Domains Of Social Activities Research Articles

Development of a weighted scoring model for social activities to predict disability incidents among older Japanese adults

BackgroundSocial activities contribute to health improvements in older adults, but methods for evaluating these activities are not yet established. We developed a scoring model for social activity, weighted by specific activities, to assess the association between disability incidence in older adults and social activities. MethodsData were obtained from Japan's National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology Study of Geriatric Syndromes (NCGG-SGS). Social activity was evaluated across 16 domains. Disability was determined using data extracted from Japan's long-term care insurance system. ResultsData from 4998 older adults were analyzed; among them, 422 (8.4 %) developed a disability within 35 months (Interquartile range: 32-39). The Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess 16 domains of social activity. The results yielded risk factors for disability incidence in six social activity domains: work, travel, hobbies, babysitting, family caregiving, and events. The coefficients for these activities were assigned weights of 3, 3, 2, 1, 1, and 1, respectively. The weighted social activity scoring model significantly improved the ability to predict disability incidence when the number of social activities in which individuals participated was considered (social activity score: area under the curve [AUC] 0.691, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 0.664–0.717; number of social activities: AUC 0.681, 95 % CI 0.654–0.707, P = 0.042). ConclusionsThe composite score derived from the weighted social activity scoring model serves as a valuable tool due to its enhanced predictability, which complements established background factors associated with the incidence of disability in older adults.

Diminished hedonic capacity in social activities as a mediator of the link between dysfunctional behavioral activation system and depressive symptoms.

Adolescence is a crucial period for the development of depression, and previous studies have suggested that the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) plays a significant role. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. This study aimed to explore the mediating role of anhedonia in the relationship between BAS and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents. A total of 1,023 high-school students aged 15-18 years participated in the study, with 916 continuing their participation three months later. All participants completed the Behavioral Inhibition System/Activation System (BIS/BAS) scale, Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS), Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S/T). Pathway model analysis was performed to examine the concurrent and prospective mediating effects of anhedonia and the potential moderating effect of sex. Anhedonia in the domains of social activities, hobbies and sensory experiences significantly mediated the cross-sectional relationship between BAS and depressive level three months later. Furthermore, the beta-value of the mediating effect of social activities was significantly higher than that of the other domains of hedonic capacity cross-sectionally and longitudinally. However, sex showed no significant moderating effect. Our findings underscore the importance of hedonic capacity, especially within the social domain, in the development of depressive symptoms. These findings contribute to the early diagnosis and prevention of depressive disorders.

Geriatric assessment measures are predictive of outcomes in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

IntroductionChronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) commonly affects older adults. However, few studies have examined the relationship between baseline geriatric domains and clinical outcomes in this population. Here, we aim to evaluate the use of a comprehensive geriatric assessment in older (>65 years) untreated patients with CLL to predict outcomes. Materials and MethodsWe conducted a planned analysis of 369 patients with CLL age 65 or older treated in a phase 3 randomized trial of bendamustine plus rituximab versus ibrutinib plus rituximab versus ibrutinib alone (A041202). Patients underwent evaluations of geriatric domains including functional status, psychological status, social activity, cognition, social support, and nutritional status. We examined associations among baseline geriatric domains with grade 3+ adverse events using multivariable logistic regression and overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) using multivariable Cox regression models. ResultsIn this study, the median age was 71 years (range: 65–87). In the combined multivariable model, the following geriatric domains were significantly associated with PFS: Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) - social activities survey score (hazard ratio [HR] [95% confidence interval (CI)] 0.974(0.961, 0.988), p = 0.0002) and nutritional status (≥5% weight loss in the preceding six months: (HR [95% CI] 2.717[1.696, 4.354], p < 0.001). MOS - social activities score [HR (95% CI) 0.978(0.958, 0.999), p = 0.038] was associated with OS. No geriatric domains were significantly associated with toxicity. There were no statistically significant interactions between geriatric domains and treatment. DiscussionGeriatric domains of social activity and nutritional status were associated with OS and/or PFS in older adults with CLL. These findings highlight the importance of assessing geriatric domains to identify high-risk patients with CLL who may benefit from additional support during treatment.

