebuild their social well-being. It is supported in partnership with the media, the community, health-related organizations, and by nurses and family. This improves job satisfaction, hope, motivation, commitment, and confidence so as to ultimately facilitate improvement of social well-being of nurses.

Evaluation of a nurse-led social rehabilitation programme for neurological patients and carers: an action research study.

PubMed

Portillo, Mari Carmen; Corchón, Silvia; López-Dicastillo, Olga; Cowley, Sarah

2009-02-01

Very few neurological rehabilitation programmes have successfully dealt with patients' and relatives' social needs. Furthermore, the nurses' contribution in those programmes is poor or unclear. To determine the rationale, effectiveness and adequacy of a nurse-led social rehabilitation programme implemented with neurological patients and their carers. In this action research study Hart and Bond's experimental and professionalizing typologies were applied through Lewinian cycles. A social rehabilitation programme was planned, based on the results of an in-depth baseline assessment of the context and individual needs. The programme focused on increasing the level of acceptance/adaptation of the disease through verbal and written education, easing the discharge planning, and offering social choices based on the social assessment of individual needs and possibilities at home. Two neurological wards of a hospital in Spain. The programme evaluation included 27 nurses, and two groups of patients and relatives (control group=18 patients and 19 relatives, intervention group=17 patients and 16 relatives). The two groups of patients and relatives were compared before and after discharge to determine the effectiveness of the programme. Socio-demographic forms, semi-structured interviews, participant observations, and validated scales to measure activities of daily living and social life were used, and data were analysed using content (QSR Nudist Vivo, v.2.0) and statistical (SPSS v. 13.0) analyses. The new programme resulted in social care being integrated in daily practice and developed knowledge about social rehabilitation. This had a positive impact on nurses' attitudes. Patients and relatives had more realistic expectations and positive attitudes towards social life, and developed a wider variety of choices for social changes. Better adaptation, and more coping skills and satisfaction were achieved. This rehabilitation programme was feasible and effective. Patients and relatives benefited from better understanding of the socialisation process, as a result of advancing nurses' knowledge, experience and role in psychosocial care.

Poverty alleviation programmes in India: a social audit.

PubMed

K Yesudian, C A

2007-10-01

The review highlights the poverty alleviation programmes of the government in the post-economic reform era to evaluate the contribution of these programmes towards reducing poverty in the country. The poverty alleviation programmes are classified into (i) self-employment programmes; (ii) wage employment programmes; (iii) food security programmes; (iv) social security programmes; and (v) urban poverty alleviation programmes. The parameter used for evaluation included utilization of allocated funds, change in poverty level, employment generation and number or proportion of beneficiaries. The paper attempts to go beyond the economic benefit of the programmes and analyzes the social impact of these programmes on the communities where the poor live, and concludes that too much of government involvement is actually an impediment. On the other hand, involvement of the community, especially the poor has led to better achievement of the goals of the programmes. Such endeavours not only reduced poverty but also empowered the poor to find their own solutions to their economic problems. There is a need for decentralization of the programmes by strengthening the panchayat raj institutions as poverty is not merely economic deprivation but also social marginalization that affects the poor most.

Social integration and substance use: assessing the effects of an early intervention programme for youth.

PubMed

Brand, Amélie; Guillod, Line; Habersaat, Stéphanie; Panchaud, Evelyne; Stéphan, Philippe; Urben, Sébastien

2018-06-01

Appropriate social integration has been shown to be a protective factor against substance use among adolescents and associated negative consequences. Promoting social integration through early intervention with adolescents using substances is thus necessary and is the aim of the Identification, Assessment and Follow-up of Adolescents with Substance Use (in French, Dépistage - évaluation - parrainage d'adolescents consommateurs de substances (DEPART) programme. The present study aimed to describe this programme and its participants from 2009 to 2013 as well as to assess its effects on social integration. Data from 398 adolescents using substances who attended the DEPART programme were analysed. The results showed that almost 80% of the adolescents admitted to the DEPART programme were boys, with a large proportion using cannabis. Globally, social integration did not increase from admission to discharge from the programme, but a shift was observed for school and professional integration. Additionally, after the intervention, we observed that social integration was more important in younger patients. This study showed that adolescents with problematic substance use mostly consumed soft drugs and that those who were integrated into the DEPART programme at a younger age were more likely to be socially integrated at the end of the programme. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Learning from the continuities in humanity and nature

Treesearch

William R., Jr. Burch

1977-01-01

Though the emphasis in American life is upon dramatic social change, the firmer reality is our great continuity in social behavior and institutions. For example, though many strategies of child rearing have cycled through human society, the basic problems and responsible social unit remain the same. Of necessity, children have an ordered and holistic view of nature and...

Integrated Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gnanakan, Ken

2012-01-01

This book upholds the idea of learning and education as a means to individual development and social empowerment. It presents a holistic picture, looking at learning as an integral part of one's social and physical life. Strongly differing from existing classroom perspectives, the book analyses integrated learning at its broadest possible…

An uncontrolled trial of multi-component care for first-episode psychosis: Effects on social cognition.

PubMed

Breitborde, Nicholas J K; Moe, Aubrey M; Woolverton, Cindy; Harrison-Monroe, Patricia; Bell, Emily K

2018-06-01

Growing evidence suggests that specialized, multi-component treatment programmes produce improvements in numerous outcomes among individuals with first-episode psychosis. However, these programmes often lack interventions specifically designed to address deficits in social cognition. This raises questions about the effectiveness of such programmes in addressing deficits in social cognition that accompany psychotic disorders. We investigated the effect of participation in a multi-component treatment programme on social cognition among 71 individuals with first-episode psychosis. Participants experienced gains in emotion processing, social knowledge, social perception and theory of mind. However, after controlling for multiple comparisons, these improvements were limited to theory of mind and recognition of social cues in low emotion interactions. Although our findings should be interpreted cautiously, they raise the possibility that individuals participating in multi-component treatment programmes for first-episode psychosis without interventions specifically targeting social cognition may still experience gains in social cognition. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Didactic aspects of cognition of human as a bio-psycho-socio-cultural personality.

PubMed

Palamar, Borys I; Vaskivska, Halyna O; Palamar, Svitlana P

Modern education, according to leading Ukrainian scientists, requires the development of a new paradigm, which will consider the phenomenon of man holistically. The article describes didactic aspects of cognition of human as a bio-psycho-socio-cultural personality, as social fact, as a phenomenon. For the actualization of the didactic aspects of the problem, the authors used the methods of scientific literature analysis, systemic analysis and generalizations, analysis own practice of didactic and methodological character. Reforming the systems of education and medicine should occur in the context of providing active, creative, productive human life. Practice of system analysis proved that man as a subject of study should be considered as a biological entity, a social being, the bearer of consciousness and culture. A holistic approach to the study of man, viewing him as creatures of the natural (bodily) and social individual (society, culture) and the subject of mental and spiritual (creative and deliberate) activity can reveal its unique originality. The uniqueness of the phenomenon of man as the subject and object of research lies in its indivisibility, which is based on the unity of the laws of nature and society. Therefore, when studying the person should take into account the interests of social and natural Sciences. This once again confirms the idea of the necessity of human studies with the help of a systematic approach, which generates true and holistic view of the person, that involves the development of meta-perception of world and ourselves.

Quali-quantitative analysis (QQA): why it could open new frontiers for holistic health practice.

PubMed

Bell, Erica

2006-12-15

Holistic health practice is often described as being about understanding the larger contexts of patients, their health services, and their communities. Yet do traditional quantitative and qualitative health research methods produce the best possible evidence for the holistic practices of doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals? This paper argues "no", and examines the potential of a cutting-edge, social science research method--Quali-Quantitative Research (QQA)--for providing better evidence for holistic practice, particularly in small-N populations, such as rural and remote communities. It does so with reference to the international literature on holistic medicine, as well as three holistic health projects conducted in Tasmania: about prevention of falls in older people, adolescent substance abuse, and interventions for children aged 0-5 exposed to domestic violence. The findings suggest that much health research fails to capture rigorously the contextual complexity of holistic health challenges: the multiple different needs of individual patients, and the interprofessional approaches needed to deliver multidisciplinary and multiservice health interventions tailored to meet those needs in particular community contexts. QQA offers a "configurational", case-based, diversity-oriented approach to analysing data that combines qualitative and quantitative techniques to overcome the limitations of both research traditions. The author concludes that QQA could open new frontiers for holistic health by helping doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals answer a fundamental question presented by complex health challenges: "Given this set of whole-of-patient needs, what elements of which interventions in what services would work best in this particular community?"

What's the Buzz? A Social Skills Enrichment Programme for Primary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Le Messurier, Mark; Parker, Madhavi Nawana

2011-01-01

Some children, for all manner of reasons, struggle to make friends and fit in socially. "What's the Buzz?" is a unique sixteen-lesson social skills enrichment programme designed to explicitly teach children how to think and relate to others in social situations. This lively, highly practical role-play and play-based programme targets everyday…

The Systems Revolution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ackoff, Russell L.

1974-01-01

The major organizational and social problems of our time do not lend themselves to the reductionism of traditional analytical and disciplinary approaches. They must be attacked holistically, with a comprehensive systems approach. The effective study of large-scale social systems requires the synthesis of science with the professions that use it.…

How can systems engineering inform the methods of programme evaluation in health professions education?

PubMed

Rojas, David; Grierson, Lawrence; Mylopoulos, Maria; Trbovich, Patricia; Bagli, Darius; Brydges, Ryan

2018-04-01

We evaluate programmes in health professions education (HPE) to determine their effectiveness and value. Programme evaluation has evolved from use of reductionist frameworks to those addressing the complex interactions between programme factors. Researchers in HPE have recently suggested a 'holistic programme evaluation' aiming to better describe and understand the implications of 'emergent processes and outcomes'. We propose a programme evaluation framework informed by principles and tools from systems engineering. Systems engineers conceptualise complexity and emergent elements in unique ways that may complement and extend contemporary programme evaluations in HPE. We demonstrate how the abstract decomposition space (ADS), an engineering knowledge elicitation tool, provides the foundation for a systems engineering informed programme evaluation designed to capture both planned and emergent programme elements. We translate the ADS tool to use education-oriented language, and describe how evaluators can use it to create a programme-specific ADS through iterative refinement. We provide a conceptualisation of emergent elements and an equation that evaluators can use to identify the emergent elements in their programme. Using our framework, evaluators can analyse programmes not as isolated units with planned processes and planned outcomes, but as unfolding, complex interactive systems that will exhibit emergent processes and emergent outcomes. Subsequent analysis of these emergent elements will inform the evaluator as they seek to optimise and improve the programme. Our proposed systems engineering informed programme evaluation framework provides principles and tools for analysing the implications of planned and emergent elements, as well as their potential interactions. We acknowledge that our framework is preliminary and will require application and constant refinement. We suggest that our framework will also advance our understanding of the construct of 'emergence' in HPE research. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education.

Rethinking programme evaluation in health professions education: beyond 'did it work?'.

PubMed

Haji, Faizal; Morin, Marie-Paule; Parker, Kathryn

2013-04-01

For nearly 40 years, outcome-based models have dominated programme evaluation in health professions education. However, there is increasing recognition that these models cannot address the complexities of the health professions context and studies employing alternative evaluation approaches that are appearing in the literature. A similar paradigm shift occurred over 50 years ago in the broader discipline of programme evaluation. Understanding the development of contemporary paradigms within this field provides important insights to support the evolution of programme evaluation in the health professions. In this discussion paper, we review the historical roots of programme evaluation as a discipline, demonstrating parallels with the dominant approach to evaluation in the health professions. In tracing the evolution of contemporary paradigms within this field, we demonstrate how their aim is not only to judge a programme's merit or worth, but also to generate information for curriculum designers seeking to adapt programmes to evolving contexts, and researchers seeking to generate knowledge to inform the work of others. From this evolution, we distil seven essential elements of educational programmes that should be evaluated to achieve the stated goals. Our formulation is not a prescriptive method for conducting programme evaluation; rather, we use these elements as a guide for the development of a holistic 'programme of evaluation' that involves multiple stakeholders, uses a combination of available models and methods, and occurs throughout the life of a programme. Thus, these elements provide a roadmap for the programme evaluation process, which allows evaluators to move beyond asking whether a programme worked, to establishing how it worked, why it worked and what else happened. By engaging in this process, evaluators will generate a sound understanding of the relationships among programmes, the contexts in which they operate, and the outcomes that result from them. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2013.

How Can I Describe Social Studies Curriculum in the First Three Years of Primary School? A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aktan, Sümer

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to determine the opinions of a multigrade class teacher on the nature of social studies lesson, the structure of the social studies curriculum, and the teaching process of social studies lesson. The study was structured in line with a holistic single case design which is contained in the tradition of qualitative research.…

Developing Student Social Skills Using Restorative Practices: A New Framework Called H.E.A.R.T

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kehoe, Michelle; Bourke-Taylor, Helen; Broderick, David

2018-01-01

Students attending schools today not only learn about formal academic subjects, they also learn social and emotional skills. Whole-school restorative practices (RP) is an approach which can be used to address student misbehaviour when it occurs, and as a holistic method to increase social and emotional learning in students. The aim of this study…

The Inclusion of Children with Special Educational Needs in an Intensive French as a Second-Language Program: From Theory to Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joy, Rhonda; Murphy, Elizabeth

2012-01-01

This paper portrays the activity system of eight classes of Grade 6 children with special educational needs in an Intensive French as a second-language education program. Classroom norms and tools reflected a social-interactionist and social-constructivist approach with scaffolding, social interaction, multiple modes of representing, holistic,…

Effectiveness of alcohol media literacy programmes: a systematic literature review.

PubMed

Gordon, Chloe S; Hindmarsh, Chloe S; Jones, Sandra C; Kervin, Lisa

2015-06-01

Alcohol media literacy is an emerging field that aims to address the link between exposure to alcohol advertising and subsequent expectancies and behaviours for children and adolescents. The design, rigour and results of alcohol media literacy programmes vary considerably, resulting in a number of unanswered questions about effectiveness. To provide insight into some of these questions, a systematic literature review of alcohol media literacy studies was conducted. The review was guided by the following research question: What considerations are needed to develop an effective school-based alcohol media literacy programme? On the basis of a critical synthesis of 10 interventions (published in the period 1997 to May 2014), our findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the descriptive, methodological and outcome characteristics of this small body of significant research. The review provides considerations for future alcohol media literacy programmes, including the need for an interactive pedagogical approach within the naturalistic school setting, implementation fidelity and a holistic approach to programme evaluation, a means for maintaining relevance, consideration of gender differences, relevance for an international audience and use of follow-up and longitudinal data. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Use of Ethnographic Fiction in Social Justice Graduate Counselor Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chung, Rita Chi-Ying; Bemak, Fred

2013-01-01

Ethnographic fiction is a technique for educating counseling students about the relationship of social justice to counseling practice. Preliminary data indicate it is an effective tool, with counseling students (N = 48) reporting an increased understanding and appreciation of clients' life experiences from a holistic perspective. Furthermore,…

Social Services: The Navajo Way.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belone, Cecilia; Gonzalez-Santin, Edwin; Gustavsson, Nora; MacEachron, Ann E.; Perry, Timothy

2002-01-01

Explores the Navajo Nation Division of Social Services' efforts to transform the Bureau of Indian Affairs service delivery paradigm into a more holistic case management paradigm for child and family services congruent with Navajo culture and rural location. Discusses a composite case to illustrate issues experienced by many Navajo clients.…

Evaluation of the Project P.A.T.H.S. Based on Students' Weekly Diaries: Findings from Eight Datasets

PubMed Central

Shek, Daniel T. L.; Sun, Rachel C. F.

2012-01-01

This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. (positive adolescent training through holistic social programmes) based on eight datasets collected between 2005 and 2009. A total of 1,138 students who participated in the program were randomly invited (from the whole grade or in some classes) to write a piece of journal in the form of a weekly diary in order to reveal their perceptions and feelings regarding the program and the perceived benefits of the program. Based on an integration of findings from different databases, results showed that the respondents generally (1) had positive views on the program, (2) had positive views on the instructors, and (3) perceived that they had acquired competencies at the societal, school, familial, interpersonal, and personal levels after joining the program. Acknowledging the limitations of diaries, the present qualitative findings provide support for the effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong. PMID:22593676

Impact of Project P.A.T.H.S. on adolescent developmental outcomes in Hong Kong: findings based on seven waves of data.

PubMed

Shek, Daniel T L; Ma, Cecilia M S

2012-01-18

The present study examined the longitudinal impact of Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) on adolescent developmental outcomes in Hong Kong. Using a longitudinal randomized group design, seven waves of data were collected from 24 experimental schools (n=4049 at wave 1) in which students participated in the Tier 1 Program of Project P.A.T.H.S. and 24 control schools (n=3797 at wave 1). Results based on individual growth curve modeling generally showed that, relative to the control participants, participants in the experimental group had: (a) a higher level of positive development; (b) a lower level of substance abuse; and (c) a lower level of delinquent behavior. Participants who regarded the program to be beneficial also showed higher levels of positive development and lower levels of problem behavior than did the control school students. The present findings suggest that Project P.A.T.H.S. is effective in promoting positive development and preventing adolescent problem behavior in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong.

The social well-being of nurses shows a thirst for a holistic support: A qualitative study

PubMed Central

Mozaffari, Naser; Peyrovi, Hamid; Nayeri, Nahid Dehghan

2015-01-01

Introduction Social well-being is one of the important aspects of health. In fact, this is a reflection of experience in a social environment, indicating how social challenges are determined. In other words, social well-being is an explanation of people's perception and experience of being in a good situation, satisfaction with the structure, and social interaction. This qualitative study intended to explore nurses’ experience of social well-being. Methods Qualitative content analysis was used to conduct the study. Through purposive sampling, a total of 18 nurses with various clinical experiences participated in semi-structured interviews. The data were analysed using the five-step, qualitative content analysis introduced by Graneheim and Lundman. Results The main theme extracted from the data analysis was “thirst for a holistic support” in nurses. It consisted of two subthemes including internal support (family's support, colleague's support, and organizational support) and external support (society's support and media's support). Conclusions and discussion Nurses’ experiences in shaping their social well-being show that nurses need support in order to rebuild their social well-being. It is supported in partnership with the media, the community, health-related organizations, and by nurses and family. This improves job satisfaction, hope, motivation, commitment, and confidence so as to ultimately facilitate improvement of social well-being of nurses. PMID:26381217

The Evolution of Holistic Processing of Faces

PubMed Central

Burke, Darren; Sulikowski, Danielle

2013-01-01

In this paper we examine the holistic processing of faces from an evolutionary perspective, clarifying what such an approach entails, and evaluating the extent to which the evidence currently available permits any strong conclusions. While it seems clear that the holistic processing of faces depends on mechanisms evolved to perform that task, our review of the comparative literature reveals that there is currently insufficient evidence (or sometimes insufficiently compelling evidence) to decide when in our evolutionary past such processing may have arisen. It is also difficult to assess what kinds of selection pressures may have led to evolution of such a mechanism, or even what kinds of information holistic processing may have originally evolved to extract, given that many sources of socially relevant face-based information other than identity depend on integrating information across different regions of the face – judgments of expression, behavioral intent, attractiveness, sex, age, etc. We suggest some directions for future research that would help to answer these important questions. PMID:23382721

Caring in Lourdes: An innovation in students' clinical placement.

PubMed

Baldacchino, Donia

The study unit Spirituality for Health Carers was part of the BSc(Hons) nursing/midwifery programme which aimed at providing an innovative clinical placement for students. This placement promoted the delivery of spiritual care to clients in Lourdes. This paper discusses the experiential learning of students based on Gibbs (1988) Framework of Reflection. The scarce research demonstrates that caring for clients in Lourdes enabled students to develop meaningful relationships due to increased carer to clients' ratio, more time available and the presence of role models who were dedicated and compassionate with clients. Qualitative data were collected by a reflective diary, a written reflective assignment and a focus group discussion. The four themes which emerged from the data are team building, holistic care, trustful nurse-client relationship and strengthening personal spirituality. Recommendations were proposed to enhance the delivery of spiritual care and holistic care by further exposure of students to care for the pilgrims in Lourdes.

Translating guidelines to practice: findings from a multidisciplinary preventive cardiology programme in the west of Ireland.

PubMed

Gibson, Irene; Flaherty, Gerard; Cormican, Sarah; Jones, Jennifer; Kerins, Claire; Walsh, Anne Marie; Costello, Caroline; Windle, Jane; Connolly, Susan; Crowley, James

2014-03-01

The aim of this observational, descriptive study is to evaluate the impact of an intensive, evidence-based preventive cardiology programme on medical and lifestyle risk factors in patients at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Increased CVD risk patients and their family members/partners were invited to attend a 16-week programme consisting of a professional multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention, with appropriate risk factor and therapeutic management in a community setting. Smoking, dietary habits, physical activity levels, waist circumference and body mass index, and medical risk factors were measured at initial assessment, at end of programme, and at 1-year follow up. Adherence to the programme was high, with 375 (87.2%) participants and 181 (84.6%) partners having completed the programme, with 1-year data being obtained from 235 (93.6%) patients and 107 (90.7%) partners. There were statistically significant improvements in both lifestyle (body mass index, waist circumference, physical activity, Mediterranean diet score, fish, fruit, and vegetable consumption, smoking cessation rates), psychosocial (anxiety and depression scales and quality of life indices), and medical risk factors (blood pressure, lipid and glycaemic targets) between baseline and end of programme, with these improvements being sustained at 1-year follow up. These findings demonstrate how a holistic model of CVD prevention can improve cardiovascular risk factors by achieving healthier lifestyles and optimal medical management.

Holistic Approaches to Reading (The Printout).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balajthy, Ernest

1989-01-01

Presents eight guidelines to consider when using computers for language instruction, emphasizing computer use in a social and purposeful context. Suggests computer software which adheres to these guidelines. (MM)

What Do Primary Students Say about School-Based Social Work Programmes?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Testa, Doris

2014-01-01

This article focuses on primary school children's experiences of school-based social work programmes. These students, aged between 6 and 11, and drawn from a student population comprising 28 different cultural backgrounds and from low socio-economic backgrounds, participated in a case study that researched a school-based social work programme, the…

Holistic concerns of Chinese stroke survivors during hospitalization and in transition to home.

PubMed

Yeung, Siu Ming; Wong, Frances Kam Yuet; Mok, Esther

2011-11-01

This article is a report of a study conducted to explore the phenomenon of concerns as experienced by Chinese stroke survivors during hospitalization and in transition to home. Stroke is characterized by its sudden onset and prolonged residual problems, which affect survivors' holistic well-being. Many studies have focused on stroke consequences and their correlates with psychosocial outcomes. Very little is known about holistic concerns of stroke survivors, particularly in the transition from hospital to home. We used purposive sampling of 15 stroke survivors who participated in semi-structured interviews after being discharged from stroke wards of a general hospital in Hong Kong from November 2008 to February 2009. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Giorgi's phenomenological techniques. Stroke survivors' physical, psychological, socio-cultural and spiritual concerns in hospital and transition to home emerged from the data analysis. The four major themes identified were: (a) dynamic interplay of holistic concerns, (b) cultural expression of illness experiences, (c) social support 'paradox' and (d) caring gaps in clinical management. Understanding the interwoven holistic concerns for the stroke survivors in hospital and after discharged home can help nurses to identify their health needs and plan for appropriate nursing interventions. The findings provide guidance for the development of culture-sensitive holistic care interventions with family involvement in Chinese stroke populations. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Advanced Nursing © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Prosocial involvement as a positive youth development construct: conceptual bases and implications for curriculum development.

PubMed

Cheng, Howard C H; Siu, Andrew M H; Leung, Mana C M

2006-01-01

Pro-social involvement programmes are significant and important for the healthy growth of adolescents as well as for the development of society. Pro-social involvement of adolescence refers to paid-job, volunteer works, sport and games. It serves the functions of making adolescents aware of and to accept the social norms and moral standard of the society, which would bring positive changes to the adolescents and consequently benefit the society as a whole. Past studies showed that adolescents who participated in pro-social involvement programmes tended to have positive self-perception, more social skills, and less anti-social behaviors. In Hong Kong, professionals in education and social services have fully recognized the benefits of pro-involvement programmes. They have organized multi-level and diverse pro-social involvement programmes and encouraged adolescents to participate. Through participation, adolescents could be helped to redefine their relationship with the society, and maximize their potentials for growth. The current programme described in this article is designed in the P.A.T.H.S. Project, support by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.

[Holistic Healthcare for the Aged: Concepts and Strategies].

PubMed

Wang, Jing-Jy; Yang, Yueh-Ying; Liu, Mei-Yin

2018-04-01

Advancing medical technology continues to extend the average human life span, resulting in population aging globally as well as in Taiwan. The challenges posed by aging society increase not only medical and care costs but also the burden on pension funds and the social welfare system. In addition, there is currently a desperate need for many well-trained health providers as well as a friendly and comprehensive long-term care system. However, attention should not simply focus on medical payments and long-term care, as this may prolong the length of unhealthy living years for the aged and further strain national finances. Holistic healthcare for the aged should be introduced as early as possible in order to respond effectively to global aging by assisting the aged to maintain their health, to live independently, and to extend their social functions. The purposes of this report are to: 1. analyze the demographic characteristics of Taiwanese older adults; 2. introduce the concept of holistic healthcare as advocated by the World Health Organization (WHO); 3. discuss the promotion of physical-psychological health and the development of age-friendly environments; 4. strengthen the framework of long-term care policies; and 5. recommend the development of a holistic healthcare model for the aged based on the WHO Global Strategy and Action Plan on Aging and Health, announced in 2016. We hope to facilitate active aging, successful aging, self-esteem, and a high quality of life for the elderly in Taiwan.

Self-management programmes for people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a call for a reconceptualisation.

PubMed

Jonsdottir, Helga

2013-03-01

To synthesise findings from previously published studies on the effectiveness of self-management programmes for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Self-management is a widely valued concept to address contemporary issues of chronic health problems. Yet, findings of self-management programmes for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are indecisive. Literature review of (1) previously published systematic reviews and (2) an integrative literature review. Synthesis of findings from previously published systematic reviews (n = 4) of the effectiveness of self-management programmes for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and an integrated review that was performed on papers published between January 2007-June 2012 (n = 9). Findings demonstrate that there are few studies on the effectiveness of self-management programmes on people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease despite more than a decade of research activities. Outcomes of the studies reveal some increase in health-related quality of life and reduction in use of healthcare resources. The methodological approaches vary, and the sample size is primarily small. Families are not acknowledged. Features of patient-centredness exist in self-management programmes, particularly in the more recent articles. The effectiveness of self-management programmes for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease remains indecisive. A reconceptualisation of self-management programmes is called for with attention to a family-centred, holistic and relational care focusing on living with and minimising the handicapping consequences of the health problems in their entirety. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Understanding social influences on wilderness fire stewardship decisions

Treesearch

Katie Knotek

2006-01-01

Federal land managers and the public engage in many decisions about stewardship of wilderness in the United States, including decisions about stewardship of fire. To date, social science research lacks a holistic examination of the decision-making context of managers and the public about stewardship of fire inside wilderness and across its boundaries. A conceptual...

A Proposed Systems Model for Socializing the Graduate Writer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, David R.

2018-01-01

Although researchers chorus the need to support graduate students toward higher levels of writing proficiency, their findings lack a holistic model for doing so. A model emerges upon scrutiny of the factors that have been implicated in supporting writing proficiency. In the proposed model, a socialization theory fits as a proximal process into the…

Using Meta-Analysis to Explain Variation in Head Start Research Results: The Role of Research Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shager, Hilary M.; Schindler, Holly S.; Hart, Cassandra M.D.; Duncan, Greg J.; Magnuson, Katherine A.; Yoshikawa, Hirokazu

2010-01-01

Head Start was designed as a holistic intervention to improve economically disadvantaged, preschool-aged children's cognitive and social development by providing a comprehensive set of educational, health, nutritional, and social services, as well as opportunities for parent involvement (Zigler & Valentine, 1979). Given the current interest in ECE…

Historical and Theoretical Development of Culturally Competent Social Work Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kohli, Hermeet K.; Huber, Ruth; Faul, Anna C.

2010-01-01

This article provides a detailed review of the historical and theoretical context in which culturally competent practice has evolved in the social work profession and enables educators and practitioners to see holistic connections between the past and present. Historical review of the inclusion of diversity content is followed by definitions of…

The Incredible Years Therapeutic Social and Emotional Skills Programme: A Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hutchings, Judy; Bywater, Tracey; Gridley, Nicole; Whitaker, Christopher J.; Martin-Forbes, Pam; Gruffydd, Stella

2012-01-01

The Incredible Years (IY) universal child Classroom Dinosaur and Teacher Classroom Management programmes are delivered in all 102 primary schools in Gwynedd County, Wales. This article describes a pilot study of the IY Therapeutic (small group) Dinosaur School social and emotional coaching programme, developed as a treatment programme, in one such…

Evaluation of alternative school feeding models on nutrition, education, agriculture and other social outcomes in Ghana: rationale, randomised design and baseline data.

PubMed

Gelli, Aulo; Masset, Edoardo; Folson, Gloria; Kusi, Anthoni; Arhinful, Daniel K; Asante, Felix; Ayi, Irene; Bosompem, Kwabena M; Watkins, Kristie; Abdul-Rahman, Lutuf; Agble, Rosanna; Ananse-Baden, Getrude; Mumuni, Daniel; Aurino, Elisabetta; Fernandes, Meena; Drake, Lesley

2016-01-20

'Home-grown' school feeding programmes are complex interventions with the potential to link the increased demand for school feeding goods and services to community-based stakeholders, including smallholder farmers and women's groups. There is limited rigorous evidence, however, that this is the case in practice. This evaluation will examine explicitly, and from a holistic perspective, the simultaneous impact of a national school meals programme on micronutrient status, alongside outcomes in nutrition, education and agriculture domains. The 3-year study involves a cluster-randomised control trial designed around the scale-up of the national school feeding programme, including 116 primary schools in 58 districts in Ghana. The randomly assigned interventions are: 1) a school feeding programme group, including schools and communities where the standard government programme is implemented; 2) 'home-grown' school feeding, including schools and communities where the standard programme is implemented alongside an innovative pilot project aimed at enhancing nutrition and agriculture; and 3) a control group, including schools and households from communities where the intervention will be delayed by at least 3 years, preferably without informing schools and households. Primary outcomes include child health and nutritional status, school participation and learning, and smallholder farmer income. Intermediate outcomes along the agriculture and nutrition pathways will also be measured. The evaluation will follow a mixed-method approach, including child-, household-, school- and community-level surveys as well as focus group discussions with project stakeholders. The baseline survey was completed in August 2013 and the endline survey is planned for November 2015. The tests of balance show significant differences in the means of a number of outcome and control variables across the intervention groups. Important differences across groups include marketed surplus, livestock income, per capita food consumption and intake, school attendance, and anthropometric status in the 2-5 and 5-15 years age groups. In addition, approximately 19 % of children in the target age group received some form of free school meals at baseline. Designing and implementing the evaluation of complex interventions is in itself a complex undertaking, involving a multi-disciplinary research team working in close collaboration with programme- and policy-level stakeholders. Managing the complexity from an analytical and operational perspective is an important challenge. The analysis of the baseline data indicates that the random allocation process did not achieve statistically comparable treatment groups. Differences in outcomes and control variables across groups will be controlled for when estimating treatment effects. ISRCTN66918874 (registered on 5 March 2015).

The "Eye Avoidance" Hypothesis of Autism Face Processing.

PubMed

Tanaka, James W; Sung, Andrew

2016-05-01

Although a growing body of research indicates that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit selective deficits in their ability to recognize facial identities and expressions, the source of their face impairment is, as yet, undetermined. In this paper, we consider three possible accounts of the autism face deficit: (1) the holistic hypothesis, (2) the local perceptual bias hypothesis and (3) the eye avoidance hypothesis. A review of the literature indicates that contrary to the holistic hypothesis, there is little evidence to suggest that individuals with autism do perceive faces holistically. The local perceptual bias account also fails to explain the selective advantage that ASD individuals demonstrate for objects and their selective disadvantage for faces. The eye avoidance hypothesis provides a plausible explanation of face recognition deficits where individuals with ASD avoid the eye region because it is perceived as socially threatening. Direct eye contact elicits a increased physiological response as indicated by heightened skin conductance and amygdala activity. For individuals with autism, avoiding the eyes is an adaptive strategy, however, this approach interferes with the ability to process facial cues of identity, expressions and intentions, exacerbating the social challenges for persons with ASD.

'HIV and work don't go together': Employment as a social determinant of HIV outcomes among men who have sex with men and transgender women in the Dominican Republic.

PubMed

Barrington, Clare; Acevedo, Ramon; Donastorg, Yeycy; Perez, Martha; Kerrigan, Deanna

2017-12-01

Men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women are disproportionately affected by HIV in the Dominican Republic. Little is known about their experiences living with HIV as a chronic condition. We explored employment as a social determinant of well-being with HIV. We conducted 42 qualitative in-depth interviews with MSM (n = 16) and transgender women (n = 5) living with HIV; each participant completed 2 interviews to facilitate depth and iterative analysis. We used narrative analysis and systematic coding to identify salient themes related to employment and the HIV experience and developed a conceptual model of the pathways between HIV stigma, unemployment, and HIV outcomes. Early life experiences, including rejection from families and school, resulted in limited work opportunities, especially among transgender women. Following HIV diagnosis, participants across all socio-economic levels lost jobs and/or were unable to get jobs due to illegal HIV testing and HIV stigma and discrimination. Not being able to work impacted mental health, engagement in HIV care, and overall well-being. We conclude that lack of employment is a salient concern among MSM and transgender women living with HIV. Holistic, multi-level programmes that address illegal HIV testing and discriminatory hiring practices are urgently needed to facilitate engagement in care and long-term well-being.

PRIDE for PLAY: Personal Responsibility in Daily Effort for Participation in Lifelong Activity for Youths. A Singaporean Context

PubMed Central

Chia, Michael

2007-01-01

Singapore, a developed city state of four million people is experiencing the pitfalls that come with rapid modernisation and economic progress- elevated disease risk factors among adults and young people. Weekly compulsory physical education classes of 70 minutes in schools and the associated sports activities after classes are inadequate to meet emergent physical activity guidelines of a daily accumulation of at least 90 minutes of physical activity of at least moderate intensity. Daily play sessions that are exclusive of an active daily recess, physical education classes taught by trained specialists and after-school sport sessions, can provide many developmental and holistic health benefits that may carry over into adulthood. A school environment that is play-encouraging, play-enabling and play-inviting can be a useful, innovative and natural way of inculcating a love for movement and help redress a serious trend of physical activity insufficiency while youngsters engage electronic gaming activities. Pilot initiatives for the PRIDE (personal responsibility in daily effort) for PLAY (participation in lifelong activity for youths) programme is a radicalised approach in a number of primary schools in Singapore to infuse daily physical play of between 20 to 45 minutes during curriculum hours. The hope is that PRIDE for PLAY will reap benefits of improved holistic health of youngsters- better physical, social, emotional and mental attributes. While PRIDE for PLAY is no panacea to all of the ills of modernisation, it will go some way in helping the students of tomorrow to be physically healthy, socially more engaged and tolerant of others, mentally more apt to problem-solve and emotionally more proficient to embrace working life in adulthood. Key pointsPhysical play is natural among young people and a daily dose of play can help young people meet daily requirements for accumulated physical activity of at least 90 minutes and at least of a moderate intensity.Play is critical for child development and provides a healthy balance for many sedentary lifestyle activities.Parents, care-givers and teachers should emphasise and partake in daily play with young people. PMID:24149424

Non-declarative memory in the rehabilitation of amnesia.

PubMed

Cavaco, S; Malec, J F; Bergquist, T

2005-09-01

The ability of amnesic patients to learn and retain non-declarative information has been consistently demonstrated in the literature. This knowledge provided by basic cognitive neuroscience studies has been widely neglected in neuropsychological rehabilitation of memory impaired patients. This study reports the case of a 43 year old man with severe amnesia following an anterior communicating artery (ACoA) aneurysm rupture. The patient integrated a comprehensive (holistic) day treatment programme for rehabilitation of brain injury. The programme explored the advantages of using preserved non-declarative memory capacities, in the context of commonly used rehabilitation approaches (i.e. compensation for lost function and domain-specific learning). The patient's ability to learn and retain new cognitive and perceptual-motor skills was found to be critical for the patient's improved independence and successful return to work.

An Exploration of the Burnout Situation on Teachers in Two Schools in Macau

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luk, Andrew L.; Chan, Bessie P. S.; Cheong, Selwyne W.; Ko, Stanley K. K.

2010-01-01

To explore the burnout situation of teachers in two schools in Macau and to investigate any differences made of demographic characteristics. The relation of burnout on social problem solving and holistic health of teachers is also studied. A self reported questionnaire with the Chinese Maslach Burnout Inventory (C-MBI), Chinese Social Problem…

Tales from Grades 1 through 12: Understanding the Complex Web of Multiple Life Forces Located in Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dieser, Rodney B.

2008-01-01

This study is a qualitative autoethnographical narrative of my grades 1 through 12 experiences in a Catholic school system in Alberta. Autoethnographical research interprets a culture by producing highly personalized and revealing texts; it examines social phenomena holistically and underscores how social histories influence identity development.…

How to Enlarge the Scope of the Curriculum Integration of Mathematics and Science (CIMAS): A Delphi Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Minkee; Aktan, Tugba

2014-01-01

Studies have not yet consented whether integrating mathematics into science would enhance students' learning or confuse their understanding of abstract mathematical concepts. In spite of the social need for solving social-scientific problems with multiple facets, there has not been a holistic integration model of the disciplines. Hence, this study…

Correlates of psychological functioning of homeless youth in Accra, Ghana: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Oppong Asante, Kwaku; Meyer-Weitz, Anna; Petersen, Inge

2015-01-01

Research on homeless youth has shown that this population is at high risk for various mental health problems. Previous studies conducted among homeless young adults in Ghana have focused primarily on economic, social and cultural causes of homelessness, their engagement in risky sexual behaviours and the prevalence of STI including HIV/AIDS. We are therefore not fully informed of the prevalence of psychological symptoms and their associated factors. The aim of the study was to determine the association between psychological functioning and social and health risk behaviours among a sample of homeless youth in Ghana. A cross-sectional survey of a convenience sample of 227 (122 male and 105 female) homeless youth was conducted in Ghana in 2013. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data due to low level of literacy among the study population. Pearson-moment correlation coefficient (r) and multiple standard regression models were fitted to analyse the data. Approximately 87% of the participants in this study exhibited moderate to severe psychosocial symptoms. Specifically, emotional, conduct, hyperactivity and peer relationship problems among the participants were 69%, 74%, 54% and 89% respectively. Overall psychosocial functioning was predicted by stigma (self-stigma and experienced stigma), violent behaviours and suicidal ideation. Substance use and perceived resilience were significantly associated with emotional problems. There is a need for holistic interventions to help improve the psychological and social functioning of homeless youth. Such programmes should strengthen socio-emotional coping strategies in street youth as well as address contextual risk factors such as stigma and discrimination by the public.

Teaching the Whole Child through Physical Education and Youth Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sucre, Sheldon

2016-01-01

This article describes the Make-A-Difference: Guard East New York program, a sports-based youth development program that utilizes the holistic teaching approach of teaching for personal and social responsibility.

Get SET: aligning anatomy demonstrator programmes with Surgical Education and Training selection criteria.

PubMed

Rhodes, Danielle; Fogg, Quentin A; Lazarus, Michelle D

2018-05-01

Prevocational doctors aspiring to surgical careers are commonly recruited as anatomy demonstrators for undergraduate and graduate medical programmes. Entry into Surgical Education and Training (SET) is highly competitive and a unique opportunity exists to align anatomy demonstrator programmes with the selection criteria and core competencies of SET programmes. This study used a qualitative approach to (i) determine what criteria applicants for SET are assessed on and (ii) identify criteria that could be aligned with and enhanced by an anatomy demonstrator programme. The selection guidelines of all nine surgical specialties for the 2017 intake of SET trainees were analysed using qualitative content analysis methodology. The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons adopted a holistic approach to trainee selection that assessed both discipline-specific and discipline-independent skills. Qualitative content analysis identified eight categories of key selection criteria: medical expertise, scholarly activity, professional identity, interpersonal skills, integrity, self-management, insight and self-awareness and community involvement. The structured curriculum vitae was heavily weighted towards discipline-specific skills, such as medical expertise and scholarly activity. Insufficient information was available to determine the weighting of selection criteria assessed by the structured referee reports or interviews. Anatomy demonstrator programmes provide prevocational doctors with unique opportunities to develop surgical skills and competencies in a non-clinical setting. Constructively aligned anatomy demonstrator programmes may be particularly beneficial for prevocational doctors seeking to improve their anatomical knowledge, teaching skills or scholarly activity. © 2017 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

Impact of an Inclusive Programme on Achievement, Attendance and Perceptions towards the School Climate and Social-Emotional Adaptation among Students with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sakiz, Halis

2017-01-01

The aim of this paper is to report outcomes of a school-based programme aiming to promote achievement, attendance and positive perceptions towards the school climate and social-emotional adaptation among students with disabilities (SWD). The programme included a series of training and social activities for school staff, parents and children…

Making the Most Out of School-Based Prevention: Lessons from the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Humphrey, Neil; Lendrum, Ann; Wigelsworth, Michael

2013-01-01

This paper considers the role played by universal, school-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programmes in addressing the mental health needs of children and young people. Theory and research in the field are discussed. Particular attention is paid to the social and emotional aspects of learning (SEAL) programme in England, a flagship…

Cultivating the Socially Competent Body: Bodies and Risk in Swedish Programmes for Social Emotional Learning in Preschools and Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bartholdsson, Åsa; Gustafsson-Lundberg, Johanna; Hultin, Eva

2014-01-01

Social emotional learning (SEL) is common in preschools and schools both in Europe and North America today. Programmes for socio-emotional training and the rise of what is labelled therapeutic education have dramatically increased during the first decade of the millennium. In this article, a manual-based programme used for SEL in a Swedish school…

Achieving Harmony among Different Social Identities within the Self-Concept: The Consequences of Internalising a Group-Based Philosophy of Life

PubMed Central

Turner-Zwinkels, Felicity M.; Postmes, Tom; van Zomeren, Martijn

2015-01-01

It can be hard for individuals to manage multiple group identities within their self-concept (e.g., being a Christian and a woman). We examine how the inter-identity fit between potentially conflicting identities can become more harmonious through a self-defining group philosophy for life. Specifically, we test the hypothesis that holistic group identities (based in group philosophies for life that prescribe the behavior of their members in any situation, such as religion) become more strongly related to other identities in the self-concept (e.g., gender) when they are strongly self-defining (i.e., devotedly applied to daily life). In three studies we investigated the inter-identity fit between individuals’ (highly holistic) religious identity and (less holistic) gender identity. Results provided converging support for our hypothesis across diverging methods (explicit questionnaires, more implicit associations, and a novel network analysis of group traits). We discuss the importance of understanding how some (i.e., holistic and self-defining) group identities may harmonize otherwise less harmonious group identities within one’s self-concept. PMID:26618917

Achieving Harmony among Different Social Identities within the Self-Concept: The Consequences of Internalising a Group-Based Philosophy of Life.

