1,720,982 research outputs found
The coexistence of well-being and distress in caregivers of patients with Parkinson's disease
No full textExploring Post-traumatic Growth in Parkinson's Disease: A Mixed Method Study
No full textPost-traumatic growth (PTG) may favor the psychological adaptation to chronic illnesses. However, few studies investigated PTG in Parkinson’s Disease (PD). This study aims to investigate PTG in patients with PD, by exploring disease-specific features and assessing its impact on distress, well-being, and quality of life. A mixed methodology with a convergent parallel design was used. 54 patients were classified according to their level of PTG (low PTG, medium PTG, and high PTG). PD patients with high PTG showed a more positive psychological adaptation and less distress when compared to patients with less PTG. Forty-nine patients were interviewed and their transcripts were analyzed using Thematic Analysis. The emerged themes confirmed the traditional dimensions of PTG model, but a specific theme connected to a new body awareness was identified. Patients with high PTG were more likely to report positive statements following PD diagnosis, particularly concerning spirituality and maintaining a good physical functioning. PTG presents peculiar characteristics in PD and it may favor a better psychological adjustment following the diagnosis
Positive mental health, depression and burnout in healthcare workers during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic
Full text linkWhat is known on the subject?: In the past 2 years, the COVID-19 pandemic had a robust negative impact on the mental health of healthcare providers, with increasing rates of depression, anxiety, acute stress and burnout. Healthcare workers experiencing poor mental health are reluctant to seek help and treatment because they are afraid of being stigmatized and excluded by their colleagues and employers. During the pandemic positive emotions, resilience and psychological well-being buffered distress and burnout in healthcare workers. What this paper adds to existing knowledge?: This paper describes positive mental health, depression, anxiety and burnout in healthcare workers during the second wave of the pandemic. Forty-eight per cent of healthcare workers were flourishing (high levels of positive emotions and well-being), 10% languishing (absence of well-being and positivity). Flourishing individuals reported lower levels of depression, anxiety and burnout. These findings documented a relevant number of resilient healthcare workers, who restored/maintained their well-being also under stressful conditions. Vulnerable healthcare workers were less than 20%, and they reported severe anxiety, depression and burnout. No differences emerged between languishing and moderate mental health groups in their levels of anxiety, depression and burnout. What are the implications for practice?: The condition of flourishing is the only one that provides protection from depression and anxiety and burnout, while moderate mental health does not differ substantially from the languishing state. The study confirms the importance of maintaining and/or promoting the well-being of healthcare workers. Interventions for promoting positive mental health of vulnerable workers are needed. Mental health nurses can have the skills and expertise for evaluating early symptoms of psychological distress and for implementing interventions for promoting and restoring well-being. These interventions may include informational campaign (i.e. preparing and distributing pamphlets and guidelines) and emotional support programmes (psychoeducation and training, mental health support team, peer support and counselling) that can be delivered also via digital platforms. Abstract: Introduction: Few studies focused on healthcare workers' positive mental health (i.e. high levels of psychological well-being) and its association with anxiety, depression and burnout in the second wave of the pandemic. Aims: To evaluate the protective role of well-being in buffering burnout and psychological distress. Methods: We evaluated 173 Italian healthcare workers with indicators of psychological distress (Depression Anxiety Stress Scales [DASS]-21), burnout (Copenhagen Burnout Inventory [CBI]) and positive mental health (Mental Health Continuum) and we cross-classified them according to their levels of mental health (flourishing, languishing and moderate mental health) and their levels of anxiety, depression and burnout. Results: Forty-eight per cent of health workers were classified as flourishing, 10% as languishing and 42% as moderate mental health. Flourishing individuals presented lower scores on DASS and CBI scales, whereas no differences emerged between languishing and moderate mental health groups. More than 80% of health workers with clinically significant symptoms of anxiety, depression and risk of burnout were classified as not flourishing. Discussion: This investigation documented the presence of flourishing mental health in almost half of the sample of Italian healthcare workers. However, those with moderate or languishing mental health manifested higher levels of anxiety, depression and higher risks of burnout. Implication for Practice: The study confirms the importance of maintaining and/or promoting the well-being of this population, with a crucial role of mental health nurses who can easily approach other healthcare workers and provide them informational (training, guidelines) and emotional support programmes (psychoeducation, mental health support team, peer support and counselling) when facing adverse working conditions