Social Support Fully Mediates the Association Between Communication Abilities and Social Participation Among Persons with Post-Stroke Aphasia

ABSTRACT Background Communication abilities have been considered to be a key influential factor for social participation in persons with post-stroke aphasia. Previous literature has shown that social support is positively associated with social participation post-stroke. However, few studies have investigated if social support mediates the negative impact of communication difficulties on social participation in persons with aphasia and without aphasia after stroke. Aims To investigate the mediation effect of social support on the association between communication abilities and social participation in persons with aphasia and without aphasia after stroke. Methods & Procedures A total of 116 participants who have had a stroke, including 60 persons with aphasia and 56 persons without aphasia, were enrolled. This study used a regression-based mediation analysis using Hayes’s PROCESS macro (SPSS model 4). Measures included the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) - Social Support Survey as the mediator (perceived social support), the Stroke Impact Scale 2.0 (SIS) communication domain as the independent variable, and the Activity Card Sort (ACS) social activity domain as the dependent variable (social participation). Two separate models were built for persons with aphasia and without aphasia. As post hoc analyses, the four domains of MOS social support (emotional/informational support, affectional support, positive social interaction, and tangible support) were included as a mediator in four individual models. Outcomes & Results Our results showed that there was no difference in social participation between persons with aphasia and without aphasia after stroke. Perceived social support (b=0.180, 95% CI=0.054~0.352), including emotional/informational support (b=0.182, 95% CI=0.552~0.359), affectionate support (b=0.138, 95% CI=0.020~0.316), and positive social interaction (b=0.178, 95% CI=0.035~0.357), fully mediates the association between communication abilities and social participation in persons with aphasia, but did not for persons without aphasia (p>0.05). Conclusions The results indicate that perceived social support, specifically emotional/informational support, affectionate support, and positive social interaction, may be used as an intervention approach for improving social participation in persons with post-stroke aphasia.

Long-term change in health-related quality of life in patients with asthma

The aim of this study was to investigate long-term change in health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with asthma in real clinical practice and in relation to emotional disorders, cooperativeness (cooperation between the patient and the physician, and adherence to treatment), and cold air-provoked bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR).Methods. This observational study involved 32 patients with mild to moderate asthma. The study duration was 7.5 to 10 years. HRQL was assessed using SF-36 questionnaire and Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ); emotional disorders were diagnosed using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Patients’ cooperativeness assessment was based on number of a patient’s scheduled visits to a physician during the study. The asthma control level was evaluated using the Asthma Control Test (ACT).Results. A significant worsening was found in the social activity domain of HRQL in the total group of the patients. According to AQLQ, a significant improvement was seen in the activity and symptoms domains and in the total score of quality of life (QoL). Long-term pharmacological treatment of asthma decreased anxiety and depression levels. The asthma control (ACT score) increased from 13.2 ± 1.0 to 19.7 ± 1.1 (р = 0.00003). Anxiety and depression decreased in patients with high cooperativeness during the long-term follow-up, while the total QoL and the specific QoL were unchanged excluding the social activity domain. A significant worsening in the activity scale and in the emotional scale of specific QoL together with growing depression and decreasing control of asthma were found in patients with lower cooperativeness. The cold air-provoked BNR slowed down the long-term improvement in the social activity domain. The cold air-provoked BNR also decreased patient-reported evaluation of daily activity.Conclusion. The long-term basic therapy of asthma provides a positive trend in HRQL in the real clinical practice independently on worsening of the disease. Lower cooperativeness of a patient could decrease specific QoL, which, in turn, worsens the control of asthma and contributes to negative emotional background and destructive behavior.