PubMed

Turner-Zwinkels, Felicity M; Postmes, Tom; van Zomeren, Martijn

2015-01-01

It can be hard for individuals to manage multiple group identities within their self-concept (e.g., being a Christian and a woman). We examine how the inter-identity fit between potentially conflicting identities can become more harmonious through a self-defining group philosophy for life. Specifically, we test the hypothesis that holistic group identities (based in group philosophies for life that prescribe the behavior of their members in any situation, such as religion) become more strongly related to other identities in the self-concept (e.g., gender) when they are strongly self-defining (i.e., devotedly applied to daily life). In three studies we investigated the inter-identity fit between individuals' (highly holistic) religious identity and (less holistic) gender identity. Results provided converging support for our hypothesis across diverging methods (explicit questionnaires, more implicit associations, and a novel network analysis of group traits). We discuss the importance of understanding how some (i.e., holistic and self-defining) group identities may harmonize otherwise less harmonious group identities within one's self-concept.

Upgrading School Buildings in Mexico with Social Participation. "The Better Schools Programme". Centre for Effective Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blyth, Alastair; Almeida, Rodolfo; Forrester, David; Gorey, Ann; Chavez Zepeda, Juan Jose

2012-01-01

This review of Mexico's Better Schools Programme was conducted in 2012 by the OECD Centre for Effective Learning Environments (CELE). In 2008, the federal government created the Programme to repair and improve the physical infrastructure of schools for basic education throughout Mexico. A key characteristic of the programme is social participation…

Can we look past people's race? The effect of combining race and a non-racial group affiliation on holistic processing.

PubMed

Sadozai, Ayesha K; Kempen, Kate; Tredoux, Colin; Robbins, Rachel A

2018-03-01

Face memory is worse for races other than one's own, in part because other-race faces are less holistically processed. Both experiential factors and social factors have been suggested as reasons for this other-race effect. Direct measures of holistic processing for race and a non-racial category in faces have never been employed, making it difficult to establish how experience and group membership interact. This study is the first to directly explore holistic processing of own-race and other-race faces, also classed by a non-racial category (university affiliation). Using a crossover design, White undergraduates (in Australia) completed the part-whole task for White (American) and Black South African faces attributed to the University of Western Sydney (own) and University of Sydney (other). Black South African undergraduates completed the same task for White and Black South African faces attributed to the University of Cape Town (own) and Stellenbosch University (other). It was hypothesised that own-race faces would be processed more holistically than other-race faces and that own-university faces would be processed more holistically than other-university faces. Results showed a significant effect of race for White participants (White faces were matched more accurately than Black faces), and wholes were matched more accurately than parts, suggesting holistic processing, but only for White faces. No effect of university was found. Black South African participants, who have more experience with other-race faces, processed wholes better than parts irrespective of race and university category. Overall, results suggest that experiential factors of race outweigh any effects of a non-racial shared group membership. The quality of experience for the named populations, stimuli presentation, and degree of individuation are discussed.

Stakeholders' perceptions of programme sustainability: findings from a community-based fall prevention programme.

PubMed

Hanson, H M; Salmoni, A W

2011-08-01

Sustainability of health promotion and injury prevention programmes is a goal of practitioners and an increasingly common requirement of funding bodies. However, less is known about the views held by individual stakeholders involved in such programmes regarding their perceptions of facilitators and barriers to achieving sustainability. This paper aims to share the perceptions of programme sustainability held by key stakeholders involved in a community-based fall prevention programme in three Ontario demonstration communities in Canada. A qualitative case study research design. A holistic multiple case study method was employed. In total, 45 stakeholders involved in various aspects of the project participated from three demonstration sites. Stakeholders' perceptions were gathered on the individual actions they took in an effort to promote sustainability, and the barriers they perceived as preventing or limiting sustainability. Stakeholders reported taking a number of actions to aid programme sustainability, with some actions deemed to be more functional in aiding sustainability than others. Common actions reported by stakeholders included partnership formation, networking and increasing community capacity. Stakeholders also perceived a number of barriers to achieving sustainability, including insufficient human and financial resources, lack of co-ordination and buy-in, heavy reliance on volunteers and an inability to mobilize physicians. Stakeholders' perceptions of sustainability were used to develop recommendations for sustainability for both communities and funding bodies. The views and experiences shared by the stakeholders in this project can serve as lessons learnt to aid in the sustainability of other health promotion and injury prevention programmes in the future. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vertical and horizontal integration of knowledge and skills - a working model.

PubMed

Snyman, W D; Kroon, J

2005-02-01

The new integrated outcomes-based curriculum for dentistry was introduced at the University of Pretoria in 1997. The first participants graduated at the end of 2001. Educational principles that underpin the new innovative dental curriculum include vertical and horizontal integration, problem-oriented learning, student-centred learning, a holistic attitude to patient care and the promotion of oral health. The aim of this research project was to develop and assay a model to facilitate vertical integration of knowledge and skills thereby justifying the above mentioned action. The learning methodology proposed for the specific outcome of the Odontology module, namely the diagnosis of dental caries and the design of a primary preventive programme, included problem-solving as the driving force for the facilitation of vertical and horizontal integration, and an instructional design for the integration of the basic knowledge and clinical skills into a single learning programme. The paper describes the methodology of problem-oriented learning as applied in this study together with the detail of the programme. The consensus of those teachers who represent the basic and clinical sciences and who participate in this learning programme is that this model is practical and can assist vertical as well as horizontal integration of knowledge.

Service user involvement in preregistration child nursing programmes.

PubMed

Barnley, Rebecca

2017-12-05

Service user involvement is a fundamental part of preregistration nursing education programmes, however achieving this for child nursing students is challenging. Service user involvement can be achieved through online forums but this method can lack the emotional interaction and opportunity for deep reflection. This article reviews the background and challenges of service user involvement in preregistration child nursing programmes, further exploring the evaluation of a group of final year child nursing students' experience of appreciating the journey of two service users. The input from service users provided the opportunity for reflection, empathy and improved student self-awareness in nursing practice. Students gained perspective of the holistic needs of the service user, which empowered them to have confidence in their communication skills to ensure the voice of the child is heard and their rights are upheld. This article concludes that service user involvement is crucial in preregistration nursing programmes for the development of child nursing students, not only affecting their training but also the future workforce. ©2017 RCN Publishing Company Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be copied, transmitted or recorded in any way, in whole or part, without prior permission of the publishers.

Investigating the efficacy of a whole team, psychologically informed, acute mental health service approach.

PubMed

Araci, David; Clarke, Isabel

2017-08-01

Service user demand and service changes, from hospital based, to community and hospital mix, within acute adult mental health services, focus the need for psychologically informed, holistic, approaches. (1) Describe and report feasibility of a psychologically led Intensive Support Programme (ISP) to meet this need. (2) Present results of a pilot evaluation of this programme. ISP was implemented in four acute mental health services of the Southern Health NHS Trust, available to both inpatient and outpatient acute services. Evaluation of the service one month after data collection, illustrates operation and level of uptake across different professional roles. The programme was evaluated by assessing psychological distress (CORE-10) and confidence in self-management (Mental Health Confidence Scale) of participating service users before and after intervention. The service evaluation demonstrated extensive roll out of this programme across acute services of an extensive NHS Trust. Repeated measure t-tests demonstrated significant decrease in distress (p < 0.0005) and significant increase in confidence in self-management of mental health (p < 0.0005). Evaluation shows that ISP can be delivered in routine care in an acute mental health service and results in improvement in self management skills and facilitation of recovery.

A process evaluation of the 'Aware' and 'Supportive Communities' gambling harm-minimisation programmes in New Zealand.

PubMed

Kolandai-Matchett, Komathi; Bellringer, Maria; Landon, Jason; Abbott, Max

2018-04-01

The Gambling Act 2003 mandated a public health strategy for preventing and minimising gambling harm in New Zealand. Aware Communities and Supportive Communities are two public health programmes subsequently implemented nationwide. These programmes differed from common health promotion initiatives such as media or education campaigns as they were community-action based (requiring community involvement in programme planning and delivery). We carried out a process evaluation to determine their implementation effectiveness and inform improvement and future programme planning. Our qualitative dominant mixed methods design comprised analysis of over a hundred implementer progress reports (submitted July 2010 - June 2013), a staff survey and a staff focus group interview. The programmes demonstrated capacity to not only achieve expected outcomes (e.g. enhanced community awareness about harmful gambling), but also to enhance social sustainability at the community level (e.g. established trustful relationships) and achieve some programme sustainability (e.g. community ownership over ongoing programme delivery). The evaluation noted the potential for a sustainable gambling harm-minimisation model. Community-action based harm-minimisation programmes offer programme sustainability potential which in turn offers funding cost-effectiveness when there are continual public health outcomes beyond initial funding. Although resource intensive, the community-action based approach enables culturally appropriate public health programmes suitable for societies where specific ethnic groups have higher gambling risk. Recognition of such harm-minimisation programmes' contribution to social sustainability is important considering the potential for broader public health outcomes (e.g. better life quality, lesser social problems) within socially sustainable societies.

Challenges of deploying nuclear energy for power generation in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaafar, Mohd Zamzam; Nazaruddin, Nurul Huda; Lye, Jonathan Tan Thiam

2017-01-01

Under the 10th Malaysia Plan (2010-2015) and the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), nuclear energy was identified as a potential long-term option to be explored for electricity generation in Peninsular Malaysia. The energy sector in Malaysia currently faces several concerns including depleting domestic gas supply which will affect security and reliability of supply as well as overdependance on fossil fuels - mainly gas and imported coal, and nuclear energy may offer a possible solution to these issues as well as global climate change concern. Pursuing the nuclear option, Malaysia Nuclear Power Corporation (MNPC) is undertaking a series of comprehensive studies to facilitate an informed Government decision on the matter. This paper aims to discuss the many challenges towards the peaceful use of nuclear energy for electricity generation in the context of the New Energy Policy 2010 to achieve a balanced and sustainable energy mix. This effort will continue in the 11th Malaysia Plan (2016-2020) with emphasis on implementing a comprehensive communications plan and public awareness programme for the potential use of nuclear energy in the future. In analysing the challenges for the development of nuclear energy in Malaysia, the traditional triple bottom line (TBL) framework for sustainability, encompassing economic, social and environmental objectives is utilized. An additional factor, technical, is also included in the analysis to provide a more holistic view. It is opined that the main challenges of developing nuclear energy for electricity generation in a newcomer country like Malaysia can be attributed primarily to domestic non-technical factors compared to the technical factor.

The Effect of the Values Education Programme on 5.5-6 Year Old Children's Social Development: Social Skills, Psycho-Social Development and Social Problem Solving Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dereli-Iman, Esra

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of the Values Education Programme (developed for pre-school children) on the children's social skills, psycho-social development, and social problem solving skills. The sample group consisted of 66 children (33 experimental group, 33 control group) attending pre-school. The Values Education Programme…

Application of a theoretical framework to foster a cardiac-diabetes self-management programme.

PubMed

Wu, C-J Jo; Chang, A M

2014-09-01

This paper analyses and illustrates the application of Bandura's self-efficacy construct to an innovative self-management programme for patients with both type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. Using theory as a framework for any health intervention provides a solid and valid foundation for aspects of planning and delivering such an intervention; however, it is reported that many health behaviour intervention programmes are not based upon theory and are consequently limited in their applicability to different populations. The cardiac-diabetes self-management programme has been specifically developed for patients with dual conditions with the strategies for delivering the programme based upon Bandura's self-efficacy theory. This patient group is at greater risk of negative health outcomes than that with a single chronic condition and therefore requires appropriate intervention programmes with solid theoretical foundations that can address the complexity of care required. The cardiac-diabetes self-management programme has been developed incorporating theory, evidence and practical strategies. This paper provides explicit knowledge of the theoretical basis and components of a cardiac-diabetes self-management programme. Such detail enhances the ability to replicate or adopt the intervention in similar or differing populations and/or cultural contexts as it provides in-depth understanding of each element within the intervention. Knowledge of the concepts alone is not sufficient to deliver a successful health programme. Supporting patients to master skills of self-care is essential in order for patients to successfully manage two complex, chronic illnesses. Valuable information has been provided to close the theory-practice gap for more consistent health outcomes, engaging with patients for promoting holistic care within organizational and cultural contexts. © 2014 International Council of Nurses.

Losing the Whole Child? A National Survey of Primary Education Training Provision for Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, K.; Monahan, J.; Wills, R.

2015-01-01

International concerns about the performativity agenda in schools gives rise to concerns about the neglect of a holistic approach to teaching and learning. Whilst schools in England and Wales are legally obliged to promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development of children, little is known about how initial teacher training…

Poetic Praxis: Engaging Body, Mind, and Soul in the Social Foundations Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacKenzie, Sarah K.,

2013-01-01

Across the space of this paper I seek to share a particular attempt to holistically engage students enrolled in a Social Foundations of Education course, in the process of de(con)structing knowledge, through the work of collectively creating found poetry. I do not seek to show right pedagogical practice; rather, it is my hope that this paper may…

A holistic antenatal model based on yoga, Ayurveda, and Vedic guidelines.

PubMed

Rakhshani, Abbas; Nagarathna, Raghuram; Sharma, Ahalya; Singh, Amit; Nagendra, Hongasandra Ramarao

2015-01-01

The prevalence of pregnancy complications are on the rise globally with severe consequences. According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2009), every minute, at least one woman dies and 20 are affected by the complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. While the root cause of pregnancy complications is unclear, it likely has physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects. The Vedas are a rich source of antenatal health care guidelines in all these aspects. The primary objective of the authors was to compile the scriptural and scientific evidence for a holistic antenatal model of yoga with emphasis on sociocultural Indian practices.

The “eye avoidance” hypothesis of autism face processing

PubMed Central

Tanaka, James W.; Sung, Andrew

2013-01-01

Although a growing body of research indicates that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit selective deficits in their ability to recognize facial identities and expressions, the source of their face impairment is, as yet, undetermined. In this paper, we consider three possible accounts of the autism face deficit: 1) the holistic hypothesis, 2) the local perceptual bias hypothesis and 3) the eye avoidance hypothesis. A review of the literature indicates that contrary to the holistic hypothesis, there is little evidence to suggest that individuals with autism do not perceive faces holistically. The local perceptual bias account also fails to explain the selective advantage that ASD individuals demonstrate for objects and their selective disadvantage for faces. The eye avoidance hypothesis provides a plausible explanation of face recognition deficits where individuals with ASD avoid the eye region because it is perceived as socially threatening. Direct eye contact elicits a heightened physiological response as indicated by heightened skin conductance and increased amgydala activity. For individuals with autism, avoiding the eyes is an adaptive strategy, however, this approach interferes with the ability to process facial cues of identity, expressions and intentions, The “eye avoidance” strategy has negative effects on the ability to decode facial information about identity, expression, and intentions, exacerbating the social challenges for persons with ASD. PMID:24150885

Holistic integrative medicine: toward a new era of medical advancement.

PubMed

Fan, Daiming

2017-03-01

Medicine has encountered unprecedented problems associated with changes in nature, society, and environment, as well as with new human quests for survival, longevity, and health. In the meantime, the development of medicine is facing challenges that resulted from the over-division and specialization of disciplines and the fragmentation of medical knowledge. To construct a new medical system that is more suitable for human health and disease treatment, holistic integrative medicine (HIM), which regards the human body as a holistic entity, organically integrates the most advanced knowledge and theories in each medical field and the most effective practices in various clinical specialties to revise and adjust on the basis of social, environmental, and psychological conditions. HIM is the inevitable and necessary direction for the future development of medicine. In this article, we illustrated the connotation of HIM, the differences between HIM and other medical conceptions, and the practice of HIM in recent years.

Organizational Wellness Program Implementation and Evaluation: A Holistic Approach to Improve the Wellbeing of Middle Managers.

PubMed

Medina, Maria Del Consuelo; Calderon, Angelica; Blunk, Dan I; Mills, Brandy W; Leiner, Marie

2018-06-01

: Employee wellness programs can provide benefits to institutions as well as employees and their families. Despite the attempts of some organizations to implement programs that take a holistic approach to improve physical, mental, and social wellness, the most common programs are exclusively comprised of physical and nutritional components. In this study, we implemented a wellness program intervention, including training using a holistic approach to improve the wellbeing of middle managers in several multinational organizations. We included control and experimental groups to measure wellness and teamwork with two repeated measures. Our results indicated that employees receiving the intervention had improved measures of wellness and teamwork. A positive relationship was found between wellness and teamwork in the experimental group when compared with the control group. Taken together, the data suggest that implementation of these programs would provide valuable outcomes for both employees and organizations.

Universities, SMEs and Social Capital: Can You Get Too Much of a Good Thing? An Illustrative Analysis of One University's Knowledge Exchange Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gordon, Ian

2016-01-01

This article explores a university knowledge exchange programme for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owner-managers. Specifically, it considers why a programme designed to achieve growth in a group of SMEs through the creation of a network high in social capital may have become a constraint on the programme's effectiveness over a period of…

Social, Economic, and Political Change: Portents for Reform in Engineering Curricula.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wenk, Edward, Jr.

1988-01-01

Discusses the needs and properties of human systems including issues of safety and the holistic approach in engineering. Lists a suggested introductory engineering curriculum. Describes characteristics of future realities in managing technology. (YP)

From multifunctionality to multiple ecosystem services? A conceptual framework for multifunctionality in green infrastructure planning for urban areas.

PubMed

Hansen, Rieke; Pauleit, Stephan

2014-05-01

Green infrastructure (GI) and ecosystem services (ES) are promoted as concepts that have potential to improve environmental planning in urban areas based on a more holistic understanding of the complex interrelations and dynamics of social-ecological systems. However, the scientific discourses around both concepts still lack application-oriented frameworks that consider such a holistic perspective and are suitable to mainstream GI and ES in planning practice. This literature review explores how multifunctionality as one important principle of GI planning can be operationalized by approaches developed and tested in ES research. Specifically, approaches developed in ES research can help to assess the integrity of GI networks, balance ES supply and demand, and consider trade-offs. A conceptual framework for the assessment of multifunctionality from a social-ecological perspective is proposed that can inform the design of planning processes and support stronger exchange between GI and ES research.

Evaluation of a social franchising and telemedicine programme and the care provided for childhood diarrhoea and pneumonia, Bihar, India.

PubMed

Mohanan, Manoj; Giardili, Soledad; Das, Veena; Rabin, Tracy L; Raj, Sunil S; Schwartz, Jeremy I; Seth, Aparna; Goldhaber-Fiebert, Jeremy D; Miller, Grant; Vera-Hernández, Marcos

2017-05-01

To evaluate the impact on the quality of the care provided for childhood diarrhoea and pneumonia in Bihar, India, of a large-scale, social franchising and telemedicine programme - the World Health Partners' Sky Program. We investigated changes associated with the programme in the knowledge and performance of health-care providers by carrying out 810 assessments in a representative sample of providers in areas where the programme was and was not implemented. Providers were assessed using hypothetical patient vignettes and the standardized patient method both before and after programme implementation, in 2011 and 2014, respectively. Differences in providers' performance between implementation and nonimplementation areas were assessed using multivariate difference-in-difference linear regression models. The programme did not significantly improve health-care providers' knowledge or performance with regard to childhood diarrhoea or pneumonia in Bihar. There was a persistent large gap between knowledge of appropriate care and the care actually delivered. Social franchising has received attention globally as a model for delivering high-quality care in rural areas in the developing world but supporting data are scarce. Our findings emphasize the need for sound empirical evidence before social franchising programmes are scaled up.

Social skills programmes for schizophrenia.

PubMed

Almerie, Muhammad Qutayba; Okba Al Marhi, Muhammad; Jawoosh, Muhammad; Alsabbagh, Mohamad; Matar, Hosam E; Maayan, Nicola; Bergman, Hanna

2015-06-09

Social skills programmes (SSP) are treatment strategies aimed at enhancing the social performance and reducing the distress and difficulty experienced by people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and can be incorporated as part of the rehabilitation package for people with schizophrenia. The primary objective is to investigate the effects of social skills training programmes, compared to standard care, for people with schizophrenia. We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's Trials Register (November 2006 and December 2011) which is based on regular searches of CINAHL, BIOSIS, AMED, EMBASE, PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and registries of clinical trials. We inspected references of all identified studies for further trials.A further search for studies has been conducted by the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group in 2015, 37 citations have been found and are currently being assessed by review authors. We included all relevant randomised controlled trials for social skills programmes versus standard care involving people with serious mental illnesses. We extracted data independently. For dichotomous data we calculated risk ratios (RRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) on an intention-to-treat basis. For continuous data, we calculated mean differences (MD) and 95% CIs. We included 13 randomised trials (975 participants). These evaluated social skills programmes versus standard care, or discussion group. We found evidence in favour of social skills programmes compared to standard care on all measures of social functioning. We also found that rates of relapse and rehospitalisation were lower for social skills compared to standard care (relapse: 2 RCTs, n = 263, RR 0.52 CI 0.34 to 0.79, very low quality evidence), (rehospitalisation: 1 RCT, n = 143, RR 0.53 CI 0.30 to 0.93, very low quality evidence) and participants' mental state results (1 RCT, n = 91, MD -4.01 CI -7.52 to -0.50, very low quality evidence) were better in the group receiving social skill programmes. Global state was measured in one trial by numbers not experiencing a clinical improvement, results favoured social skills (1 RCT, n = 67, RR 0.29 CI 0.12 to 0.68, very low quality evidence). Quality of life was also improved in the social skills programme compared to standard care (1 RCT, n = 112, MD -7.60 CI -12.18 to -3.02, very low quality evidence). However, when social skills programmes were compared to a discussion group control, we found no significant differences in the participants social functioning, relapse rates, mental state or quality of life, again the quality of evidence for these outcomes was very low. Compared to standard care, social skills training may improve the social skills of people with schizophrenia and reduce relapse rates, but at present, the evidence is very limited with data rated as very low quality. When social skills training was compared to discussion there was no difference on patients outcomes. Cultural differences might limit the applicability of the current results, as most reported studies were conducted in China. Whether social skills training can improve social functioning of people with schizophrenia in different settings remains unclear and should be investigated in a large multi-centre randomised controlled trial.

Corporate social responsibility and mental health: the Premier League football Imagine Your Goals programme.

PubMed

Henderson, Claire; O'Hara, Stefanie; Thornicroft, Graham; Webber, Martin

2014-08-01

Football is increasingly used to facilitate recovery in mental health services, often in partnership with football clubs. However, few clubs have made mental health part of their corporate social responsibility programmes until recently. We report the impact on participants of the 'Imagine Your Goals' programme, run by 16 Premier League football clubs in conjunction with England's Time to Change programme to reduce mental health-related stigma and discrimination. Mixed methods evaluation used pre/post measures of well-being, access to social capital, focus groups held early on and towards the end of the two-year programmes, and questionnaires for coaching staff. There were no significant changes to participants' mental well-being scores between baseline and follow-up, nor to the total number of social resources accessible through their networks. However, there was a statistically significant increase at follow-up in the mean score of the personal skills subscale of the Resource Generator-UK. Participants' individual skills were also higher at follow-up. Qualitative data showed programmes had largely met participants' expectations in terms of socializing, providing structure and improving fitness levels, exceeded expectations in relationships with coaching staff and additional activities, but did not always meet them in improving football skills. Participants varied in their knowledge of exit opportunities, depending on which club's programme they attended. A minority of clubs reported difficulties in recruitment and concerns about planning for the future of the projects. Football clubs and the charitable foundations they set up can successfully deliver programmes to people with mental health problems which improve access to personal skills social capital and have other potential benefits.

Holistic processing for bodies and body parts: New evidence from stereoscopic depth manipulations.

PubMed

Harris, Alison; Vyas, Daivik B; Reed, Catherine L

2016-10-01

Although holistic processing has been documented extensively for upright faces, it is unclear whether it occurs for other visual categories with more extensive substructure, such as body postures. Like faces, body postures have high social relevance, but they differ in having fine-grain organization not only of basic parts (e.g., arm) but also subparts (e.g., elbow, wrist, hand). To compare holistic processing for whole bodies and body parts, we employed a novel stereoscopic depth manipulation that creates either the percept of a whole body occluded by a set of bars, or of segments of a body floating in front of a background. Despite sharing low-level visual properties, only the stimulus perceived as being behind bars should be holistically "filled in" via amodal completion. In two experiments, we tested for better identification of individual body parts within the context of a body versus in isolation. Consistent with previous findings, recognition of body parts was better in the context of a whole body when the body was amodally completed behind occluders. However, when the same bodies were perceived as floating in strips, performance was significantly worse, and not significantly different, from that for amodally completed parts, supporting holistic processing of body postures. Intriguingly, performance was worst for parts in the frontal depth condition, suggesting that these effects may extend from gross body organization to a more local level. These results provide suggestive evidence that holistic representations may not be "all-or-none," but rather also operate on body regions of more limited spatial extent.

The perceived meaning of a (w)holistic view among general practitioners and district nurses in Swedish primary care: a qualitative study

PubMed Central

Strandberg, Eva Lena; Ovhed, Ingvar; Borgquist, Lars; Wilhelmsson, Susan

2007-01-01

Background The definition of primary care varies between countries. Swedish primary care has developed from a philosophic viewpoint based on quality, accessibility, continuity, co-operation and a holistic view. The meaning of holism in international literature differs between medicine and nursing. The question is, if the difference is due to different educational traditions. Due to the uncertainties in defining holism and a holistic view we wished to study, in depth, how holism is perceived by doctors and nurses in their clinical work. Thus, the aim was to explore the perceived meaning of a holistic view among general practitioners (GPs) and district nurses (DNs). Methods Seven focus group interviews with a purposive sample of 22 GPs and 20 nurses working in primary care in two Swedish county councils were conducted. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results The analysis resulted in three categories, attitude, knowledge, and circumstances, with two, two and four subcategories respectively. A professional attitude involves recognising the whole person; not only fragments of a person with a disease. Factual knowledge is acquired through special training and long professional experience. Tacit knowledge is about feelings and social competence. Circumstances can either be barriers or facilitators. A holistic view is a strong motivator and as such it is a facilitator. The way primary care is organised can be either a barrier or a facilitator and could influence the use of a holistic approach. Defined geographical districts and care teams facilitate a holistic view with house calls being essential, particularly for nurses. In preventive work and palliative care, a holistic view was stated to be specifically important. Consultations and communication with the patient were seen as important tools. Conclusion 'Holistic view' is multidimensional, well implemented and very much alive among both GPs and DNs. The word holistic should really be spelt 'wholistic' to avoid confusion with complementary and alternative medicine. It was obvious that our participants were able to verbalise the meaning of a 'wholistic' view through narratives about their clinical, every day work. The possibility to implement a 'wholistic' perspective in their work with patients offers a strong motivation for GPs and DNs. PMID:17346340

Responding to the needs of children in crisis.

PubMed

Jones, Lynne

2008-06-01

This paper explores the issues confronting service providers setting up child and family mental health programmes in conflict, post conflict and disaster areas. Drawing on clinical experience and research in humanitarian settings, it calls for greater attention to the child's perspective, their individuality and the cultural, social and political context in which they live. It argues that those concerned with the psychopathology of children in crises should widen their frame of reference beyond narrowly defined traumatic reactions to include other mental health and psychosocial issues, including the current problems of daily life and the needs of children with pre-existing psychiatric disorders. It recommends culturally valid means of assessment, the creation of age-appropriate services and training for primary healthcare workers. Children's mental health needs in crises are varied, complex and intimately connected with their needs for security, food, shelter, education and family connection. This requires holistic, rights-based approaches that can access resources to address basic needs, advocate for security and protection, and recognize and address the needs of the more vulnerable children. This is the approach recommended by the Inter Agency Standing Committee Guidelines for Mental health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings.

Networking and training in palliative care: challenging values and changing practice.

PubMed

Leng, Mhoira Ef

2011-01-01

What make a good doctor is a question posed by the public and profession and is key when designing training programmes. The goal of training is to change practice not simply acquire knowledge yet too often curriculums and assessment focuses on knowledge and skills. Professional practice is underpinned by beliefs and values and therefore training may need to challenge deeply held values in order to result in a change in practice. Palliative care offers an opportunity to challenge values at a deeply personal level as it brings experiences of pain and suffering alongside clinical knowledge and skills. Palliative care is holistic and so real scenarios where physical, psychological, social and spiritual issues are evident can be presented in an interactive, learner centered environment. Training in ethics alongside clinical skills will assist the development of judgment which should also be assessed. Communication skills enable the clinician to hear and understand the needs and wishes of those facing life limiting illness. Training should include aspects of modeling and mentorship to demonstrate and integrate the learning with the realities of clinical practice and include those who lead and influence policy and advocacy.

Bystander position taking in school bullying: the role of positive identity, self-efficacy, and self-determination.

PubMed

Tsang, Sandra K M; Hui, Eadaoin K P; Law, Bella C M

2011-01-01

School bullying has become an explicit, burgeoning problem challenging the healthy development of children and adolescents in Hong Kong. Many bullying prevention and intervention programs focus on victims and bullies, with bystanders treated as either nonexistent or irrelevant. This paper asserts that bystanders actually play pivotal roles in deciding whether the bullying process and dynamics are benign or adversarial. Bystanders' own abilities and characteristics often influence how they respond to victims and bullies. "P.A.T.H.S. to Adulthood: A Jockey Club Youth Enhancement Scheme" (P.A.T.H.S. = Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) is an evidence-based positive youth development program which shows that primary intervention programs have constructive impacts on junior secondary school students' beliefs and behavior. This paper asserts that intrapsychic qualities, namely identity, self-efficacy, and self-determination, greatly influence how bystanders react in school bullying situations. The paper also explains how classroom-based educational programs based on the P.A.T.H.S. model have been designed to help junior secondary school students strengthen these characteristics, so that they can be constructive bystanders when they encounter school bullying.

Prevention of adolescent problem behavior: longitudinal impact of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Shek, Daniel T L; Yu, Lu

2011-03-07

The present study attempts to examine the longitudinal impact of a curriculum-based positive youth development program, entitled the Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes), on adolescent problem behavior in Hong Kong. Using a longitudinal randomized group design, six waves of data were collected from 19 experimental schools (n = 3,797 at Wave 1) in which students participated in the Project P.A.T.H.S. and 24 control schools (n = 4,049 at Wave 1). At each wave, students responded to questions asking about their current problem behaviors, including delinquency and use of different types of drugs, and their intentions of engaging in such behaviors in the future. Results based on individual growth curve modeling generally showed that the participants displayed lower levels of substance abuse and delinquent behavior than did the control students. Participants who regarded the program to be helpful also showed lower levels of problem behavior than did the control students. The present findings suggest that the Project P.A.T.H.S. is effective in preventing adolescent problem behavior in the junior secondary school years.

"It was the whole picture" a mixed methods study of successful components in an integrated wellness service in North East England.

PubMed

Cheetham, M; Van der Graaf, P; Khazaeli, B; Gibson, E; Wiseman, A; Rushmer, R

2018-03-22

A growing number of Local Authorities (LAs) have introduced integrated wellness services as part of efforts to deliver cost effective, preventive services that address the social determinants of health. This study examined which elements of an integrated wellness service in the north east of England were effective in improving health and wellbeing (HWB). The study used a mixed-methods approach. In-depth semi-structured interviews (IVs) were conducted with integrated wellness service users (n = 25) and focus groups (FGs) with group based service users (n = 14) and non-service users (n = 23) to gather the views of stakeholders. Findings are presented here alongside analysis of routine monitoring data. The different data were compared to examine what each data source revealed about the effectiveness of the service. Findings suggest that integrated wellness services work by addressing the social determinants of health and respond to multiple complex health and social concerns rather than single issues. The paper identifies examples of 'active ingredients' at the heart of the programme, such as sustained relationships, peer support and confidence building, as well as the activities through which changes take place, such as sports and leisure opportunities which in turn encourage social interaction. Wider wellbeing outcomes, including reduced social isolation and increased self-efficacy are also reported. Practical and motivational support helped build community capacity by encouraging community groups to access funding, helped navigate bureaucratic systems, and promoted understanding of marginalised communities. Fully integrated wellness services could support progression opportunities through volunteering and mentoring. An integrated wellness service that offers a holistic approach was valued by service users and allowed them to address complex issues simultaneously. Few of the reported health gains were captured in routine data. Quantitative and qualitative data each offered a partial view of how effectively services were working.

A Statistical Evaluation of the Effects of a Structured Postdoctoral Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bessudnov, Alexey; Guardiancich, Igor; Marimon, Ramon

2015-01-01

Postdoctoral programmes have recently become an important step leading from doctoral education to permanent academic careers in the social sciences. This paper investigates the effects of a large and structured postdoctoral programme in the social sciences on a number of academic and non-academic outcomes of fellows. Propensity score matching is…

The role of social pedagogy in the training of residential child care workers.

PubMed

Jackson, Robin

2006-03-01

A requirement for most people working in residential child care in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands is a qualification in social pedagogy. Social pedagogy is not narrowly concerned with a child's schooling but relates to the whole child - body, mind and spirit. This article describes the first social pedagogy course to be introduced and professionally recognized in the UK: the BA in Curative Education Programme. This 4-year programme blurs the line between 'classroom learning' and 'learning in practice'. A unique feature of the programme is that most students 'live the course' in residential care communities for children or adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The life-sharing aspect of the programme ensures that the principles of dignity, value and mutual respect can be meaningfully translated into practice. The social pedagogic model presents a timely challenge to current care philosophy and practice.

The effect of a Web-based education programme (WBEP) on disease severity, quality of life and mothers' self-efficacy in children with atopic dermatitis.

PubMed

Son, Hae Kyoung; Lim, Jiyoung

2014-10-01

To develop and evaluate the effects of a web-based education programme in early childhood for children with atopic dermatitis. The prevalence rate of atopic dermatitis is highest in early childhood. A holistic approach is urgently needed for young children with respect to disease severity, quality of life and management, particularly parental knowledge about atopic dermatitis and adherence to treatment. A quasi-experimental study design was used. A total of 40 mother-child dyads participated in the study from 1 July-30 November 2011 in Korea. All children were under 3 years of age. The programme was based on the Network-Based Instructional System Design model, which consists of five phases: analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation. The experimental group participated in the programme for 2 weeks. Participants took part in a learning session during the first week and then conducted the practice session at home during the second week. Participant knowledge and compliance were evaluated through online quizzes and self-checklists. Statistical analyses (chi-square test and t-test) were performed using the Statistical Analysis System, Version 9.13. There was a significant improvement in disease severity, quality of life and mothers' self-efficacy in the experimental group; thus, the web-based education programme was effective. The web-based education programme as an advanced intervention may be useful in providing basic data for future atopic dermatitis-related studies. Moreover, the programme may serve as a nursing educational intervention tool for clinical nursing practices. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Translating change: the development of a person-centred triage training programme for emergency nurses.

PubMed

McBrien, Barry

2009-01-01

Within health care, there has been a change in practice from an illness-orientated service to one that is more health-focused and person-centred. The concept of person-centredness is frequently espoused by practitioners as being not only a desirable, but a necessary element of health care provision. Indeed, nationally and internationally, person-centred care has underpinned many healthcare documents and policies. Person-centred practice focuses on providing care, utilising a variety of processes that operationalise person-centred nursing and include working with patients' beliefs and values, engagement, presence, sharing decision-making and providing for physical needs. In the field of emergency nursing, the incorporation of person-centred care and its holistic foundation may require a significant shift in practice. There is evidence to suggest that emergency nurses view their role as one, which is predominantly concerned with providing urgent physical care, rather than one, which espouses the theories of holistic healthcare. To this extent, being person-centred in the context of emergency care, requires the nurse to move beyond the traditional notions of his/her role and to embrace the more holistic aspects of patient care. The aim of this article is to critically analyse how a change in nurse-led triage training in one Irish Emergency Department facilitated an improved person-centred approach in practice.

Orthorexia nervosa: An integrative literature review of a lifestyle syndrome.

PubMed

Håman, Linn; Barker-Ruchti, Natalie; Patriksson, Göran; Lindgren, Eva-Carin

2015-01-01

Bratman first proposed orthorexia nervosa in the late 1990s, defining it an obsession with eating healthy food to achieve, for instance, improved health. Today, in the Swedish media, excessive exercising plays a central role in relation to orthorexia. A few review articles on orthorexia have been conducted; however, these have not focused on aspects of food and eating, sport, exercise, or a societal perspective. The overall aim of this study was to provide an overview and synthesis of what philosophies of science approaches form the current academic framework of orthorexia. Key questions were: What aspects of food and eating are related to orthorexia? What role do exercise and sports play in relation to orthorexia? In what ways are orthorexia contextualized? Consequently, the concept of healthism was used to discuss and contextualize orthorexia. The method used was an integrative literature review; the material covered 19 empirical and theoretical articles published in peer-reviewed journals. This review demonstrates a multifaceted nature of orthorexia research; this field has been examined from four different philosophies of science approaches (i.e., empirical-atomistic, empirical-atomistic with elements of empirical-holistic, empirical-holistic, and rational-holistic) on individual, social, and societal levels. The majority of the articles followed an empirical-atomistic approach that focused on orthorexia as an individual issue, which was discussed using healthism. Our analysis indicates a need for (a) more empirical-holistic research that applies interpretive qualitative methods and uses a social perspective of health, e.g., healthism and (b) examining the role of sports and exercise in relation to orthorexia that takes the problematizing of "orthorexic behaviours" within the sports context into account.

Orthorexia nervosa: An integrative literature review of a lifestyle syndrome

PubMed Central

Håman, Linn; Barker-Ruchti, Natalie; Patriksson, Göran; Lindgren, Eva-Carin

2015-01-01

Bratman first proposed orthorexia nervosa in the late 1990s, defining it an obsession with eating healthy food to achieve, for instance, improved health. Today, in the Swedish media, excessive exercising plays a central role in relation to orthorexia. A few review articles on orthorexia have been conducted; however, these have not focused on aspects of food and eating, sport, exercise, or a societal perspective. The overall aim of this study was to provide an overview and synthesis of what philosophies of science approaches form the current academic framework of orthorexia. Key questions were: What aspects of food and eating are related to orthorexia? What role do exercise and sports play in relation to orthorexia? In what ways are orthorexia contextualized? Consequently, the concept of healthism was used to discuss and contextualize orthorexia. The method used was an integrative literature review; the material covered 19 empirical and theoretical articles published in peer-reviewed journals. This review demonstrates a multifaceted nature of orthorexia research; this field has been examined from four different philosophies of science approaches (i.e., empirical-atomistic, empirical-atomistic with elements of empirical-holistic, empirical-holistic, and rational-holistic) on individual, social, and societal levels. The majority of the articles followed an empirical-atomistic approach that focused on orthorexia as an individual issue, which was discussed using healthism. Our analysis indicates a need for (a) more empirical-holistic research that applies interpretive qualitative methods and uses a social perspective of health, e.g., healthism and (b) examining the role of sports and exercise in relation to orthorexia that takes the problematizing of “orthorexic behaviours” within the sports context into account. PMID:26282866

Internet treatment for social phobia reduces comorbidity.

PubMed

Titov, Nickolai; Gibson, Matthew; Andrews, Gavin; McEvoy, Peter

2009-08-01

Social phobia can be treated by brief Internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). Most people with social phobia, however, meet criteria for another mental disorder; this comorbidity is associated with significant disability, and cases of comorbidity may be more difficult to treat. The present study examined the impact of the Shyness programme, an Internet-based treatment programme for social phobia, on comorbid symptoms of depression and generalized anxiety disorder. Data from three randomized controlled trials using the Shyness programme to treat social phobia were reanalysed. The 211 subjects, all of whom met DSM-IV criteria for social phobia, were divided into four groups: (i) social phobia only; (ii) social phobia with elevated symptoms of depression; (iii) social phobia with elevated symptoms of generalized anxiety; and (iv) social phobia with elevated symptoms of both generalized anxiety and depression. The improvement in social phobia, depression and anxiety following Internet-based treatment for social phobia was measured. Improvement in social phobia was seen in all groups, whether comorbid or not. Significant improvements in comorbid symptoms of depression and generalized anxiety occurred even though the treatment was focused on the social phobia. Brief Internet-based CBT can reduce both the target disorder as well as comorbid symptoms. These findings are consistent with evidence that unified or transdiagnostic programmes may reduce the severity of comorbid disorders and symptoms, indicating an important direction for future research.

