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1 – 10 of over 12000Julie M. Maier and Shannon L. Jette
To examine the exercise experiences of women with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in order to highlight the complex relationship between mental illness and physical activity…
Abstract
Purpose
To examine the exercise experiences of women with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in order to highlight the complex relationship between mental illness and physical activity, as it intersects with other identities and social locations (e.g., gender and sexuality) as well as other mental health conditions (e.g., eating disorders and exercise addiction).
Method
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 women who self-identify as having OCD. A thematic analysis was conducted to understand the role of physical activity in the participants’ lives.
Findings
The participants experience holistic benefits from being physically active. At the same time, however, their symptoms of OCD and related disorders (e.g., eating disorders) make it challenging to be physically active in meaningful and healthy ways.
Implications
Public health messages promoting exercise as a form of therapy must take into account the complex relationship between physical activity and mental illness. Additional research and programing is also needed in order to help women with mental health issues be physically active in safe and enjoyable ways.
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Dafna Merom and Robert Korycinski
The mid-1990s marked a paradigm shift in the way physical activity is promoted, and walking is now considered the most suitable type of physical activity for widespread promotion…
Abstract
The mid-1990s marked a paradigm shift in the way physical activity is promoted, and walking is now considered the most suitable type of physical activity for widespread promotion. Accurate measurement underpins public health practice, hence the aims of this chapter are to: (1) provide a typology for the measurement of walking; (2) review methods to assess walking; (3) present challenges in defining walking measures; (4) identify issues in selecting instruments for the evaluation of walking and (5) discuss current efforts to overcome measurement challenges and methodological limitations. The taxonomy of walking indicates that secondary purpose walking is a more complex set of behaviours than primary purpose walks. It has many purposes and no specific domain or intensity, may lack regularity, and therefore poses greater measurement challenges. Objective measurement methods, such as accelerometers, pedometers, smartphones and other electronic devices, have shown good approximation for walking energy expenditure, but are indirect methods of walking assessment. Global Positioning System technology, the ‘Smartmat’ and radio-frequency identification tags are potential objective methods that can distinguish walkers, but also require complex analysis, are costly, and still need their measurement properties corroborated. Subjective direct methods, such as questionnaires, diaries and direct observation, provide the richest information on walking, especially short-term diaries, such as trip records and time use records, and are particularly useful for assessing secondary purpose walking. A unifying measure for health research, surveillance and health promotion would strongly advance the understanding of the impact of walking on health.
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SunWoo Kang and Nadine F. Marks
Guided by a life course theoretical perspective, this study aimed to examine associations between providing caregiving for a young or adult son or daughter with special needs and…
Abstract
Purpose
Guided by a life course theoretical perspective, this study aimed to examine associations between providing caregiving for a young or adult son or daughter with special needs and multiple dimensions of physical health status among married midlife and older adults, as well as moderation of these associations by gender and marital quality (i.e., marital strain).
Method
Regression models were estimated using data from 1,058 married adults aged 33–83 (National Survey of Midlife in the U.S. (MIDUS), 2005).
Findings
Parental caregiving for a young or adult child with special needs (in contrast to no caregiving) was linked to poorer global health and more physical symptoms among both fathers and mothers. Father caregivers reported slightly more chronic conditions than noncaregiving men, regardless of marital quality. By contrast, mother caregivers reported a much higher number of chronic conditions when they also reported a high level of marital strain, but not when they reported a low level of marital strain.
Originality/value
Overall, results provide evidence from a national sample that midlife and older parents providing caregiving for a child with special needs are at risk for poorer health outcomes, and further tentatively suggest that greater marital strain may exacerbate health risks, particularly among married mother caregivers.
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Heather Dillaway and Catherine Lysack
We explore the effects and interplay of physical and social environments on the inaccessibility of gynecological health care for women with spinal cord injury. We also explore…
Abstract
Purpose
We explore the effects and interplay of physical and social environments on the inaccessibility of gynecological health care for women with spinal cord injury. We also explore women’s responses to the inaccessibility of this care, in hopes of trying to understand better how women navigate their gynecological health and health care when faced with physical and social environmental constraints.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for this phenomenological study were gathered using in-depth, qualitative interviews with 20 women living with spinal cord injuries in or around Detroit, Michigan. Each interviewee was questioned about overall health and physical functioning, accessibility of doctor offices, interactions with health care providers, gynecological health-seeking behaviors, and complementary and alternative medicine use. In this paper we report on data on women’s difficulties in securing gynecological health care experiences and related attitudes and practices.