Sexual functioning and health-related quality of life in men

Background:Although erectile dysfunction (ED) is common, little is known about the impact of ED on the quality of life (QoL) among African men.Materials and Methods:We used the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) to evaluate ED and the WONCA charts to assess QoL among employees of a university.Results:A total of 508 men with a mean age of 43 ± 10 years were studied. IIEF5 scores of <22 were present in 406 participants (77.9%). Mild ED, mild-to-moderate ED, moderate ED, and severe ED were present in 34.6%, 26.6%, 10.4%, and 5.7%, respectively. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were significantly lower in those with ED. Marital status, alcohol, cigarette, physical inactivity, obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and antihypertensive drug use were not associated with ED. ED was associated with poor QoL in the domains of social activities (odds ratio [OR] = 4.35; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01–18.7), and overall health (OR = 2.27; 95% CI: 1.07–4.82). However, there was no association of ED with poor QoL in the domains of physical fitness (OR = 1.46; 95% CI: 0.82–2.59), feelings (OR = 1.43; 95% CI: 0.75–2.72), daily activities (OR = 4.72; 95% CI: 0.61–36.4), and change in health (OR = 1.75; 95% CI: 0.58–5.26).Conclusion:ED negatively impacts QoL in men.

Age Grouping and Social Complexity

In order to be sustainable, larger-scale social systems require containing nepotistic tendencies, which are potentially disruptive in multiple domains of social activities. Many formal institutions of our modern democratic states seem to facilitate such offsetting. The ethnographic records provide many examples of large tribes not relying on either formal institutional frameworks or strict hierarchies to articulate the diverging requirements of kin-group allegiance and broader social affiliations. How does greater social complexity emerge in such decentralized societies? Among the different informal solutions presented in the literature, we find an interesting one: age-set systems, which involve the grouping of coevals in cross-kin associations. An essential aspect of such systems is their ability to enable the swift neutralizing of the basic pull of nepotism without intensive investments in a formal institutional apparatus, as is observed in more complex and modern social systems. When great benefits can be obtained through social exchange in large cooperative networks, an age-based organization helps counter familistic preferences by creating new incentive structures.

Validation of the Malay version of the Quality of Life Questionnaire of the European Foundation for Osteoporosis (QUALEFFO-41) in Malaysia.

To assess the validity and reliability of the Malay version of the Quality of Life (QOL) Questionnaire of the European Foundation for Osteoporosis (QUALEFFO-41) in Malaysia. The QUALEFFO-41 was translated from English to Malay and administered to 215 post-menopausal osteoporotic women ≥50 years who could understand Malay, at baseline and 4 weeks. The SF-36 was administered at baseline to assess convergent validity. To assess discriminative validity, patients with and without back pain were recruited. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the QUALEFFO-41 had five domains. Good internal consistency was seen in all domains (0.752-0.925) except for the social activity domain (0.692). Test-retest reliability showed adequate correlation for all items (0.752-0.964, p < 0.001). Patients with back pain had significantly worse QOL compared with those without (back pain = 42.2 ± 10.9, no back pain = 33.3 ± 8.9; p < 0.001). The total QUALEFFO-41 score and the SF-36 physical and mental composite scores were significantly correlated (-0.636 and -0.529, p < 0.001, respectively). The Malay version of the QUALEFFO-41 was found to be a reliable and valid instrument to evaluate the QOL of osteoporotic patients in Malaysia. To enable the QUALEFFO-41 to be used in a multiracial population, further studies should look into validating other versions of the QUALEFFO-41 in Malaysia.