Holistic aspects of children's ways of understanding in making sense of genetics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Hui-Ju

The study examined the nature of how children make sense of phenomena in the area of genetics and inheritance. I proposed the phrase, way of understanding to capture a unified entity which children use to make sense of phenomena. The methodology was semi-structured probing interviews with six sixth grade students. Seven specific ways of understanding were discussed in the results section. Overall, the study described and discovered children's ways of understanding in terms of five aspects: cognitive aspects, affective aspects, social aspects, playfulness, and mode of awareness. Students' propositional knowledge, a holistic view of looking at how people resemble each other, syntactic knowledge, and an extension of rational explanations belonged to the cognitive aspects. Four categories of affective expressions were: an enjoyment of thinking and learning, a special feeling about the instructional activity, a deep personal involvement, and an anxiety in finding correct answers. Two types of social context were identified, one had somewhat of a connection to the science world, and the other did not have much of an scientific tie. The playfulness and the mode of awareness were two emerging aspects through the study. The playfulness represented the spontaneity, freedom, and sense of fun associated with the social interaction activity, such as the playfulness in expressing ideas to others. The modes of awareness included two types of metacognition, one was a conscious reflection on one's cognitive abilities, and the other was a continuous process of monitoring knowledge. In addition, the importance of considering language aspect in science learning was an emerging issue. Students' talking about genetics was embedded in the larger framework of social relationships and social institutions. Their social identify might influence the development of concepts, ways of talking and science learning. The study reflects the richness of children's sense-making processes. Distinguishing above categories for the purpose of analysis does not mean that they can be separated. We have to conceptualize way of understanding with a global and holistic perspective, that is, it is essential to consider the complexity, variety, and interrelatedness of all aspects as a whole.

Examining the pathways for young people with drug and alcohol dependence: a mixed-method design to examine the role of a treatment programme

PubMed Central

Nathan, Sally; Rawstorne, Patrick; Hayen, Andrew; Bryant, Joanne; Baldry, Eileen; Ferry, Mark; Williams, Megan; Shanahan, Marian; Jayasinha, Ranmalie

2016-01-01

Introduction Young people with drug and alcohol problems are likely to have poorer health and other psychosocial outcomes than other young people. Residential treatment programmes have been shown to lead to improved health and related outcomes for young people in the short term. There is very little robust research showing longer term outcomes or benefits of such programmes. This paper describes an innovative protocol to examine the longer term outcomes and experiences of young people referred to a residential life management and treatment programme in Australia designed to address alcohol and drug issues in a holistic manner. Methods and analysis This is a mixed-methods study that will retrospectively and prospectively examine young people's pathways into and out of a residential life management programme. The study involves 3 components: (1) retrospective data linkage of programme data to health and criminal justice administrative data sets, (2) prospective cohort (using existing programme baseline data and a follow-up survey) and (3) qualitative in-depth interviews with a subsample of the prospective cohort. The study will compare findings among young people who are referred and (a) stay 30 days or more in the programme (including those who go on to continuing care and those who do not); (b) start, but stay fewer than 30 days in the programme; (c) are assessed, but do not start the programme. Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval has been sought from several ethics committees including a university ethics committee, state health departments and an Aboriginal-specific ethics committee. The results of the study will be published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at research conferences, disseminated via a report for the general public and through Facebook communications. The study will inform the field more broadly about the value of different methods in evaluating programmes and examining the pathways and trajectories of vulnerable young people. PMID:27225650

Preparing the prescription: a review of the aim and measurement of social referral programmes.

PubMed

Rempel, Emily S; Wilson, Emma N; Durrant, Hannah; Barnett, Julie

2017-10-12

Our aim is to review, and qualitatively evaluate, the aims and measures of social referral programmes. Our first objective is to identify the aims of social referral initiatives. Our second objective is to identify the measures used to evaluate whether the aims of social referral were met. Literature review. Social referral programmes, also called social prescribing and emergency case referral, link primary and secondary healthcare with community services, often under the guise of decreasing health system costs. Following the PRISMA guidelines, we undertook a literature review to address that aim. We searched in five academic online databases and in one online non-academic search engine, including both academic and grey literature, for articles referring to 'social prescribing' or 'community referral'. We identified 41 relevant articles and reports. After extracting the aims, measures and type of study, we found that most social referral programmes aimed to address a wide variety of system and individual health problems. This included cost savings, resource reallocation and improved mental, physical and social well-being. Across the 41 studies and reports, there were 154 different kinds of measures or methods of evaluation identified. Of these, the most commonly used individual measure was the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, used in nine studies and reports. These inconsistencies in aims and measures used pose serious problems when social prescribing and other referral programmes are often advertised as a solution to health services-budgeting constraints, as well as a range of chronic mental and physical health conditions. We recommend researchers and local community organisers alike to critically evaluate for whom, where and why their social referral programmes 'work'. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Managing safety and quality through the red meat chain.

PubMed

Desmarchelier, P; Fegan, N; Smale, N; Small, A

2007-09-01

To successfully manage food safety and quality risks in meat production, a holistic approach is required. The ideal would be a fully integrated assurance system, with effective controls applied at all stages. However, the red meat industry is by nature somewhat fragmented, and a truly integrated system is not at present achievable in all but a few operations. This paper describes a variety of assurance initiatives, and explores how targeted research and development can be used to augment assurance programmes by providing underpinning knowledge, using the Australian beef and lamb industry as an example.

Participation in a social and recreational day programme increases community integration and reduces family burden of persons with acquired brain injury.

PubMed

Gerber, Gary J; Gargaro, Judith

2015-01-01

To describe and evaluate a new day programme for persons living with an acquired brain injury (ABI), including persons exhibiting challenging behaviours. Activities were designed to reduce participants' social isolation, increase participation in community activities and increase social and leisure skills. It was expected that community integration would increase and challenging behaviours and family burden would decrease for day programme participants. Pre-post convenience sample design. Sixty-one participants and family members completed questionnaires before starting the day programme and after 6-month participation. Community Integration Questionnaire, Overt Behaviour Scale, Burden Assessment Scale, Goal Attainment Scaling. Participants had increased community integration (p = 0.000) and decreased family burden (p = 0.006). There was a trend to decreased severity of challenging behaviour. Participants and family members were very satisfied. Results suggest that the programme was effective in reducing participants' social isolation and increasing appropriate interpersonal behaviours. Participation increased community integration and reduced burden on family caregivers. ABI day programmes help fill the void left after other rehabilitation services end and provide survivors with opportunities to engage in a variety of activities. Persons living with ABI have need for ongoing social, recreational and life skill coaching services after formal rehabilitation has been completed.

Frailty and Organization of Health and Social Care.

PubMed

Clegg, Andrew; Young, John

2015-01-01

In this chapter, we consider how health and social care can best be organized for older people with frailty. We will consider the merits of routine frailty identification, including risk stratification methods, to inform the provision of evidence-based treatment and holistic, goal-oriented care. We will also consider how best to place older people with frailty at the heart of health and social care systems so that the complex challenges associated with this vulnerable group are addressed. 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

The effectiveness of an outdoor adventure programme for young children with autism spectrum disorder: a controlled study.

PubMed

Zachor, Ditza A; Vardi, Shira; Baron-Eitan, Shani; Brodai-Meir, Inbal; Ginossar, Noa; Ben-Itzchak, Esther

2017-05-01

Outdoor adventure programmes aim to improve interpersonal relationships using adventurous activities. The current study examined the effectiveness of an outdoor adventure programme in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The study included 51 participants (40 males, 11 females; age 3y 4mo-7y 4mo) enrolled in ASD special education kindergartens. Only the intervention group (n=30) participated in the outdoor adventure programme for 13 weeks, completing challenging physical activities that required cooperation and communication with peers and instructors. The control group (n=21) was not significantly different from the research group in age, sex, cognitive, and adaptive behaviour measures. Outcomes after the intervention revealed significant improvement in social-communication and different directions in the two groups in the social cognition, social motivation, and autistic mannerisms subdomains of the Social Responsiveness Scale. While the group that received an outdoor adventure programme showed a tendency toward a reduction in severity, the control group showed the opposite (p<0.010). The outdoor adventure programme required problem-solving skills and forced the child to communicate in exciting situations. This study suggests that an outdoor adventure programme may be an effective intervention in addition to traditional treatments in young children with ASD. Future studies should examine the outcome of outdoor adventure programmes delivered for longer periods of time and maintenance of the achievements over time. © 2016 Mac Keith Press.

Social acceptability and perceived impact of a community-led cash transfer programme in Zimbabwe

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Cash transfer programmes are increasingly recognised as promising and scalable interventions that can promote the health and development of children. However, concerns have been raised about the potential for cash transfers to contribute to social division, jealousy and conflict at a community level. Against this background, and in our interest to promote community participation in cash transfer programmes, we examine local perceptions of a community-led cash transfer programme in Eastern Zimbabwe. Methods We collected and analysed data from 35 individual interviews and three focus group discussions, involving 24 key informants (community committee members and programme implementers), 24 cash transfer beneficiaries, of which four were youth, and 14 non-beneficiaries. Transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis and coding to generate concepts. Results Study participants described the programme as participatory, fair and transparent – reducing the likelihood of jealousy. The programme was perceived to have had a substantial impact on children’s health and education, primarily through aiding parents and guardians to better cater for their children’s needs. Moreover, participants alluded to the potential of the programme to facilitate more transformational change, for example by enabling families to invest money in assets and income generating activities and by promoting a community-wide sense of responsibility for the support of orphaned and vulnerable children. Conclusion Community participation, combined with the perceived impact of the cash transfer programme, led community members to speak enthusiastically about the programme. We conclude that community-led cash transfer programmes have the potential to open up for possibilities of participation and community agency that enable social acceptability and limit social divisiveness. PMID:23587136

Targeted social protection in a pastoralist economy: case study from Kenya.

PubMed

Janzen, S A; Jensen, N D; Mude, A G

2016-11-01

Social protection programmes are designed to help vulnerable populations - including pastoralists - maintain a basic level of well-being, manage risk, and cope with negative shocks. Theory suggests that differential targeting according to poverty status can increase the reach and effectiveness of budgeted social protection programmes. Chronically poor households benefit most from social protection designed to help them meet their basic needs and make vital investments necessary to graduate from poverty. Vulnerable non-destitute households benefit from protection against costly temporary shocks, but do not necessarily need regular assistance. Welfare gains occur when a comprehensive social protection programme considers the needs of both types of households. The authors use evidence-based understanding of poverty dynamics in the pastoralist-based economy of northern Kenya's arid and semi-arid lands as a case study to discuss and compare the observed impacts of two different social protection schemes on heterogeneous pastoralist households: a targeted, unconditional, cash-transfer programme designed to support the poorest, and an index-based livestock insurance programme, which acts as a productive 'safety net' to help stem a descent into poverty and increase resilience. Both types of social protection scheme have been shown to decrease poverty, improve food security and protect child health. However, the behavioural response for asset accumulation varies with the type of protection and the household's unique situation. Poor households that receive cash transfers retain and accumulate assets quickly. Insured households, who are typically vulnerable yet not destitute, protect existing herds and invest more in the livestock they already own. The authors argue that differential targeting increases programme efficiency, and discuss Kenya's current approach to implementing differentially targeted social protection.

Evaluation of a social franchising and telemedicine programme and the care provided for childhood diarrhoea and pneumonia, Bihar, India

PubMed Central

Giardili, Soledad; Das, Veena; Rabin, Tracy L; Raj, Sunil S; Schwartz, Jeremy I; Seth, Aparna; Goldhaber-Fiebert, Jeremy D; Miller, Grant; Vera-Hernández, Marcos

2017-01-01

Abstract Objective To evaluate the impact on the quality of the care provided for childhood diarrhoea and pneumonia in Bihar, India, of a large-scale, social franchising and telemedicine programme – the World Health Partners’ Sky Program. Methods We investigated changes associated with the programme in the knowledge and performance of health-care providers by carrying out 810 assessments in a representative sample of providers in areas where the programme was and was not implemented. Providers were assessed using hypothetical patient vignettes and the standardized patient method both before and after programme implementation, in 2011 and 2014, respectively. Differences in providers’ performance between implementation and nonimplementation areas were assessed using multivariate difference-in-difference linear regression models. Findings The programme did not significantly improve health-care providers’ knowledge or performance with regard to childhood diarrhoea or pneumonia in Bihar. There was a persistent large gap between knowledge of appropriate care and the care actually delivered. Conclusion Social franchising has received attention globally as a model for delivering high-quality care in rural areas in the developing world but supporting data are scarce. Our findings emphasize the need for sound empirical evidence before social franchising programmes are scaled up. PMID:28479635

Ten best resources on conditional cash transfers.

PubMed

Marshall, Caroline; Hill, Peter S

2015-07-01

The world's economy is in a fragile state. Although cautiously recovering from a global recession, unemployment rates and poverty levels remain high. At the same time, food and fuel crises have resulted in skyrocketing commodity costs, straining household budgets even further than before. In the wake of these financial pressure points, there has been increased focus on social safety net programmes. More recently, Brazil's 'Bolsa Familia' conditional cash transfer (CCT) programme has celebrated its tenth-year anniversary, renewing focus on this particular aspect of social transfer programmes. This essay examines one particular aspect of these social safety net programmes: CCTs. CCT programmes are useful social programmes that have had demonstrable effects on many different populations. However, they are not a 'magic bullet' against poverty, and their image has suffered from unreasonable expectations of their impacts. This 10 best list is an ideal starting point from which a potential user can begin to understand CCTs. There remain significant gaps in the literature behind CCTs, with a particular need for much more research on emerging areas such as impacts on gender, long-term school and health outcomes, methods for increasing efficiency and adapting conditionalities within cultural contexts, among others. However, this list can function as a starting point from which the reader can gain an understanding and appreciation for what we believe to be one of the most innovative social programmes for addressing poverty worldwide. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2014; all rights reserved.

Darwinism: Evolution or Revolution?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holt, Niles R.

1989-01-01

Maintains that Darwin's theory of evolution was more than a science versus religion debate; rather it was a revolutionary concept that influenced numerous social and political ideologies and movements throughout western history. Traces the impact of Darwin's work historically, utilizing a holistic approach. (RW)

Literacy in the U.S.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weber, Rose-Marie

1991-01-01

Current definitions of literacy reflect a holistic view of reading and writing as linguistic enterprises situated in social and intellectual contexts. This article reviews early reading and writing, aspects of comprehension, reading/writing learning problems, and second and foreign language literacy. (99 references) (LB)

Humane Education: Science, Technology, and Society in the English Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Emeigh, Tonya Huber

1988-01-01

Presents "Beastly Thoughts," a holistic writing module designed to involve students in decision-making processes about socially relevant issues regarding animals. Provides 48 activities for investigation and lists 33 references for possible book reviews. Includes 38 references. (MVL)

Addressing the social determinants of health: a case study from the Mitanin (community health worker) programme in India

PubMed Central

Schneider, Helen

2014-01-01

The Mitanin Programme, a government community health worker (CHW) programme, was started in Chhattisgarh State of India in 2002. The CHWs (Mitanins) have consistently adopted roles that go beyond health programme-specific interventions to embrace community mobilization and action on local priorities. The aim of this research was to document how and why the Mitanins have been able to act on the social determinants of health, describing the catalysts and processes involved and the enabling programmatic and organizational factors. A qualitative comparative case study of successful action by Mitanin was conducted in two ‘blocks’, purposefully selected as positive exemplars in two districts of Chhattisgarh. One case focused on malnutrition and the other on gender-based violence. Data collection involved 17 in-depth interviews and 10 group interviews with the full range of stakeholders in both blocks, including community members and programme team. Thematic analysis was done using a broad conceptual framework that was further refined. Action on social determinants involved raising awareness on rights, mobilizing women’s collectives, revitalizing local political structures and social action targeting both the community and government service providers. Through these processes, the Mitanins developed identities as agents of change and advocates for the community, both with respect to local cultural and gender norms and in ensuring accountability of service providers. The factors underpinning successful action on social determinants were identified as the significance of the original intent and vision of the programme, and how this was carried through into all aspects of programme design, the role of the Mitanins and their identification with village women, ongoing training and support, and the relative autonomy of the programme. Although the results are not narrowly generalizable and do not necessarily represent the situation of the Mitanin Programme as a whole, the explanatory framework may provide general lessons for programmes in similar contexts. PMID:25274643

Breast Cancer: Exploring the Facts and Holistic Needs during and beyond Treatment

PubMed Central

Ng, Zhi Xuan; Ong, Mei Shan; Jegadeesan, Tamilarasi; Deng, Shuo; Yap, Celestial T.

2017-01-01

Breast cancer patients face challenges throughout the journey of diagnosis, treatment, post-treatment, and recovery. The breast cancer patient is exposed to a multidisciplinary team including doctors, nurses, therapists, counselors, and psychologists. While the team assembled together aims to address multiple facets in breast cancer care, the sub-specialized nature of individual professional practices may constrain the overview of patients’ holistic needs and a comprehensive approach to cancer management. This paper aims to provide an overview of the holistic needs of breast cancer patients at each stage of their cancer journey, addressing their complex physical, psychological, and social needs. As every patient is different, cancer care has to be tailored to each patient based on a holistic needs assessment. This paper also explores how support can be provided from the perspectives of the healthcare providers, family members and caretakers. Examples of general practices at healthcare institutions worldwide as well as supportive care provided by support groups are discussed. The needs of breast cancer patients extend beyond the resolution of cancer as a disease, and the restoration of health as far as possible is a critical component of healing. Understanding the complex issues involved in the journey of breast cancer will aid healthcare providers to be better equipped to sensitively address their concerns and focus on healing the patient holistically. Methodology: This paper provides a literature review of validated practices in different countries and elaborates on the holistic needs of patients at various stages of recovery. This review is based on more than a decade of publications sourced from multiple resources including PubMed journal articles; books and official websites of breast cancer organizations. PMID:28538673

Breast Cancer: Exploring the Facts and Holistic Needs during and beyond Treatment.

PubMed

Ng, Zhi Xuan; Ong, Mei Shan; Jegadeesan, Tamilarasi; Deng, Shuo; Yap, Celestial T

2017-05-24

Breast cancer patients face challenges throughout the journey of diagnosis, treatment, post-treatment, and recovery. The breast cancer patient is exposed to a multidisciplinary team including doctors, nurses, therapists, counselors, and psychologists. While the team assembled together aims to address multiple facets in breast cancer care, the sub-specialized nature of individual professional practices may constrain the overview of patients' holistic needs and a comprehensive approach to cancer management. This paper aims to provide an overview of the holistic needs of breast cancer patients at each stage of their cancer journey, addressing their complex physical, psychological, and social needs. As every patient is different, cancer care has to be tailored to each patient based on a holistic needs assessment. This paper also explores how support can be provided from the perspectives of the healthcare providers, family members and caretakers. Examples of general practices at healthcare institutions worldwide as well as supportive care provided by support groups are discussed. The needs of breast cancer patients extend beyond the resolution of cancer as a disease, and the restoration of health as far as possible is a critical component of healing. Understanding the complex issues involved in the journey of breast cancer will aid healthcare providers to be better equipped to sensitively address their concerns and focus on healing the patient holistically. This paper provides a literature review of validated practices in different countries and elaborates on the holistic needs of patients at various stages of recovery. This review is based on more than a decade of publications sourced from multiple resources including PubMed journal articles; books and official websites of breast cancer organizations.

To manage inland fisheries is to manage at the social-ecological watershed scale.

PubMed

Nguyen, Vivian M; Lynch, Abigail J; Young, Nathan; Cowx, Ian G; Beard, T Douglas; Taylor, William W; Cooke, Steven J

2016-10-01

Approaches to managing inland fisheries vary between systems and regions but are often based on large-scale marine fisheries principles and thus limited and outdated. Rarely do they adopt holistic approaches that consider the complex interplay among humans, fish, and the environment. We argue that there is an urgent need for a shift in inland fisheries management towards holistic and transdisciplinary approaches that embrace the principles of social-ecological systems at the watershed scale. The interconnectedness of inland fisheries with their associated watershed (biotic, abiotic, and humans) make them extremely complex and challenging to manage and protect. For this reason, the watershed is a logical management unit. To assist management at this scale, we propose a framework that integrates disparate concepts and management paradigms to facilitate inland fisheries management and sustainability. We contend that inland fisheries need to be managed as social-ecological watershed system (SEWS). The framework supports watershed-scale and transboundary governance to manage inland fisheries, and transdisciplinary projects and teams to ensure relevant and applicable monitoring and research. We discuss concepts of social-ecological feedback and interactions of multiple stressors and factors within/between the social-ecological systems. Moreover, we emphasize that management, monitoring, and research on inland fisheries at the watershed scale are needed to ensure long-term sustainable and resilient fisheries. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A systematic review of the experience of older women living and coping with type 2 diabetes.

PubMed

Li, Jiemin; Drury, Vicki; Taylor, Beverley

2014-04-01

This paper reports on a systematic review that sought to answer the research question: what is the experience of women living and coping with type 2 diabetes? A range of relevant terms were identified and electronic databases were searched. Only qualitative studies that explored the meaning of living and coping with type 2 diabetes and that included adult women aged ≥ 18 years were considered. We found evidence that women are challenged by their multi-caregiving roles and the complexities of managing their diabetes simultaneously. For female patients with diabetes, holistic care and individual psycho-education programmes appear to be facilitate more effective and successful diabetes management. In addition, carer programmes that provide information so that family and friends can support and assist the woman with diabetes are required. © 2013 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

The Social Space of Educational Strategies: Exploring Patterns of Enrolment, Efficiency and Completion among Swedish Students in Undergraduate Programmes with Professional Qualifications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlhed, Carina

2017-01-01

The aim of the study was to analyse enrolment patterns, and study efficiency and completion among students in programmes with professional qualifications, using microdata from Statistics Sweden. The programmes were Architecture, Medicine, Nursing, Law, Social work, Psychology, andEngineering (year 2001-2002, n = 15,918). Using the concepts from…

The Impact of Trial Stage, Developer Involvement and International Transferability on Universal Social and Emotional Learning Programme Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wigelsworth, M.; Lendrum, A.; Oldfield, J.; Scott, A.; ten Bokkel, I.; Tate, K.; Emery, C.

2016-01-01

This study expands upon the extant prior meta-analytic literature by exploring previously theorised reasons for the failure of school-based, universal social and emotional learning (SEL) programmes to produce expected results. Eighty-nine studies reporting the effects of school-based, universal SEL programmes were examined for differential effects…

The convergence of American and Nigerian religious conservatism in a biopolitical shaping of Nigeria's HIV/AIDS prevention programmes

PubMed Central

Jappah, Jlateh V.

2013-01-01

Nigeria has the largest number of HIV/AIDS cases in West Africa, with 3.3 million people estimated to be living with the disease. The country remains a fragile democratic state and has allocated insufficient resources to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS among its citizens. The preponderance of President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) dollars, expert knowledge, conservative ideology and activities has shaped the direction of HIV/AIDS sexual-transmission prevention programmes in Nigeria. PEPFAR channels significant resources through Nigerian faith-based organisations (FBOs), and considers these organisations integral for HIV prevention strategies. In many instances, HIV/AIDS prevention programmes managed by FBOs reflect their ideologies of morality and sexuality. There is a convergence of religious ideology concerning morality and HIV infectivity between American and Nigerian conservatives; this produces a fertile ground for the influence and expansion of the conservative activities of PEPFAR in Nigeria. The paper highlights this nexus and draws attention to the biopolitical underpinning of PEPFAR in shaping Nigeria's HIV prevention programmes. The paper further notes both positive and negative effects of PEPFAR activities and attempts by the Obama administration to redirect PEPFAR to a more holistic approach in order to optimise outcomes. PMID:23391163

The convergence of American and Nigerian religious conservatism in a biopolitical shaping of Nigeria's HIV/AIDS prevention programmes.

PubMed

Jappah, Jlateh V

2013-01-01

Nigeria has the largest number of HIV/AIDS cases in West Africa, with 3.3 million people estimated to be living with the disease. The country remains a fragile democratic state and has allocated insufficient resources to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS among its citizens. The preponderance of President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) dollars, expert knowledge, conservative ideology and activities has shaped the direction of HIV/AIDS sexual-transmission prevention programmes in Nigeria. PEPFAR channels significant resources through Nigerian faith-based organisations (FBOs), and considers these organisations integral for HIV prevention strategies. In many instances, HIV/AIDS prevention programmes managed by FBOs reflect their ideologies of morality and sexuality. There is a convergence of religious ideology concerning morality and HIV infectivity between American and Nigerian conservatives; this produces a fertile ground for the influence and expansion of the conservative activities of PEPFAR in Nigeria. The paper highlights this nexus and draws attention to the biopolitical underpinning of PEPFAR in shaping Nigeria's HIV prevention programmes. The paper further notes both positive and negative effects of PEPFAR activities and attempts by the Obama administration to redirect PEPFAR to a more holistic approach in order to optimise outcomes.

[A nursing experience of holistic care on total suffering of a patient with terminal illness].

PubMed

Yang, Wan-Ping; Lai, Wei-Shu; Chao, Co-Shi Chantal

2008-12-01

The purpose of this article was to describe a nursing experience using holistic care to relieve total suffering resulting from complex interactions amongst physical, psychological, social and spiritual aspects in a patient with terminal illness. Each aspect of problems was identified by means of direct participant care, observation, empathetic communication and holistic assessment. Such included: (1) physical aspect: distress caused by pain, nausea, vomiting and poor intake, infection and hypercalcaemia; (2) psychosocial aspect: caregiver's overwhelming burdens and financial concerns; (3) spiritual aspect: yearn for being with a higher-being and receiving unconditional love, pursuit of the meaning of suffering, proceed to the next stage to develop a unique care plan and nursing intervention program. Nursing goals were set up based on the patient's "life expectancy" represented by the hope for a painless and peaceful death. The author helped to provide unique, holistic and continued care for the purpose of humanity. The main nursing interventions included active control of symptoms, encouraging the expression of emotional distress, caring and emotional resonance with caregiver's overwhelming burdens, reconciling with a higher being through art therapy, pursuit of the meaning of suffering and sharing the darkness. This nursing experience of holistic care may be shared with other healthcare professionals and has been recorded as a positive response to the following quote from Dame Cicely Saunders: "The way care is given can reach the most hidden places and give space for unexpected development."

Parental depression and child conduct problems: evaluation of parental service use and associated costs after attending the Incredible Years Basic Parenting Programme.

PubMed

Charles, Joanna M; Bywater, Tracey J; Edwards, Rhiannon Tudor; Hutchings, Judy; Zou, Lu

2013-12-18

There is co-morbidity between parental depression and childhood conduct disorder. The Incredible Years (IY) parenting programmes reduce both conduct disorder in children and depression in their parents. Recent U.K. and Ireland trials of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of IY parenting programmes have assessed children's health and social care service use, but little is known about the programme's impact on parental service use. This paper explores whether an above clinical cut-off score on the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI II) is associated with high or low parental health and social care service use in high-risk families receiving the IY Basic Programme. This is a secondary analysis of a subsample (N = 119) from the first U.K. community-based randomised controlled trial of the 12-week IY Basic Programme (N = 153). Parents with children at risk of developing conduct disorder were randomised to receive the programme or to a waiting-list control group. BDI II total and BDI II clinical depression cut-off scores were compared to frequencies and costs of parents' service use, at baseline, six, twelve and eighteen months post-baseline for the intervention group and at baseline and six months post-baseline for the control group. Intervention group parents who scored above the clinical cut-off on the BDI II at baseline used more health and social care services than those who scored below at baseline, six and eighteen months. Significant reductions in service use frequencies were found for the intervention group only. Parents with higher levels or depression used more health and social care service and parenting programmes have been shown to reduce parental depression and also health and social service use. However, further exploration of depressed parents' service use and the cost implications for publically funded health and social care services is needed.

The Effects of Skill Training on Social Workers' Professional Competences in Norway: Results of a Cluster-Randomised Study

PubMed Central

Malmberg-Heimonen, Ira; Natland, Sidsel; Tøge, Anne Grete; Hansen, Helle Cathrine

2016-01-01

Using a cluster-randomised design, this study analyses the effects of a government-administered skill training programme for social workers in Norway. The training programme aims to improve social workers' professional competences by enhancing and systematising follow-up work directed towards longer-term unemployed clients in the following areas: encountering the user, system-oriented efforts and administrative work. The main tools and techniques of the programme are based on motivational interviewing and appreciative inquiry. The data comprise responses to baseline and eighteen-month follow-up questionnaires administered to all social workers (n = 99) in eighteen participating Labour and Welfare offices randomised into experimental and control groups. The findings indicate that the skill training programme positively affected the social workers' evaluations of their professional competences and quality of work supervision received. The acquisition and mastering of combinations of specific tools and techniques, a comprehensive supervision structure and the opportunity to adapt the learned skills to local conditions were important in explaining the results. PMID:27559232

Problems in Mathematics--Moving towards a Holistic Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maree, J. G.

1992-01-01

Explanations for problems in mathematics are offered, and examples that may lead to a better understanding of problems in mathematics are discussed. Examples include the developmental, dyscalculia, dyspedagogia, behaviorist, medical, psychoanalytic, cultural, curricular, social, transactional, moral, and eclectic models. A case study exemplifies…

Ethnography and Language in Educational Settings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Judith L., Ed.; Wallat, Cynthia, Ed.

This compilation includes the following essays: (1) "Conversational Inference and Classroom Learning" (John J. Gumperz); (2) "Persuasive Talk--The Social Organization of Children's Talk" (Jenny Cook-Gumperz); (3) "Ethnography--The Holistic Approach to Understanding Schooling" (Frank W. Lutz); (4) "Triangulated Inquiry--A Methodology for the…

Great Lakes rivermouth ecosystems: scientific synthesis and management implications

EPA Science Inventory

Rivermouth ecosystems contribute to both the ecological dynamics and the human social networks that surround and depend on the Laurentian Great Lakes. However, understanding and management of these systems would be enhanced by viewing them with a new, holistic focus. Here, focu...

Clinical Holistic Medicine: Metastatic Cancer

PubMed Central

Ventegodt, Søren; Solheim, Elin; Saunte, Mads E.; Morad, Mohammed; Kandel, Isack; Merrick, Joav

2004-01-01

We believe that the consciousness-based/holistic medical toolbox has a serious additional offer to cancer patients and, as a consequence, designed a treatment for the patient with metastasized cancer. From a holistic perspective, cancer can be understood as a simple disturbance of the cells, arising from the tissue holding on to a trauma with strong emotional content. This is called “a blockage”, where the function of the cells is allocated from their original function in the tissue to a function of holding emotions. We hope to be able not only to improve the quality of life, but also to improve survival and in some cases even induce spontaneous remission of the metastasized cancer. This paper describes how work with a patient with metastasized cancer can be done in the holistic clinical practice in 14 days on an individual basis, helping the patient to recover her human character, purpose of life, coherence, and will to live, thus improving quality of life and possibly also survival time. The holistic therapeutic work includes (1) teaching existential theory, (2) working with life perspective and philosophy of life, (3) helping the patient to acknowledge the state of the disease and the feelings connected to it, and finally (4) getting the patient into the holistic state of healing: (a) feeling old repressed emotions, (b) understanding why she got sick from a holistic point of view, and finally (c) letting go of the negative beliefs and decisions that made her sick according to the holistic theory of nongenetic diseases. The theory of the human character, the quality of life theories, the holistic theory of cancer, the holistic process theory of healing, the theory of (Antonovsky) coherence, and the life mission theory are the most important theories for the patient to find hope and mobilize the will to fight the cancer and survive. The patient went through the following phases: (1) finding the purpose of life and hidden resources; (2) confronting denial; (3) taking responsibility for being very ill; (4) severe existential crises with no wish to live while still fighting; (5) integration of many repressed feelings and negative decisions thus rehabilitating character; (6) confronting lack of intimacy and trust in others and this way rehabilitating the ability to love; (7) rehabilitating the will to live, breaking through and falling in love with life; (8) assuming responsibility for the social relations; and sometimes (9) quality of life is improved radically with indications of spontaneous remission of the liver tumors. PMID:15523565

Positive health effects of the natural outdoor environment in typical populations in different regions in Europe (PHENOTYPE): a study programme protocol

PubMed Central

Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J; Kruize, Hanneke; Gidlow, Christopher; Andrusaityte, Sandra; Antó, Josep Maria; Basagaña, Xavier; Cirach, Marta; Dadvand, Payam; Danileviciute, Asta; Donaire-Gonzalez, David; Garcia, Judith; Jerrett, Michael; Jones, Marc; Julvez, Jordi; van Kempen, Elise; van Kamp, Irene; Maas, Jolanda; Seto, Edmund; Smith, Graham; Triguero, Margarita; Wendel-Vos, Wanda; Wright, John; Zufferey, Joris; van den Hazel, Peter Jan; Lawrence, Roderick; Grazuleviciene, Regina

2014-01-01

Introduction Growing evidence suggests that close contact with nature brings benefits to human health and well-being, but the proposed mechanisms are still not well understood and the associations with health remain uncertain. The Positive Health Effects of the Natural Outdoor environment in Typical Populations in different regions in Europe (PHENOTYPE) project investigates the interconnections between natural outdoor environments and better human health and well-being. Aims and methods The PHENOTYPE project explores the proposed underlying mechanisms at work (stress reduction/restorative function, physical activity, social interaction, exposure to environmental hazards) and examines the associations with health outcomes for different population groups. It implements conventional and new innovative high-tech methods to characterise the natural environment in terms of quality and quantity. Preventive as well as therapeutic effects of contact with the natural environment are being covered. PHENOTYPE further addresses implications for land-use planning and green space management. The main innovative part of the study is the evaluation of possible short-term and long-term associations of green space and health and the possible underlying mechanisms in four different countries (each with quite a different type of green space and a different use), using the same methodology, in one research programme. This type of holistic approach has not been undertaken before. Furthermore there are technological innovations such as the use of remote sensing and smartphones in the assessment of green space. Conclusions The project will produce a more robust evidence base on links between exposure to natural outdoor environment and human health and well-being, in addition to a better integration of human health needs into land-use planning and green space management in rural as well as urban areas. PMID:24740979

Positive health effects of the natural outdoor environment in typical populations in different regions in Europe (PHENOTYPE): a study programme protocol.

PubMed

Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J; Kruize, Hanneke; Gidlow, Christopher; Andrusaityte, Sandra; Antó, Josep Maria; Basagaña, Xavier; Cirach, Marta; Dadvand, Payam; Danileviciute, Asta; Donaire-Gonzalez, David; Garcia, Judith; Jerrett, Michael; Jones, Marc; Julvez, Jordi; van Kempen, Elise; van Kamp, Irene; Maas, Jolanda; Seto, Edmund; Smith, Graham; Triguero, Margarita; Wendel-Vos, Wanda; Wright, John; Zufferey, Joris; van den Hazel, Peter Jan; Lawrence, Roderick; Grazuleviciene, Regina

2014-04-16

Growing evidence suggests that close contact with nature brings benefits to human health and well-being, but the proposed mechanisms are still not well understood and the associations with health remain uncertain. The Positive Health Effects of the Natural Outdoor environment in Typical Populations in different regions in Europe (PHENOTYPE) project investigates the interconnections between natural outdoor environments and better human health and well-being. The PHENOTYPE project explores the proposed underlying mechanisms at work (stress reduction/restorative function, physical activity, social interaction, exposure to environmental hazards) and examines the associations with health outcomes for different population groups. It implements conventional and new innovative high-tech methods to characterise the natural environment in terms of quality and quantity. Preventive as well as therapeutic effects of contact with the natural environment are being covered. PHENOTYPE further addresses implications for land-use planning and green space management. The main innovative part of the study is the evaluation of possible short-term and long-term associations of green space and health and the possible underlying mechanisms in four different countries (each with quite a different type of green space and a different use), using the same methodology, in one research programme. This type of holistic approach has not been undertaken before. Furthermore there are technological innovations such as the use of remote sensing and smartphones in the assessment of green space. The project will produce a more robust evidence base on links between exposure to natural outdoor environment and human health and well-being, in addition to a better integration of human health needs into land-use planning and green space management in rural as well as urban areas.

Student nurses' experiences of caring for infectious patients in source isolation. A hermeneutic phenomenological study.

PubMed

Cassidy, Irene

2006-10-01

To illuminate issues central to general student nurses' experiences of caring for isolated patients within the hospital environment, which may assist facilitators of learning to prepare students for caring roles. Because of the development of hospital-resistant micro-organisms, caring for patients in source isolation is a frequent occurrence for supernumerary students on the general nursing programme. Despite this, students' perceptions of caring for this client group remain under researched. Through methods grounded in hermeneutic phenomenology, eight students in the second year of the three-year undergraduate programme in general nursing were interviewed using an un-structured, open-ended and face-to-face interview approach. Data analysis was approached through thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: The organization: caring in context, Barriers and breaking the barriers, Theory and practice, Only a student. The imposed physical, psychological, social and emotional barriers of isolation dramatically alter the caring experience. Balancing the care of isolated patients to meet their individual needs while preventing the spread of infection has significance for students. Applying infection control theory to the care of patients in source isolation is vital for students' personal and professional development. Perceptions of supernumerary status influence students' experiences of caring for these patients. Designating equipment for the sole use of isolated patients assists students in maintaining infection control standards. Balancing the art and science of caring for patients in source isolation is important to reduce barriers to the student-patient relationship and to promote delivery of holistic care. Staff nurses should consider using available opportunities to impart recommended isolation practices to students thereby linking the theory of infection control to patient care. Providing structured, continuing education for all grades of staff would acknowledge the interdependence of all healthcare workers in controlling hospital-acquired infection.

Reproductive control in apartheid South Africa.

PubMed

Kaufman, C E

2000-03-01

Since its inception in 1974, the South African family planning programme has been widely believed to be linked with white fears of growing black numbers. The programme has been repeatedly attacked by detractors as a programme of social and political control. Yet, in spite of the hostile environment, black women's use of services has steadily increased. Using historical and anthropological evidence, this paper delineates the links between the social and political context of racial domination and individual fertility behaviour. It is argued that the quantitative success of the family planning programme is rooted in social and economic shifts conditioning reproductive authority and fertility decision-making. State policies of racial segregation and influx control, ethnic 'homeland' politics, and labour migration of men transformed opportunities and constraints for black women and men, and altered local and household expectations of childbearing. Women came to manage their own fertility as they increasingly found themselves in precarious social and economic circumstances.

Primary care reform: a pilot study to test the evaluative potential of the Patient Enablement Instrument in Poland.

PubMed

Pawlikowska, T R B; Nowak, P R; Szumilo-Grzesik, W; Walker, J J

2002-04-01

Primary health care reform is underpinned by a move towards patient-centred holistic care. This pilot study uses the Patient Enablement Instrument (PEI) to assess outcome at a fundamental level: that of the patient and their doctor at consultation. Our aim was to assess the evaluative potential of the PEI in relation to a reform programme in Poland by (i) comparing the outcomes of consultations (using the PEI) carried out by nine doctors (three diploma GPs who had participated in the training programme, three GPs who had not participated in the training programme and three polyclinic internists); and (ii) relating PEI scores to a proxy quality process measure (consultation length). A cross-sectional quantitative questionnaire survey was carried out using the PEI. The subjects were patients consulting with nine doctors distributed within a single region around Gdansk. The overall results with the PEI and consultation length reflected UK experience. In addition, there were significant differences between groups in this pilot study. Patients seen by diploma GPs achieved higher patient enablement scores (mean 4.33, 95% confidence interval 4.09-4.58) relative to GPs (mean 3.44, 3.21-3.67) and polyclinic doctors (mean 3.23, 2.99-3.47). However, there is evidence of appreciable between-doctor variation in PEI scores within groups. The difference in patient enablement between groups was not affected by patient case mix, in contrast to the duration of consultation, which was. Holistically trained diploma GPs spent longer with patients with psychological problems. Patients seen by diploma GPs received longer consultations (mean 12.65 min, 95% confidence interval 12.18-13.13) relative to their colleagues (the GPs' mean was 10.11, 9.82-10.41 min; that of the polyclinic internists was 10.16, 9.81-10.50 min). The duration of consultation was positively correlated with patient enablement. The results of such training courses should be examined from the perspective of both the patient and their doctor. Significant differences were found in both patient enablement and consultation length between patients attending groups of doctors delivering primary care, but working from different paradigms. This pilot shows promising results which, if repeated in a larger study, would provide an objective means of evaluating such reform programmes.

The ideal of consumer choice in social services: challenges with implementation in an Ontario injured worker vocational retraining programme.