Findings
Findings echo past literature about the inaccessibility of doctor’s offices, including the lack of suitable exam tables and medical equipment. Office staff varied in their willingness to help transfer women from wheelchairs to exam tables as well, often creating what we term an inaccessible social environment. Individual women in our sample found different strategies for navigating the environmental contexts of a doctor’s office and the encounters that they had with providers within medical settings. These strategies had varying impacts on individuals’ abilities to secure gynecological health care.
Originality/value
Our findings point to the possibility of an interplay between and intersection of physical and social environments within medical settings that needs to be explored further and, potentially, the primary importance of the social environment over the physical environment in determining whether an individual’s disability makes health care inaccessible.
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Cynthia J. Sieck, Thomas Wickizer and Laurel Geist
Individuals suffering from serious mental illness (SMI) face many challenges of navigating a complex and often fragmented health care system and may die significantly earlier from…
Abstract
Purpose
Individuals suffering from serious mental illness (SMI) face many challenges of navigating a complex and often fragmented health care system and may die significantly earlier from co-morbid physical health conditions. Integrating mental and physical health care for individuals with SMI is an emerging trend addressing the often-neglected physical health care needs of this population to better coordinate care and improve health outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Population Health Management (PHM) provides a useful framework for designing integrated care programs for individuals with SMI.
Findings
This paper examines the structure and evolution of the integrated care program in Missouri in the context of PHM, highlighting particular elements of PHM that facilitate and support development of an integrated mental and physical health care program.
Originality/value
As health care reform provides external motivation to provide integrated care, this study can be useful as other states attempt to address this important issue.
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Students with physical and health impairments represent a small but growing group of individuals with diverse educational needs. They are those students whose physical limitations…
Abstract
Students with physical and health impairments represent a small but growing group of individuals with diverse educational needs. They are those students whose physical limitations or health problems interfere with school attendance or learning to such an extent that special services, training, equipment, materials, or facilities are required. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to discuss some of these impairments and acquaint both general and special educators with interventions for helping students with physical and health impairments succeed.
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Paul Kelly, Marie Murphy and Nanette Mutrie
The purpose of this chapter is to review and synthesise the available evidence for the health benefits of walking. It follows a non-systematic evidence review and finds that the…
Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to review and synthesise the available evidence for the health benefits of walking. It follows a non-systematic evidence review and finds that the evidence base for the health benefits of walking is growing. Increasingly we are finding strong evidence for the beneficial effects of walking for both individuals and populations. More evidence is required on how to better understand the health outcomes associated with walking and how to promote long term increases in walking behaviour. Systematic reviews of specific health benefits remain rare. Walking should be promoted in all population groups regardless of age or sex. There are currently few existing integrative syntheses of the physical and mental health outcomes associated with walking and this chapter aims to help fill that gap.
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Purpose: This study examines the relationship between marital satisfaction and sexual satisfaction, as well as other contributing factors, in the lives of older American adults…
Abstract
Purpose: This study examines the relationship between marital satisfaction and sexual satisfaction, as well as other contributing factors, in the lives of older American adults.
Design/methodology/approach: Data from a restricted sample (N = 1,278) from the second wave of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) was analyzed. Regression models were used to examine associations with marital satisfaction.
Findings: Within ordinary least squares regression gender, education level, mental health, self-rated happiness, the absence of sexual quality, physical satisfaction, and emotional satisfaction were each statistically significant. Females reported higher marital satisfaction than males. Higher educated individuals expressed less satisfaction within their marriages than those with less formal education. Those that rated their mental health, happiness, and physical and emotional satisfaction high also reported higher marital satisfaction. Participants that reported an absence of sexual quality generally rated their marital satisfaction lower.
Originality/value: Most studies focus on the experiences of younger and middle-aged adults, often excluding older adults. Further, while there have been efforts to focus more research on the relationships of adults in midlife to late life, sexuality is still largely ignored.
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Eugene F. Asola and Samuel R. Hodge
The percentage of North Americans who have one or more physical disabilities continues to rise. Specifically, the percentage of people with ambulatory disabilities, cognitive…
Abstract
The percentage of North Americans who have one or more physical disabilities continues to rise. Specifically, the percentage of people with ambulatory disabilities, cognitive disabilities, and other health impairments is increasing every year. This phenomenon calls for pragmatic measures to help provide better transition and related services to students with physical disabilities and other health impairments. It is anticipated that well-planned collaborative transition services provided to students with physical disabilities and other health impairments will result in improved quality of life and independent living in the community. In this chapter, we discuss transition and transition-related services, supporting legislation for persons with disabilities, transition from rehabilitation centers and hospitals to job settings and community-based programs.
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