Improving Purpose in Life in School Settings
Full text linkBackground and aim: The dimension of purpose in life (PiL) is one of the core features of eudaimonia and plays a crucial role in developmental settings. However, few studies have examined purpose in life in younger generations and verified if it is amenable to improvements following a wellbeing-promoting intervention. The aim of the present investigation is to explore correlates and predictors of purpose in life in school children and to test if it can be ameliorated after school-based wellbeing interventions. Methods: A total of 614 students were recruited in various schools in Northern Italy. Of these, 456 belonged to junior high and high schools and were randomly assigned to receive a protocol of School Well-Being Therapy (WBT) or a psychoeducational intervention (controls). A total of 158 students were enrolled in elementary schools and received a positive narrative intervention based on fairytales or were randomly assigned to controlled conditions. All students were assessed pre- and post- intervention with Ryff scales of eudaimonic wellbeing (short version) and with other self-report measures of anxiety, depression and somatization. Additionally, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was administered to their schoolteachers as observed–rated evaluation. Results: In both elementary and high schools, purpose in life after the intervention was predicted by initial depressive symptoms and by group assignment (positive interventions vs. controls). In older students, PiL was predicted by female gender and anxiety levels, while no specific strengths identified by teachers were associated with PiL. Conclusions: PiL plays an important and strategic role in developmental settings, where students can develop skills and capacities to set meaningful goals in life. Depressive symptoms and anxiety can be obstacles to developing PiL in students, while positive school-based interventions can promote this core dimension of eudaimonia
Adapted Physical Activity Can Increase Life Appreciation in Patients with Parkinson's Disease
Full text linkObjectives: This study aimed to measure the effect of a treatment of adapted physical activity (APA) on motor symptoms and on positive psychological resources in a group of patients with PD. Methods: 37 patients with PD (M age = 71.5; 70.3% male) completed measures of disability level, motor performance, distress, well-being, and quality of life before and after participating in a program of APA (duration: 7 months). Analysis of variance - repeated measures was performed to evaluate the effect of APA on disability, distress, and well-being. Results: After intervention, patients reported significant improvements in their motor autonomy, disability level, psychological distress, and in life appreciation. Discussion: A brief physical activity program was beneficial not only to patients’ motor functioning, but also to their mental health, by reducing distress and promoting life appreciation
Subjective and psychological well-being in Parkinson's Disease: A systematic review
No full textObjectives: The aim of this review is to summarize studies investigating subjective and psychological well-being in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Materials and Methods: A systematic and integrative review according to PRISMA criteria was performed with a literature search from inception up to September 2017 in multidisciplinary databases (PubMED, Scopus, Web of Knowledge) by combining together key words related to PD and well-being. Studies were included if: their full-text was available; they involved PD patients; focused on the selected positive dimensions; written in English. Case studies, conference proceedings, abstract, dissertations, book chapters, validation studies and reviews were excluded. Data extracted from the studies included sample characteristics, the positive dimension investigated, type of measure, study aims, design and results. One reviewer extracted details and commented results with other reviewers. The studies’ quality was assessed following Kmet, Lee, and Cook. Results: Out of 1425 studies extracted, 12 studies (9 quantitative, 2 qualitative, 1 mixed methods) involving 2204 patients with PD were included. Most of the studies had a cross-sectional design and/or evaluated the effect of physical rehabilitation on well-being. Articles documented that the illness could impair well-being for its progressive impact on patients’ motor autonomy. Preserving motor and musculoskeletal functioning facilitate patients’ experience of well-being, social contribution and the maintenance of their job. Conclusions: Research on positive resources in PD is still scarce compared to other chronic illnesses. The few available investigations suggest the need of preserving motor abilities by proper rehabilitation programs for maintaining and/or promoting patients’ well-being and life engagement
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
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
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