PubMed

Maceachen, Ellen; Kosny, Agnieszka; Ferrier, Sue; Lippel, Katherine; Neilson, Cynthia; Franche, Renee-Louise; Pugliese, Diana

2013-01-01

Social service programmes that offer consumer choices are intended to guide service efficiency and customer satisfaction. However, little is known about how social service consumers actually make choices and how providers deliver such services. This article details the practical implementation of consumer choice in a Canadian workers' compensation vocational retraining programme. Discourse analysis was conducted of in-depth interviews and focus groups with 71 injured workers and service providers, who discussed their direct experience of a vocational retraining system. Data also included procedural, policy and administrative documents. Consumer choice included workers being offered choices about some service aspects, but not being able to exercise meaningful discretion. Programme cost objectives and restrictive rules and bureaucracy skewed the guidance provided to workers by service providers. If workers did not make the "right" choices, then the service providers were required to make choices for them. This upset workers and created tension for service providers. The ideal of consumer choice in a social service programme was difficult to enact, both for workers and service providers. Processes to increase quality of guidance to social service consumers and to create a systematic feedback look between system designers and consumers are recommended. Implications for Rehabilitation Consumer choice is an increasingly popular concept in social service systems. Vocational case managers can have their own administrative needs and tensions, which do not always align with the client's choices. Rehabilitation programmes need to have processes for considering what choices are important to clients and the resources to support them.

The Role of the Atmosphere in the Provision of Ecosystem Services

EPA Science Inventory

Solving the environmental problems that we are facing today requires holistic approaches to analysis and decision making that include social and economic aspects. The concept of ecosystem services, defined as the benefits people obtain from ecosystems, is one potential tool to p...

A Holistic Assessment of Energy Production: Environmental, Economic, and Social Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing in Williams County, North Dakota

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jagdeo, J.; Ravikumar, A. P.; Grubert, E.; Brandt, A. R.

2016-12-01

Unconventional oil and natural gas production in the U.S. has increased tenfold between 2005 and 2014 due to advances in hydraulic fracturing technology. Prior studies of hydraulic fracturing activity have mainly focused on two themes: the environmental impacts related to air and water pollution or the direct and spillover economic benefits resulting from oil booms at the state and local level. However, the impacts of hydraulic fracturing extend beyond these effects. Oil-boom counties have experienced environmental changes in land-use and water supply and witnessed social changes in demographics, crime, and health, factors that are not typically evaluated in regard to hydraulic fracturing. Hence, there is a need to consider the holistic effects of oil production on communities. This study examines the environmental, economic, and social impacts of oil and gas activity in Williams County, North Dakota by comparing its pre-boom ( 2005) and post-boom ( 2014) conditions. Annual oil production in Williams County increased from 3.4 million barrels in 2005 to 56 million barrels in 2014, providing an ideal test-case to study the impact of energy development on surrounding communities. We compared changes in multiple impact categories, attributed directly or indirectly to hydraulic fracturing activity, to trends at the national level. For example, between 2005 and 2014, CO2 and CH4 emissions primarily from oil and gas activity increased by 360 thousand metric tons CO2e, corresponding to a 20-fold increase. Concurrently, national emissions decreased by 10.5%. Over twenty indicators were analyzed across environmental, social and economic impact categories, including land-use change, median household income, and crime rates. The datasets were normalized using federal regulations for upper and lower bounds, or calibrated against national averages. Normalized indicators are then aggregated to provide a single-value `impact-factor'. Such `impact-factor' maps will provide a unified and holistic assessment that can be used to readily compare the impact of energy development across American counties. This type of assessment can be used in corporate and political decision-making to examine the environmental, economic, and social impacts of energy-related activity.

Designing and visualizing the water-energy-food nexus system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Endo, A.; Kumazawa, T.; Yamada, M.; Kato, T.

2017-12-01

The objective of this study is to design and visualize a water-energy-food nexus system to identify the interrelationships between water-energy-food (WEF) resources and to understand the subsequent complexity of WEF nexus systems holistically, taking an interdisciplinary approach. Object-oriented concepts and ontology engineering methods were applied according to the hypothesis that the chains of changes in linkages between water, energy, and food resources holistically affect the water-energy-food nexus system, including natural and social systems, both temporally and spatially. The water-energy-food nexus system that is developed is significant because it allows us to: 1) visualize linkages between water, energy, and food resources in social and natural systems; 2) identify tradeoffs between these resources; 3) find a way of using resources efficiently or enhancing the synergy between the utilization of different resources; and 4) aid scenario planning using economic tools. The paper also discusses future challenges for applying the developed water-energy-food nexus system in other areas.

Education for Social Change? A Freirean Critique of Sport for Development and Peace

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spaaij, Ramón; Jeanes, Ruth

2013-01-01

Background: The previous two decades have witnessed an increasing number of policymakers and practitioners using sport programmes to achieve broader social development aims, particularly in countries in the Global South. A core element of these programmes has been the use of sport as a context to provide young people with social, personal and…

Formal intergenerational mentoring at Australian Men's Sheds: a targeted survey about mentees, mentors, programmes and quality.

PubMed

Cordier, Reinie; Wilson, Nathan J; Stancliffe, Roger J; MacCallum, Judith; Vaz, Sharmila; Buchanan, Angus; Ciccarelli, Marina; Falkmer, Torbjorn S

2016-11-01

Intergenerational mentoring enables a purposeful exchange of skills and knowledge to enhance individual and social outcomes for sub-groups at risk of health and social disparities. Male intergenerational mentoring may be an approach to help address these disparities in young men. Over 1000 Men's Sheds operate in Australia with 39% providing some form of mentoring mainly to youth. Yet, little is known about the variables intrinsic to creating and running quality programmes. This study aimed to identify the characteristics of formal intergenerational mentoring programmes, review their quality against the Australian Youth Mentoring Network (AYMN) quality benchmarks, and identify the factors that predict quality in these programmes. All known Australian Men's Sheds were invited to participate in an online cross-sectional survey. Forty sheds with formal mentor programmes completed the survey for a total of 387 mentees (mean = 9.7 mentees/programme), the majority being male. The majority of mentor programme facilitators were unpaid male volunteers aged 61 years and older, and programmes were unfunded. Promoting social and emotional well-being of the mentees was the primary focus in more than half of the programmes, and working on a shared construction project was the most common activity. Respondents rated the three most important factors that influenced programme effectiveness as being: (i) meaningful activities; (ii) mentors' approach; and (iii) a safe environment. Univariate analyses revealed that mentoring programmes that had a system in place for screening mentors, trained mentors and evaluated the programme were most likely to rate highly against the AYMN quality benchmarks. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Qualitative modelling for the Caeté Mangrove Estuary (North Brazil): a preliminary approach to an integrated eco-social analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortiz, Marco; Wolff, Matthias

2004-10-01

The sustainability of different integrated management regimes for the mangrove ecosystem of the Caeté Estuary (North Brazil) were assessed using a holistic theoretical framework. As a way to demonstrate that the behaviour and trajectory of complex whole systems are not epiphenomenal to the properties of the small parts, a set of conceptual models from more reductionistic to more holistic were enunciated. These models integrate the scientific information published until present for this mangrove ecosystem. The sustainability of different management scenarios (forestry and fishery) was assessed. Since the exploitation of mangrove trees is not allowed according Brazilian laws, the forestry was only included for simulation purposes. The model simulations revealed that sustainability predictions of reductionistic models should not be extrapolated into holistic approaches. Forestry and fishery activities seem to be sustainable only if they are self-damped. The exploitation of the two mangrove species Rhizophora mangle and Avicenia germinans does not appear to be sustainable, thus a rotation harvest is recommended. A similar conclusion holds for the exploitation of invertebrate species. Our results suggest that more studies should be focused on the estimation of maximum sustainable yield based on a multispecies approach. Any reference to holistic sustainability based on reductionistic approaches may distort our understanding of the natural complex ecosystems.

The effect of the emotional intelligence education programme on quality of life in haemodialysis patients.

PubMed

Shahnavazi, Masoome; Parsa-Yekta, Zohreh; Yekaninejad, Mir-Saeed; Amaniyan, Sara; Griffiths, Pauline; Vaismoradi, Mojtaba

2018-02-01

This study investigated the effect of the emotional intelligence education programme on quality of life of haemodialysis patients. Nurses need knowledge development regarding the impact of educational strategies on patients' quality of life suffering from chronic diseases. A pragmatic quasi-randomized controlled trial was conducted with 47 haemodialysis patients attending a university hospital in an urban area of Iran. The patients were randomly assigned to intervention (n=23) and control (n=24) groups. A socio-demographic questionnaire, the Cyberia-Shrink Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire, and the Kidney Disease Quality of Life-Short Form were used to gather data. The intervention group attended an educational programme on emotional intelligence that consisted of six-group discussion sessions. To ensure the continuity of learning and to measure the subsequent expected behavioural changes, the patients filled out the data collection tools six and 12weeks after the completion of the education programme. The mean score of quality of life in the intervention group was 39.94±15.88 in pre-test, 44.87±16.04 six weeks and 52.47±16.07 at the 12weeks after the intervention (p=0.032). The consideration of emotional intelligence educational strategies by nurses requires its incorporation into pre-qualifying nursing degrees and professional development programmes. Nurse managers need to lead nurses for applying emotional intelligence in daily practice with the aim of providing an holistic patient care. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Addressing the social determinants of health: a case study from the Mitanin (community health worker) programme in India.

PubMed

Nandi, Sulakshana; Schneider, Helen

2014-09-01

The Mitanin Programme, a government community health worker (CHW) programme, was started in Chhattisgarh State of India in 2002. The CHWs (Mitanins) have consistently adopted roles that go beyond health programme-specific interventions to embrace community mobilization and action on local priorities. The aim of this research was to document how and why the Mitanins have been able to act on the social determinants of health, describing the catalysts and processes involved and the enabling programmatic and organizational factors. A qualitative comparative case study of successful action by Mitanin was conducted in two 'blocks', purposefully selected as positive exemplars in two districts of Chhattisgarh. One case focused on malnutrition and the other on gender-based violence. Data collection involved 17 in-depth interviews and 10 group interviews with the full range of stakeholders in both blocks, including community members and programme team. Thematic analysis was done using a broad conceptual framework that was further refined. Action on social determinants involved raising awareness on rights, mobilizing women's collectives, revitalizing local political structures and social action targeting both the community and government service providers. Through these processes, the Mitanins developed identities as agents of change and advocates for the community, both with respect to local cultural and gender norms and in ensuring accountability of service providers. The factors underpinning successful action on social determinants were identified as the significance of the original intent and vision of the programme, and how this was carried through into all aspects of programme design, the role of the Mitanins and their identification with village women, ongoing training and support, and the relative autonomy of the programme. Although the results are not narrowly generalizable and do not necessarily represent the situation of the Mitanin Programme as a whole, the explanatory framework may provide general lessons for programmes in similar contexts. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2014; all rights reserved.

[Health behavior of medical students. Introduction of mental hygienic skills in the medical education in Hungary].

PubMed

Rosta, Eszter; Almási, Zsuzsanna; Karácsony, István; Konkolÿ Thege, Barna; Hegedűs, Katalin

2012-07-22

HuMania Training Programme is a voluntary peer training course. to measure the efficiency of HuMania Training Programme and to analyse social relations of medical students. WHO Well-being Index, Bergen Social Relationship Scale, Lazarus's Ways of Coping Questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Inventory for undergraduate students were used. The results of HuMania Training Programme established in 2009 were compared with those obtained from controls and HuMania Training Programme of the forthcoming year. At the beginning, participants of the HuMania Training Programme had fewer well-being scores (p = 0.01), whereas their social anxiety (p = 0.01) and emotion-based coping (p = 0.05) were greater as compared to controls. After the HuMania Training Programme course, well-being showed an increasing tendency (p = 0.072), and burnout-level decreased (p = 0.040). Fifty percent of medical students had a minimum of three stressors, and 57% of them said that there was a person in their environment, who needed help, but they cannot provide it. Medical students display poor mental hygienic state. and HuMania Training Programme tries to fight this situation.

Bridging Education and Practice with a Competency-Based Learning Contract

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molina, Veronica; Molina-Moore, Tammy; Smith, Misty G.; Pratt, Francine E.

2018-01-01

Field work programs have a substantial responsibility for providing support and gatekeeping functions while ensuring an educational experience that allows students to master the nine holistic, multidimensional social work accreditation competencies. With additional emphasis on field as a "signature pedagogy," field directors are tasked…

Parks, Recreation and Public Health.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ho, Ching-Hua; Payne, Laura; Orsega-Smith, Elizabeth; Godbey, Geoffrey

2003-01-01

Reviews what current research says about the holistic health benefits of park and recreation services, focusing on: health benefits according to park users; physical activities in parks; stress reduction benefits of park use; social support, self-determination, and stress reduction; observing nature in parks and associated benefits; and the…

From Hometown to Nontown: Rural Community Effects of Suburbanization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salamon, Sonya

2003-01-01

Regional suburbanization processes are transforming rural America socially and physically, threatening the uniqueness of small towns whose diversity is a national resource. This article reviews existing holistic descriptions of American rural communities since post-World War II by rural sociologists and anthropologists. Three new community case…

Preliminary Evaluation of a Social Skills Training and Facilitated Play Early Intervention Programme for Extremely Shy Young Children in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Yan; Coplan, Robert J.; Wang, Yuemin; Yin, Jingtong; Zhu, Jingjing; Gao, Zhuqing; Li, Linhui

2016-01-01

The goal of this study was to provide a preliminary evaluation of a social skills and facilitated play early intervention programme to promote social interaction, prosocial behaviours and socio-communicative skills among young extremely shy children in China. Participants were a sample of n = 16 extremely shy young children attending kindergarten…

Increased exposure to community-based education and 'below the line' social marketing results in increased fruit and vegetable consumption.

PubMed

Glasson, Colleen; Chapman, Kathy; Wilson, Tamara; Gander, Kristi; Hughes, Clare; Hudson, Nayerra; James, Erica

2013-11-01

To determine if localised programmes that are successful in engaging the community can add value to larger fruit and vegetable mass-media campaigns by evaluating the results of the Eat It To Beat It programme. The Eat It To Beat It programme is a multi-strategy intervention that uses community-based education and ‘below the line’ social marketing to increase fruit and vegetable consumption in parents. This programme was evaluated by a controlled before-and-after study with repeat cross-sectional data collected via computer-assisted telephone interviews with 1403 parents before the intervention (2008) and 1401 following intervention delivery (2011). The intervention area was the Hunter region and the control area was the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Parents of primary school-aged children (Kindergarten to Year 6). The programme achieved improvements in knowledge of recommended intakes for fruit and vegetables and some positive changes in knowledge of serving size for vegetables. Exposure to the programme resulted in a net increase of 0.5 servings of fruit and vegetables daily for those who recalled the programme compared with those who did not (P = 0.004). Increased intake of fruit and vegetables was significantly associated with increasing exposure to programme strategies. The Eat It To Beat It programme demonstrates that an increase in consumption of fruit and vegetables can be achieved by programmes that build on the successes of larger mass-media and social-marketing campaigns.This suggests that funding for localised, community-based programmes should be increased.

Understanding similarities in the local implementation of a healthy environment programme: insights from policy studies.

PubMed

Clavier, Carole; Gendron, Sylvie; Lamontagne, Lise; Potvin, Louise

2012-07-01

This paper reports findings from an evaluation of the local implementation of a procedural public health programme whose objective is to create healthy environments (HE) for vulnerable families in the province of Quebec (Canada) through the funding of local projects. Considering the potential issue of programme-context interaction, our research question was the following: Does the procedural nature of this HE programme result in variation between local cases in terms of the types of projects and collaborations it subsidizes? Given that the creation of healthy environments requires intersectoral health action to address social determinants of health, the data were analysed with respect to intersectorality and cooperation. Results of this qualitative multiple case study (n = 8), for the period 2004-2009, show that the majority of subsidized projects were in the health and social services sector and focused on parenting, parent-child attachment, nutrition and the social networks of families. Only a few initiatives reached beyond the health and social services sector to address social health determinants such as education, housing and transportation. Membership and mandates of the local groups responsible for programme implementation also showed little intersectorality. The limited variation between these eight cases can be attributed to the configuration of the local networks, as well as to specific issues in urban and rural areas. To explain the overall similarity of results across cases, we turned to the literature on policy instruments which suggests that particular characteristics of a programme may produce effects that are independent of its intended objective. In our study, several programme mechanisms, such as those framing the definition of «healthy environment» and budget management rules, could have encouraged the local development of initiatives that focus on individual skills related to parenting and attachment rather than the development of intersectoral health action to address social determinants of health. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Examining the pathways for young people with drug and alcohol dependence: a mixed-method design to examine the role of a treatment programme.

PubMed

Nathan, Sally; Rawstorne, Patrick; Hayen, Andrew; Bryant, Joanne; Baldry, Eileen; Ferry, Mark; Williams, Megan; Shanahan, Marian; Jayasinha, Ranmalie

2016-05-25

Young people with drug and alcohol problems are likely to have poorer health and other psychosocial outcomes than other young people. Residential treatment programmes have been shown to lead to improved health and related outcomes for young people in the short term. There is very little robust research showing longer term outcomes or benefits of such programmes. This paper describes an innovative protocol to examine the longer term outcomes and experiences of young people referred to a residential life management and treatment programme in Australia designed to address alcohol and drug issues in a holistic manner. This is a mixed-methods study that will retrospectively and prospectively examine young people's pathways into and out of a residential life management programme. The study involves 3 components: (1) retrospective data linkage of programme data to health and criminal justice administrative data sets, (2) prospective cohort (using existing programme baseline data and a follow-up survey) and (3) qualitative in-depth interviews with a subsample of the prospective cohort. The study will compare findings among young people who are referred and (a) stay 30 days or more in the programme (including those who go on to continuing care and those who do not); (b) start, but stay fewer than 30 days in the programme; (c) are assessed, but do not start the programme. Ethics approval has been sought from several ethics committees including a university ethics committee, state health departments and an Aboriginal-specific ethics committee. The results of the study will be published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at research conferences, disseminated via a report for the general public and through Facebook communications. The study will inform the field more broadly about the value of different methods in evaluating programmes and examining the pathways and trajectories of vulnerable young people. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Addressing social responsibility in medical education: the African way.

PubMed

Kwizera, Enoch N; Iputo, Jehu E

2011-01-01

Indigenous sub-Saharan societies have, over the millennia, lived and socialised within the unwritten 'rules' of the 'Ubuntu' or similar philosophies that emphasises holistic 'humanness', and which is a form of 'social responsibility'. This article looks into some relevant social responsibility aspects of medical education in the South African context, with particular emphasis on how these aspects have been addressed. Apartheid was, by its very nature, incompatible with social responsibility for the majority of South Africans, but one medical school that was a non-complicit product of apartheid succeeded in fulfilling a socially responsible mission. Thus, this article implicitly identifies what South Africa, Africa and the global Health Professions Education community could learn from these trail-blazing experiences.

Sustainability of recurrent expenditure on public social welfare programmes: expenditure analysis of the free maternal care programme of the Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme.

PubMed

Ankrah Odame, Emmanuel; Akweongo, Patricia; Yankah, Ben; Asenso-Boadi, Francis; Agyepong, Irene

2014-05-01

Sustainability of public social welfare programmes has long been of concern in development circles. An important aspect of sustainability is the ability to sustain the recurrent financial costs of programmes. A free maternal care programme (FMCP) was launched under the Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2008 with a start-up grant from the British Government. This article examines claims expenditure under the programme and the implications for the financial sustainability of the programme, and the lessons for donor and public financing of social welfare programmes. Records of reimbursement claims for services and medicines by women benefitting from the policy in participating facilities in one sub-metropolis in Ghana were analysed to gain an understanding of the expenditure on this programme at facility level. National level financial inflow and outflow (expenditure) data of the NHIS, related to implementation of this policy for 2008 and 2009, were reviewed to put the facility-based data in the national perspective. A total of US$936 450.94 was spent in 2009 by the scheme on FMCP in the sub-metropolis. The NHIS expenditure on the programme for the entire country in 2009 was US$49.25 million, exceeding the British grant of US$10.00 million given for that year. Subsequently, the programme has been entirely financed by the National Health Insurance Fund. The rapidly increasing, recurrent demands on this fund from the maternal delivery exemption programme-without a commensurate growth on the amounts generated annually-is an increasing threat to the sustainability of the fund. Provision of donor start-up funding for programmes with high recurrent expenditures, under the expectation that government will take over and sustain the programme, must be accompanied by clear long-term analysis and planning as to how government will sustain the programme.

Parental depression and child conduct problems: evaluation of parental service use and associated costs after attending the Incredible Years Basic Parenting Programme

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background There is co-morbidity between parental depression and childhood conduct disorder. The Incredible Years (IY) parenting programmes reduce both conduct disorder in children and depression in their parents. Recent U.K. and Ireland trials of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of IY parenting programmes have assessed children’s health and social care service use, but little is known about the programme’s impact on parental service use. This paper explores whether an above clinical cut-off score on the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI II) is associated with high or low parental health and social care service use in high-risk families receiving the IY Basic Programme. Methods This is a secondary analysis of a subsample (N = 119) from the first U.K. community-based randomised controlled trial of the 12-week IY Basic Programme (N = 153). Parents with children at risk of developing conduct disorder were randomised to receive the programme or to a waiting-list control group. BDI II total and BDI II clinical depression cut-off scores were compared to frequencies and costs of parents’ service use, at baseline, six, twelve and eighteen months post-baseline for the intervention group and at baseline and six months post-baseline for the control group. Results Intervention group parents who scored above the clinical cut-off on the BDI II at baseline used more health and social care services than those who scored below at baseline, six and eighteen months. Significant reductions in service use frequencies were found for the intervention group only. Conclusion Parents with higher levels or depression used more health and social care service and parenting programmes have been shown to reduce parental depression and also health and social service use. However, further exploration of depressed parents’ service use and the cost implications for publically funded health and social care services is needed. Trial registration Registration of the original RCT of the IY Basic Parenting Programme - Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN46984318 PMID:24350571

Actor-Network Theory and its role in understanding the implementation of information technology developments in healthcare.

PubMed

Cresswell, Kathrin M; Worth, Allison; Sheikh, Aziz

2010-11-01

Actor-Network Theory (ANT) is an increasingly influential, but still deeply contested, approach to understand humans and their interactions with inanimate objects. We argue that health services research, and in particular evaluations of complex IT systems in health service organisations, may benefit from being informed by Actor-Network Theory perspectives. Despite some limitations, an Actor-Network Theory-based approach is conceptually useful in helping to appreciate the complexity of reality (including the complexity of organisations) and the active role of technology in this context. This can prove helpful in understanding how social effects are generated as a result of associations between different actors in a network. Of central importance in this respect is that Actor-Network Theory provides a lens through which to view the role of technology in shaping social processes. Attention to this shaping role can contribute to a more holistic appreciation of the complexity of technology introduction in healthcare settings. It can also prove practically useful in providing a theoretically informed approach to sampling (by drawing on informants that are related to the technology in question) and analysis (by providing a conceptual tool and vocabulary that can form the basis for interpretations). We draw on existing empirical work in this area and our ongoing work investigating the integration of electronic health record systems introduced as part of England's National Programme for Information Technology to illustrate salient points. Actor-Network Theory needs to be used pragmatically with an appreciation of its shortcomings. Our experiences suggest it can be helpful in investigating technology implementations in healthcare settings.

LEGO[R] Therapy and the Social Use of Language Programme: An Evaluation of Two Social Skills Interventions for Children with High Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owens, Gina; Granader, Yael; Humphrey, Ayla; Baron-Cohen, Simon

2008-01-01

LEGO[R] therapy and the Social Use of Language Programme (SULP) were evaluated as social skills interventions for 6-11 year olds with high functioning autism and Asperger Syndrome. Children were matched on CA, IQ, and autistic symptoms before being randomly assigned to LEGO or SULP. Therapy occurred for 1 h/week over 18 weeks. A no-intervention…

A new holistic approach to vulnerability assessment to natural hazards of socio-economic systems by means of Graph Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arosio, Marcello; Martina, Mario L. V.

2017-04-01

In the last years, the relations and interactions between multi-hazards, vulnerability, exposure and resilience spheres are assuming more and more attention and the scientific community recognized that they are very dynamic, complex and interconnected. The traditional approaches define risk as the potential economic, social and environmental consequences due to a hazardous phenomenon in a specific period. Although there have been major improvements in recent years, there are still some limitation in term of a holistic approach that is able to include the emergent value hidden in the relation and interaction between the different spheres. Furthermore, the emergent behaviour of a society makes the collective risk greater than the sum of the parts and this requires a holistic, systematic and integrated approach. For this reason, it is important to consider the connections between elements to assess properly the vulnerability of systems. In a system (e.g. road, hospital and ecological network, etc.), or in a System of System (e.g. socio-technical urban service), there are critical elements that, beyond the intrinsic vulnerability, can be characterize by greater or lower vulnerability because of their physical, geographical, cyber or logical connections. To understand the system response to a perturbation, and therefore its resilience, is necessary not only to represent but also to quantify the relative importance of the elements and their interconnections. To this aim, we propose an innovative approach in the field of natural risk assessment based on the properties of graph G=(N,L). A graph consists of two sets N (nodes) and L (links): the nodes represent the single exposed elements (physical, social, environmental, etc.) to a hazard, while the links (or connections) represent the interaction between the elements. This approach encourages the risk assessment to a new prospective: from reductionist to holistic. The final goal is to provide insight in understanding how to quantify integrated collective vulnerability, resilience and risk.

Holistic self-management education and support: a proposed public health model for improving women's health in Zimbabwe.

PubMed

Kanchense, Jane Handina Murigwa

2006-08-01

The primary health care model of public health has been implemented in many countries around the globe since the Declaration of Alma Ata in 1978, without pilot testing the primary health care model. Therefore, many public health researchers have sought methods of improving primary health care by creating evidence-based models. Many of these researchers recognize the role of behavioral models in public health. These offshoots of primary health care include the ecological, care, central human capabilities, and the SPECIES models. Holistic self-management education and support is a capacity-building philosophy that ensures active involvement of consumers of health care in the planning and implementation and evaluation of health care services. It helps consumers of health care to achieve the desired improved quality of health and life in managing and sustaining their health at the grassroots level. The care model addresses disease management ideals of the in the original primary health care model. The SPECIES model addresses those aspects of the primary health care model that include the cultural and social factors, as well as individual health education and support in the original primary health care model. The ecological model offers an improvement of the socioeconomic ideal in the original primary health care model. Improving the health of individuals will prevent illness, thereby reducing health care costs and lessening the current strain on an overburdened health care system in Zimbabwe. Holistic self-management education and support links health care delivery systems with social processes. It is a best practices model that could better serve Zimbabwean girls and women by contributing positively to the national challenges in health care, thereby meeting the Zimbabwean primary health care and safe motherhood goals. It is here recommended that holistic self-management education and support must be pilot tested before being adopted as the most appropriate model for ensuring population health.

Delivery of Community Leisure Services: An Holistic Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, James F.; Howard, Dennis R.

An overview is provided of societal events and factors contributing to social change and how these relate to leisure behavior patterns. It is primarily addressed to students in leisure studies and park management curricula in community recreation, programming, and administration courses. The book is divided into three parts: Section I includes…

Moral Deliberation and Environmental Awareness: Reviewing Deweyan-Informed Possibilities for Contemporary Outdoor Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thorburn, Malcolm

2018-01-01

The recent surge in interest in progressive education ideas has often been accompanied by an increased advocacy for learning outdoors, with experiential and holistic learning approaches considered the most beneficial method for cultivating personal and social development and raising awareness of contemporary environmental concerns. However,…

Streamlining the Discovery, Evaluation, and Integration of Data, Models, and Decision Support Systems: a Big Picture View

EPA Science Inventory

21st century environmental problems are wicked and require holistic systems thinking and solutions that integrate social and economic knowledge with knowledge of the environment. Computer-based technologies are fundamental to our ability to research and understand the relevant sy...

The System Dynamics Model User Sustainability Explorer (SD-MUSE) user interface: a user-friendly tool for interpreting system dynamic models

EPA Science Inventory

Sustainability-based decision making is a challenging process that requires balancing trade-offs among social, economic, and environmental components. System Dynamic (SD) models can be useful tools to inform sustainability-based decision making because they provide a holistic co...

The Affective Meanings of Automatic Social Behaviors: Three Mechanisms that Explain Priming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schroder, Tobias; Thagard, Paul

2013-01-01

The priming of concepts has been shown to influence peoples' subsequent actions, often unconsciously. We propose 3 mechanisms (psychological, cultural, and biological) as a unified explanation of such effects. (a) Primed concepts influence holistic representations of situations by parallel constraint satisfaction. (b) The constraints among…

Tracing Entrepreneurship Orientation in Adolescence to Business Ownership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saw, Guan Kung; Schneider, Barbara

2012-01-01

Why some individuals choose to become business owners is not entirely clear. Some scholars have argued that a more holistic approach that includes examining personality traits, social context, and developmental periods in the lifespan should provide a deeper understanding of these choices. Tracing the relationship between adolescents'…

Socialization of Adolescents: Cultural Practices in Children's Summer Camp

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Demakova, Irina D.; Valeeva, Roza A.; Shipova, Alina V.

2016-01-01

The article describes the relevant aspects of the adolescents' cultural practices in children's summer camp, taking into account their specific characteristics. The summer camp is considered as an educational formation and holistic socio-pedagogical body, designed to create conditions for the development of the person. The criteria for inclusion…

Institutional Ethnography: A Holistic Approach to Understanding Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Ursula T.; Rocco, Tonette S.

2016-01-01

This paper introduces institutional ethnography (IE) as a useful and systematic process for examining organizations and work data through the lens of stakeholders, at different levels, and considering the different forces at play. Drawing from ethnomethodology, IE focuses on how everyday experience is socially organized. Ideological shifts have…

Retention of Idioms Following One-Time Exposure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reuterskiold, Christina; Van Lancker Sidtis, Diana

2013-01-01

This study explored retention of idioms and novel (i.e. newly created or grammatically generated) expressions in English-speaking girls following exposure only once during a conversation. Our hypothesis was that idioms, because of their inherent holistic, nonliteral and social characteristics, are acquired differently and more rapidly than novel…

Ensuring the common for the goose: Implementing effective watershed policies

Treesearch

Hanna J. Cortner; Margaret A. Moote

2000-01-01

Addressing public and scientific concerns about human impacts on long-term ecological sustainability will require new approaches to resource management. These new approaches, which place considerable emphasis on management on the landscape or watershed scale, stress holistic and integrated science, meaningful public involvement to reflect changing social goals and...

In the Soup: An Integrative Unit. Part 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atwood, Virginia A.; And Others

1989-01-01

Maintains that young children view the world holistically, and thus the social studies curriculum should emphasize the concept of integration. Provides two sample lessons on soup in which students explore geographic concepts, history, economics, and the sociology of soup consumption and production. Includes teaching strategies and learning goals.…

Adlerian Therapy with Aggressive Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kizer, Betty

Alfred Adler devised a theory that was holistic, social, teleological, and phenomenological. Adler believed that the basis of problems with children originated in the child's inability to cooperate with society, feelings of inferiority, and a lack of a goal in life. Adler felt the child's life should be examined through the child's eyes.…

Turn the Wheel: Integral School Counseling for Male Adolescents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forbes, David

2003-01-01

This article formulates an overarching, inclusive model of integral counseling that enables school counselors to help male adolescents challenge the norm of conventional masculinity. The model draws from 3 areas: transpersonal counseling, holistic education, and mindful social action. The aim is to move the students' level of self-development and…

Blending East and West for Holistic Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iyer, Ranjani Balaji

2015-01-01

Education is under pressure to respond to the changing modern world. Education system worldwide aims to develop students into well-rounded citizens and help them become creative problem-solvers. Several theories have been proposed in the research literature which emphasizes the importance of social and cultural context to creativity. Eastern and…

The theoretical model of the school-based prevention programme Unplugged.

PubMed

Vadrucci, Serena; Vigna-Taglianti, Federica D; van der Kreeft, Peer; Vassara, Maro; Scatigna, Maria; Faggiano, Fabrizio; Burkhart, Gregor

2016-12-01

Unplugged is a school-based prevention programme designed and tested in the EU-Dap trial. The programme consists of 12 units delivered by class teachers to adolescents 12-14 years old. It is a strongly interactive programme including a training of personal and social skills with a specific focus on normative beliefs. The aim of this work is to define the theoretical model of the program, the contribution of the theories to the units, and the targeted mediators. The programme integrates several theories: Social Learning, Social Norms, Health Belief, theory of Reasoned Action-Attitude, and Problem Behaviour theory. Every theory contributes to the development of the units' contents, with specific weights. Knowledge, risk perception, attitudes towards drugs, normative beliefs, critical and creative thinking, relationship skills, communication skills, assertiveness, refusal skills, ability to manage emotions and to cope with stress, empathy, problem solving and decision making skills are the targeted mediators of the program. © The Author(s) 2015.

Empathy among students in engineering programmes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rasoal, Chato; Danielsson, Henrik; Jungert, Tomas

2012-10-01

Engineers face challenges when they are to manage project groups and be leaders for organisations because such positions demand skills in social competence and empathy. Previous studies have shown that engineers have low degrees of social competence skills. In this study, the level of empathy as measured by the four subscales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, perspective taking, fantasy, empathic distress and empathic concern, among engineering students was compared to students in health care profession programmes. Participants were undergraduate students at Linköping University, 365 students from four different health care profession programmes and 115 students from two different engineering programmes. When the empathy measures were corrected for effects of sex, engineering students from one of the programmes had lower empathy than psychology and social worker students on the fantasy and perspective-taking subscales. These results raise questions regarding opportunities for engineering students to develop their empathic abilities. It is important that engineering students acquire both theoretical and practical knowledge and skills regarding empathy.

Pargament's Theory of Religious Coping: Implications for Spiritually Sensitive Social Work Practice

PubMed Central

Xu, Jianbin

2016-01-01

This article proposes that Pargament's theory of religious coping can be a theoretical beacon to spiritually sensitive social work practice. It begins with a discussion of the raison d'être of spiritually sensitive social work, which is examined as being able to cast a holistic and positive glow on social work. Then it provides an overview and a critique of Pargament's theory, emphasising that the theory offers a fuller and more impartial picture of religious coping. In addition, it explores the implications of Pargament's theory for spiritually sensitive social work practice with religious clients in terms of engagement, assessment and intervention. This article concludes by discussing how social work practitioners can avoid the pitfalls and limitations of Pargament's theory. PMID:27559234

"Don't Be a Smart Arse": Social Enterprise-Based Transitional Labour-Market Programmes as Neo-Liberal Technologies of the Self

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Peter James; Campbell, Perri Bree Ellis; Harrison, Lyn

2015-01-01

In this paper we re-visit the work of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and the social enterprise Fifteen Foundation and their development of a programme designed to train unemployed young people in the hospitality industry. We argue, drawing on the Foucauldian literature on governmentality and technologies of the self, that social enterprise-based…

Type 1 diabetes patients' experiences of, and need for, social support after attending a structured education programme: a qualitative longitudinal investigation.

PubMed

Rankin, David; Barnard, Kath; Elliott, Jackie; Cooke, Debbie; Heller, Simon; Gianfrancesco, Carla; Taylor, Carolin; Lawton, Julia

2014-10-01

To explore patients' experiences of, views about and need for, social support after attending a structured education programme for type 1 diabetes. Patients who attend structured education programmes attain short-term improvements in biomedical and quality-of-life measures but require support to sustain self-management principles over the longer term. Social support can influence patients' self-management practices; however, little is known about how programme graduates use other people's help. This study was informed by the principles of grounded theory and involved concurrent data collection and analysis. Data were analysed using an inductive, thematic approach. In-depth interviews were undertaken postcourse, six and 12 months later, with 30 adult patients with type 1 diabetes recruited from Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating courses in the United Kingdom. Patients' preferences for social support from other people ranged from wanting minimal involvement, to benefiting from auxiliary forms of assistance, to regular monitoring and policing. New self-management skills learnt on their courses prompted and facilitated patients to seek and obtain more social support. Support received/expected from parents varied according to when patients were diagnosed, but parents' use of outdated knowledge could act as a barrier to effective support. Support sought from others, including friends/colleagues, was informed by patients' domestic/employment circumstances. This study responds to calls for deeper understanding of the social context in which chronic illness self-management occurs. It highlights how patients can solicit and receive more social support from family members and friends after implementing self-care practices taught on education programmes. Health professionals including diabetes specialist nurses and dietitians should explore: patients' access to and preferences for social support; how patients might be encouraged to capitalise on social support postcourse; and new ways to inform/educate people within patients' social networks. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[How to assess and reduce social inequalities in cancer screening programmes].

PubMed

Binefa, Gemma; García, Montse; Peiró, Rosana; Molina-Barceló, Ana; Ibáñez, Raquel

2016-01-01

This field note presents the conclusions and recommendations made at the meeting 'How to reduce social inequalities in cancer screening programmes?' held at the XXVI School of Public Health of Mahon (Menorca, Spain). Participants developed recommendations based on experiences of population-based screening programmes (breast and colorectal) and opportunistic screening (cervical). The conclusions and recommendations focused on four main areas (information systems, evaluation and quality, research, and interventions): the inclusion of social variables at an individual level in health information systems; the establishment of minimum standards for gathering information regarding inequalities in access to preventive services; the performance of actions in vulnerable populations; and the promotion of the exchange of experiences and best practices through the Cancer Screening Programmes Network and working groups of the scientific societies. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

HIV prevention among transgender women in Latin America: implementation, gaps and challenges.

PubMed

Silva-Santisteban, Alfonso; Eng, Shirley; de la Iglesia, Gabriela; Falistocco, Carlos; Mazin, Rafael

2016-01-01

Transgender women are the population most vulnerable to HIV in Latin America, with prevalence between 18 and 38%. Although the region has improved antiretroviral coverage, there is an urgent need to strengthen HIV prevention for key populations to meet regional targets set by governments. We conducted an assessment on the state of HIV prevention among transgender women in Latin America. We conducted a desk review of Global AIDS Response Progress Reports, national strategic plans, technical reports and peer-reviewed articles from 17 Latin American countries published through January 2015. The review was preceded by 12 semi-structured interviews with UNAIDS and Pan American Health Organization officers and a discussion group with transgender women regional leaders, to guide the identification of documents. We assessed access to, implementation and coverage of programmes; legal frameworks; community participation; inclusion of new strategies; and alignment with international recommendations. Overall, prevention activities in the region focus on condom distribution, diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections and peer education, mostly delivered at health facilities, with limited community involvement. Argentina and Uruguay have implemented structural interventions to address social inclusion. Argentina, Brazil and Mexico have adopted early initiation of antiretroviral therapy and treatment as prevention strategies. The other countries do not have substantial tailored interventions and consider the trans population a sub-population of men who have sex with men in data collection and programme implementation. Limited coverage of services, discrimination and a deep-seated mistrust of the health system among transgender women are the main barriers to accessing HIV prevention services. Promising interventions include health services adapted to transgender women in Mexico; LGBT-friendly clinics in Argentina that incorporate community and health workers in mixed teams; task-shifting to community-based organizations; mobile HIV testing; and gender identity laws. Transgender women in Latin America continue to have limited access to HIV prevention services, which presents a bottleneck for reaching prevention goals and incorporating new prevention interventions. Prevention programmes should be rights-based; offer tailored, holistic interventions; and involve transgender women in their design and implementation.

HIV prevention among transgender women in Latin America: implementation, gaps and challenges

PubMed Central

Silva-Santisteban, Alfonso; Eng, Shirley; de la Iglesia, Gabriela; Falistocco, Carlos; Mazin, Rafael

2016-01-01

Introduction Transgender women are the population most vulnerable to HIV in Latin America, with prevalence between 18 and 38%. Although the region has improved antiretroviral coverage, there is an urgent need to strengthen HIV prevention for key populations to meet regional targets set by governments. We conducted an assessment on the state of HIV prevention among transgender women in Latin America. Methods We conducted a desk review of Global AIDS Response Progress Reports, national strategic plans, technical reports and peer-reviewed articles from 17 Latin American countries published through January 2015. The review was preceded by 12 semi-structured interviews with UNAIDS and Pan American Health Organization officers and a discussion group with transgender women regional leaders, to guide the identification of documents. We assessed access to, implementation and coverage of programmes; legal frameworks; community participation; inclusion of new strategies; and alignment with international recommendations. Results and discussion Overall, prevention activities in the region focus on condom distribution, diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections and peer education, mostly delivered at health facilities, with limited community involvement. Argentina and Uruguay have implemented structural interventions to address social inclusion. Argentina, Brazil and Mexico have adopted early initiation of antiretroviral therapy and treatment as prevention strategies. The other countries do not have substantial tailored interventions and consider the trans population a sub-population of men who have sex with men in data collection and programme implementation. Limited coverage of services, discrimination and a deep-seated mistrust of the health system among transgender women are the main barriers to accessing HIV prevention services. Promising interventions include health services adapted to transgender women in Mexico; LGBT-friendly clinics in Argentina that incorporate community and health workers in mixed teams; task-shifting to community-based organizations; mobile HIV testing; and gender identity laws. Conclusions Transgender women in Latin America continue to have limited access to HIV prevention services, which presents a bottleneck for reaching prevention goals and incorporating new prevention interventions. Prevention programmes should be rights-based; offer tailored, holistic interventions; and involve transgender women in their design and implementation. PMID:27431470

[Evaluation of the ICAR program--Internet communication and active rehabilitation for people with mental disorders].

