1,721,289 research outputs found
Co-develop physical activity intervention with community-dwelling older adults : a community-based participatory research approach
No full textThis thesis aims to develop a social-ecological based physical activity (PA) intervention model that connects community-dwelling older adults, social service agent and the freely accessible built environment resources in Hong Kong for disease prevention and health promotion. Using the community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to develop the intervention, older adults of the community collaborated with the author and social worker and became active contributors in disease prevention and health promotion in their community. The new intervention model encourages older adults to make the best use of resources in their immediate home and neighbourhood environment to perform PA that complies to the World Health Organization PA guideline for older adults.
The first study explored older adults’ PA experiences in “Elderly fitness corners” (EFCs) in parks by interviews and observations. Findings of the first study demonstrated that EFCs are not merely a space for physical exercise, but a place that connects older adults to their peers and nature. Data revealed that older adults performed freestyle and unstructured PA routines at the EFCs without much concept in the frequency, intensity, type and, duration of PA that can achieve health benefits. This provides ground for the need of health education on PA.
The second study applied community-based participatory methodologies (i.e. qualitative GIS and photovoice) to explore community-dwelling older adults’ active locations, awareness and, perceptions of EFCs in a low-income neighbourhood in Hong Kong. Key findings revealed that older adults were aware of EFCs, yet most of them did not use it. Older adults perceive positively on EFCs. However, at the same time, they thought the space is crowded, far, unsafe, and affected by weather conditions. Also, in terms of usage, some expressed that although there is instruction available, they have poor vision and do not have adequate literacy to understand the instruction board. Some expressed that they were afraid of injury; they thought the exercise is monotonous, and there is inadequate promotion on the facility.
The main study is the development of the social-ecological based PA intervention using the CBPR approach and the evaluation of it using mixed-methods. The author, community-dwelling older adults, and social worker collaborated and formed a working group and gone through ten sessions of meetings to decide the delivery methods and the content of the PA intervention. As a result, a 5-week PA educational intervention, and a neighbourhood-tailored PA manual was developed. All the parties delivered the intervention together in the community. A mixed-methods evaluation of the intervention revealed that the PA intervention effectively changed a significant portion of participants from not complying to WHO PA guideline for older adults to the compliance of the guideline. The PA behavioural change was maintained at six months follow up. There were also significant changes in exercise attitudes, blood pressure level, and balance ability. Qualitative data validated quantitative data and complemented quantitative data by showing the intervention increased social connectedness and successfully increased participants’ usage and knowledge of PA facility and equipped participants to better utilize PA facilities in the neighbourhood.published_or_final_versionSocial Work and Social AdministrationDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph
Self-compassion and bio-psychosocial well-being : the application of mindful self-compassion training on cancer survivors in Hong Kong
No full textBackground: Cancer has profound bio-psycho-social impacts on cancer survivors. There is imminent need for psychosocial program that might address the multi-faceted challenges of cancer survivorship. Although self-compassion training has received increasing attention in the West, little is known about its clinical application.
Objectives: Study 1 explores the psychometric properties of the Chinese adaptation of the Self-Compassion Scale and its short-form. Study 2 and 3 aim to assess the potential benefits of the Mindful Self-Compassion program as a psychosocial support program for Chinese cancer survivors of mixed cancer and of colorectal cancer respectively.
Methods: Study 1 adopted a survey study design. A community sample of 455 adults were surveyed, and a subset of 287 were surveyed in the test-retest administration. An independent sample of 292 healthy adults were surveyed for cross-validation and short-form validation. Confirmatory Factor Analysis, regression analyses, and correlation analyses were conducted to assess the psychometric properties, validity, and reliability of the scale in Chinese.
Study 2 adopted a non-blind, randomized controlled study design with wait-list control. A total of 37 Chinese cancer survivors were surveyed on their level of self-compassion, mindfulness qualities, psychological well-being, quality of sleep, cancer-related symptomatology, and emotional regulation indicated by heart rate variability.
While Study 3 adopted a non-blind, randomized controlled study design with qualitative data from in-depth interviews. A total of 37 Chinese colorectal cancer survivors were surveyed. Repeated measure ANCOVA and Bonferroni-corrected pairwise comparisons were conducted to assess the effectiveness Mindful Self-Compassion program; and themes were identified from the in-depth interviews to obtain fined-grained information regarding the potential effectiveness of the program.
Results: Study 1 suggested that self-compassion could be conceptualized by the 6-factor model proposed by its original author, or by the culturally relevant 2 second-order factors model. Findings demonstrated that the scale in Chinese and its short-form are valid and reliable instruments for use in research and clinical practice.
Study 2 showed statistical significant improvements on self-soothing attitude, mindfulness qualities, depressive symptoms, positive affect, cancer-related psychological symptoms, and emotional regulation as indexed by heart rate variability. Findings also pointed to potential benefits of self-compassion in reducing anxiety and negative affect, as well as in improving sleep and cancer symptoms.
Study 3 showed statistical significant improvement on self-soothing attitude among colorectal cancer survivors. Although not statistically significant, findings also suggested patterns of improvement on measures of psychological well-being, emotional regulation, and cancer-related symptoms. Nevertheless, qualitative data showed that participants of the Mindful Self-Compassion program reported enhanced self-awareness, better sleep, and the ability to response to daily life adversity with acceptance and non-reactivity.