PubMed

Załuska, Maria; Bronowski, Paweł; Panasiuk, Katarzyna; Brykalski, Jan; Paszko, Jolanta

2008-01-01

Prevalence of Internet use indicates, that introducing internet to people with mental disorders might have a positive impact on their social integration. There are concerns about negative effects of dealing with virtual reality on the mental health of Internet users. Evaluation of the ICAR program--"Internet communication and active rehabilitation for people with mental disorders" concerning its utility in psychiatric rehabilitation. 22 participants of the ICAR programme and 22 controls (people with mental disorders not participating in the programme) were investigated before and after the completion of the programme. There following were compared: their computer and Internet use skills, social functioning (Birchwood Scale), self-estimation of the mental health (Frankfurt Scale FBS), self-reported quality of life (WHO QOL BREV) and number of psychiatric hospitalisations during 11 months of the observation period. Among participants, their reported skills and motivation increased significantly following the programme. During 11 months of the observation there were less hospitalisations (1 fulltime and 1 daily) in the study group than in the control group (3 and 1). An increase of symptoms was observed in the Frankfurt Scale in 10 participants and 13 controls. The level of social functioning and severity of symptoms was not significantly different and did not change during observation. The self-reported quality of life increased in both groups during this period. ICAR training programme for the mentally ill, increases participants skills and motivation towards computer and Internet use, as well as their self-reported quality of life. The participation in the programme doesn't have any significant effect on the overall social functioning and number of psychiatric hospitalisations during the 11 months of observation. A positive effect of the ICAR programme on the quality of life, as well as some activating effect leading to exacerbation of the psychopatological symptoms--has an unspecific character and is therefore similar to the other community rehabilitation programmes. Wider spreading of computer training workshops similar to the ICAR programme might have a positive effect on social integration of people with mental disorders.

Programme Evaluation: Maintaining Quality in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loots, A.

2008-01-01

The evaluation of educational or social programmes is paramount for establishing success or impact in higher education. Evaluation questions about programme goals (e.g. better performance of first-year students) or about the quality of programme strategies (design and implementation) and effectiveness of delivery (coordinator inputs and…

Enhancing the quality and safety of care through training generalist doctors: a longitudinal, mixed-methods study of a UK broad-based training programme.

PubMed

Bullock, Alison; Webb, Katie Louise; Muddiman, Esther; MacDonald, Janet; Allery, Lynne; Pugsley, Lesley

2018-04-12

Changing patient demographics make it ever more challenging to maintain the quality and safety of care. One approach to addressing this is the development of training for generalist doctors who can take a more holistic approach to care. The purpose of the work we report here is to consider whether a broad-based training programme prepares doctors for a changing health service. We adopted a longitudinal, mixed-methods approach, collecting questionnaire data from trainees on the broad-based training (BBT) programme in England (baseline n=62) and comparator trainees in the same regions (baseline n=90). We held 15 focus groups with BBT trainees and one-to-one telephone interviews with trainees post-BBT (n=21) and their Educational Supervisors (n=9). From questionnaire data, compared with comparator groups, BBT trainees were significantly more confident that their training would result in: wider perspectives, understanding specialty complementarity, ability to apply learning across specialties, manage complex patients and provide patient-focused care. Data from interviews and focus groups provided evidence of positive consequences for patient care from BBT trainees' ability to apply knowledge from other specialties. Specifically, insights from BBT enabled trainees to tailor referrals and consider patients' psychological as well as physical needs, thus adopting a more holistic approach to care. Unintended consequences were revealed in focus groups where BBT trainees expressed feelings of isolation. However, when we explored this sentiment on questionnaire surveys, we found that at least as many in the comparator groups sometimes felt isolated. Practitioners with an understanding of care across specialty boundaries can enhance patient care and reduce risks from poor inter-specialty communication. Internationally, there is growing recognition of the place of generalism in medical practice and the need to take a more person-centred approach. Broad-based approaches to training support the development of generalist doctors, which is well-suited to a changing health service. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Impact of vectorborne parasitic neglected tropical diseases on child health.

PubMed

Barry, Meagan A; Murray, Kristy O; Hotez, Peter J; Jones, Kathryn M

2016-07-01

Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis are all vectorborne neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that are responsible for significant disease burden in impoverished children and adults worldwide. As vectorborne parasitic diseases, they can all be targeted for elimination through vector control strategies. Examples of successful vector control programmes for these diseases over the past two decades have included the Southern Cone Initiative against Chagas disease, the Kala-azar Control Scheme against leishmaniasis, the Onchocerciasis Control Programme and the lymphatic filariasis control programme in The Gambia. A common vector control component in all of these programmes is the use of adulticides including dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and newer synthetic pyrethroid insecticides against the insect vectors of disease. Household spraying has been used against Chagas disease and leishmaniasis, and insecticide-treated bed nets have helped prevent leishmaniasis and lymphatic filariasis. Recent trends in vector control focus on collaborations between programmes and sectors to achieve integrated vector management that addresses the holistic vector control needs of a community rather than approaching it on a disease-by-disease basis, with the goals of increased efficacy, sustainability and cost-effectiveness. As evidence of vector resistance to currently used insecticide regimens emerges, research to develop new and improved insecticides and novel control strategies will be critical in reducing disease burden. In the quest to eliminate these vectorborne NTDs, efforts need to be made to continue existing control programmes, further implement integrated vector control strategies and stimulate research into new insecticides and control methods. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Addressing policy needs for prevention and control of type 2 diabetes in India.

PubMed

Atre, Sachin

2015-09-01

India carries nearly one-fifth of the global burden of diabetes cases, the majority of which are of type 2 diabetes. Recognising the need for controlling diabetes, the Government of India has initiated a national level programme for prevention and control of diabetes along with other non-communicable diseases in 2008. Despite being piloted and implemented, there is hardly any published literature about the national level situation of diabetes and its control efforts. The present article is written with the aim to fill this gap to some extent and to provide a situational analysis of the diabetes problem in India in a holistic way, addressing policy needs for the national programme. It focuses on three main areas, namely, awareness of diabetes, costs of drugs for its treatment and healthcare-system related issues. It argues that poor coverage and weak implementation of the national level programme are major forces that push patients to seek help in the weakly regulated private sector. Approaching the private sector is likely to increase the cost of care, which in turn can lead to an increased financial burden for patients and their families due to factors such as patients' lack of awareness about diabetes, poor drug price regulation and prescriptions including combinations and/or patented products of medicines used for treating diabetes by the private sector. This article addresses several needs such as strengthening the national programme and increasing its reach to unreached districts, exerting drug price regulation and implementing community-based participatory programmes for prevention and management of type 2 diabetes. It also underscores a need for piloting and implementing a robust national level electronic reporting system for diabetes programmes. © Royal Society for Public Health 2015.

Five-year follow-up of persons with brain injury entering the French vocational and social rehabilitation programme UEROS: Return-to-work, life satisfaction, psychosocial and community integration.

PubMed

Cogné, M; Wiart, L; Simion, A; Dehail, P; Mazaux, J-M

2017-01-01

Social and vocational reintegration of persons with brain injury is an important element in their rehabilitation. To evaluate the 5-year outcome of persons with brain injury included in 2008 in the Aquitaine Unit for Evaluation, Training and Social and Vocational Counselling programme (UEROS). 57 persons with brain injury were recruited from those who completed the 2008 UEROS programme. Five years later, an interview was done to assess family and vocational status, autonomy and life satisfaction. These results were compared with those from persons completing the 1997-1999 programme. The typical person entered the 2008 UEROS programme 6 years after a severe brain injury (42%) and was male, single and 35 years. At the 5-year follow-up, more persons lived with a partner (+23%) and lived in their own home (+21%). 47% were working vs 11% on entering the programme. Approximately half were satisfied or very satisfied with their quality of life. Having a job in 2013 was associated with a high education level, less cognitive sequelae, having a job in 2008 and no health condition. The UEROS programme is effective with regard to return-to-work and improvement of autonomy in persons with brain injury, irrespective of length of time from injury.

[The concept of social marketing--potential and limitations for health promotion and prevention in Germany].

PubMed

Loss, J; Lang, K; Ultsch, S; Eichhorn, C; Nagel, E

2006-07-01

"Social marketing" is the use of marketing principles to design and implement programmes to promote socially beneficial behaviour changes. In the field of health promotion and prevention, the systematic planning process of social marketing can offer new ideas and perspectives to the traditions of social science. Major characteristics of social marketing encompass continuous market research focussing on attitudes, motives and behavioural patterns of the target group, an integrated mix of strategic key elements, and the perpetual evaluation of all procedures. So far, however, it is unclear in how far social marketing is actually more effective than other concepts of programme planning. Furthermore, it has to be discussed whether the underlying philosophy of social marketing and its implicit understanding of relationships to the public are reconcilable with health promotion principles. In Anglo-Saxon countries, the social marketing concept has achieved widespread application and is subject to controversial scientific discussions, whereas this approach is hardly considered in German health promotion research and practice. Given the increasing call for quality management and evaluation of health promotion interventions, the social marketing concept may contribute useful insights at an operational level and thus add to a discussion on effective approaches for programme planning.

Adult Learning for Social Justice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furlong, Cerys

2011-01-01

The "Programme for Government" is the Welsh Government's plan of action for this term of the Assembly. At the forefront of the programme is growth and sustainable jobs. As a small economy, still recovering from the decline of manufacturing and the coal industry, Wales' economic and social outcomes are inextricably linked. Certainly, the…

An Appraisal of the Training Programmes for Social Education Workers in India

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ansari, N. A.

1971-01-01

A study of the India training programmes for social education workers at different levels was conducted to find out the relative success and impact of these programs on the worker. The study found that the programs were "good" and some suggestions for improvement are discussed. (RR/Author)

Art-Informed Pedagogy: Tools for Social Transformation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGregor, Catherine

2012-01-01

How might an arts-informed pedagogy in a leadership development programme work to inspire, create and educate the leaders needed for creating more socially just and inclusive communities? This self-study explores how a post-secondary educator has integrated arts-informed approaches to teaching and learning in a leadership development programme at…

Reflecting on holistic nursing: the contribution of an academic with lived experience of mental health service use.

PubMed

Byrne, Louise; Happell, Brenda; Welch, Anthony; Moxham, Lorna

2013-04-01

The educational preparation of registered nurses is presumed to reflect a holistic approach with emphasis on the bio-psycho-social model of care. The broader literature suggests this goal is not always realised. The aim of this study is to present the views, experiences, and perceptions of undergraduate nursing students who were taught by an academic with a lived experience of mental health service use. In particular, we wanted to look at the expected impact of this approach to learning on their nursing practice. A qualitative, exploratory approach was used, involving in-depth individual interviews with 12 undergraduate nursing students completing the course, "recovery for mental health nursing practice," as part of a major in mental health nursing in a university in Queensland, Australia. Students were asked to reflect upon and discuss their experiences of being taught by a person with lived experience of mental health service use. Data were analysed following Colaizzi's steps to identify the main themes. The three main themes were (1) recovery--bringing holistic nursing to life; (2) influencing practice; and (3) gaining self-awareness through course assessment: challenge and opportunity. These themes suggest an appreciation for holistic nursing and an increased capacity for reflective understanding. The responses from participants suggest the Recovery course had a significant impact on their attitudes to nursing and that their nursing practice would be positively enhanced as a consequence.

Peer-led diabetes self-management programme for community-dwelling older people in China: study protocol for a quasi-experimental design.

PubMed

Shen, Huixia; Edwards, Helen; Courtney, Mary; McDowell, Jan; Wu, Ming

2012-12-01

A protocol for a new peer-led self-management programme for community-dwelling older people with diabetes in Shanghai, China. The increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes poses major public health challenges. Appropriate education programmes could help people with diabetes to achieve self-management and better health outcomes. Providing education programmes to the fast growing number of people with diabetes present a real challenge to Chinese healthcare system, which is strained for personnel and funding shortages. Empirical literature and expert opinions suggest that peer education programmes are promising. Quasi-experimental. This study is a non-equivalent control group design (protocol approved in January, 2008). A total of 190 people, with 95 participants in each group, will be recruited from two different, but similar, communities. The programme, based on Social Cognitive Theory, will consist of basic diabetes instruction and social support and self-efficacy enhancing group activities. Basic diabetes instruction sessions will be delivered by health professionals, whereas social support and self-efficacy enhancing group activities will be led by peer leaders. Outcome variables include: self-efficacy, social support, self-management behaviours, depressive status, quality of life and healthcare utilization, which will be measured at baseline, 4 and 12 weeks. This theory-based programme tailored to Chinese patients has potential for improving diabetes self-management and subsequent health outcomes. In addition, the delivery mode, through involvement of peer leaders and existing community networks, is especially promising considering healthcare resource shortage in China. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

New ways of believing or belonging: is religion giving way to spirituality?

PubMed

Glendinning, Tony; Bruce, Steve

2006-09-01

In this article, the presence of alternative spirituality and practices within the general culture and their relationship to institutional religion are examined using national survey data collected as part of the 2001 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey. Alternative practices are found to divide into two groups of interests: concerns with personal well-being and interest in divination. Better-educated women are much more likely to engage with holistic practices associated with well-being; a minority of younger, less well-educated women are more likely to have found horoscopes, astrology, fortune-telling and tarot 'important in their lives'. Churchgoers find divination antithetical to religion while the use and salience of a range of holistic practices is as acceptable among churchgoers as it is among non-attenders and the secular (once allowance has been made for the connections between putatively alternative practices, gender, age and education). This underscores a focus on personal well-being rather than alternative spirituality in the consumption of holistic products and practices within the general culture. The study findings are used to assess claims for a spiritual revolution in modern Britain.

Balancing performance-based expectations with a holistic perspective on coaching: a qualitative study of Swedish women's national football team coaches' practice experiences.

PubMed

Lindgren, Eva-Carin; Barker-Ruchti, Natalie

2017-12-01

The purpose of this study was to explore how an exclusive sample of women's national football team coaches described how they implement careful coaching while facing social and organizational pressure to win medals. To consider coaches' negotiations, we drew on Noddings' concept of caring. Using an interpretive research paradigm, we conducted in-depth interviews with five Swedish women's national football team coaches. An abductive approach was used to simultaneously process the theoretical framework of "ethics of care" and the empirical data. The coaches unanimously adopted a holistic perspective to coaching. The coaching strategies they described included promoting players' development, well-being, and sustainable elite performance; listening to the players' voices and engaging in dialogue; and creating a positive environment and promoting fair play. These findings demonstrate that the women coaches, despite performance pressure, adopt caring coaching in the form of Noddings' pedagogical modelling, dialogue, and confirmation strategies, and provide an example of how coaches can adopt caring, holistic, and athlete-centred coaching while working at the highest level of competitive sport and achieving competitive success.

Looking through the Keyhole: Exploring Realities and Possibilities for School Breakfast Programs in Rural Western Australia.

PubMed

Ichumar, Simon O; Dahlberg, Emma E; Paynter, Ellen B; Lucey, Fiona M C; Chester, Miranda R; Papertalk, Lennelle; Thompson, Sandra C

2018-03-17

To assess the school breakfast program (SBP) in two schools with high Aboriginal student populations in rural Western Australia, their contribution to holistic support, nutritional health education and possibilities for improvement. The operations and functioning of one regional and one remote SBP were assessed by stakeholder inquiry related to process and challenges, observations and documentary review. An intervention to increase health education, social interaction and learning about nutrition and food origins implemented in one school was assessed. Strengths, system and structural factors that impeded realisation of optimal outcomes of the SBPs were identified. The SBPs focussed on serving food rather than building nutritional understanding or on social interactions and support. Systems for delivery and management of the programs largely relied on staff with limited time. When offered a more interactive and social environment, children enjoyed learning about food. Opportunities for SBPs to offer holistic support and educational enhancement for disadvantaged children are limited by the realities of pressures on staff to support them and a view constraining their primary role as food delivery. The lack of volunteer support in disadvantaged schools limits the potential benefits of SBPs in providing psychosocial support. Health education resources which exist for use in SBPs are not necessarily used.

Looking through the Keyhole: Exploring Realities and Possibilities for School Breakfast Programs in Rural Western Australia

PubMed Central

Ichumar, Simon O.; Dahlberg, Emma E.; Paynter, Ellen B.; Lucey, Fiona M. C.; Chester, Miranda R.; Papertalk, Lennelle

2018-01-01

Objective: To assess the school breakfast program (SBP) in two schools with high Aboriginal student populations in rural Western Australia, their contribution to holistic support, nutritional health education and possibilities for improvement. Methods: The operations and functioning of one regional and one remote SBP were assessed by stakeholder inquiry related to process and challenges, observations and documentary review. An intervention to increase health education, social interaction and learning about nutrition and food origins implemented in one school was assessed. Results: Strengths, system and structural factors that impeded realisation of optimal outcomes of the SBPs were identified. The SBPs focussed on serving food rather than building nutritional understanding or on social interactions and support. Systems for delivery and management of the programs largely relied on staff with limited time. When offered a more interactive and social environment, children enjoyed learning about food. Conclusions: Opportunities for SBPs to offer holistic support and educational enhancement for disadvantaged children are limited by the realities of pressures on staff to support them and a view constraining their primary role as food delivery. The lack of volunteer support in disadvantaged schools limits the potential benefits of SBPs in providing psychosocial support. Health education resources which exist for use in SBPs are not necessarily used. PMID:29562625

Evaluating the delivery, impact, costs and benefits of an active lives programme for older people living in the community.

PubMed

Gandy, Rob; Bell, Amelia; McClelland, Bob; Roe, Brenda

2017-03-01

Aim Age UK Lancashire received Big Lottery funding to deliver an active lives programme from January 2012 to December 2014 to the population of West Lancashire aged over 50 years. The overall aims of the associated evaluation were to measure older people's experiences of participating in the programme, identify the impacts on their health and well-being and their suggestions for services development, and establish the costs and benefits of the programme. The World Health Organisation recommends older people should be able to achieve physical, social and mental well-being throughout their lives, and that international, national and local policies should be developed to support older adults, promote their independence and well-being, and encourage physical exercise. Consequently, the West Lancashire programme was to establish preventative community support for older people to assist in improving their well-being and physical and mental health, particularly those isolated due to age-related illness or disability. It was to provide interventions not available from local social care providers. A mixed methods approach was adopted, with the qualitative evaluation utilising focus groups to establish people's experiences, identify impacts on their health and well-being, and suggestions for services development. This paper describes the quantitative evaluation, which involved three surveys and a costs analysis. The surveys were scheduled to give timely feedback to management about programme delivery and content, and overall benefits of participation. Findings The active lives programme and groups offered a wide range of flexible and local activities that provided benefits for older people in terms of health and well-being, social well-being and quality of life, and reducing social isolation. There was interconnectivity between these benefits. The programme was delivered in an affordable and flexible manner. Such programmes should be made more widely available.

The importance of service-users' perspectives: A systematic review of qualitative evidence reveals overlooked critical features of weight management programmes.

PubMed

Sutcliffe, Katy; Melendez-Torres, G J; Burchett, Helen E D; Richardson, Michelle; Rees, Rebecca; Thomas, James

2018-03-14

Extensive research effort shows that weight management programmes (WMPs) targeting both diet and exercise are broadly effective. However, the critical features of WMPs remain unclear. To develop a deeper understanding of WMPs critical features, we undertook a systematic review of qualitative evidence. We sought to understand from a service-user perspective how programmes are experienced, and may be effective, on the ground. We identified qualitative studies from existing reviews and updated the searches of one review. We included UK studies capturing the views of adult WMP users. Thematic analysis was used inductively to code and synthesize the evidence. Service users were emphatic that supportive relationships, with service providers or WMP peers, are the most critical aspect of WMPs. Supportive relationships were described as providing an extrinsic motivator or "hook" which helped to overcome barriers such as scepticism about dietary advice or a lack confidence to engage in physical activity. The evidence revealed that service-users' understandings of the critical features of WMPs differ from the focus of health promotion guidance or descriptions of evaluated programmes which largely emphasize educational or goal setting aspects of WMPs. Existing programme guidance may not therefore fully address the needs of service users. The study illustrates that the perspectives of service users can reveal unanticipated intervention mechanisms or underemphasized critical features and underscores the value of a holistic understanding about "what happens" in complex psychosocial interventions such as WMPs. © 2017 The Authors Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Rangatahi Tū Rangatira: innovative health promotion in Aotearoa New Zealand.

PubMed

Severinsen, Christina; Reweti, Angelique

2017-11-14

Rangatahi Tū Rangatira (R2R) is a national health promotion programme in Aotearoa New Zealand which aims to promote cultural and physical wellbeing for rangatahi (young people) and their whānau (family). Grounded in tikanga Māori, the programme focuses on total wellbeing, leadership and cultural awareness providing rangatahi opportunities to increase their participation in physical activity and cultural knowledge through ngā taonga tākaro (Māori ancestral games). This paper focuses on an evaluation of this innovative health promotion programme focussing on the delivery of R2R by a local iwi provider in a rural area. Kanohi ki te kanohi (face-to-face) interviews and focus groups were used to collect data from a range of stakeholders including rangatahi, whānau, programme developers, and collaborating community organizations. A whānau ora (holistic) framework incorporating five core outcomes and key indicators specific to the programme was developed to assess the impact of delivery. Results demonstrated that rangatahi and their whānau were living healthier lifestyles through being more physically active; had gained an increased desire to succeed in their education and extra curriculum activities; and felt more connected to their community and te ao Māori. This demonstrates the importance of incorporating cultural elements to support improved lifestyle changes for rangatahi and their whānau and the connection between enhanced cultural identity and good health. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Social capital and adverse treatment outcomes of tuberculosis: a case-control study.

PubMed

Deshmukh, P R; Mundra, A; Dawale, A

2017-08-01

'Social capital' refers to social norms, relationships, networks and values that affect the functioning and development of society. Social capital influences health positively, but its role in the treatment outcomes of tuberculosis (TB) is not known. To study the role of social capital in determining adverse TB treatment outcomes. Of 516 patients registered under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme in 2014 in Wardha Tuberculosis Unit, Wardha, India, we included 88 patients with adverse treatment outcomes as cases and 187 controls from among those without adverse outcomes. Multiple logistic regression was used to compare standardised Z-scores. A greater proportion of controls than cases belonged to higher quartiles of social capital and its domains than cases, and the mean standardised Z-score was also consistently higher among controls than cases. Respectively 47% and 15% of cases and controls were in the poorest quartile of social capital, whereas respectively 10% and 33% of cases and controls were in the richest quartile. Each unit increase in Z-score of overall social capital reduced the odds of adverse treatment outcomes by 63.1%. Appropriate interventions for building social capital for TB patients and linking them with the programme would improve programme performance.

The Journey Project: a case study in providing health information to mitigate health disparities

PubMed Central

Leisey, Monica

2009-01-01

The Journey Project, part of the Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries' Social Work Information Specialist in Context Fellowship, was designed to merge social work and consumer health librarianship skills in order to improve the provision of health information to patients. A resource notebook was created encompassing the many dimensions of cancer health information. A social work informationist distributed the notebooks and provided individualized consultations with respect to patients' health information needs. Areas of congruence as well as key differences between social work and consumer health librarianship emerged during the course of the project. Merging the two professions into the role of a social work informationist increased the ability to attend holistically to clients' health information needs. PMID:19159008

Group Homes for Teenagers: A Practical Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shostack, Albert L.

To succeed today, service models for group care of those in the child welfare system must emphasize a holistic approach, taking into account the needs of the individual, family, and surrounding social environment. Articulating the many tasks associated with both starting and running a community-based group home, this book provides a guide for…

Reconceptualising Refugee Education: Exploring the Diverse Learning Contexts of Unaccompanied Young Refugees upon Resettlement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pastoor, Lutine de Wal

2017-01-01

This article explores unaccompanied young refugees' participation in various learning contexts beyond school. Drawing from a qualitative study based on interviews with unaccompanied young refugees, educators and social workers in Norway, the findings emphasise the need for a holistic approach to refugee education in and across contexts of…

Pedagogical Considerations for Effectively Teaching Qualitative Research to Students in an Online Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bender, Sara; Hill, Karlie

2016-01-01

Qualitative research aims to understand both individual meaning as well as complex systemic interactions as they apply to social problems or individual experiences. This method of research is both inductive and flexible, allowing for a holistic approach that facilitates a rich understanding of the content examined. Past research identifies a…

Averting Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type in Women: Can Counselors Help?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Douthit, Kathryn Z.

2007-01-01

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in late life, taking its greatest toll on women over age 80. This article provides an overview of AD, including risk factors and counseling strategies targeting risk. Counseling strategies address stress, cardiovascular health, social integration, depression, and holistic wellness.

Integrated research in natural resources: the key role of problem framing.

Treesearch

Roger N. Clark; George H. Stankey

2006-01-01

Integrated research is about achieving holistic understanding of complex biophysical and social issues and problems. It is driven by the need to improve understanding about such systems and to improve resource management by using the results of integrated research processes.Traditional research tends to fragment complex problems, focusing more on the pieces...

Examining Attendance, Academic Performance, and Behavior in Obese Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daniels, Dianne Yow

2008-01-01

Although academics and safety continue to rank as high-priority issues in public schools, educators and administrators are beginning to recognize the importance of student health on school success. This move toward a holistic approach suggests that efforts to improve a student's physical, social, and emotional well-being are as important as…

Family, Peer and School Influence on Children's Social Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blaževic, Ines

2016-01-01

Theory of origins of the paper starts from holistic and humanistic approach to upbringing and education, which has a goal of comprehensive development of student. An integral children's development can be encouraged by thoughtful planning of school activities in the school curriculum. Co-creators of the school curriculum (teachers, students and…

Alternatives for At-Risk and Out-of-School Youth. ERIC Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kerka, Sandra

Educators are considering ways to help youth identified as "at-risk" succeed in school and beyond. Alternative programs (AP) can be effective environments for students who may not fit the mainstream mold and need additional support. Effective AP use a holistic approach that encompasses social, academic, psychological and career-related…

Needed: Physical Educators on the Nursing Home Team.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hooks, Bettie; Hooks, Edgar W., Jr.

1981-01-01

Social interaction and physical activity are important aspects of health maintenance for the aged. A holistic approach to the care of the elderly in nursing homes would involve a team of professionals who encourage residents to pursue such tasks as adaptation to loss, and maintenance of physical activity to retain function. (JN)

A Comprehensive Stress Education and Reduction Program Utilizing a Well-Being Model: Incorporating the ASCA Student Standards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tarabochia, Dawn S.

2013-01-01

The American School Counselor Association developed national standards for students to provide a framework for a holistic approach to student academic, career, and personal/social development. While the ASCA Student Standards are comprehensive, little attention is given to stress. Adolescents are experiencing greater stress associated with…

Social and Legal Aspects of the Educational Support of Adolescents with Deviant Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tolegen, Mukhtar A.; Seriev, Bolat A.; Akhatov, Ualikhan A.; Taubayev, Baurzhan R.; Balashov, Talgat T.

2016-01-01

The purpose of the study is to consider the problem of the organization of working with adolescents with deviant behavior through the development and implementation of their psychological and pedagogical support based on student-centered and system approaches. Holistic application of components of psychological and pedagogical support (diagnostic,…

Gender, Education and The Possibility of Transformative Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stromquist, Nelly P.

2006-01-01

Global policies today encourage greater access by women to formal schooling but leave aside issues of content and school practices essential to the modification of the social relations of gender. This article assumes a holistic approach and compares the promise of education with its actual contribution to transformative knowledge. It examines why…

Building the Foundation for a Health Education Program for Rural Older Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jung, Seung Eun; Parker, Stephany; Hermann, Janice; Phelps, Joshua; Shin, Yeon Ho

2018-01-01

We explored rural older adults perceptions of health to inform health promotion program development, using social marketing as our framework. Participants in seven focus groups viewed independence and holistic health as indicators of health and identified healthful eating and physical activity as actions to promote health. Barriers to these…

Promoting Self-Esteem in Adolescents: The Influence of Wellness Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myers, Jane E.; Willse, John T.; Villalba, Jose A.

2011-01-01

To assess the extent to which holistic wellness factors are predictive of self-esteem, the authors administered the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventories, School Form (Coopersmith, 2002), and the Five Factor Wellness Inventory (Myers & Sweeney, 2005a) to 225 adolescents ages 15 to 17 years. Wellness factors (Coping Self, Social Self, and…

How Do Volcanoes Affect Human Life? Integrated Unit.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dayton, Rebecca; Edwards, Carrie; Sisler, Michelle

This packet contains a unit on teaching about volcanoes. The following question is addressed: How do volcanoes affect human life? The unit covers approximately three weeks of instruction and strives to present volcanoes in an holistic form. The five subject areas of art, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies are integrated into…

An Educational Historical Narrative Study of Visualization in the Progressive Art Pedagogy of Lowenfeld

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cromarty, Edward

2017-01-01

This study utilizes an educational historical narrative research method to understand the unique viewpoint of Lowenfeld toward visualization as a holistic concept in progressive art education. Employing a social constructivist framework, it explores the problem that the emphasis in education on the surface elements of standardized subject-based…

Student Engagement Research: Thinking beyond the Mainstream

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zepke, Nick

2015-01-01

Student engagement is highly visible in higher education research about learning and teaching, but lacks a single meaning. It can be conceived narrowly as a set of student and institutional behaviours in a classroom or holistically and critically as a social-cultural ecosystem in which engagement is the glue linking classroom, personal background…

Geriatric Rehabilitation ('Alters-Rehabilitation'): The New Challenge for Social Medicine and Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barolin, G. S.

1996-01-01

This discussion of geriatric rehabilitation stresses the importance of holistic and permanent rehabilitation with a fluent transition from the acute phase to the rehabilitation phase under one specialist's care and in one institution. Recommendations include mixed age groups in one ward; systematic education of relatives; follow-up rehabilitation…

Temperament as a Behavioral Construct: Assessing the Classroom Environment and Student-Teacher Relationship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCreery, Michael P.

2016-01-01

With the limited success of social skills training on particularly disruptive behaviors, researchers have begun to develop a more holistic approach grounded in "temperament" research that focuses on supporting underlying traits as they emerge during development. Based on this approach, this column provides a theoretical basis and…

Teaching Secondary Health Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sorochan, Walter D.; Bender, Stephen J.

This book is designed to be of use to the secondary health educator. It is divided into five parts. Part one is devoted to a discussion of the philosophic-holistic meaning of health. Particular emphasis is placed on the relationship between health and life style. In part two the physiological, emotional, social, intellectual, and moral development…

Is Behavior Change a Legitimate Objective for the Health Educator?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell, Robert D.

1983-01-01

Pros and cons of making behavior change a primary objective of health education are summarized. The individual's right to choose his/her lifestyle is emphasized; health educators are encouraged to use holistic approaches to health education, emphasizing not only physical consequences of behavior but emotional and social factors as well. (PP)

Mentoring Students: Conceptualizing and Validating the Multi-Dimensions of a Support System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nora, Amaury; Crisp, Gloria

2008-01-01

Many students do not receive the adequate academic and social support during their enrollment in a higher education institution that could positively impact their abilities to succeed in college (Astin, 1984; Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Nora, 1987; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991). These support systems can be viewed as providing a holistic mentoring…

Surveying and Modeling Students' Motivation and Learning Strategies for Mobile-Assisted Seamless Chinese Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chai, Ching Sing; Wong, Lung-Hsiang; King, Ronnel B.

2016-01-01

Seamless language learning promises to be an effective learning approach that addresses the limitations of classroom-only language learning. It leverages mobile technologies to facilitate holistic and perpetual learning experiences that bridge different locations, times, technologies or social settings. Despite the emergence of studies on seamless…

Teacher Character Strengths and Talent Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Majid, Rosadah Abd; Ali, Manisah Mohd; Alias, Aliza

2014-01-01

Students are the nation's asset or natural resources who need to be educated to achieve their optimal level of development. They need to be properly nurtured to allow holistic development in all domains namely: physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual. This is crucial for the building of a strong and respectful nation and its…

Supporting the Knowledge-to-Action Process: A Systems-Thinking Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cherney, Adrian; Head, Brian

2011-01-01

The processes for moving research-based knowledge to the domains of action in social policy and professional practice are complex. Several disciplinary research traditions have illuminated several key aspects of these processes. A more holistic approach, drawing on systems thinking, has also been outlined and advocated by recent contributors to…

40x40: Curriculum for Academic Excellence and Holistic Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cárdenas, Alejandra Natalia

2016-01-01

The arts school partnerships under the policy "40x40" in Bogotá-Colombia are an example of the international interest in new ways to redress social and educational disadvantages. The main purpose of the policy is to improve education by gradually extending school daytime. This vignette explores three important issues for the…

Creating a Self: A Narrative and Holistic Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beattie, Mary

2007-01-01

The paper presents insights into the creation and re-creation of a narrative from the perspective of two female students, Phillipa and Eva, at Corktown Community High School. Corktown is an alternative high school which focuses on the development of the whole person--creative, intellectual, social, emotional, aesthetic and physical. The school is…

Oxytonergic circuitry sustains and enables creative cognition in humans

PubMed Central

Baas, Matthijs; Roskes, Marieke; Sligte, Daniel J.; Ebstein, Richard P.; Chew, Soo Hong; Tong, Terry; Jiang, Yushi; Mayseless, Naama; Shamay-Tsoory, Simone G.

2014-01-01

Creativity enables humans to adapt flexibly to changing circumstances, to manage complex social relations and to survive and prosper through social, technological and medical innovations. In humans, chronic, trait-based as well as temporary, state-based approach orientation has been linked to increased capacity for divergent rather than convergent thinking, to more global and holistic processing styles and to more original ideation and creative problem solving. Here, we link creative cognition to oxytocin, a hypothalamic neuropeptide known to up-regulate approach orientation in both animals and humans. Study 1 (N = 492) showed that plasma oxytocin predicts novelty-seeking temperament. Study 2 (N = 110) revealed that genotype differences in a polymorphism in the oxytocin receptor gene rs1042778 predicted creative ideation, with GG/GT-carriers being more original than TT-carriers. Using double-blind placebo-controlled between-subjects designs, Studies 3–6 (N = 191) finally showed that intranasal oxytocin (vs matching placebo) reduced analytical reasoning, and increased holistic processing, divergent thinking and creative performance. We conclude that the oxytonergic circuitry sustains and enables the day-to-day creativity humans need for survival and prosperity and discuss implications. PMID:23863476

Holistic nursing as a specialty: holistic nursing - scope and standards of practice.

PubMed

Mariano, Carla

2007-06-01

This article describes the Holistic Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice. It defines holistic nursing, its five core values, and its practice standards. These include holistic philosophy, theory, and ethics; holistic caring process; holistic communication, therapeutic environment, and cultural diversity; holistic education and research; and holistic nurse self-care. Educational preparation for holistic nursing and settings in which holistic nurses practice are also explored.

A methodological approach to the analysis of egocentric social networks in public health research: a practical example.

PubMed

Djomba, Janet Klara; Zaletel-Kragelj, Lijana

2016-12-01

Research on social networks in public health focuses on how social structures and relationships influence health and health-related behaviour. While the sociocentric approach is used to study complete social networks, the egocentric approach is gaining popularity because of its focus on individuals, groups and communities. One of the participants of the healthy lifestyle health education workshop 'I'm moving', included in the study of social support for exercise was randomly selected. The participant was denoted as the ego and members of her/his social network as the alteri. Data were collected by personal interviews using a self-made questionnaire. Numerical methods and computer programmes for the analysis of social networks were used for the demonstration of analysis. The size, composition and structure of the egocentric social network were obtained by a numerical analysis. The analysis of composition included homophily and homogeneity. Moreover, the analysis of the structure included the degree of the egocentric network, the strength of the ego-alter ties and the average strength of ties. Visualisation of the network was performed by three freely available computer programmes, namely: Egonet.QF, E-net and Pajek. The computer programmes were described and compared by their usefulness. Both numerical analysis and visualisation have their benefits. The decision what approach to use is depending on the purpose of the social network analysis. While the numerical analysis can be used in large-scale population-based studies, visualisation of personal networks can help health professionals at creating, performing and evaluation of preventive programmes, especially if focused on behaviour change.

Teaching research methodology to student midwives through a socio-constructivist educational model: The experience of the high school for science and health techniques of Tunis.

PubMed

Gherissi, Atf; Tinsa, Francine; Soussi, Sonia; Benzarti, Anis

2016-02-01

Since its independence in 1956, Tunisia's maternal health indicators have steadily improved as the result of the implementation of a national holistic strategy that emancipated women and developed midwifery education and maternal health services provision. The last review of the midwifery education programme, occurred in 2008, and was based on evidence based core competencies. This paper describes the implementation process of the socio-constructivist educational model used by to teach research methodology to student midwives, the changes observed among them, the challenges and the lessons learned. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Play-Based Programme (Pillars of Society) to Foster Social Skills of High-Ability and Average Ability Primary-One Students in Hong Kong

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Sylvia; Yuen, Mantak; Rao, Nirmala

2017-01-01

This paper describes a social skills programme implemented to enhance the social competence of Primary-one students in order to ensure a smooth adjustment after transition from kindergarten to a formal school learning environment. The participants were 122 students (64 boys and 58 girls; mean age 6.17 years, SD = 0.29 years) newly enrolled in a…

An Evaluation of the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) Programme: Promoting Positive Behaviour, Effective Learning and Well-Being in Primary School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hallam, Susan

2009-01-01

The Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning programme (SEAL), designed to develop children's social, emotional and behavioural skills in the primary school, was part of the Primary Behaviour and Attendance Pilot funded by the then Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and piloted in 25 Local Authorities in the UK. The data collected in the…

Knowing Every Child: Validation of the Holistic Student Assessment (HSA) as a Measure of Social-Emotional Development.

PubMed

Malti, Tina; Zuffianò, Antonio; Noam, Gil G

2018-04-01

Knowing every child's social-emotional development is important as it can support prevention and intervention approaches to meet the developmental needs and strengths of children. Here, we discuss the role of social-emotional assessment tools in planning, implementing, and evaluating preventative strategies to promote mental health in all children and adolescents. We, first, selectively review existing tools and identify current gaps in the measurement literature. Next, we introduce the Holistic Student Assessment (HSA), a tool that is based in our social-emotional developmental theory, The Clover Model, and designed to measure social-emotional development in children and adolescents. Using a sample of 5946 students (51% boys, M age  = 13.16 years), we provide evidence for the psychometric validity of the self-report version of the HSA. First, we document the theoretically expected 7-dimension factor structure in a calibration sub-sample (n = 984) and cross-validate its structure in a validation sub-sample (n = 4962). Next, we show measurement invariance across development, i.e., late childhood (9- to 11-year-olds), early adolescence (12- to 14-year-olds), and middle adolescence (15- to 18-year-olds), and evidence for the HSA's construct validity in each age group. The findings support the robustness of the factor structure and confirm its developmental sensitivity. Structural equation modeling validity analysis in a multiple-group framework indicates that the HSA is associated with mental health in expected directions across ages. Overall, these findings show the psychometric properties of the tool, and we discuss how social-emotional tools such as the HSA can guide future research and inform large-scale dissemination of preventive strategies.

Exploring the Heterogeneity of Class in Higher Education: Social and Cultural Differentiation in Danish University Programmes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomsen, Jens Peter

2012-01-01

This paper examines the relationship between social background, choice of university programme and academic culture among Danish university students. Statistically and sociologically, university students are often treated as a homogeneous group, but the ever-increasing number of students in higher education demands a closer examination of the…

Can Student Interdependence Be Experienced Negatively in Collective Music Education Programmes? A Contextual Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sarazin, Marc

2017-01-01

Many studies and accounts argue that collective music-making can contribute to building social cohesion and training social skills, and particularly that student interdependence in collective music education programmes can foster this. I argue that this implies two assumptions: first, that students mostly experience interdependence in music…

Programme Implementation in Social and Emotional Learning: Basic Issues and Research Findings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durlak, Joseph A.

2016-01-01

This paper discusses the fundamental importance of achieving quality implementation when assessing the impact of social and emotional learning interventions. Recent findings in implementation science are reviewed that include a definition of implementation, its relation to programme outcomes, current research on the factors that affect…

BookFun--"There's More to It than Reading a Book"--Implementing a Danish Early Literacy Programme That Supports Professionalism, Language Development and Social Inclusion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clasen, Line Engel; Jensen de López, Kristine

2017-01-01

Several early literacy programmes have documented their effectiveness in enhancing children's early literacy and language development. Despite recent interest in implementing evidence-based programmes, only a few studies have set out to capture the implementation process of early literacy programmes as seen from the programme users' perspectives.…

The challenge and impact of engaging hard-to-reach populations in regular physical activity and health behaviours: an examination of an English Premier League 'Football in the Community' men's health programme.

PubMed

Curran, K; Drust, B; Murphy, R; Pringle, A; Richardson, D

2016-06-01

To investigate the challenges that men from hard-to-reach (HTR) populations encounter when attempting to commit to regular participation in physical activity and health behaviours, and to explore the psychological and social effects of participation in a twelve week football-led health improvement intervention. A twelve week football specific physical activity intervention targeting men from HTR populations was delivered by Everton Football Clubs' Football in the Community (FitC) scheme as part of a national programme of men's health delivered in/by English Premier League (EPL) football clubs. Men living in homeless shelters and/or recovering from substance misuse were recruited over a period of three months. The programme consisted of a two hour football session, twice weekly, alongside the dissemination of healthy living messages. Football sessions were conducted by a qualified FitC coach. This research was conducted during a twelve week period of immersed practitioner-research. Ethnographic and observational methodologies were adopted. Psychosocial issues were discussed with participants through informal client-researcher interactions and data were logged via field notes. Records of attendance were logged. Participants who failed to attend a session were contacted and their reason(s) for non-attendance were recorded. Data were analysed using deductive and inductive reasoning. Despite the apparent ambition of the participants to regularly participate in the FitC programme, adherence to the programme was poor. Economic, environmental and social barriers to engagement in the programme were apparent. Engagement in the programme resulted in positive psychosocial developments; the development of structure, social interaction and social capital. Community based football-led health improvement programmes endorsed by professional football clubs appear well positioned to connect with, and attract, men from HTR populations. The evidence suggests that such programmes can improve psychosocial health amongst these populations. However, a bottom-up programme design and management strategy is required in order to reduce the challenges facing HTR participants when attempting to regularly engage in physical activity and health behaviours. Copyright © 2016 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Psychopathology and film: a valuable interaction?].

PubMed

van Duppen, Z; Summa, M; Fuchs, T

2015-01-01

Film or film fragments are often used in psychopathology education. However, so far there have been very few articles that have discussed the benefits and limitations of using films to explain or illustrate psychopathology. Although numerous films involves psychopathology in varying degrees, it is not clear how we can use films for psychopathology education. To examine the advantages, limitations and possible methods of using film as a means of increasing our knowledge and understanding of psychiatric illnesses. We discuss five examples that illustrate the interaction of film and psychopathology. On the one hand we explain how the psychopathological concepts are used in each film and on the other hand we explain which aspects of each film are valuable aids for teaching psychopathology. The use of film makes it possible to introduce the following topics in psychopathological teaching programme: holistic psychiatric reasoning, phenomenology and the subjective experience, the recognition of psychopathological prototypes and the importance of context. There is undoubtedly an analogy between the method we have chosen for teaching psychopathology with the help of films and the holistic approach of the psychiatrist and his or her team. We believe psychopathology education can benefit from films and we would recommend our colleagues to use it in this way.

COPD patient education and support - Achieving patient-centredness.

PubMed

Stoilkova-Hartmann, Ana; Franssen, Frits M E; Augustin, Ingrid M L; Wouters, Emiel F M; Barnard, Katharine D

2018-06-01

The art of medicine is undergoing a dramatic shift in focus, evolving to focus on patient involvement as partners in care, transforming the traditional, prescriptive, reactive practice of healthcare into a proactive discipline. The personal and societal burden of chronic diseases is burgeoning and unsustainable in current systems, novel approaches are required to address this. Although considerable progress has been made in the development of diagnostics, therapeutics and care guidelines for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), questions remain surrounding the implementation of best practice education and support. Current educational programmes, personal limitations and preferences and patient-clinician communication in modification of coping styles and behaviour are discussed. A novel holistic model, the Kaleidoscope Model of Care is proposed to address the barriers to optimal self-care behaviours. Holistic approaches are essential for optimal self-management and improved outcomes. Guidance on personalised goals for patients to help meeting their therapy priorities is needed to aid healthcare professionals (HCPs) and funders to minimise healthcare burden and costs. The novel KALMOD approach may optimise patient empowerment, exploring whole-life factors that impact COPD care and improve interactions between patients and HCPs for optimised outcomes. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Patient education in Parkinson's disease: Formative evaluation of a standardized programme in seven European countries.

PubMed

Macht, Michael; Gerlich, Christian; Ellgring, Heiner; Schradi, Martina; Rusiñol, Angels Bayés; Crespo, Maricruz; Prats, Ana; Viemerö, Vappu; Lankinen, Anu; Bitti, Pio Enrico Ricci; Candini, Lorena; Spliethoff-Kamminga, Noëlle; de Vreugd, Janny; Simons, Gwenda; Pasqualini, Marcia Smith; Thompson, Simon B N; Taba, Pille; Krikmann, Ulle; Kanarik, Eve

2007-02-01

To evaluate a newly developed education programme for Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. The programme consisted of eight sessions and aimed at improving knowledge and skills related to self-monitoring, health promotion, stress management, depression, anxiety, social competence, and social support, all with special reference to PD. The programme was formatively evaluated in seven European countries (Spain, Finland, Italy, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Estonia, Germany) with 151 patients diagnosed with idiopathic PD. The evaluation included patients' ratings of the comprehensibility and feasibility of the programme as well as mood ratings before and after each session. Patients also completed questionnaires at the beginning and end of the programme to explore possible changes in disease-related psychosocial problems, quality of life, and depression. The programme was feasible to run, and patients were able to understand its elements. Patients reported mood elevations following individual sessions and reduced disease-related psychosocial problems after completing the programme. There were no substantial differences in results between cultures. Patient education appears to have potential as a useful and feasible intervention, complementing medical treatment in PD. The present programme will soon be available in seven European languages and can be tested in different health care systems.

Exploring Differences in Patient-Centered Practices among Healthcare Professionals in Acute Care Settings.

PubMed

Sidani, Souraya; Reeves, Scott; Hurlock-Chorostecki, Christina; van Soeren, Mary; Fox, Mary; Collins, Laura

2018-06-01

There is limited evidence of the extent to which Healthcare professionals implement patient-centered care (PCC) and of the factors influencing their PCC practices in acute care organizations. This study aimed to (1) examine the practices reported by health professionals (physicians, nurses, social workers, other healthcare providers) in relation to three PCC components (holistic, collaborative, and responsive care), and (2) explore the association of professionals' characteristics (gender, work experience) and a contextual factor (caseload), with the professionals' PCC practices. Data were obtained from a large scale cross-sectional study, conducted in 18 hospitals in Ontario, Canada. Consenting professionals (n = 382) completed a self-report instrument assessing the three PCC components and responded to standard questions inquiring about their characteristics and workload. Small differences were found in the PCC practices across professional groups: (1) physicians reported higher levels of enacting the holistic care component; (2) physicians, other healthcare providers, and social workers reported implementing higher levels of the collaborative care component; and (3) physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers reported higher levels of providing responsive care. Caseload influenced holistic care practices. Interprofessional education and training strategies are needed to clarify and address professional differences in valuing and practicing PCC components. Clinical guidelines can be revised to enable professionals to engage patients in care-related decisions, customize patient care, and promote interprofessional collaboration in planning and implementing PCC. Additional research is warranted to determine the influence of professional, patient, and other contextual factors on professionals' PCC practices in acute care hospitals.

The Two-Systems Account of Theory of Mind: Testing the Links to Social- Perceptual and Cognitive Abilities

PubMed Central

Meinhardt-Injac, Bozana; Daum, Moritz M.; Meinhardt, Günter; Persike, Malte

2018-01-01

According to the two-systems account of theory of mind (ToM), understanding mental states of others involves both fast social-perceptual processes, as well as slower, reflexive cognitive operations (Frith and Frith, 2008; Apperly and Butterfill, 2009). To test the respective roles of specific abilities in either of these processes we administered 15 experimental procedures to a large sample of 343 participants, testing ability in face recognition and holistic perception, language, and reasoning. ToM was measured by a set of tasks requiring ability to track and to infer complex emotional and mental states of others from faces, eyes, spoken language, and prosody. We used structural equation modeling to test the relative strengths of a social-perceptual (face processing related) and reflexive-cognitive (language and reasoning related) path in predicting ToM ability. The two paths accounted for 58% of ToM variance, thus validating a general two-systems framework. Testing specific predictor paths revealed language and face recognition as strong and significant predictors of ToM. For reasoning, there were neither direct nor mediated effects, albeit reasoning was strongly associated with language. Holistic face perception also failed to show a direct link with ToM ability, while there was a mediated effect via face recognition. These results highlight the respective roles of face recognition and language for the social brain, and contribute closer empirical specification of the general two-systems account. PMID:29445336

ADHD, Lifestyles and Comorbidities: A Call for an Holistic Perspective – from Medical to Societal Intervening Factors

PubMed Central

Weissenberger, Simon; Ptacek, Radek; Klicperova-Baker, Martina; Erman, Andreja; Schonova, Katerina; Raboch, Jiri; Goetz, Michal

2017-01-01

The review examines Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD in its Child and Adult form) and its various presentations (Hyperactive Impulsive, Inattentive, and Combined) with a particular focus on environmental (incl. social factors), lifestyles and comorbidities. It is argued that ADHD is best understood in a holistic and interactive context and a vast empirical literature is presented to illustrate the point: Environmental factors include stress in general as well as exposure to toxins (phthalates, bisphenol A). Social factors are illustrated by effects of social deprivation and seduction to unhealthy lifestyles. Maternal lifestyle during pregnancy is pointed out (particularly her exposure to nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, and drugs, even seemingly benign medications like acetaminophen), which all tend to be related to ADHD. Family environment is discussed with respect to protective effect of (mainly authoritative and autocratic) parenting styles. Societal factors include mainly economic and political issues: income inequality and poverty (low SES is an ADHD risk factor) and a growing moral dilemma between a humanistic effort to globally spread the knowledge of ADHD and the medicalization and commercialization of the disorder. The second part of the review is devoted to ADHD related lifestyles and resulting comorbidities (e.g., food addiction and obesity, substance abuse, electronic media dependencies and conduct and personality disorders). Although ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder, its assessment and treatment are also linked to environmental, behavioral and social factors and their interactions. PMID:28428763

Changing Collective Social Norms in Favour of Reduced Harmful Use of Alcohol: A Review of Reviews.

PubMed

Anderson, Peter; Jané-Llopis, Eva; Hasan, Omer Syed Muhammad; Rehm, Jürgen

2018-05-01

Public sector bodies have called for policies and programmes to shift collective social norms in disfavour of the harmful use of alcohol. This article aims to identify and summarize the evidence and propose how policies and programmes to shift social norms could be implemented and evaluated. Review of reviews for all years to July 2017. Searches on OVID Medline, Healthstar, Embase, PsycINFO, AMED, Social Work Abstracts, CAB Abstracts, Mental Measurements Yearbook, Joanna Briggs Institute EBP, Health and Psychosocial Instruments, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, International Political Science Abstracts, NASW Clinical Register and Epub Ahead of Print databases. All reviews, without language or date restrictions resulting from combining the terms ((review or literature review or review literature or data pooling or comparative study or systematic review or meta-analysis or pooled analysis) and (social norms or culture) and (alcohol drinking)). Two relevant reviews were identified. One review of community-based interventions found one study that demonstrated small changes in parental disapproval of under-age drinking. One review stressed that collective social norms about drinking are malleable and not uniform in any one country. Three factors are proposed to inform programmes: provide information about the consequences of the harmful use of alcohol, and their causes and distribution; act on groups, not individuals; and strengthen environmental laws, regulations and approaches. Purposeful policies and programmes could be implemented to change collective social norms in disfavour of the harmful use of alcohol; they should be evidence-based and fully evaluated for their impact.

Group training in interpersonal problem-solving skills for workplace adaptation of adolescents and adults with Asperger syndrome: a preliminary study.

PubMed

Bonete, Saray; Calero, María Dolores; Fernández-Parra, Antonio

2015-05-01

Adults with Asperger syndrome show persistent difficulties in social situations which psychosocial treatments may address. Despite the multiple studies focusing on social skills interventions, only some have focused specifically on problem-solving skills and have not targeted workplace adaptation training in the adult population. This study describes preliminary data from a group format manual-based intervention, the Interpersonal Problem-Solving for Workplace Adaptation Programme, aimed at improving the cognitive and metacognitive process of social problem-solving skills focusing on typical social situations in the workplace based on mediation as the main strategy. A total of 50 adults with Asperger syndrome received the programme and were compared with a control group of typical development. The feasibility and effectiveness of the treatment were explored. Participants were assessed at pre-treatment and post-treatment on a task of social problem-solving skills and two secondary measures of socialisation and work profile using self- and caregiver-report. Using a variety of methods, the results showed that scores were significantly higher at post-treatment in the social problem-solving task and socialisation skills based on reports by parents. Differences in comparison to the control group had decreased after treatment. The treatment was acceptable to families and subject adherence was high. The Interpersonal Problem-Solving for Workplace Adaptation Programme appears to be a feasible training programme. © The Author(s) 2014.

A randomized-controlled trial focusing on socio-economic status for promoting vegetable intake among adults using a web-based nutrition intervention programme: study protocol.

PubMed

Nakamura, Saki; Inayama, Takayo; Arao, Takashi

2017-01-13

Web-based nutritional education programmes appear to be comparable to those delivered face-to-face. However, no existing web-based nutrition education or similar programme has yet been evaluated with consideration of socio-economic status. The objective of a nutritional education programme of promoting vegetable intake designed a randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to evaluate the results of intervention and to determine how socio-economic status influences the programme effects. Participants will be randomly sampled individuals (aged 30-59) stratified according national population statistics for sex, age, and household income. Participants were consented to survey participation (n = 1500), and will be randomly divided into intervention and control groups. The intervention period is 5 weeks with one step of diet-related education per week. The main outcome of the programme is dietary behaviour as eating vegetable (350 g per day, five small bowl). To encourage behavioural changes, the programme contents are prepared using behavioural theories and techniques tailored to the assumed group stages of behavioural change. In the first step, we employ the health belief model to encourage a shift from the pre-contemplative to the contemplative phase; in the second and third steps, social cognitive theory is used to encourage transition to the preparatory phase; in the fourth step, social cognitive theory and strengthening social support are used to promote progression to the execution phase; finally, in the fifth step, strengthening social capital and social support are used to promote the shift to the maintenance phase. The baseline, post intervention and follow-up survey was assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. For process evaluation, we use five items relating to programme participation and satisfaction. A follow-up survey of participants will be carried out 3 months after intervention completion. The fact that this study is an RCT with an established control group is a strong advantage. Information and communications technology is not limited by time or place. If we could show this web-based nutrition education programmes has a positive effect, it may be an appropriate tool for reaching individuals in lower socio-economic state. Current Controlled Trials UMIN-ICDR UMIN 000019376 (Registered October 16, 2015).

Mathematics as Social: Understanding Relationships between Home and School Numeracy Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Dave; Street, Brian; Tomlin, Alison

2003-01-01

This article offers a way of viewing mathematics as social, drawing upon research on numeracy practices at home and at school carried out by the School and Community numeracies team in the Leverhulme Numeracy Research Programme, a five-year research programme (1997-2002) at King's College London. Within the school and community focus of the…

Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility Model-Based Programmes in Physical Education: A Systematic Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pozo, Pablo; Grao-Cruces, Alberto; Pérez-Ordás, Raquel

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to conduct a review of research on the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility model-based programme within physical education. Papers selected for analysis were found through searches of Web of Science, SportDiscus (EBSCO), SCOPUS, and ERIC (ProQuest) databases. The keywords "responsibility model" and…

Social Guarantee Programme: Principles for Classroom Procedure with Students Who Have Suffered Failure at School--The Spanish Educational System Case

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Recio, R. Vazquez; Diaz, J. Ojeda

2010-01-01

The article explores the Social Guarantee Programmes, one measure at attending to diversity within the Spanish educational system. It is an alternative measure that aims to break away from the organisational structure of Obligatory Secondary Education, seeking an organisational model and educational strategies that pursue satisfactory results…

Distance Education MBA Students: An Investigation into the Use of an Orientation Course to Address Academic and Social Integration Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kanuka, Heather; Jugdev, Kam

2006-01-01

Distance education programmes warrant the use of innovative intervention practices to enhance student learning experiences. Academic and social empathy by faculty has been shown to enhance student retention in programmes along with their critical thinking abilities. Using Holmberg's theory of teaching-learning conversations as the guiding…

Social and Emotional Education with Australian Year 7 and 8 Middle School Students: A Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Midford, Richard; Cahill, Helen; Geng, Gretchen; Leckning, Bernard; Robinson, Gary; Te Ava, Aue

2017-01-01

Objective: This pilot study sought to better understand what can be achieved by an evidence-based classroom social and emotional education programme. Design and Methods: A 10-lesson, classroom-based programme that taught about emotional literacy, personal strengths, coping and problem-solving strategies, stress management, emotional regulation and…

The Cognitive, Social and Emotional Processes of Teacher Identity Construction in a Pre-Service Teacher Education Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yuan, Rui; Lee, Icy

2015-01-01

This research investigates how three Government-funded Normal Students constructed and reconstructed their identities in a pre-service teacher education programme in China. Drawing upon data from interviews, field observation and the pre-service teachers' written reflections, the study explores the cognitive, social and emotional processes of…

One Size Fits All? The Social Construction of Dis-Employ-Abled Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vandekinderen, Caroline; Roets, Griet; Vandenbroeck, Michel; Vanderplasschen, Wouter; Van Hove, Geert

2012-01-01

This article is based on an evaluation of a labour-market training programme for women with "mental health problems" in a social workplace in Belgium. The research team explored the retrospective insider perspectives on the work aspirations of the women involved in the programme to identify critical dynamics in their high drop-out from…

An Analysis of School Pupils' (with Low Social Economic Status) Perceptions of University, regarding Programmes of Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moogan, Yvonne J.

2011-01-01

Through its "Aim Higher Project" and "Excellence Challenge Programmes", the UK government is investing large sums of money into widening participation so that more school leavers stay on to study for higher education (HE) courses, especially those from lower social classes and ethnic groups. Universities are increasingly…

NextGen Future Safety Assessment Game

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ancel, Ersin; Gheorghe, Adian; Jones, Sharon Monica

2010-01-01

The successful implementation of the next generation infrastructure systems requires solid understanding of their technical, social, political and economic aspects along with their interactions. The lack of historical data that relate to the long-term planning of complex systems introduces unique challenges for decision makers and involved stakeholders which in turn result in unsustainable systems. Also, the need to understand the infrastructure at the societal level and capture the interaction between multiple stakeholders becomes important. This paper proposes a methodology in order to develop a holistic approach aiming to provide an alternative subject-matter expert (SME) elicitation and data collection method for future sociotechnical systems. The methodology is adapted to Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) decision making environment in order to demonstrate the benefits of this holistic approach.

NextGen Future Safety Assessment Game

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ancel, Ersin; Gheorghe, Adrian; Jones, Sharon Monica

2011-01-01

The successful implementation of the next generation infrastructure systems requires solid understanding of their technical, social, political and economic aspects along with their interactions. The lack of historical data that relate to the long-term planning of complex systems introduces unique challenges for decision makers and involved stakeholders which in turn result in unsustainable systems. Also, the need to understand the infrastructure at the societal level and capture the interaction between multiple stakeholders becomes important. This paper proposes a methodology in order to develop a holistic approach aiming to provide an alternative subject-matter expert (SME) elicitation and data collection method for future sociotechnical systems. The methodology is adapted to Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) decision making environment in order to demonstrate the benefits of this holistic approach.

[Use of social marketing in population health programs (literature review)].

PubMed

Kholmogorova, G T; Gladysheva, N V

1991-01-01

At present health education programmes abroad make wide use of social marketing strategy. Unlike commercial marketing whose purpose is competition and struggle for the expansion of commodity markets, social marketing is aimed at disseminating certain ideas or introducing certain practices, using largely the technological base and strategy of commercial marketing. The authors give 8 fundamental principles of social marketing (consumer orientation, the theory of barter, the analysis of audience and segmentation, special surveys to detect the orientation of population, the choice of channels for information transmission application of "marketing mixture", control of ongoing programme and marketing management). Application fields of social marketing in public health are discussed.

Social Return on Investment: Valuing health outcomes or promoting economic values?

PubMed

Leck, Chris; Upton, Dominic; Evans, Nick

2016-07-01

Interventions and activities that influence health are often concerned with intangible outcomes that are difficult to value despite their potential significance. Social Return on Investment is an evaluation framework that explores all aspects of change and expresses these in comparable terms. It combines qualitative narratives and quantitative measurements with a financial approach to enable outcomes that can otherwise be overlooked or undervalued to be incorporated appropriately. This article presents Social Return on Investment as an effective tool for supporting the development of a holistic appreciation of how interventions impact on the health and well-being of individuals, communities and societies. © The Author(s) 2014.

Value Creation in the Context of Sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Šmida, Ľubomír; Sakál, Peter

2014-12-01

Under the influence of the new rules of the economy and the society, companies are achieving a notional line of a necessary change in the approach to creating new value, wealth. Implementation of changes in the system of wealth creation requires a review of existing assumptions of unlimited growth of the global economy and wealth creation in the environment accepting economic interests, society and the environment as a holistic unit. The main purpose of this paper is the clarification of a new requirements for business, presentation of the questionnaire survey Sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility and inform on value creation in the context of Sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility.

Participatory design of a music aural rehabilitation programme.

PubMed

van Besouw, Rachel M; Oliver, Benjamin R; Hodkinson, Sarah M; Polfreman, Richard; Grasmeder, Mary L

2015-09-01

Many cochlear implant (CI) users wish to enjoy music but are dissatisfied by its quality as perceived through their implant. Although there is evidence to suggest that training can improve CI users' perception and appraisal of music, availability of interactive music-based aural rehabilitation for adults is limited. In response to this need, an 'Interactive Music Awareness Programme' (IMAP) was developed with and for adult CI users. An iterative design and evaluation approach was used. The process began with identification of user needs through consultations, followed by use of mock-up applications in workshops. Feedback from these were used to develop the prototype IMAP; a programme of 24 interactive sessions, enabling users to create and manipulate music. The prototype IMAP was subsequently evaluated in a home trial with 16 adult CI users over a period of 12 weeks. Overall ratings for the prototype IMAP were positive and indicated that it met users' needs. Quantitative and qualitative feedback on the sessions and software in the prototype IMAP were used to identify aspects of the programme that worked well and aspects that required improvement. The IMAP was further developed in response to users' feedback and is freely available online. The participatory design approach used in developing the IMAP was fundamental in ensuring its relevance, and regular feedback from end users in each phase of development proved valuable for early identification of issues. Observations and feedback from end users supported a holistic approach to music aural rehabilitation.

School-based programmes for preventing smoking.

PubMed

Thomas, R

2002-01-01

Smoking rates in adolescents are rising. Helping young people to avoid starting smoking is a widely endorsed goal of public health, but there is uncertainty about how to do this. Schools provide a route for communicating with a large proportion of young people, and school-based programmes for smoking prevention have been widely developed and evaluated. To review all randomised controlled trials of behavioural interventions in schools to prevent children (aged 5 to12) and adolescents (aged 13 to18) starting smoking. We searched The Cochrane Controlled Trials and Tobacco Review group registers, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Psyclnfo, ERIC, CINAHL, Health Star, Dissertation Abstracts and studies identified in the bibliographies of articles. Individual MEDLINE searches were made for 133 authors who had undertaken randomised controlled trials in this area. Types of studies: those in which individual students, classes, schools, or school districts were randomised to the intervention or control groups and followed for at least six months. Children (aged 5 to12) or adolescents (aged 13 to18) in school settings. Types of interventions: Classroom programmes or curricula, including those with associated family and community interventions, intended to deter use of tobacco. We included programmes or curricula that provided information, those that used social influences approaches, those that taught generic social competence, and those that included interventions beyond the school into the community. We included programmes with a drug or alcohol focus if outcomes for tobacco use were reported. Types of outcome measures: Prevalence of non-smoking at follow-up among those not smoking at baseline. We did not require biochemical validation of self-reported tobacco use for study inclusion. We assessed whether identified citations were randomised controlled trials. We assessed the quality of design and execution, and abstracted outcome data. Because of the marked heterogeneity of design and outcomes, we did not perform a meta-analysis. We synthesised the data using narrative systematic review. We grouped studies by intervention method (information; social competence; social influences; combined social influences/social competence and multi-modal programmes). Within each category, we placed them into three groups according to validity using quality criteria for reported study design. Of the 76 randomised controlled trials identified, we classified 16 as category one (most valid). There were no category one studies of information giving alone. There were fifteen category one studies of social influences interventions. Of these, eight showed some positive effect of intervention on smoking prevalence, and seven failed to detect an effect on smoking prevalence. The largest and most rigorous study, the Hutchinson Smoking Prevention Project, found no long-term effect of an intensive 8-year programme on smoking behaviour. There was a lack of high quality evidence about the effectiveness of combinations of social influences and social competence approaches. There was limited evidence about the effectiveness of multi-modal approaches including community initiatives. There is no rigorous test of the effects of information giving about smoking. There are well-conducted randomised controlled trials to test the effects of social influences interventions: in half of the group of best quality studies those in the intervention group smoke less than those in the control, but many studies showed no effect of the intervention. There is a lack of high-quality evidence about the effectiveness of combinations of social influences and social competence interventions, and of multi-modal programmes that include community interventions.

Using Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments to Support Problem-Based Historical Inquiry in Secondary School Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saye, John W.; Brush, Thomas

2007-01-01

This article summarizes findings from a nine-year research program investigating how technological affordances might be used as a part of holistic learning environments to support teachers and learners in disciplined inquiry about persistent social issues. We discuss what our findings suggest about the potential and the limitations of…

Assessing the Dynamic Behavior of Online Q&A Knowledge Markets: A System Dynamics Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jafari, Mostafa; Hesamamiri, Roozbeh; Sadjadi, Jafar; Bourouni, Atieh

2012-01-01

Purpose: The objective of this paper is to propose a holistic dynamic model for understanding the behavior of a complex and internet-based kind of knowledge market by considering both social and economic interactions. Design/methodology/approach: A system dynamics (SD) model is formulated in this study to investigate the dynamic characteristics of…

Pathways to Personal Growth. Developing a Sense of Worth and Competence: A Holistic Education Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Witmer, J. Melvin

This book is intended to motivate persons working in the human and social service occupations toward fuller personal development as well as to improve professional competence. The first part discusses the process of becoming a more fully functioning person. Human potential, barriers to personal growth, self-fulfillment, and seeking pathways to…

Reflective Course Design: An Interplay between Pedagogy and Technology in a Language Teacher Education Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Firdyiwek, Yitna; Scida, Emily E.

2014-01-01

This study reports on a sequence of iterative redesigns of a graduate-level foreign language teacher education course. The study describes the interplay between technology and pedagogy that resulted in important curricular changes, from a focus on individual to social and then holistic reflection. Using a team-based design model, instructional…

Betty Reardon's Philosophy of Peace Education and the Centrality of Justice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ragland, David

2015-01-01

There is no clear description of an approach to justice that is related to peace education. Betty Reardon's writing holistically connects peace and justice. While there are various traditions of justice, such as utilitarianism and contractarianism (social contract), the breadth of Reardon's writing suggests that justice, in terms of its…

The Exploration of Role Induction as a Potential Method for Improving Men's Perceptions of Career Counseling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kantamneni, Neeta; Christianson, Heidi Fowell; Smothers, Melissa Kraemer; Wester, Stephen R.

2011-01-01

The authors explored the influence of role induction on men's perceptions of career counseling and attitudes toward seeking professional help. Two separate role inductions were presented to 268 male college students; the first discussed holistic career counseling, and the second integrated a discussion of male gender role socialization. Results…

Embracing Social Sustainability in Design Education: A Reflection on a Case Study in Haiti

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kjøllesdal, Anders; Asheim, Jonas; Boks, Casper

2014-01-01

Sustainable design issues are complex and multi-faceted and need integration in the education of young designers. Current research recommends a holistic view based on problem-solving and inter-disciplinary work, yet few design educators have brought these ideas to their full consequence. Sustainability education for designers is still often rooted…

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Perspectives of Participants in the Identification and Treatment Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davison, Judy C.

2001-01-01

Questions the rising incidence of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) diagnosis in the United States. Suggests that AD/HD is a socially constructed phenomenon rather than biologically based. Urges educators, medical personnel, and parents to take a holistic view of each child, with a serious examination of the wide range of causation…

The Integrated Elementary Classroom: A Developmental Model of Education for the 21st Century.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Charbonneau, Manon P.; Reider, Barbara E.

Targeting the elementary school-age child, 5 to 12 years old, this book sets forth an integrated approach to developing classroom experiences, supporting a holistic curriculum intended to stimulate learning and social and emotional gains. The integrated approach has at its hub a child-centered classroom where students' individual needs form the…

A Holistic Approach to Science Education: Disciplinary, Affective, and Equitable

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mehta, Rohit; Mehta, Swati; Seals, Christopher

2017-01-01

In this chapter, we argue that science education is more than the high stakes, rigorous practices and methodology that students often find dull and uninspiring. We present that aesthetic and humanistic motivations, such as wonder, curiosity, and social justice, are also inherent reasons for doing science. In the MSUrbanSTEM program, we designed an…

Beyond the Disease Model: Reframing the Etiology of Alcoholism from a Spiritual Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bliss, Donna Leigh

2009-01-01

The disease model of alcoholism, which has gained prominence since the mid-20th century as the major etiological model of alcoholism, suffers from several limitations including its overemphasis on biological factors at the expense of other psychosocial factors, in addition to its lack of consistency with a holistic, social work…

A Window into Bilingual Reading: The Bilingual Reading Practices of Fourth-Grade, Mexican American Children Who Are Emergent Bilinguals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

García, Georgia Earnest; Godina, Heriberto

2017-01-01

A qualitative think-aloud study, informed by social literacies and holistic bilingual perspectives, was conducted to examine how six emergent bilingual, Mexican American, fourth graders approached, interacted with, and comprehended narrative and expository texts in Spanish and English. The children had strong Spanish reading test scores, but…

Clinical Holistic Health: Advanced Tools for Holistic Medicine

PubMed Central

Ventegodt, Søren; Clausen, Birgitte; Nielsen, May Lyck; Merrick, Joav

2006-01-01

According to holistic medical theory, the patient will heal when old painful moments, the traumatic events of life that are often called “gestalts”, are integrated in the present “now”. The advanced holistic physicians expanded toolbox has many different tools to induce this healing, some that are more dangerous and potentially traumatic than others. The more intense the therapeutic technique, the more emotional energy will be released and contained in the session, but the higher also is the risk for the therapist to lose control of the session and lose the patient to his or her own dark side. To avoid harming the patient must be the highest priority in holistic existential therapy, making sufficient education and training an issue of highest importance. The concept of “stepping up” the therapy by using more and more “dramatic” methods to get access to repressed emotions and events has led us to a “therapeutic staircase” with ten steps: (1) establishing the relationship; (2) establishing intimacy, trust, and confidentiality; (3) giving support and holding; (4) taking the patient into the process of physical, emotional, and mental healing; (5) social healing of being in the family; (6) spiritual healing — returning to the abstract wholeness of the soul; (7) healing the informational layer of the body; (8) healing the three fundamental dimensions of existence: love, power, and sexuality in a direct way using, among other techniques, “controlled violence” and “acupressure through the vagina”; (9) mind-expanding and consciousness-transformative techniques like psychotropic drugs; and (10) techniques transgressing the patient's borders and, therefore, often traumatizing (for instance, the use of force against the will of the patient).We believe that the systematic use of the staircase will greatly improve the power and efficiency of holistic medicine for the patient and we invite a broad cooperation in scientifically testing the efficiency of the advanced holistic medical toolbox on the many chronic patients in need of a cure. The level-8 tools can traumatize the patient if used incorrectly. Some of the level 9 tools and most of the level-10 tools can be severely traumatising for the patient, even when used correctly, so there must be compelling reasons for using them, and the patient must know, understand, and accept the risk before the onset of treatment. PMID:17370002

Indigenous Knowledge - A Holistic View Through a Food Security Lens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angnaboogok, V.; Behe, C.; Daniel, R. G.

2017-12-01

Rapid changes occurring within the Arctic heighten the need to understand the multiple drivers pushing change and their cumulative impacts. Most importantly to better understand Arctic change a holistic view is needed that can only be achieved through bringing together multiple knowledge systems and scientific disciplines. Inuit have called the Arctic home from time immemorial acquiring a knowledge system. The Inuit knowledge system continues to grow, and holds methodologies and assessment processes that provide a pathway for holistically understanding the Arctic. This holistic view is largely attributed to a focus on relationships between system components, close attention to food webs, and a unique understanding of interconnecting systems. The Alaskan Inuit understanding of food security represents an Indigenous way of viewing the world - where food security encompasses complex and interlinked cultural and environmental systems. These systems are comprised of connections among the health of people, animals, and plants; the different states of land, sea, and air; and the cultural fabric held together by language, cultural expression, and social integrity. Within the Inuit knowledge system, it is impossible to disentangle some of these relationships; when we discuss an Inuit food security perspective, it is this interconnectivity and these relationships that we refer to. This presentation will offer an introduction to what it means to adopt a food security lens approach - a view needed to build our knowledge of the changes that are occurring and further our understanding of cumulative impacts while illuminating the nexus between all pieces that make up Arctic ecosystems.

The Walking Egg Project: Universal access to infertility care – from dream to reality

PubMed Central

Ombelet, W.

2013-01-01

Childlessness and infertility care are neglected aspects of family planning in resource-poor countries, although the consequences of involuntary childlessness are much more dramatic and can create more wide ranging societal problems compared to Western societies, particularly for women. Because many families in developing countries completely depend on children for economic survival, childlessness has to be regarded as a social and public health issue and not only as an individual medical problem. In the Walking Egg Project we strive to raise awareness surrounding childlessness in resource-poor countries and to make infertility care in all its aspects, including assisted reproductive technologies, available and accessible for a much larger part of the world population. We hope to achieve this goal through innovation and research, advocacy and networking, training and capacity building and service delivery. The Walking Egg non-profit organization has chosen a holistic approach of reproductive health and therefore strengthening infertility care should go together with strengthening other aspects of family planning and mother care. Right from the start The Walking Project has approached the problem of infertility in a multidisciplinary and global manner. It gathers medical, social, ethical, epidemiological, juridical and economical scientists and experts along with artists and philosophers to discuss and work together towards its goal. We recently developed a simplified tWE lab IVF culture system with excellent results. According to our first cost calculation, the price of a single IVF cycle using the methodologies and protocols we described, seems to be less than 200 Euros. We realize that universal access to infertility care can only be achieved when good quality but affordable infertility care is linked to effective family planning and safe motherhood programmes. Only a global project with respect to sociocultural, ethical, economical and political differences can be successful. PMID:24753941

Use of verbal autopsy and social autopsy in humanitarian crises.

PubMed

Thomas, Lisa-Marie; D'Ambruoso, Lucia; Balabanova, Dina

2018-01-01

Two billion people live in countries affected by conflict, violence and fragility. These are exceptional situations in which mortality shifts dramatically and in which civil registration and vital statistics systems are often weakened or cease to function. Verbal autopsy and social autopsy (VA and SA) are methods used to assign causes of death and understand the contexts in which these occur, in settings where information is otherwise unavailable. This review sought to explore the use of VA and SA in humanitarian crises, with a focus on how these approaches are used to inform policy and programme responses. A rapid scoping review was conducted on the use of VA and SA in humanitarian crises in low and middle-income countries since 1991. Drawing on a maximum variation approach, two settings of application ('application contexts') were selected and investigated via nine semi-structured expert interviews. VA can determine causes of death in crisis-affected populations where no other registration system is in place. Combined with SA and active community involvement, these methods can deliver a holistic view of obstacles to seeking and receiving essential healthcare, yielding context-specific information to inform appropriate responses. The contexts in which VA and SA are used require adaptations to standard tools, and new mobile developments in VA raise specific ethical considerations. Furthermore, collecting and sythesising data in a timely, continuous manner, and ensuring coordination and communication between agencies, is important to realise the potential of these approaches. VA and SA are valuable research methods to foster evidence-informed responses for populations affected by humanitarian crises. When coordinated and communicated effectively, data generated through these methods can help to identify levels, causes and circumstances of deaths among vulnerable groups, and can enable planning and allocating resources effectively, potentially improving health system resilience to future crises.

Community-based preparedness programmes and the 2009 Australian bushfires: policy implications derived from applying theory.

PubMed

MacDougall, Colin; Gibbs, Lisa; Clark, Rachel

2014-04-01

The Victorian Country Fire Authority in Australia runs the Community Fireguard (CFG) programme to assist individuals and communities in preparing for fire. The objective of this qualitative research was to understand the impact of CFG groups on their members' fire preparedness and response during the 2009 Australian bushfires. Social connectedness emerged as a strong theme, leading to an analysis of data using social capital theory. The main strength of the CFG programme was that it was driven by innovative community members; however, concerns arose regarding the extent to which the programme covered all vulnerable areas, which led the research team to explore the theory of diffusion of innovation. The article concludes by stepping back from the evaluation and using both applied theories to reflect on broad options for community fire preparedness programmes in general. The exercise produced two contrasting options for principles underlying community fire preparedness programmes. © 2014 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2014.

Social control and coercion in addiction treatment: towards evidence-based policy and practice.

PubMed

Wild, T Cameron

2006-01-01

Social pressures are often an integral part of the process of seeking addiction treatment. However, scientists have not developed conclusive evidence on the processes, benefits and limitations of using legal, formal and informal social control tactics to inform policy makers, service providers and the public. This paper characterizes barriers to a robust interdisciplinary analysis of social control and coercion in addiction treatment and provides directions for future research. Conceptual analysis and review of key studies and trends in the area are used to describe eight implicit assumptions underlying policy, practice and scholarship on this topic. Many policies, programmes and researchers are guided by a simplistic behaviourist and health-service perspective on social controls that (a) overemphasizes the use of criminal justice systems to compel individuals into treatment and (b) fails to take into account provider, patient and public views. Policies and programmes that expand addiction treatment options deserve support. However, drawing a firm distinction between social controls (objective use of social pressure) and coercion (client perceptions and decision-making processes) supports a parallel position that rejects treatment policies, programmes, and associated practices that create client perceptions of coercion.

Operationalising a social-ecological system perspective on the Arctic Ocean.

PubMed

Crépin, Anne-Sophie; Gren, Åsa; Engström, Gustav; Ospina, Daniel

2017-12-01

We propose a framework to support management that builds on a social-ecological system perspective on the Arctic Ocean. We illustrate the framework's application for two policy-relevant scenarios of climate-driven change, picturing a shift in zooplankton composition and alternatively a crab invasion. We analyse archetypical system dynamics between the socio-economic, the natural, and the governance systems in these scenarios. Our holistic approach can help managers identify looming problems arising from complex system interactions and prioritise among problems and solutions, even when available data are limited.

Holistic Education: Principles, Perspectives and Practices. A Book of Readings Based on "Education 2000: A Holistic Perspective."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flake, Carol L., Ed.

In 1991 a conference of holistic educators produced "Education 2000: A Holistic Perspective," a statement of what education should be and an examination of holistic theory. This book expands that work with 59 articles exploring the principles of holistic education and describing holistic education programs. Holistic education calls for…

Kuwait National Programme for Healthy Living: First 5-Year Plan (2013-2017)

PubMed Central

Behbehani, Kazem

2014-01-01

The Kuwait National Programme for Healthy Living is an initiative to promote the health and well-being for individuals residing in the country. The plan has been created based on current data and available information pertaining to the various lifestyles of the populations living in Kuwait and their impact on health in general and chronic diseases in particular. Leading a healthy lifestyle is important because it means living in an environment, such as the Kuwaiti society, where chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and coronary heart diseases are significantly reduced. Several factors regarding lifestyles among the various ethnic groups residing in Kuwait have been identified, including inactivity resulting from the lack of need for physical exertion in daily-life activities and social rituals involving the serving of food amongst the various ethnic groups residing in Kuwait. For Kuwaitis and other ethnicities as well, traditional social gatherings include serving food as an integral element of the social ritual. The environments of school and work also contribute to an individual's lifestyle. The goal of the programme is to address the contribution of lifestyle choices and the social environment to health with the goal of creating a healthy environment that will sustain good health and social well-being. This can be accomplished by involving the various stakeholders in promoting the aim of the programme. Finally, addressing the research needs for healthy lifestyle issues can have a huge impact on the outcome of the programmes designed and would aid in creating a healthy living environment. PMID:24662472

Empowering communities and strengthening systems to improve transgender health: outcomes from the Pehchan programme in India

PubMed Central

Shaikh, Simran; Mburu, Gitau; Arumugam, Viswanathan; Mattipalli, Naveen; Aher, Abhina; Mehta, Sonal; Robertson, James

2016-01-01

Introduction Transgender populations face inequalities in access to HIV, health and social services. In addition, there is limited documentation of models for providing appropriately tailored services and social support for transgender populations in low- and middle-income countries. This paper presents outcomes of the Global Fund-supported Pehchan programme, which aimed to strengthen community systems and provide HIV, health, legal and social services to transgender communities across 18 Indian states through a rights-based empowerment approach. Methods We used a pre- and post-intervention cross-sectional survey design with retrospective analysis of programmatic data. Using stratified sampling, we identified 268 transgender participants in six Indian states from a total of 48,280 transgender people served by Pehchan through 186 community-based organizations. We quantified the impact of interventions by comparing baseline and end line indicators of accessed health social and legal services. We also assessed end line self-efficacy and collective action with regard to social support networks. Results There were significant increases in community-based demand and use of tailored health, legal, social and psychological services over the time of the Pehchan programme. We report significant increases in access to condoms (12.5%, p<0.001) and condom use at last anal sex with both regular (18.1%, p<0.001) and casual (8.1%, p<0.001) male partners. Access to HIV outreach education and testing and counselling services significantly increased (20.10%, p<0.001; 33.7%, p<0.001). In addition, significant increases in access to emergency crisis response (19.7%, p<0.001), legal support (26.8%, p<0.001) and mental health services (33.0%, p<0.001) were identified. Finally, we note that the Pehchan programme successfully provided a platform for the formation, collectivization and visibility of peer support groups. Conclusions The Pehchan programme's community involvement, rights-based collectivization and gender-affirming approaches significantly improved both demand and access to tailored HIV, health and social services for transgender individuals across India. Furthermore, the Pehchan programme successfully fostered both self-efficacy and collective identity and served as a model for addressing the unique health needs of transgender communities. Continued strengthening of health, social and community systems to better respond to the unique needs of transgender communities is needed in order to sustain these gains. PMID:27431474

Empowering communities and strengthening systems to improve transgender health: outcomes from the Pehchan programme in India.