Conclusion and discussion: The scale validation study offered a robust, and psychometrically sound measurement of self-compassion in Chinese. Results of the randomized controlled trials showed that self-compassion can be cultivated through training; they also yielded preliminary evidence to potential benefits of self-compassion on biopsychosocial well-being of cancer survivors. Further research is necessary to yield further support the application of Mindful Self-Compassion program in cancer care, and to further our understanding in the underlying mechanisms of how self-compassion works.published_or_final_versionSocial Work and Social AdministrationDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph
Understanding holistic survivorship of women's breast cancer experiences during the transition period using movement-based focus groups
No full textIn view of the increasing prevalence of female breast cancer in the global and local arenas, this disease has become a critical problem affecting women’s physical, psychological, spiritual and social conditions. With medical technology advancements, women can receive early diagnosis and effective treatment. However, maladjusted rehabilitation affects women’s long-term recovery. In order to improve women’s rehabilitation, more attention is being paid to breast cancer survivorship care after treatment. Therefore, how women experience and perceive breast cancer during the transition period is the important information for us to understand women’s breast cancer survivorship.
The present study aims to explore how women perceive their breast cancer experiences during the transition period from a holistic perspective. This study adopted the qualitative inquiry approach. Movement-based focus group design was the present research design, in which dance/movement activities and group discussions were included. It is based on the belief that expressing through dance/movement enables an individual to reveal the experiences which have been stored in the body. Four focus groups were used, with a total of twenty recruited informants. Data collected from the focus group interviews included verbal (transcriptions) and non-verbal (writing/drawing and created body shapes) expressions. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the ATLAS.ti 7 qualitative data analysis software.
The findings indicated that women's descriptions of their experiences during the transition period were associated with bodily, emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and self and social relational perspectives. Five domains (bodily, emotional, cognitive, spiritual and self and social relational experiences) were generated after data processing. Analysis of the contents in each domain reveals the body-mind-spirit connection. During this period, women consider their health and exercise to be important, they were relaxed and happy, they reflected more, they searched for purpose and meaning in life, and they appreciated developing relationships with others and self. Furthermore, the results showed that these women attained self-growth through their breast cancer experiences. Nevertheless, the self-growth areas and pace were different for each individual. The results also revealed that the non-verbal information (writing/drawings and created body shapes) enriched the women’s expression by illustrating their in-depth or hidden breast cancer experiences.
The results provide practitioners with insight and direction into designing rehabilitation programmes for breast cancer survivors. Therefore, the contents of the programme include not only psychosocial aspects but also bodily, cognitive and spiritual perspectives. Furthermore, the present movement-based focus group demonstrated the use of non-verbal expressions, as well as dance/movement, to enhance communication.
To conclude, this study sheds light on our understanding of women’s breast cancer experiences during the transition period, as well as on the use of the movement-based focus group research method. The present practice and experiences may contribute to qualitative research and psychosocial oncology research. Further research with larger sample size is recommended. The present methodology can also be extended to other cancer populations such as cervical cancer survivors. Furthermore, studies examining the additional benefits of using movement in focus group interview are also recommended.published_or_final_versionSocial Work and Social AdministrationMasterMaster of Philosoph
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Guided relational viewing: art therapy for empathy and social change to increase understanding of people livingwith mental illness
No full textpublished_or_final_versionSocial Work and Social AdministrationDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph
Relations between developmental trajectories of burnout and holistic care climate among human service workers: alatent growth modeling approach
No full textpublished_or_final_versionSocial Work and Social AdministrationMasterMaster of Philosoph
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Physical activity and sedentary behaviour counselling: Attitudes and practices of mental health professionals
Full text linkDespite recent interest in the mental health benefits of increasing physical activity (PA) and reducing sedentary behaviour (SB), little is known about PA and SB counselling provided by mental health professionals. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the attitudes and practices of mental health professionals in recommending more PA and less SB to their clients. Quantitative data were collected using a modified version of the Exercise in Mental Illness Questionnaire in a sample of 17 Australian mental health professionals. The collected data were reported using percentages (for categorical data) and means and standard deviations (for numerical data). Additionally, in focus group discussions, 10 mental health professionals provided in-depth information about their clinical practice, facilitators, and perceived barriers in recommending more PA and less SB. They also provided suggestions on how to potentially improve their PA and SB counselling practices. The focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis.Only 35.3% of participants have undergone formal training in recommending PA in the treatment of mental illness. Most participants (64.7%) ranked PA counselling among the top three types of mental health treatment. All participants reported recommending PA to their clients at least "occasionally", while 88% of them also provided SB counselling. However, the recommendations provided were usually not specific. The most commonly reported barriers for providing PA and SB counselling were a lack of knowledge and confidence. Participants also believed that, if they were more active themselves, they would be in a better position to recommend PA to their clients, by sharing their own experience of evidence-informed strategies designed to increase PA and reduce SB. The findings of this study indicate that mental health professionals commonly provide generic PA and SB counselling to their clients. PA and SB counselling in the mental health setting could be improved by: including training on PA and SB counselling in formal education and continued professional training for mental health professionals; implementing interventions to increase PA and reduce SB among mental health professionals themselves; and ensuring support from an exercise or PA promotion specialist as a part of a multi-disciplinary approach to mental health care
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