PubMed

Shaikh, Simran; Mburu, Gitau; Arumugam, Viswanathan; Mattipalli, Naveen; Aher, Abhina; Mehta, Sonal; Robertson, James

2016-01-01

Transgender populations face inequalities in access to HIV, health and social services. In addition, there is limited documentation of models for providing appropriately tailored services and social support for transgender populations in low- and middle-income countries. This paper presents outcomes of the Global Fund-supported Pehchan programme, which aimed to strengthen community systems and provide HIV, health, legal and social services to transgender communities across 18 Indian states through a rights-based empowerment approach. We used a pre- and post-intervention cross-sectional survey design with retrospective analysis of programmatic data. Using stratified sampling, we identified 268 transgender participants in six Indian states from a total of 48,280 transgender people served by Pehchan through 186 community-based organizations. We quantified the impact of interventions by comparing baseline and end line indicators of accessed health social and legal services. We also assessed end line self-efficacy and collective action with regard to social support networks. There were significant increases in community-based demand and use of tailored health, legal, social and psychological services over the time of the Pehchan programme. We report significant increases in access to condoms (12.5%, p<0.001) and condom use at last anal sex with both regular (18.1%, p<0.001) and casual (8.1%, p<0.001) male partners. Access to HIV outreach education and testing and counselling services significantly increased (20.10%, p<0.001; 33.7%, p<0.001). In addition, significant increases in access to emergency crisis response (19.7%, p<0.001), legal support (26.8%, p<0.001) and mental health services (33.0%, p<0.001) were identified. Finally, we note that the Pehchan programme successfully provided a platform for the formation, collectivization and visibility of peer support groups. The Pehchan programme's community involvement, rights-based collectivization and gender-affirming approaches significantly improved both demand and access to tailored HIV, health and social services for transgender individuals across India. Furthermore, the Pehchan programme successfully fostered both self-efficacy and collective identity and served as a model for addressing the unique health needs of transgender communities. Continued strengthening of health, social and community systems to better respond to the unique needs of transgender communities is needed in order to sustain these gains.

The political economy of decentralization of health and social services in Canada.

PubMed

Tsalikis, G

1989-01-01

A trend to decentralization in Canada's 'welfare state' has received support from the Left and from the Right. Some social critics of the Left expect decentralization to result in holistic services adjusted to local needs. Others, moreover, feel we are in the dawn of a new epoch in which major economic transformations are to bring about, through new class alliances and conflict, decentralization of power and a better quality of life in communities. These assumptions and their theoretical pitfalls are discussed here following an historical overview of the centralization/decentralization issue in Canadian social policy. It is argued that recent proposals of decentralization are a continuation of reactionary tendencies to constrain social expenditures, but not a path to better quality of life.

"A Victim of Its Own Success"? The Diploma in Addiction Studies at Trinity College Dublin

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woods, Marguerite; Butler, Shane

2011-01-01

This article reviews and reflects on the Diploma in Addiction Studies: a 1-year, full-time programme taught at the School of Social Work and Social Policy in Trinity College Dublin since the academic year 1983/1984, which has recently had its external funding withdrawn. The programme was aimed at multidisciplinary classes, including students from…

The Contribution of Group Work Programmes to Early Intervention and Improving Children's Emotional Well-Being

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parton, Christine; Manby, Martin

2009-01-01

Recent government policy has emphasised links between the acquisition of social skills by children and young people and their educational attainment. This study aims to fill a gap in the literature about the contribution of school-based group work programmes to developing children's social skills. National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to…

The Effects of the "Language for Learning" Programme on the Social Adjustment of Kindergarten Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benner, Gregory J.; Zeng, Songtian

2017-01-01

The results of previous research on the "Language for Learning" programme suggest that it produces positive effects on the intellectual, language, and social skills of young children with and without disabilities [Benner, G. J., Trout, A., Nordness, P. N., Nelson, J. R., Knobel, M. L., Epstein, A.,…Epstein, M. H. (2002). "The…

Training Social Competence in Engineering Education: Necessary, Possible or Not Even Desirable? An Explorative Study from a Surveying Education Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Emilsson, U. Melin; Lilje, B.

2008-01-01

The aim of this paper is to discuss whether "social competence" is necessary for engineers to contribute to sustainable development and if it is, how to teach communication, group-processes and leadership in technical environments like engineering education programmes. The article reflects on a pedagogical project carried out in the…

Evaluation of the Learning to Teach for Social Justice-Beliefs Scale in an Australian Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ginns, Paul; Loughland, Anthony; Tierney, Robert J.; Fryer, Luke; Amazan, Rose; McCormick, Alexandra

2015-01-01

A concern for social justice pervades the espoused curriculum of many pre-service teaching programmes, but the extent to which that curriculum influences the beliefs students hold is an open question. With the goal of developing an instrument suitable for evaluating such beliefs at the degree programme level, the present study analysed responses…

A Creative 3D Design Programme: Building on Interests and Social Engagement for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diener, Marissa L.; Wright, Cheryl A.; Dunn, Louise; Wright, Scott D.; Anderson, Laura Linnell; Smith, Katherine Newbold

2016-01-01

This study explores the processes occurring during technology workshops which built on interests and enhanced social engagement for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The workshops used a community based research design and focused on teaching a creative three-dimensional (3D) design programme (SketchUp™) to students with ASD. Seven…

Understanding recruitment and retention in the NHS community pharmacy stop smoking service: perceptions of smoking cessation advisers.

PubMed

Sohanpal, Ratna; Rivas, Carol; Steed, Liz; MacNeill, Virginia; Kuan, Valerie; Edwards, Elizabeth; Griffiths, Chris; Eldridge, Sandra; Taylor, Stephanie; Walton, Robert

2016-07-07

To understand views of pharmacy advisers about smoker recruitment and retention in the National Health Service community pharmacy stop smoking programme. Thematic framework analysis of semistructured, in-depth interviews applying the Theoretical Domains Framework and COM-B behaviour change model. We aimed to identify aspects of adviser behaviour that might be modified to increase numbers joining and completing the programme. 25 stop smoking advisers (13 pharmacists and 12 support staff). 29 community pharmacies in 3 inner east London boroughs. Advisers had preconceived ideas about smokers likely to join or drop out and made judgements about smokers' readiness to quit. Actively recruiting smokers was accorded low priority due in part to perceived insufficient remuneration to the pharmacy and anticipated challenging interactions with smokers. Suggestions to improve smoker recruitment and retention included developing a more holistic and supportive approach using patient-centred communication. Training counter assistants were seen to be important as was flexibility to extend the programme duration to fit better with smokers' needs. Cessation advisers feel they lack the interpersonal skills necessary to engage well with smokers and help them to quit. Addressing advisers' behaviours about active engagement and follow-up of clients, together with regular skills training including staff not formally trained as cessation advisers, could potentially boost numbers recruited and retained in the stop smoking programme. Adjustments to the pharmacy remuneration structure to incentivise recruitment and to allow personalisation of the programme for individual smokers should also be considered. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

The use of life review to enhance spiritual well-being in patients with terminal illnesses: An integrative review.

PubMed

Kwan, Cecilia W M; Ng, Marques S N; Chan, Carmen W H

2017-12-01

To conduct an integrative review of the current literature on using life review as an intervention to address the spiritual need of patients with terminal illnesses. Palliative care highlights the holistic approach of care including the spiritual aspect. Life review has been used in palliative nursing intending to enhance patients' emotional and spiritual well-being, and quality of life. However, there is a lack of publications that provide a structured overview on life review programmes and their effectiveness. Integrative review. The Whittemore and Knafl integrative review method was used. Five major online databases were included in our literature search. The keywords used were "life review" and "palliative care, terminal care, terminally ill, death & dying, hospice, spiritual wellbeing, spirituality". Seven primary papers were identified, critically appraised and synthesised in the final review. There are limited clinical studies on life review programmes for patients with terminal illness. The research design of these studies is too widely varied for meta-analysis. Here, we identified two major programmes of life review as an intervention to address the spiritual well-being of patients with terminal illness. However, repeated studies on the effectiveness of these two programmes are lacking. The shorter programme of life review is more likely to be applicable and effective for terminal patients. Further research in this area is required to provide strong evidence on the effectiveness and applicability of life review in patients receiving palliative care. This review adds weight to the need of a better understanding on the use of life review in addressing the spiritual needs of patients with terminal illness. Such understanding would provide evidence for the use of life review as an alternative approach in palliative care delivery. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Child, Teacher and Parent Perceptions of the FRIENDS Classroom-Based Universal Anxiety Prevention Programme: A Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Skryabina, Elena; Morris, Joanna; Byrne, Danielle; Harkin, Nicola; Rook, Sarah; Stallard, Paul

2016-01-01

School-based mental health prevention programmes can be effective but their adoption within schools will depend on their social acceptability. We report a qualitative evaluation summarising the views of children (115), parents (20) and school staff (47) about a universal school-based anxiety prevention programme FRIENDS. This study was conducted as part of a large scale randomised controlled trial ( n  = 1362) involving 40 schools in the UK providing primary education to children aged 7-11. Reported overall experience of the programme was very positive, with all three major components of the cognitive behaviour therapy programme (emotional, cognitive, and behavioural) being accepted well and understood by children. The programme was considered to be enjoyable and valuable in teaching children important skills, particularly emotional regulation and coping. Children provided examples of using the skills learned during FRIENDS to manage their emotions and solve problems. However, teachers were concerned that the programme overlapped with the current school curriculum, required additional time and almost half were unable to identify any tangible changes in the children's behaviour. Whilst this paper provides evidence to support the social validity of the FRIENDS anxiety prevention programme, the concerns raised by teachers question the longer-term sustainability of the programme.

Corporate social responsibility: Benefits for youth in hydropower development in Laos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sparkes, Stephen

2014-04-01

The role of the state as regulator combined with policies on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that go beyond legal requirements to establishing programmes that promote development and good international business practice is an emerging new paradigm. In this paper, the example of a state-owned company, Statkraft A.S. of Norway, and its recent hydropower investment in central Laos illustrates how policy, implementation and follow-up can lead to benefits for local communities in the impacted area of the Theun-Hinboun Expansion Project (THXP). Programmes include both support for and improvement of existing government education programmes, employment opportunities and specific programmes for youth. They have been designed to mitigate possible negative effects of the influx of workers and rapid socio-economic change in the affected area. Young people continue to have a central role in the implementation of these programmes as peer educators under the supervision of project staff and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Balancing performance-based expectations with a holistic perspective on coaching: a qualitative study of Swedish women’s national football team coaches’ practice experiences

PubMed Central

Lindgren, Eva-Carin; Barker-Ruchti, Natalie

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore how an exclusive sample of women’s national football team coaches described how they implement careful coaching while facing social and organizational pressure to win medals. Method: To consider coaches’ negotiations, we drew on Noddings’ concept of caring. Using an interpretive research paradigm, we conducted in-depth interviews with five Swedish women’s national football team coaches. An abductive approach was used to simultaneously process the theoretical framework of “ethics of care” and the empirical data. Results: The coaches unanimously adopted a holistic perspective to coaching. The coaching strategies they described included promoting players’ development, well-being, and sustainable elite performance; listening to the players’ voices and engaging in dialogue; and creating a positive environment and promoting fair play. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that the women coaches, despite performance pressure, adopt caring coaching in the form of Noddings’ pedagogical modelling, dialogue, and confirmation strategies, and provide an example of how coaches can adopt caring, holistic, and athlete-centred coaching while working at the highest level of competitive sport and achieving competitive success. PMID:28812449

Bridging community and prison for older adults: invoking human rights and elder and intergenerational family justice.

PubMed

Maschi, Tina; Viola, Deborah; T Harrison, Mary; Harrison, William; Koskinen, Lindsay; Bellusa, Stephanie

2014-01-01

Older adults in prison present a significant health and human rights challenge for the criminal justice system. To date, there is no known study that provides a comprehensive examination or portrait of older persons in prison. The purpose of this paper is to understand individual, family, system, and community vulnerabilities that can complicate successful community reintegration for these individuals. This study provides a cross-sectional, descriptive analysis of biopsychosocial, spiritual, and prison use characteristics associated with a sample of 677 older prisoners, aged 50+, in a state-wide prison system. Results indicate the extent of diversity within this population based on demographic, clinical, social, legal profiles, prison service use patterns, and professional and personal contacts. Due to the diversity within this population, an interdisciplinary approach is needed to address the complex social and health care needs of an aging prison population and to plan for their reentry. Practical implications - These findings suggest the need for holistic prevention, assessment, and interventions to interrupt the social-structural disparities that foster and support pathways to incarceration and recidivism. The human rights implications for the current treatment of older adults in prison include providing in-prison treatment that promotes safety, well-being, reconciliation, and seamless bridges between prison and community for older adults and their families. The True Grit Program is presented as an example of a humanistic and holistic approach of such an approach.

Operationalizing crop monitoring system for informed decision making related to food security in Nepal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qamer, F. M.; Shah, S. N. Pd.; Murthy, M. S. R.; Baidar, T.; Dhonju, K.; Hari, B. G.

2014-11-01

In Nepal, two thirds of the total population depend on agriculture for their livelihoods and more than one third of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) comes from the agriculture sector. However, effective agriculture production across the country remains a serious challenge due to various factors, such as a high degree of spatial and temporal climate variability, irrigated and rain-fed agriculture systems, farmers' fragile social and economic fabric, and unique mountain practices. ICIMOD through SERVIR-Himalaya initiative with collaboration of Ministry of Agricultural Development (MoAD) is working on developing a comprehensive crop monitoring system which aims to provide timely information on crop growth and drought development conditions. This system analyzes historical climate and crop conditions patterns and compares this data with the current growing season to provide timely assessment of crop growth. Using remote sensing data for vegetation indices, temperature and rainfall, the system generated anomaly maps are inferred to predict the increase or shortfall in production. Comparisons can be made both spatially and in graphs and figures at district and Village Developmental Committee (VDC) levels. Timely information on possible anomaly in crop production is later used by the institutions like Ministry of Agricultural Development, Nepal and World Food Programme, Nepal to trigger appropriate management response. Future potential includes integrating data on agricultural inputs, socioeconomics, demographics, and transportation to holistically assess food security in the region served by SERVIR-Himalaya.

Social and emotional wellbeing assessment instruments for use with Indigenous Australians: A critical review.

PubMed

Le Grande, M; Ski, C F; Thompson, D R; Scuffham, P; Kularatna, S; Jackson, A C; Brown, A

2017-08-01

There is growing recognition that in addition to universally recognised domains and indicators of wellbeing (such as population health and life expectancy), additional frameworks are required to fully explain and measure Indigenous wellbeing. In particular, Indigenous Australian wellbeing is largely determined by colonisation, historical trauma, grief, loss, and ongoing social marginalisation. Dominant mainstream indicators of wellbeing based on the biomedical model may therefore be inadequate and not entirely relevant in the Indigenous context. It is possible that "standard" wellbeing instruments fail to adequately assess indicators of health and wellbeing within societies that have a more holistic view of health. The aim of this critical review was to identify, document, and evaluate the use of social and emotional wellbeing measures within the Australian Indigenous community. The instruments were systematically described regarding their intrinsic properties (e.g., generic v. disease-specific, domains assessed, extent of cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric characteristics) and their purpose of utilisation in studies (e.g., study setting, intervention, clinical purpose or survey). We included 33 studies, in which 22 distinct instruments were used. Three major categories of social and emotional wellbeing instruments were identified: unmodified standard instruments (10), cross-culturally adapted standard instruments (6), and Indigenous developed measures (6). Recommendations are made for researchers and practitioners who assess social and emotional wellbeing in Indigenous Australians, which may also be applicable to other minority groups where a more holistic framework of wellbeing is applied. It is advised that standard instruments only be used if they have been subject to a formal cross-cultural adaptation process, and Indigenous developed measures continue to be developed, refined, and validated within a diverse range of research and clinical settings. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Friendship and money: A qualitative study of service users' experiences of participating in a supported socialisation programme.

PubMed

Sheridan, Ann; O'Keeffe, Donal; Coughlan, Barbara; Frazer, Kate; Drennan, Johnathan; Kemple, Mary

2018-06-01

Social opportunities can be limited in the lives of people with enduring mental illness (EMI) due to psychiatric stigma, restricted home environments and employment barriers. Supported socialisation programmes have the potential to redress the impact of social isolation. To explore the experiences of service users with EMI taking part in a supported socialisation programme, using written diary entries. This article reports on the qualitative component of a randomised controlled trial of supported socialisation for people with EMI (published previously in this journal). Trial participation involved (1) being matched with a volunteer partner and engaging in social/leisure activities while receiving a stipend of €20 or (2) receiving this stipend only and engaging in self-driven socialisation. Participants completed written diaries documenting their perspectives on their experiences of supported socialisation. Data were analysed using Thematic Analysis. Experiences of participation were characterised by involvement 'normalising' life, fostering a sense of connectedness, improving physical health, and facilitating engagement with culture. Taking part helped participants integrate socialising into their identity, enhanced their perceived capacity to be social, and cemented/expanded social networks. Participants also experienced significant obstacles to socialisation. Supported socialisation can increase confidence, social competence and self-agency; buffer against psychiatric stigma; build social capital; and afford opportunities to enhance social integration, inclusion and belonging.

Successful engagement: CBM's holistic approach to the work in the area of ear care, deafness, hard of hearing and deafblindness.

PubMed

Tesni, Sian; Santana-Hernández, Diego

2014-09-01

CBM is an international Christian development organisation, committed to improving the quality of life of persons with disabilities in disadvantaged societies. CBM aims at achieving this in partnership with local organisations and in cooperation with stakeholders at regional and international levels. This article aims at sharing CBM's holistic approach for successful engagement in the work area of ear care, deafness, hard of hearing and deafblindness. Review of CBM supporting documents, including strategies, position papers, technical guidelines, criteria of success and information related to partners, centres of excellence and model projects. Description of how partner programmes use participatory methods of planning and implementation, involving persons with disabilities and the community. Recommendations on how to develop national or sub-national strategies to impact the lives, and advocate with governments for the rights and inclusion, of persons with disabilities. CBM's holistic approach to work in the area of ear care; deafness; hard of hearing and deafblindness includes intervention at all levels of health care provision, Education, CBR and Audiological, Speech Therapy and other interdisciplinary services. This article presents CBM's core principles and shares specific strategic planning and results, together with lessons learnt while searching a sustainable engagement for field work. Rehabilitation, in its widest conception, should be approached as a multidisciplinary strategy, and developed in close cooperation with other local, national and international agencies. CBM is positioned in a strategic point from where it can play a key role in the facilitation of an international forum for agencies and stakeholders to reach a consensus to decrease the burden of ear disease and hearing loss, through early intervention and re/habilitation.

Factors influencing participation in cardiac rehabilitation programmes after referral and initial attendance: qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis.

PubMed

Clark, Alexander M; King-Shier, Kathryn M; Spaling, Melisa A; Duncan, Amanda S; Stone, James A; Jaglal, Susan B; Thompson, David R; Angus, Jan E

2013-10-01

Greater participation in cardiac rehabilitation improves morbidity and mortality in people with coronary heart disease, but little is understood of patients' decisions to participate. To develop interventions aimed at increasing completion of programmes, we conducted a qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis to explore the complex factors and processes influencing participation in cardiac rehabilitation programmes after referral and initial access. To be included in the review, studies had to contain a qualitative research component, population specific data on programme participation in adults >18 years, and be published ≥1995 as full articles or theses. Ten databases were searched (31 October 2011) using 100+ search terms. Of 2264 citations identified, 62 studies were included involving: 1646 patients (57% female; mean age 64.2), 143 caregivers, and 79 professionals. Patients' participation was most strongly influenced by perceptions of the nature, suitability and scheduling of programmes, social comparisons made possible by programmes, and the degree to which programmes, providers, and programme users met expectations. Women's experiences of these factors rendered them less likely to complete. Comparatively, perceptions of programme benefits had little influence on participation. Factors reducing participation in programmes are varied but amenable to intervention. Participation should be viewed as a 'consumer behaviour' and interventions should mobilize family support, promote 'patient friendly' scheduling, and actively harness the social, identity-related, and experiential aspects of participation.

A widening gap? The political and social organization of childcare in Argentina.

PubMed

Faur, Eleonor

2011-01-01

This article examines how social policies and programmes implemented in Argentina shape the political and social organization of childcare. The author seeks to analyse how welfare institutions are currently responding to emerging needs, and to what extent they facilitate the defamilialization of childcare for different social classes. Because Argentina lacks a truly unified ‘care policy’, four different kinds of facilities and programmes are examined: employment-based childcare services; pre-school schemes; social assistance care services; and poverty reduction strategies. It is argued that far from offering equal rights and services with a universalist cast, these ‘caring’ institutions reflect the ethos of the current welfare model in Argentina: a fragmented set of social policies based on different assumptions for different social groups, which in turn filter down to the social organization of childcare.

Peer social support training in UK prisons.

PubMed

Stewart, Warren; Lovely, Rachel

2017-10-11

To undertake a service evaluation to assess the effect of peer social support training using two separate learning programmes, which were designed to assist prisoners to support older prisoners and prisoners with disabilities. The service evaluation used an action research approach to support planning, delivery and data collection. Eleven interviews with nine prisoners who had undertaken the peer social support training programmes and two members of prison staff (one nurse manager and one prison officer) were recorded and transcribed by the researchers. This data was coded and thematically analysed to evaluate the findings. Recommendations were made regarding the format and content of the training. The training was well received by the peer social support worker trainees and had several positive outcomes, including increased peer social support, improved relationships between peer social support workers and older prisoners and prisoners with disabilities, increased self-esteem, measured as 'social capital', among peer social support workers, and effective teamworking. The peer social support training programmes were considered to be a positive intervention and were effective in supporting peer social support roles. Recommendations for future training of prisoner peer support workers include involving existing peer social support workers in training and recruitment, and enhancing the role of peer social support workers in prisons by providing them with job descriptions. ©2012 RCN Publishing Company Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be copied, transmitted or recorded in any way, in whole or part, without prior permission of the publishers.

Space-time programming.

PubMed

Beal, Jacob; Viroli, Mirko

2015-07-28

Computation increasingly takes place not on an individual device, but distributed throughout a material or environment, whether it be a silicon surface, a network of wireless devices, a collection of biological cells or a programmable material. Emerging programming models embrace this reality and provide abstractions inspired by physics, such as computational fields, that allow such systems to be programmed holistically, rather than in terms of individual devices. This paper aims to provide a unified approach for the investigation and engineering of computations programmed with the aid of space-time abstractions, by bringing together a number of recent results, as well as to identify critical open problems. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Meeting the needs? Perceived support of a nurse-led lifestyle programme for young adults with mental illness in a primary health-care setting.

PubMed

Rönngren, Ylva; Björk, Annette; Kristiansen, Lisbeth; Haage, David; Enmarker, Ingela; Audulv, Åsa

2018-02-01

Being a young adult with mental illness challenges all aspects of health, including an increased risk for developing lifestyle-related diseases. There is a lack of lifestyle programmes in primary health care that target physical, mental, and social needs for young adults with mental illness. The aim of the present study was to describe the experiences of young adults with mental illness receiving support from a nurse-led lifestyle programme, and how this support was related to their life context, including challenges and coping strategies. Two focus groups and six individual interviews were performed with 13 young adults (16-25 years), and analysed using a qualitative content analysis. The findings showed that the young adults experienced challenges in their daily lives, including psychiatric symptoms, lack of social understanding, and loneliness. The study indicated that the programme could support lifestyle habits with its components of supportive interpersonal relationships, awareness of coping strategies, understanding of health and illness, and cognitive support (e.g. schedules and reminders). However, the programme could not meet everyone's needs for new social relationships or more comprehensive support. Even so, this nurse-led programme provides health information-management strategies that could easily be integrated in a primary health-care setting. © 2017 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Towards a more holistic research approach to plant conservation: the case of rare plants on oceanic islands.

PubMed

Silva, Luís; Dias, Elisabete Furtado; Sardos, Julie; Azevedo, Eduardo Brito; Schaefer, Hanno; Moura, Mónica

2015-06-11

Research dedicated to rare endemic plants is usually focused on one given aspect. However, holistic studies, addressing several key issues, might be more useful, supporting management programmes while unravelling basic knowledge about ecological and population-level processes. A more comprehensive approach to research is proposed, encompassing: phylogenetics/systematics, pollination biology and seed dispersal, propagation, population genetics, species distribution models (SDMs), threats and monitoring. We present a holistic study dedicated to Veronica dabneyi Hochst. ex Seub., an endangered chamaephyte endemic to the Azores. Veronica dabneyi was mainly found associated with other endemic taxa; however, invasive plants were also present and together with introduced cattle, goats and rabbits are a major threat. Most populations grow at somewhat rocky and steep locations that appeared to work as refuges. Seed set in the wild was generally high and recruitment of young plants from seed seemed to be frequent. In the laboratory, it was possible to germinate and fully develop V. dabneyi seedlings, which were planted at their site of origin. No dormancy was detected and time for 50 % germination was affected by incubation temperature. Eight new microsatellite markers were applied to 72 individuals from 7 sites. A considerable degree of admixture was found between samples from the two islands Flores and Corvo, with 98 % of the genetic variability allocated within populations. Levels of heterozygosity were high and no evidence of inbreeding was found. Species distribution models based on climatic and topographic variables allowed the estimation of the potential distribution of V. dabneyi on Flores and Corvo using ecological niche factor analysis and Maxent. The inclusion of land-use variables only slightly increased the information explained by the models. Projection of the expected habitat in Faial largely coincided with the only historic record of V. dabneyi on that island. This research could be the basis for the design of a recovery plan, showing the pertinence of more holistic research approaches to plant conservation. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company.

The use of arts interventions for mental health and wellbeing in health settings.

PubMed

Jensen, A; Bonde, L O

2018-04-01

This literature review aims to illustrate the variety and multitude of studies showing that participation in arts activities and clinical arts interventions can be beneficial for citizens with mental and physical health problems. The article is focused on mental health benefits because this is an emerging field in the Nordic countries where evidence is demanded from national health agencies that face an increasing number of citizens with poor mental health and a need for non-medical interventions and programmes. A total of 20 articles of interest were drawn from a wider literature review. Studies were identified through the search engines: Cochrane Library, Primo, Ebscohost, ProQuest, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PubMed and Design and Applied Arts Index. Search words included the following: arts engagement + health/hospital/recovery, arts + hospital/evidence/wellbeing, evidence-based health practice, participatory arts for wellbeing, health + poetry/literature/dance/singing/music/community arts, arts health cost-effectiveness and creative art or creative activity + health/hospital/recovery/mental health. The inclusion criteria for studies were (1) peer review and (2) empirical data. The studies document that participation in activities in a spectrum from clinical arts interventions to non-clinical participatory arts programmes is beneficial and an effective way of using engagement in the arts to promote holistic approaches with health benefits. Engagement in specially designed arts activities or arts therapies can reduce physical symptoms and improve mental health issues. Based on the growing evidence of the arts as a tool for enhancing mental health wellbeing, and in line with the global challenges in health, we suggest that participatory arts activities and clinical arts interventions are made more widely available in health and social settings. It is well-documented that such activities can be used as non-medical interventions to promote public health and wellbeing.

Goals for Sustainable Development: Focusing on Children and Youth. Social Policy Report Brief. Volume 30, Issue 3

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bridgman, Anne

2017-01-01

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, ratified by all 193 member states of the U.N. General Assembly in 2015, outline 17 goals considered central to sustainable development in all countries. Building on and broadening the Millennium Development Goals adopted in 2005, the new goals offer a more holistic vision of child and youth…

Revitalising Marginalised Communities by Increasing Social Capital through Holistic Education and the Lifelong Learning Strategies of Indigenous Peoples.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collister, Rupert

The Western model of education is based on reductionism and linear thinking motivated by profit for those at the top. Globalization is the zenith of this Western reductionist philosophy. Its proponents talk about technology providing access to new vocational opportunities, yet fewer people control more of the resources and services. People find…

The Role of Community Paediatrics in Supporting Schools to Avoid Exclusions That Have a Basis in Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paget, Amelia; Emond, Alan

2016-01-01

In this commentary, Paget and Emond note that school exclusion is not just an education issue, but is increasingly recognised as pertinent to child health, with implications for how education, health, social care, and voluntary sector services should interact to support children at risk in a holistic, integrated manner. Children who are excluded…

Human Rights Education as a Tool of Grassroots Organizing and Social Transformation: A Case Study from Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ilkkaracan, Pinar; Amado, Liz Ercevik

2005-01-01

Women for Women's Human Rights (WWHR) -- New Ways has been carrying out a "Human Rights Education Program for Women" throughout Turkey for over a decade, in cooperation with community centers. The training has a holistic, comprehensive nature, linking several areas of human rights through a critical gender perspective lens. One of the…

Visioning the Centre for Place and Sustainability Studies through an Embodied Aesthetic Wholeness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sameshima, Pauline; Greenwood, David A.

2015-01-01

In the context of research universities, what kind of places and spaces can we create for ourselves that foster a holistic vision of learning and community, a vision that is responsive to the shifting social and ecological landscapes of the Anthropocene? How can these spaces simultaneously address the need to nurture both personal and cultural…

Backing onto sacred ground.

PubMed

Gunderson, G R

2000-01-01

It is widely recognized that the health of individuals and communities is determined by the interaction of physical, mental, social, and spiritual factors. Public health leaders can find precedent for the resulting holistic strategies in the collaboration with religious structures that characterized the early years of public health. The modern context is more pluralistic, democratic, and complex in terms of its institutional array of partners.

The historical background, framework, and the application of forest health monitoring in the United States

Treesearch

William Bechtold; Kurt Riitters

2007-01-01

Forest monitoring systems have historically been designed to obtain data needed for timber management, but in the past few decades forests have been increasingly viewed as holistic systems that are best monitored with an integrated approach which includes the ecological and social aspects of forests(Riitters and Tkacz 2004). The demand for more comprehensive and...

Challenges to Measuring Chinese Students' Perceptions of Freedom of Expression: An Application of Rasch Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Qin, Lixia; Torres, Mario

2018-01-01

Rapid social development and recent changes in views concerning childhood have urged a more holistic approach to measuring children's well-being, particularly in the domain of rights. In light of articulated provisions within the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, there is obvious interest in understanding more about how…

Effectiveness of Play Therapy on Problem Behaviors of Children with Intellectual Disabilities: A Single Subject Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swan, Karrie L.

2011-01-01

A growing disparity between the mental health needs of children and their lack of treatment served as the basis of this study. To address this existent gap, I proposed that child-centered play therapy (CCPT), a holistic treatment that fosters children's emotional, developmental, and social growth would serve as a viable treatment. The purpose of…

Assessment of the Status of African-Americans. Volume II: Research on the African-American Family: A Holistic Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Robert B.; Billingsley, Andrew; Ingram, Eleanor; Malson, Michelene R.; Rubin, Robert H.; Stack, Carol B.; Stewart, James B.; Teele, James E.

In 1987 a project was undertaken to assess the status of African Americans in the United States in the topical areas to be addressed by the National Research Council's Study Committee on the Status of Black Americans: education, employment, income and occupations, political participation and the administration of justice, social and cultural…

The Politics of Control...the Politics of Freedom...and the Politics of Balance: Three Ways of Creating Social Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clements, Elizabeth

2000-01-01

Educators who focus on control pay more attention to curriculum and depositing knowledge than learning processes. A focus on freedom shifts the locus of control but depends on rationality and autonomy, which isolate and dehumanize. A focus on balance enables a holistic, inclusive approach that acknowledges interpersonal connections. (Contains 55…

Cooperative Stakeholding: Optimising Students' Educational Practice through Need-Centred Self-Determination, Connectedness with Learning Environment and Passion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ottu, Iboro F. A.

2017-01-01

The paper offers social-psychological options to solving the growing problems of educational decline in Nigeria. It takes a holistic view of educational practice in the country and asserts that quality education is achievable in Nigeria if everyone takes a position to contribute meaningfully to our presumably ailing educational system. The…

Oxytonergic circuitry sustains and enables creative cognition in humans.

PubMed

De Dreu, Carsten K W; Baas, Matthijs; Roskes, Marieke; Sligte, Daniel J; Ebstein, Richard P; Chew, Soo Hong; Tong, Terry; Jiang, Yushi; Mayseless, Naama; Shamay-Tsoory, Simone G

2014-08-01

Creativity enables humans to adapt flexibly to changing circumstances, to manage complex social relations and to survive and prosper through social, technological and medical innovations. In humans, chronic, trait-based as well as temporary, state-based approach orientation has been linked to increased capacity for divergent rather than convergent thinking, to more global and holistic processing styles and to more original ideation and creative problem solving. Here, we link creative cognition to oxytocin, a hypothalamic neuropeptide known to up-regulate approach orientation in both animals and humans. Study 1 (N = 492) showed that plasma oxytocin predicts novelty-seeking temperament. Study 2 (N = 110) revealed that genotype differences in a polymorphism in the oxytocin receptor gene rs1042778 predicted creative ideation, with GG/GT-carriers being more original than TT-carriers. Using double-blind placebo-controlled between-subjects designs, Studies 3-6 (N = 191) finally showed that intranasal oxytocin (vs matching placebo) reduced analytical reasoning, and increased holistic processing, divergent thinking and creative performance. We conclude that the oxytonergic circuitry sustains and enables the day-to-day creativity humans need for survival and prosperity and discuss implications. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Therapeutic effects of an indoor gardening programme for older people living in nursing homes.

PubMed

Tse, Mimi Mun Yee

2010-04-01

To explore the activities of daily living and psychological well-being of older people living in nursing homes and also to examine the effectiveness of a gardening programme in enhancing socilaisation and life satisfaction, reducing loneliness and promoting activities of daily living for older people living in nursing homes. Life in nursing homes can mean very limited physical and social activity, leading to further decline in function for many older people. This was a quasi-experimental pre and posttest control group design. Older people from nursing homes were invited to join the eight week indoor gardening programme (experimental group), while older people in other nursing homes were treated as the control group; they received regular care without the eight week indoor gardening programme. There were 26 older people (25 female and one male; mean age 85 years) in the experimental group and 27 (20 female and seven male; mean age 82 years) in the control group. Demographic data including age, gender, educational level and financial situation were collected, in addition to information regarding life satisfaction, loneliness, physical activity and social network situation, before and after the eight week indoor gardening programme for both the experimental and control groups. Also, details of experimental group subjects' experience of the indoor gardening programme were elicited using open-ended questions. There were significant improvements in life satisfaction and social network and a significant decrease in perception of loneliness for older people in the experimental group after the eight week indoor gardening programme, while the activities of daily living were unchanged for both groups after the programme. Given the positive effects of gardening activities, it is suggested that they be promoted more widely among nursing home residents.

Action Learning as an Element within an Assessed and Supported Year in Employment for Newly Qualified Social Workers: A Three-Role Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wells, Carol; Animashaun, Ikedola; Gibb, Anneliese

2017-01-01

The assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE) is employer-led and provides a programme to support and assess newly qualified social workers (NQSWs) working with children and families and adults during their first year of employment. Action learning was brought into Cambridgeshire County Councils ASYE programme as a 12-month pilot from…

Teachers' Social Capital as a Resource for Curriculum Development: Lessons Learnt in the Implementation of a Child-Friendly Schools Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Modipane, Mpho; Themane, Mahlapahlapana

2014-01-01

This paper reports on lessons learnt in the use of teachers' social capital as a resource for curriculum development, in the implementation of the Child-Friendly Schools (CFS) programme in South Africa. The researchers in this study were amongst the trainers. The study followed a qualitative research approach, where a descriptive research design…

Brief Report: The Effects of Equine-Assisted Activities on the Social Functioning in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Sophie; Meints, Kerstin

2016-01-01

Equine-assisted activities and therapies are increasing in popularity for treatment of ASD symptoms. This research evaluated effects of a 5-week programme of therapeutic riding on social functioning of children/adolescents (N = 15) with ASD. The effectiveness of the programme was evaluated using the autism spectrum quotient, the Vineland Adaptive…

Analysing Instructors' View Regarding the Efficiency of the Turkish History Subjects Presented in Turkey Social Studies Textbooks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seker, Mustafa; Ilhan, Genç Osman

2015-01-01

Just like it is the reflex of each nation to teach its own history to the next generations, it is essential that our country is also able to identify the sufficiency level of the Turkish history within the framework of developing a programme. Through this study, the parallelism between the social studies teaching programme within the education…

The Effectiveness of the Incredible Years Pre-School Parenting Programme in the United Kingdom: A Pragmatic Randomised Controlled Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morpeth, Louise; Blower, Sarah; Tobin, Kate; Taylor, Rod S.; Bywater, Tracey; Edwards, Rhiannon Tudor; Axford, Nick; Lehtonen, Minna; Jones, Carys; Berry, Vashti

2017-01-01

The prognosis for children with early-onset conduct disorder is poor. Conduct disorder also has a social cost for families and communities, and an economic cost for society through the increased use of health, education, social, legal and detention services. In this study, the Incredible Years (IY) BASIC programme was delivered to parents of…

Holistic medicine not "torture": performing acupuncture in Galway, Ireland.

PubMed

Anderson, Kevin Taylor

2010-07-01

This article examines how the aesthetic design of clinics and interactive discourse and rituals construct the social reality of acupuncture sessions as a form of holistic medical therapy. Verbal and nonverbal interactions create an appealing medical environment but also help prevent the emergence of undesired counter-realities (e.g., pain, biomedical intervention). Based on observations of acupuncture sessions conducted in Galway, Ireland, I illustrate how ambiance and aesthetic elements of clinics create a complex medico-cultural environment that balances oppositional associations (Western/non-Western, exoticism/convention, medical alterity/medical professionalism). Patients interviewed continually referred to acupuncture as a natural and non-invasive form of medical treatment. This suggests that interpersonal discourse and aesthetic design play key roles in how patients define acupuncture treatment, and that these ephemeral agents may also influence how patients come to define efficacy.

Linking research to practice: the organisation and implementation of The Netherlands health and social care improvement programmes.

PubMed

Ovretveit, John; Klazinga, Niek

2013-02-01

Both public and private health and social care services are facing increased and changing demands to improve quality and reduce costs. To enable local services to respond to these demands, governments and other organisations have established large scale improvement programmes. These usually seek to enable many services to make changes to apply proven improvements and to make use of quality improvement methods. The purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical description of how one organisation coordinated ten national improvement programmes between 2004 and 2010. It provides details which may be useful to others seeking to plan and implement such programmes, and also contributes to the understanding of knowledge translation and of network governance. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recent trends in working with the private sector to improve basic healthcare: a review of evidence and interventions.

PubMed

Montagu, Dominic; Goodman, Catherine; Berman, Peter; Penn, Amy; Visconti, Adam

2016-10-01

The private sector provides the majority of health care in Africa and Asia. A number of interventions have, for many years, applied different models of subsidy, support and engagement to address social and efficiency failures in private health care markets. We have conducted a review of these models, and the evidence in support of them, to better understand what interventions are currently common, and to what extent practice is based on evidence. Using established typologies, we examined five models of intervention with private markets for care: commodity social marketing, social franchising, contracting, accreditation and vouchers. We conducted a systematic review of both published and grey literature, identifying programmes large enough to be cited in publications, and studies of the listed intervention types. 343 studies were included in the review, including both published and grey literature. Three hundred and eighty programmes were identified, the earliest having begun operation in 1955. Commodity social marketing programmes were the most common intervention type, with 110 documented programmes operating for condoms alone at the highest period. Existing evidence shows that these models can improve access and utilization, and possibly quality, but for all programme types, the overall evidence base remains weak, with practice in private sector engagement consistently moving in advance of evidence. Future research should address key questions concerning the impact of interventions on the market as a whole, the distribution of benefits by socio-economic status, the potential for scale up and sustainability, cost-effectiveness compared to relevant alternatives and the risk of unintended consequences. Alongside better data, a stronger conceptual basis linking programme design and outcomes to context is also required. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Social inequality in health: dichotomy or gradient? A comparative study of problematizations in national public health programmes.

PubMed

Vallgårda, Signild

2008-01-01

Recent public health programmes from four countries: Denmark, England, Norway, and Sweden, are studied to analyse how social inequality in health is described, explained and suggested to be tackled, i.e., the problematization or the discursive process whereby the issue is framed and made accessible to political action. Social inequality in health is defined in these programmes both as a disadvantaged minority with major health problems, in contrast to the rest of the population, i.e., as a dichotomy; and as a gradient in which health problems are seen as increasing with lower social class or educational level. The causes of health inequality are identified as behaviour, social relations and underlying social structures. Policies aimed at reducing health inequality can be characterized as either in accordance with a residual welfare state model, targeting the disadvantaged, or a universal model, addressing the whole population. All countries have policies that are mixtures of these problematizations, but with some systematic differences between the countries. In this field England resembles the Scandinavian countries, as much as they resemble each other dispelling the idea of a Nordic or Scandinavian welfare state model.

Developing sustainable social programmes for rural ethnic seniors: perspectives of community stakeholders.

PubMed

Winterton, Rachel; Hulme Chambers, Alana

2017-05-01

This qualitative study explores barriers to delivering sustainable rural community programmes to increase social participation among Australian ethnic seniors. In 2013, in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 stakeholders across eight rural/regional organisations that had received state government funding to provide social participation initiatives for ethnic seniors. Within interviews, participants were asked to outline factors that had enhanced or hindered their capacity to deliver the funded projects, and their plans for sustainability. Data were analysed thematically in accordance with Shediac-Rizkallah and Bone's (1998) tripartite programme sustainability framework (project design and implementation, organisational setting and broader community environment). Findings indicate that in the context of resource and staffing constraints and a lack of ethnic critical mass, programme sustainability reflected the increased capacity of rural ethnic seniors to integrate into existing community groups and maintain their own groups and activities. However, this is dependent on the ability of mainstream government, health and social care services to cater for diverse cultural needs and preferences, the ability of rural organisations to support ethnic seniors to manage their own cultural groups and activities, and the capacity of funding bodies, rural community and policy structures to maintain cultural sensitivity while compensating for the rural premium. In addition to identifying some key learnings for rural governments, health and community organisations, this research highlights the precarious nature of rural programme sustainability for ethnic seniors in the context of wider community, organisational and policy constraints. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Evaluation of assertiveness training for psychiatric patients.

PubMed

Lin, Yen-Ru; Wu, Mei-Hsuen; Yang, Cheng-I; Chen, Tsai-Hwei; Hsu, Chen-Chuan; Chang, Yue-Cune; Tzeng, Wen-Chii; Chou, Yuan-Hwa; Chou, Kuei-Ru

2008-11-01

To investigate the effectiveness of assertiveness training programmes on psychiatric patients' assertiveness, self-esteem and social anxiety. Assertiveness training programmes are designed to improve an individual's assertive beliefs and behaviours, which can help the individual change how they view themselves and establish self-confidence and social anxiety. It is useful for patients with depression, depressive phase of bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder or adjustment disorder. Experimental. There were 68 subjects (28, experimental group; 40, diagnosis-matched comparison group). Subjects in experimental groups participated in experimenter-designed assertiveness training twice a week (two hours each) for four weeks. The comparison groups participated the usual activities. Data were collected in the two groups at the same time: before, after and one month after training programme. Efficacy was measured by assertiveness, self-esteem and social anxiety inventories. A generalised estimating equation was used for analysis. After training, subjects had a significant increase in assertiveness immediately after the assertiveness training programme and one-month follow-up. There was a significant decrease in social anxiety after training, but the improvement was not significant after one month. Self-esteem did not increase significantly after training. With our sample of patients with mixed diagnoses, assertiveness seemed to be improved after assertiveness training. Patients would benefit more from the assertiveness training programme for the change in how they view themselves, improve their assertiveness, properly express their individual moods and thoughts and further establish self-confidence. The assertiveness training protocol could be provided as a reference guide to clinical nurses.

Striving for the impossible dream: a community-based multi-practice collaborative model of diabetes management.

PubMed

Distiller, L A; Brown, M A; Joffe, B I; Kramer, B D

2010-02-01

In 1994 the Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology (CDE) based in Johannesburg, South Africa established a novel community-based capitation and risk-sharing model for diabetes management. We here describe the model and present a recent survey of the performance/outcomes of this unique diabetes care programme. Data on 17 043 patients managed by the CDE Diabetes Management Programme at its Centre and its 262 affiliated Centres were analysed from its national database. From this total cohort, 1520 Type 1 and 8026 Type 2 diabetes patients have been in the Programme for > 5 years. The 5-year outcome data on hospital admission rates, glycaemic control (HbA(1c)), and microvascular complication rates were assessed in this subgroup of patients. Major reductions in hospital admission rates for both acute metabolic emergencies and all causes (40% overall) were achieved in patients enrolled onto the Diabetes Management Programme. The mean HBA(1c) on enrolment was 9.2% for subjects with Type 1 and 8.8% for those with Type 2 diabetes. After 1 year, mean HbA(1c) fell to 7.6% and 7.3% for the Type 1 and Type 2 subjects, respectively. At 5 years the HbA(1c) remained similar at 7.7% for the Type 1 subjects and 7.4% for the Type 2 subjects, demonstrating sustained improvement. Progression of microvascular complications appears to have been delayed. This managed care model of diabetes care in the context of the South African Private Health Care System achieved long-term improvement in glycaemic control and all-cause hospital admission rates. This may be due to the cost-containment being in the hands of the treating doctor, supported by an annual training programme. This programme is based on an individualized and holistic approach encompassing intensive patient education to facilitate self-empowerment and including prompting for the management of risk factors.

How can web-based training facilitate a more carer friendly practice in community-based health and social care services in Norway? Staff experiences and implementation challenges.

PubMed

Hanssen, Helene; Norheim, Anne; Hanson, Elizabeth

2017-03-01

It is a central feature of current Norwegian health and social care policy to see informal carers as active partners. However, research has revealed that carers often experience a lack of recognition by professionals. In 2010, the Norwegian Directorate of Health initiated a web-based competence-building programme (CBP) for health and social care practitioners aimed at facilitating collaboration with carers. The programme comprised case presentations, e-lectures, exercises and topics for discussion, and was introduced in 2012. It was flexible and free of charge. This article is based on a study (2012-2013) that followed the piloting of this CBP in four settings. The study aimed to explore factors that influenced the implementation of the programme and whether or not using it affected health and social care practitioners' attitudes and perceived capacity for collaboration with carers. The study employed a mixed-methods design. A questionnaire was distributed to all staff before and 5 months after the CBP was introduced, followed by focus group interviews with a sample of staff members and individual interviews with the leadership in the involved settings and those who introduced the programme. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, which subsequently formed the basis for the focus group interviews. The qualitative data were analysed by means of content analysis. The programme's introduction was similar across all research settings. Nevertheless, whether or not it was adopted depended to a large extent on leadership commitment and engagement. In settings where the programme's use was monitored, supported by management and formed part of on-the-job training, there seemed to be a positive impact on staff attitudes concerning collaboration with carers. Participant staff reported that their awareness of, motivation for and confidence in collaboration with carers were all strengthened. In contrast, the programme was of minimal benefit in settings with low leadership engagement. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Understanding the Role of Social Factors in Farmworker Housing and Health.

PubMed

Marsh, Ben; Milofsky, Carl; Kissam, Edward; Arcury, Thomas A

2015-11-01

Differences in social advantage significantly influence health conditions and life expectancy within any population. Such factors reproduce historic class, race, and ethnic disparities in community success. Few populations in the United States face more social and economic disadvantage than farmworkers, and farmworker housing has significant potential to ameliorate or amplify the health impact of those disadvantages. Drawing on the limited direct research on farmworkers, and on additional research about poor, isolated, and immigrant societies, we propose four mechanisms through which housing can be expected to affect farmworker health: quality of social capital within farmworker communities, stress effects of poor housing situations, effects of housing on social support for healthy behaviors, and interactions among these factors, especially effects on children that can last for generations. Policy and planning definitions of "adequate" farmworker housing should take a more holistic view of housing needs to support specific social and community benefits in design decisions. © The Author(s) 2015.

Social class differences in self, attribution, and attention: socially expansive individualism of middle-class Americans.

PubMed

Bowman, Nicholas A; Kitayama, Shinobu; Nisbett, Richard E

2009-07-01

Although U.S. culture strongly sanctions the ideal of independence, the specific ways in which independence is realized may be variable depending, among other factors, on social class. Characterized by relative scarcity of social and material resources, working-class (WC) Americans were expected to strongly value self-reliance. In contrast, with choices among abundant resources, middle-class (MC) Americans were expected to value personal control and social expansiveness. In support of this analysis, relative to their WC counterparts, MC Americans reported more support from friends and greater likelihood of giving and receiving advice but less self-reliance (Study 1). Furthermore, we found evidence that this social difference has cognitive consequences: College students with MC backgrounds were more likely than their WC counterparts were to endorse situational attributions for others' behavior (Studies 2a and 2b) as well as to show holistic visual attention (Study 3).

Review of the Bangladesh Female Secondary School Stipend Project Using a Social Exclusion Framework

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

The Female Secondary School Stipend Project in Bangladesh was established to increase the enrollment of girls in secondary schools, thereby delaying marriage and childbearing. This analysis examined the existing data using the social exclusion framework to clarify the primary exclusionary factors that have kept girls from education: harassment, poverty, and the primacy of marriage and childbirth and explored the extent to which the project has diminished such barriers. While causality is difficult to establish, data suggest that the stipend programme has contributed to the rise in enrollment of girls in secondary schools. Questions remain as to the impact of the stipend programme on delaying marriage, empowerment of girls and women, and enhancing employment opportunities. A thorough assessment of the impact is required. The case study suggests that, if the programme design had focused on the quality and content of education and the broader economic and social context, more opportunities would have been created for social and economic participation of girls. PMID:19761084

[Implementation of a health promotion programme for women in social exclusion in the city of Seville (Spain)].

PubMed

Rodríguez Fernández-Viagas, Cristina; García Gil, Carmen; Bayo Barroso, Nora; Villalba Quesada, Cristina; Álvarez Girón, Manuela

2018-01-09

Health promotion can contribute towards reducing inequality and ensuring equal opportunities, providing the means to enable the entire population to develop its maximum health possibilities. Women living in areas with social transformation needs (ASTN) are an especially vulnerable group due to the situation of material deprivation and social exclusion in which they live. Health promotion programmes for this group can bring about an improvement in their health. This paper describes the health promotion programme Socio-educational Groups of Primary Care for Women (SEGPC-W), and evaluates its implementation in ASTN in the city of Seville (Spain), as well as the benefits and difficulties of its development through a documentary analysis and interviews with participating professionals. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Facing mixed emotions: Analytic and holistic perception of facial emotion expressions engages separate brain networks.

PubMed

Meaux, Emilie; Vuilleumier, Patrik

2016-11-01

The ability to decode facial emotions is of primary importance for human social interactions; yet, it is still debated how we analyze faces to determine their expression. Here we compared the processing of emotional face expressions through holistic integration and/or local analysis of visual features, and determined which brain systems mediate these distinct processes. Behavioral, physiological, and brain responses to happy and angry faces were assessed by presenting congruent global configurations of expressions (e.g., happy top+happy bottom), incongruent composite configurations (e.g., angry top+happy bottom), and isolated features (e.g. happy top only). Top and bottom parts were always from the same individual. Twenty-six healthy volunteers were scanned using fMRI while they classified the expression in either the top or the bottom face part but ignored information in the other non-target part. Results indicate that the recognition of happy and anger expressions is neither strictly holistic nor analytic Both routes were involved, but with a different role for analytic and holistic information depending on the emotion type, and different weights of local features between happy and anger expressions. Dissociable neural pathways were engaged depending on emotional face configurations. In particular, regions within the face processing network differed in their sensitivity to holistic expression information, which predominantly activated fusiform, inferior occipital areas and amygdala when internal features were congruent (i.e. template matching), whereas more local analysis of independent features preferentially engaged STS and prefrontal areas (IFG/OFC) in the context of full face configurations, but early visual areas and pulvinar when seen in isolated parts. Collectively, these findings suggest that facial emotion recognition recruits separate, but interactive dorsal and ventral routes within the face processing networks, whose engagement may be shaped by reciprocal interactions and modulated by task demands. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

International Evaluation Studies of Second Step, a Primary Prevention Programme: A Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schick, Andreas; Cierpka, Manfred

2013-01-01

Second Step is a social-emotional, skill-based, violence-prevention programme, which has been adapted for several European countries. The various versions of the programme (for kindergarten/preschool, elementary school, middle school) have been evaluated in a series of research studies. The outcomes and study designs of these studies are reported…

Students' Perceptions of a University Access (Bridging) Programme for Social Science, Commerce and Humanities: Research Article

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quayle, Michael; Essack, Zaynab

2007-01-01

Universities in South Africa face the challenge of redressing past (and continuing) inequalities in higher education by increasing accessibility to previously (and currently) disadvantaged students. One means of doing so is through 'access' or 'bridging' programmes. This article explores successful students' perceptions of one such programme at…

"Unplugged": A New European School Programme against Substance Abuse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kreeft, Peer Van Der; Wiborg, Gudrun; Galanti, Maria Rosaria; Siliquini, Roberta; Bohrn, Karl; Scatigna, Maria; Lindahl, Ann-Marie; Melero, Juan Carlos; Vassara, Maro; Faggiano, Fabrizio

2009-01-01

This paper presents the rationale, development and application of "Unplugged', a new school programme for the prevention of substance abuse, which is based on the comprehensive social influence approach (CSI). The programme was developed, implemented and evaluated by a cross-disciplinary group of experts in the frame of a multi-centre study…

Demand generation and social mobilisation for integrated community case management (iCCM) and child health: Lessons learned from successful programmes in Niger and Mozambique.

PubMed

Sharkey, Alyssa B; Martin, Sandrine; Cerveau, Teresa; Wetzler, Erica; Berzal, Rocio

2014-12-01

We present the approaches used in and outcomes resulting from integrated community case management (iCCM) programmes in Niger and Mozambique with a strong focus on demand generation and social mobilisation. We use a case study approach to describe the programme and contextual elements of the Niger and Mozambique programmes. Awareness and utilisation of iCCM services and key family practices increased following the implementation of the Niger and Mozambique iCCM and child survival programmes, as did care-seeking within 24 hours and care-seeking from appropriate, trained providers in Mozambique. These approaches incorporated interpersonal communication activities and community empowerment/participation for collective change, partnerships and networks among key stakeholder groups within communities, media campaigns and advocacy efforts with local and national leaders. iCCM programmes that train and equip community health workers and successfully engage and empower community members to adopt new behaviours, have appropriate expectations and to trust community health workers' ability to assess and treat illnesses can lead to improved care-seeking and utilisation, and community ownership for iCCM.

Power games: The political use of solar technology in northern Thailand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, Donna Lisa

This dissertation politicises and historically situates the transfer of an environmental technology to a less developed country, a transfer that has occurred under the rubric of sustainable development. The case study explores the social and political context of two solar battery charging station programmes selected to provide electrification in rural Northern Thailand beginning in the 1980s. It places these rural electrification programmes in the context of previous rural electrification policies in northern Thailand in the 1960s and 1970s which were driven by an explicitly state-serving agenda: an agenda that aimed to expand the centralised state's ability to pacify and control remote areas of the country. However, it is clear that the technology and implementation strategies selected for the new electrification programmes could not fulfil their community-serving objectives; furthermore, these systems could not meet the actual energy needs of the programmes' intended beneficiaries. I argue that we need to consider whether the objectives that motivated previous rural electrification programmes may be continuing to play a role in the promotion of these new rural electrification programmes, a motivation that would contradict the philosophy behind the choice of the solar battery charging stations. Specifically, I show how the new rural electrification strategy has been de-politicised through its framing within the sustainable development discourses. This thesis highlights how the rush to promote environmental technologies through the rubric of sustainable development may limit a proper consideration of the social and political dynamics that motivated these decisions, resulting in the uncritical justification of technology selection. Scholars have critiqued the social ramifications of, and the political motivations behind, earlier technocentric rural development strategies, showing how they can exacerbate social inequalities. I argue that in this situation, the alleged environmental benefits of using an environmental technology in a sustainable development programme may have served to shelter it from similar critique. The assessment reveals and emphasises the need to query the validity of the objectives motivating other technocentric rural development programmes that transfer environmental technologies as part of the practice of sustainable development.

Drug prevention programmes for young people: where have we been and where should we be going?

PubMed

Midford, Richard

2010-10-01

Substance use by young people has long been a concern of western society, but opinion is mixed as to which prevention approach offers the greatest benefit, and whether indeed there is any benefit at all. This paper reviews the nature of prevention programmes, the research evidence that underpins these programmes and the prevention objectives against which effectiveness is measured. The aim of this is to create better understanding of the elements that maximize programme effectiveness, what can be achieved by prevention programmes and how programmes can be improved. There is a range of prevention approaches for which there is evidence of effectiveness. Some are classroom-based; some focus upon parenting; some have substantial whole-of-school and community elements; and some target risk and protective factors in early childhood. All, however, are based substantially on the social influence model. In an attempt to improve practice lists of effective programmes have been developed, but there are concerns about the science behind selection. On balance, there is consistent evidence that social influence prevention programmes do have a small, positive effect on drug use, but this then raises the question as to whether harm, rather than use, would be the more worthwhile target for prevention. Prevention that seeks to reduce harm has been demonstrably effective, but has found little support in some jurisdictions. Research has created a progressively better understanding of how to optimize programme effectiveness and what can be achieved realistically by even the most effective programmes. However, further research is required to identify which, if any, particular approach offers greater promise. The effectiveness of harm reduction should be compared with more traditional abstinence and the additional effects of whole of school, parent and community elements need to be measured more accurately. Contemporary social influence prevention programmes are flawed, but the approach is still the best way of influencing drug use behaviour in young people as a whole. Evidence-based refinement is the best option for greater benefit. © 2009 The Author, Addiction © 2009 Society for the Study of Addiction.

The new holism: P4 systems medicine and the medicalization of health and life itself.

PubMed

Vogt, Henrik; Hofmann, Bjørn; Getz, Linn

2016-06-01

The emerging concept of systems medicine (or 'P4 medicine'-predictive, preventive, personalized and participatory) is at the vanguard of the post-genomic movement towards 'precision medicine'. It is the medical application of systems biology, the biological study of wholes. Of particular interest, P4 systems medicine is currently promised as a revolutionary new biomedical approach that is holistic rather than reductionist. This article analyzes its concept of holism, both with regard to methods and conceptualization of health and disease. Rather than representing a medical holism associated with basic humanistic ideas, we find a technoscientific holism resulting from altered technological and theoretical circumstances in biology. We argue that this holism, which is aimed at disease prevention and health optimization, points towards an expanded form of medicalization, which we call 'holistic medicalization': Each person's whole life process is defined in biomedical, technoscientific terms as quantifiable and controllable and underlain a regime of medical control that is holistic in that it is all-encompassing. It is directed at all levels of functioning, from the molecular to the social, continual throughout life and aimed at managing the whole continuum from cure of disease to optimization of health. We argue that this medicalization is a very concrete materialization of a broader trend in medicine and society, which we call 'the medicalization of health and life itself'. We explicate this holistic medicalization, discuss potential harms and conclude by calling for preventive measures aimed at avoiding eventual harmful effects of overmedicalization in systems medicine (quaternary prevention).

Women's human rights at the World Summit for Social Development.

PubMed

Fried, S

1995-01-01

The Copenhagen Hearing on Economic Justice and Women's Human Rights was held on March 7, 1995 in conjunction with the NGO (nongovernmental organization) Forum during the UN World Summit on Social Development (the Social Summit). During the Copenhagen Hearing, 10 women from around the world testified on a wide range of topics connected with the issue of providing tangible meaning to the indivisibility of women's human rights. Also emphasized was the complexity of the US government in perpetrating abuses against women's human rights, either directly or indirectly. The NGO Forum resulted in several hundred NGOs signing The Quality Benchmark for the Social Summit and The Copenhagen Alternative Declaration, which pointed out the need to critique conventional economic and social policies. While many of the concerns raised at the NGO Forum were not reflected in the Summit's Programme of Action, one of the Programme's 10 commitments called for the promotion of gender equality and improvement in the status of women. The Programme also recognized the burden placed on women by poverty and social disintegration; accepted a broad definition of "family"; called for a quantitative consideration of the value of unremunerated work; and advanced the rights of workers in general, migrant workers, and indigenous people. The capacity of NGOs and other grassroots groups to demand implementation of international agreements and adherence to international human rights standards was also strengthened. Specifically, such groups may urge governments to 1) meet with women's NGOs to discuss implementation of the Social Summit Declaration and Programme of Action; 2) make a national commitment to implement the Platform of Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women; and 3) commit to the Pledge to Gender Justice, particularly to the implementation of international agreements in local and national laws and policies.

The Impact of Shame, Self-Criticism and Social Rank on Eating Behaviours in Overweight and Obese Women Participating in a Weight Management Programme

PubMed Central

Duarte, Cristiana; Matos, Marcela; Stubbs, R. James; Gale, Corinne; Morris, Liam; Gouveia, Jose Pinto; Gilbert, Paul

2017-01-01

Recent research has suggested that obesity is a stigmatised condition. Concerns with personal inferiority (social rank), shame and self-criticism may impact on weight management behaviours. The current study examined associations between social comparison (shame, self-criticism), negative affect and eating behaviours in women attending a community based weight management programme focused on behaviour change. 2,236 participants of the programme completed an online survey using measures of shame, self-criticism, social comparison, and weight-related affect, which were adapted to specifically address eating behaviour, weight and body shape perceptions. Correlation analyses showed that shame, self-criticism and social comparison were associated with negative affect. All of these variables were related to eating regulation and weight control (p < 0.001). Path analysis revealed that the association of shame, hated-self, and low self-reassurance on disinhibition and susceptibility to hunger was fully mediated by weight-related negative affect, even when controlling for the effect of depressive symptoms (p < 0.050 to p < 0.010). In addition, feelings of inadequacy and unfavourable social comparisons were associated with higher disinhibition and susceptibility to hunger, partially mediated through weight-related negative affect (p = 0.001). These variables were negatively associated with extent of weight loss during programme attendance prior to the survey, while self-reassurance and positive social comparisons were positively associated with the extent of weight loss prior to the survey (p < .050). Shame, self-criticism, and perceptions of inferiority may play a significant role in self-regulation of eating behaviour in overweight people trying to manage their weight. PMID:28107449

A basic technology-aided programme for leisure and communication of persons with advanced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: performance and social rating.

PubMed

Lancioni, Giulio E; Singh, Nirbhay N; O'Reilly, Mark F; Sigafoos, Jeff; D'Amico, Fiora; Ferlisi, Gabriele; Zullo, Valeria; Denitto, Floriana; Lauta, Enrico; Abbinante, Crescenza; Pesce, Caterina V

2017-02-01

This study assessed (a) the impact of a technology-aided programme on the leisure and communication engagement of persons with advanced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and (b) the opinion of rehabilitation and care personnel regarding the programme. The programme's impact was assessed with four participants who were allowed to activate leisure and communication options through basic responses (e.g. knee, finger or lip movements) and microswitches. Forty-two care and health professionals rated the programme after watching video clips of persons with ALS (three of the four involved in this study and three involved in previous studies) during and outside of the programme. The programme was effective with all participants. Their mean percentages of session time with independently initiated leisure and communication engagements were zero during baseline and increased to between nearly 70 and 80 during the intervention. The care and health professionals rated the technology-aided programme as beneficial for the participants' positive engagement and social image, fairly practical for daily contexts and interesting from a personal standpoint. The programme might be viewed as a viable resource for persons with advanced ALS. Implications for Rehabilitation A programme characterised by versatility, simplicity and relatively low cost could be considered practically relevant for persons with ALS and their contexts. A programme that is effective in fostering participants' independent leisure and communication engagement and is positively rated by care and rehabilitation personnel is more likely to be accepted and used with consistency. Any programme directed at persons affected by ALS needs to be adapted to the persons' progressive deterioration, starting from the response and microswitch used for accessing the programme's options.

AYURVEDA, AN APPROPRIATE STRATEGY FOR SOCIAL HEALTH: An overview of the Indian Panorama

PubMed Central

Bijoy, C. R.

1981-01-01

The rationale for the thought of an appropriate strategy for social health, issues from the failiure to provide health with social Justice. Too much has been said and done along a devious path by the dominant class, that, increasing marginal rate of disutility threatens the very existence of man. A modest attempt has been made here to expose the corrosion in values and priorities and as to what little should and could be done to safeguard the right to health of underprivileged mass, in the light of the lack of political will and the rise of ‘elitism’ among the responsible people, the social relevance and the natural direction of progress consistent with the values and priorities of Ayurveda as a holistic system of health. PMID:22556469

AYURVEDA, AN APPROPRIATE STRATEGY FOR SOCIAL HEALTH: An overview of the Indian Panorama.

PubMed

Bijoy, C R

1981-10-01

The rationale for the thought of an appropriate strategy for social health, issues from the failiure to provide health with social Justice. Too much has been said and done along a devious path by the dominant class, that, increasing marginal rate of disutility threatens the very existence of man. A modest attempt has been made here to expose the corrosion in values and priorities and as to what little should and could be done to safeguard the right to health of underprivileged mass, in the light of the lack of political will and the rise of 'elitism' among the responsible people, the social relevance and the natural direction of progress consistent with the values and priorities of Ayurveda as a holistic system of health.

Cultural differences are not always reducible to individual differences.

PubMed

Na, Jinkyung; Grossmann, Igor; Varnum, Michael E W; Kitayama, Shinobu; Gonzalez, Richard; Nisbett, Richard E

2010-04-06

We show that differences in social orientation and in cognition that exist between cultures and social classes do not necessarily have counterparts in individual differences within those groups. Evidence comes from a large-scale study conducted with 10 measures of independent vs. interdependent social orientation and 10 measures of analytic vs. holistic cognitive style. The social measures successfully distinguish between interdependence (viewing oneself as embedded in relations with others) and independence (viewing oneself as disconnected from others) at the group level. However, the correlations among the measures were negligible. Similar results were obtained for the cognitive measures, for which there are no coherent individual differences despite the validity of the construct at the group level. We conclude that behavioral constructs that distinguish among groups need not be valid as measures of individual differences.

School differences in pupil smoking: a consequence of a trade-off between health and education agendas?

PubMed

Gordon, J; Turner, K M

2003-10-01

Current policy documents stress that raising standards in education and health are inextricably linked, with schools identified as well placed to advance both agendas. This paper considers these assumptions in the light of data derived from 27 staff interviews conducted in two secondary schools. These schools served relatively disadvantaged communities, but differed in their pupil smoking rates with one school being 'high-smoking', the other 'low-smoking'. It explores whether this difference reflects the differential emphasis placed by each school on education or health. Analysis reveals that the 'low-smoking' school subscribes to holistic values and operates according to a child-centred bottom-up philosophy offering a differentiated programme of pupil support contingent on needs. In contrast, the 'high-smoking' school maintains a narrow focus on educational outcomes, and its high expectations are viewed as running counter to those held by pupils and parents. The contrasting school philosophies bring different unintended consequences. The holistic focus of the low-smoking school is associated with tempered educational expectations, thus conflicting with recommendations in education policies. The singular education focus of the high-smoking school leaves little room for a health agenda, and can overlook and disenfranchise the educationally disinclined. The school systems' impact on pupil engagement may explain their different smoking rates.

Assessing tomorrow's learners: in competency-based education only a radically different holistic method of assessment will work. Six things we could forget.

PubMed

Schuwirth, Lambert; Ash, Julie

2013-07-01

In this paper we are challenging six traditional notions about assessment that are unhelpful when designing 'assessment for learning'-programmes for competency-based education. We are arguing for the following: Reductionism is not the only way to assure rigour in high-stakes assessment; holistic judgements can be equally rigorous. Combining results of assessment parts only because they are of the same format (like different stations in an OSCE) is often not defensible; instead there must be a logically justifiable combination. Numbers describe the quality of the assessment. Therefore, manipulating the numbers is usually not the best way to improve its quality. Not every assessment moment needs to be a decision moment, disconnecting both makes combining summative and formative functions of assessment easier. Standardisation is not the only route to equity. Especially with diverse student groups tailoring is more equitable than standardisation. The most important element to standardise is the quality of the process and not the process itself. Finally, most assessment is too much focussed on detecting deficiencies and not on valuing individual student differences. In competency-based education--especially with a focus on learner orientation--this 'deficiency-model' is not as well aligned as a 'differences-model'.

Effectiveness of a workplace training programme in improving social, communication and emotional skills for adults with autism and intellectual disability in Hong Kong--a pilot study.

PubMed

Liu, Karen P Y; Wong, Denys; Chung, Anthony C Y; Kwok, Natalie; Lam, Madeleine K Y; Yuen, Cheri M C; Arblaster, Karen; Kwan, Aldous C S

2013-12-01

This pilot study explored the effectiveness of workplace training programme that aimed to enhance the work-related behaviours in individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities. Fourteen participants with autism and mild to moderate intellectual disability (mean age = 24.6 years) were recruited. The workplace training programme included practices in work context and group educational sessions. A pre-test-post-test design was used with the Work Personality Profile, the Scale of Independent Behaviour Revised and the Observational Emotional Inventory Revised to evaluate the targeted behaviours. Improvement in social and communication skills specific to the workplace was achieved. For emotional control, participants became less confused and had a better self-concept. However, improvement in other general emotional behaviours, such as impulse control, was limited. The results indicated that a structured workplace training programme aimed at improving social, communication and emotional behaviours can be helpful for people with autism and intellectual disability. Further study with a larger sample size and a control group is recommended. The development of specific programme to cater for the emotional control needs at workplace for people with autism is also suggested. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Conversations between anthropology and psychiatry: drawing out the best from interdisciplinarity in global mental health.

PubMed

Rosso Buckton, Amanda

2015-12-01

Conversations between anthropologists and psychiatrists have led to new theoretical trajectories, research agendas and clinical practices as social scientists and medical practitioners forged new understandings about the interaction of culture, personhood and illness. However, the demands of global mental health, coupled with health service provision requirements, mean that mental health interventions set up with the best intentions can fail to take into account the knowledge and expertise that social sciences can contribute to a programme's success. In this paper, I reflect on conversations between an anthropologist and mental health professionals in direct reference to data analysis of an AusAID mental health capacity-building programme undertaken in the Pacific region. Social and cultural perspectives embedded within programmes can provide richer, more contextualised interventions. In drawing on the combined expertise of anthropology and psychiatry, new taken-for-granted reference points embedding cultural approaches form the basis for delivery of global mental health programmes. These perspectives include: Locating mental health programmes within development critiques. Situating the subjects of development within contextualised settings, acknowledging and respecting local knowledge, understandings and practices. A focus on interdisciplinarity as the basis for future practice in global mental health projects. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.

Impact on quality of life of a nursing intervention programme for patients with chronic non-cancer pain: an open, randomized controlled parallel study protocol.

PubMed

Morales-Fernandez, Angeles; Morales-Asencio, Jose Miguel; Canca-Sanchez, Jose Carlos; Moreno-Martin, Gabriel; Vergara-Romero, Manuel

2016-05-01

To determine the effect of a nurse-led intervention programme for patients with chronic non-cancer pain. Chronic non-cancer pain is a widespread health problem and one that is insufficiently controlled. Nurses can play a vital role in pain management, using best practices in the assessment and management of pain under a holistic approach where the patient plays a proactive role in addressing the disease process. Improving the quality of life, reducing disability, achieving acceptance of health status, coping and breaking the vicious circle of pain should be the prime objectives of our care management programme. Open randomized parallel controlled study. The experimental group will undertake one single initial session, followed by six group sessions led by nurses, aimed at empowering patients for the self-management of pain. Healthy behaviours will be encouraged, such as sleep and postural hygiene, promotion of physical activity and healthy eating. Educational interventions on self-esteem, pain-awareness, communication and relaxing techniques will be carried out. As primary end points, quality of life, perceived level of pain, anxiety and depression will be evaluated. Secondary end points will be coping and satisfaction. Follow-up will be performed at 12 and 24 weeks. The study was approved by the Ethics and Research Committee Costa del Sol. If significant effects were detected, impact on quality of life through a nurse-led programme would offer a complementary service to existing pain clinics for a group of patients with frequent unmet needs. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A framework for the identification of long-term social avoidance in longitudinal datasets

PubMed Central

Levengood, Alexis; Foroughirad, Vivienne; Mann, Janet; Krzyszczyk, Ewa

2017-01-01

Animal sociality is of significant interest to evolutionary and behavioural ecologists, with efforts focused on the patterns, causes and fitness outcomes of social preference. However, individual social patterns are the consequence of both attraction to (preference for) and avoidance of conspecifics. Despite this, social avoidance has received far less attention than social preference. Here, we detail the necessary steps to generate a spatially explicit, iterative null model which can be used to identify non-random social avoidance in longitudinal studies of social animals. We specifically identify and detail parameters which will influence the validity of the model. To test the usability of this model, we applied it to two longitudinal studies of social animals (Eastern water dragons (Intellegama lesueurii) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus)) to identify the presence of social avoidances. Using this model allowed us to identify the presence of social avoidances in both species. We hope that the framework presented here inspires interest in addressing this critical gap in our understanding of animal sociality, in turn allowing for a more holistic understanding of social interactions, relationships and structure. PMID:28879006

A framework for the identification of long-term social avoidance in longitudinal datasets.

PubMed

Strickland, Kasha; Levengood, Alexis; Foroughirad, Vivienne; Mann, Janet; Krzyszczyk, Ewa; Frère, Celine H

2017-08-01

Animal sociality is of significant interest to evolutionary and behavioural ecologists, with efforts focused on the patterns, causes and fitness outcomes of social preference. However, individual social patterns are the consequence of both attraction to (preference for) and avoidance of conspecifics. Despite this, social avoidance has received far less attention than social preference. Here, we detail the necessary steps to generate a spatially explicit, iterative null model which can be used to identify non-random social avoidance in longitudinal studies of social animals. We specifically identify and detail parameters which will influence the validity of the model. To test the usability of this model, we applied it to two longitudinal studies of social animals (Eastern water dragons ( Intellegama lesueurii ) and bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops aduncus )) to identify the presence of social avoidances. Using this model allowed us to identify the presence of social avoidances in both species. We hope that the framework presented here inspires interest in addressing this critical gap in our understanding of animal sociality, in turn allowing for a more holistic understanding of social interactions, relationships and structure.

Evaluation of holistic sexuality education: A European expert group consensus agreement.

PubMed

Ketting, Evert; Friele, Minou; Michielsen, Kristien

2016-01-01

Holistic sexuality education (HSE) is a new concept in sexuality education (SE). Since it differs from other types of SE in a number of important respects, strategies developed for the evaluation of the latter are not necessarily applicable to HSE. In this paper the authors provide a basis for discussion on how to evaluate HSE. First, the international literature on evaluation of SE in general was reviewed in terms of its applicability to HSE. Second, the European Expert Group on Sexuality Education extensively discussed the requirements of its evaluation and suggested appropriate indicators and methods for evaluating HSE. The European experience in SE is scarcely represented in the general evaluation literature. The majority of the literature focuses on impact and neglects programme and implementation evaluations. Furthermore, the current literature demonstrates that evaluation criteria predominantly focus on the public health impact, while there is not yet a consensus on sexual well-being criteria and aspects of positive sexuality, which are crucial parts of HSE. Finally, experimental designs are still considered the gold standard, yet several of the conditions for their use are not fulfilled in HSE. Realising that a new evaluation framework for HSE is needed, the European expert group initiated its development and agreed upon a number of indicators that provide a starting point for further discussion. Aside from the health impact, the quality of SE programmes and their implementation also deserve attention and should be evaluated. To be applicable to HSE, the evaluation criteria need to cover more than the typical public health aspects. Since they do not register long-term and multi-component characteristics, evaluation methods such as randomised controlled trials are not sufficiently suitable for HSE. The evaluation design should rely on a number of different information sources from mixed methods that are complemented and triangulated to build a plausible case for the effectiveness of SE in general and HSE in particular.

School-based programmes for preventing smoking.

PubMed

Thomas, R; Perera, R

2006-07-19

Smoking rates in adolescents are rising in some countries. Helping young people to avoid starting smoking is a widely endorsed goal of public health, but there is uncertainty about how to do this. Schools provide a route for communicating with a large proportion of young people, and school-based programmes for smoking prevention have been widely developed and evaluated. To review all randomized controlled trials of behavioural interventions in schools to prevent children (aged 5 to12) and adolescents (aged 13 to18) starting smoking. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group's Specialized Register, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsyclNFO, ERIC, CINAHL, Health Star, Dissertation Abstracts and studies identified in the bibliographies of articles. Individual MEDLINE searches were made for 133 authors who had undertaken randomized controlled trials in this area. Types of studies: those in which individual students, classes, schools, or school districts were randomized to the intervention or control groups and followed for at least six months. Children (aged 5 to12) or adolescents (aged 13 to18) in school settings. Types of interventions: Classroom programmes or curricula, including those with associated family and community interventions, intended to deter use of tobacco. We included programmes or curricula that provided information, those that used social influences approaches, those that taught generic social competence, and those that included interventions beyond the school into the community. We included programmes with a drug or alcohol focus if outcomes for tobacco use were reported. Types of outcome measures: Prevalence of non-smoking at follow up among those not smoking at baseline. We did not require biochemical validation of self-reported tobacco use for study inclusion. We assessed whether identified citations were randomized controlled trials. We assessed the quality of design and execution, and abstracted outcome data. Because of the marked heterogeneity of design and outcomes, we computed pooled estimates only for those trials that could be analyzed together and for which statistical data were available. We predominantly synthesized the data using narrative systematic review. We grouped studies by intervention method (information; social competence; social influences; combined social influences/social competence; multi-modal programmes). Within each group, we placed them into three categories (low, medium and high risk of bias) according to validity using quality criteria for reported study design. Of the 94 randomized controlled trials identified, we classified 23 as category one (most valid). There was one category one study of information-giving and two of teaching social comeptence. There were thirteen category one studies of social influences interventions. Of these, nine found some positive effect of intervention on smoking prevalence, and four failed to detect an effect on smoking prevalence. The largest and most rigorous study, the Hutchinson Smoking Prevention Project, found no long-term effect of an intensive eight-year programme on smoking behaviour. There were three category one RCTs of combined social influences and social competence interventions: one provided significant results and one only for instruction by health educators compared to self-instruction. There was a lack of high quality evidence about the effectiveness of combinations of social influences and social competence approaches. There was one category one study providing data on social influences compared with information giving. There were four category one studies of multi-modal approaches but they provided limited evidence about the effectiveness of multi-modal approaches including community initiatives. There is one rigorous test of the effects of information-giving about smoking. There are well-conducted randomized controlled trials to test the effects of social influences interventions: in half of the group of best quality studies those in the intervention group smoke less than those in the control, but many studies failed to detect an effect of the intervention. There are only three high quality RCTs which test the effectiveness of combinations of social influences and social competence interventions, and four which test multi-modal interventions; half showed significant positive results.

A new method for developing compassionate communities and cities movement-"Todos Contigo" Programme (We are All With You): experience in Spain and Latin America countries.

PubMed

Librada Flores, Silvia

2018-01-01

Todos Contigo (We are All With You) is a programme for social awareness, training, and implementation of care networks for citizens to support, accompany and care for those who face advanced chronic disease and end of life situations. From New Health Foundation this programme collaborates with the Public Health and Palliative Care International Charter of Compassionate Communities. It seeks to promote a new integrated palliative care model in the daily lives of individuals, to make families and health/social professionals the main promoters of compassionate communities and compassionate cities movement. This workshop aims to: (I) describe the methodology of the programme: required tools and steps for building and developing a compassionate city or community; (II) identify stakeholders and organizations to join the compassionate community as networking agents; (III) sharing experiences from the implementation of this project in various contexts while providing specific examples and lessons learned from the perspective of various roles; (IV) explain the process of becoming a part of the project and of getting the official recognition for being a compassionate city. This workshop aims to share a new methodology "Todos Contigo" (We are all with you) Programme for the development of compassionate communities and cities movement. We describe our experiences in Spain and Latin American countries. The method is based on creating community networks, carrying out social awareness and training programmes related to end of life care.

A decade of an HIV workplace programme in armed conflict zones; a social responsibility response of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

PubMed

Du Mortier, Stéphane; Mukangu, Silas; Sagna, Charles; Nyffenegger, Laurent; Aebischer Perone, Sigiriya

2016-01-01

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) works in fragile States and in armed conflict zones. Some of them are affected by the HIV pandemic. Within the framework of its social responsibility programme concerning HIV affecting its staff members, the organization has implemented an HIV workplace programme since 2004. We carried out a retrospective analysis over 10 years. Data collected were initially essentially qualitative and process-oriented, but were complemented over the years by data on annual voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) uptake and on direct annual costs covering awareness, testing and antiretroviral therapy. The number of people covered by the programme grew from none in 2003 to 4,438 in 2015, with an increase in annual VCT uptake over the years increasing from 376 persons (14 %) in 2007 to 2,663 in 2015 (60 %). Over the years, the services were expanded from awareness raising to bringing VCT to the workplace, as well as offering testing and health coverage of other conditions and innovative approaches to facing challenges linked to situations of violence. Within its social responsibility framework, the ICRC has shown the importance and feasibility of a workplace HIV programme in conflict zones. A sustainable workplace programme in these conflict settings requires constant adaptation, with regular follow-up given the relatively high turnover of staff, and ensuring sustainable stocks of condoms and antiretroviral drugs.

Using the dimensions of health to assess motivation among running moms.

PubMed

Whipple, Kerry; Combs, Sue; Dowd, Deborah; Elliott, Steve

2011-05-01

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2008) reported that 60% of American women did not engage in the recommended daily amount of physical activity and 25% are not physically active at all. The concept of holistic health or wellness refers to an active process in which an individual's life is influenced by dimensions that include physical, emotional, social, mental, and spiritual factors.

Teacher Position in Spurring Value Based Education in Early Learning in Nairobi County, Kenya: Addressing Support of Values in School Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amollo, Odundo P.; Lilian, Ganira K.

2017-01-01

Value Based Education (VBE) is an essential element that impacts moral, ethical, cultural, social and spiritual ideals necessary for holistic development of children. Providing an education on values at an early age ensures that children are directed by these ideologies throughout life. Research indicates that children who adopt values at an early…

Transforming round pegs to fill square holes:Facing the challenge of forest inventories as tools of environmental policy for the 21st century

Treesearch

Victor A. Rudis

1993-01-01

Todays forest inventory specialist is challenged to combine inventories and analysis of timber with range recreation, soil, water, and wildlife resources, related human uses, and social and economic concerns.Lessons learned in adapting timber-oriented forest inventories toward holistic forest resources assessment are provided.Discussed are ways to maintain dialogue...

Encounters with Wisdom: A Case Study of Community Worker Reflection Circles in San Antonio, TX

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arispe, Don D.

2013-01-01

This case study focuses upon the transformational experiences of 28 social service and pastoral workers engaged in a Reflection Circle Process (RCP) in San Antonio, TX. The RCP involves the writing of a holistic journal entry, known as a process note, coupled with an in-depth exploration of the note with the help of a group of trusted peers, known…

Shaping the Future: A Holistic Approach to Planning

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-03-01

history. Revolutionary changes affect the world’s political , economic, and security systems. Because of these changes, the opportuni ty exists to...paralyze our thinking, cause us to muddle through, or vigorously attempt to shape the future. Change causes macro-economic, social, political , and...purposes of this paper, in military and security matters. Today, for example, the United States’ national security relates to domestic politics , global