Analysis of Bleeding Phenotype of Severe Hemophilia a Carriers and Comparation with a Working Population Group. Impact on Quality of Life

INTRODUCTIONWe have little information about if there is a particular bleeding phenotype of severe haemophilia A female carriers. In the literature, an increased bleeding tendency is described in this group, justified even by levels of factor VIII (FVIII) very close to normal values, in absens of primary hemostasis evaluation in many cases. There is no published evidence about quality of life (QoL) of these women and the relationship between QoL and this bleeding tendency. OBJECTIVES• To evalute the hemorrhagic phenotype of severe haemophilia A carrier and to compare them with the general population.• To identify symptomatic carriers and to study from laboratory point of view the reasons for that bleeding tendency.• To define the bleeding profile of symptomatic carriers.• To analyze the quality of life and state of anxiety/depression in carriers and to compare them with the general population. PATIENTS AND METHODSThis is a descriptive cross-sectional, non-interventional, single center study. Ethics Committee evaluation and written informed consent are requested to be included for carriers and controls. The target population are severe Haemophilia A carriers from our area aged between 18 and 70 years old. The control group are women from regular health laboral checkings. We will evaluate family bleeding, ischemic and thrombotic personal and familiar antecedents, bleeding profile (ISTH/SSC bleeding assessment tool, ISTH BAT, and pictorial blood assessment chart, PBAC), carrier genetic study, complete blood count, basic biochemistry, haemostasis (aPTT, PT, fibrinogen, platelet function tests, FVIIIc, FvWAg and FvWRCo, FXIII). QoL has been studied trough SF-36 (Spanish version 1,4 1999) and anxiety and depression states using Goldberg questionary (1998, Spanish version Gzempp, 1993).The controls have been studied in the same way except for laboratory studies of hemostasis. Only in controls with pathological ISTH BAT (greater than 3) basic and primary hemostasis have been studied. RESULTSOut of a total of 81 carriers identified between August 2012 to December 2013. We have evaluated 69 carriers. To achieve a confidence level of 95% with 50% heterogeneity we have recruited 138 controls. The mean and standard deviation (SD) age of the carrier and controls was 43.7+/-15 and 41.5+/-11.7 years old (p 0.308). In the population of carriers, the mean and SD of FVIII levels are 87.2+/-35.7%. We found no relationship between levels of FVIII:c and haemophilia genetic defect (34.8% substitutions, 34.8% intron 22, 27.5% mutations). 20.3% of carriers and 2.2% of controls present a pathologic ISTH BAT score (p 0.001). There are 14 carriers with a pathologic ISTH BAT score (median 5.5, range 4-11). In this group we found FVIII levels less than 40% in 4 carriers, 1 thrombopathy and levels of VWF:RCo and VWF:Ag compatible with von Willebrand disease in other 4 carriers. The remaining 5 present ISTH BAT score between 4 and 6 (low), FVIII levels above 60% and no other laboratory abnormal results to justify bleeding tendency. In the 3 controls with pathologic ISTH BAT score (4-5), we have not found any hemostatic disorder from laboratory point of view. The carrier group has a higher incidence of abnormal bleeding at wounds (1.5% vs. 14.5% p 0.000), tooth extraction (3.6% vs. 11.6%, p 0.028), surgery (0% vs. 11.6 %, p 0.028) and methrorragia (13.8% vs 43.5%, p 0.000). However when methrorrragia is analysed with an objective scale of menstrual bleeding as PBAC, methrorragia incidence in carriers is similar to controls (23.2% carriers vs 31.5% controls, p 0.071). Regarding quality of life, the population of carriers presented worse scores in the domains of social activity (p 0.01) and mental health (p 0.014). In the group of symptomatic carriers there are no differences in quality of life with the control group. The control population has a higher incidence of anxiety (42.3% vs 21.7%, p 0.002), with no differences in the presence of depression. CONCLUSIONSIn our series, women with symptomatic severe hemophilia A are those with FVIII lower than 40% or another disorder of hemostasis associated to carrier condition. The hemorrhagic symtoms able to define a severe haemophilia A carrier could be abnormal bleedings from wounds (surgical or traumatic) and in dental extractions. Quality of life in women with hemophilia is worse in the mental health and social activity fields, but for reasons other than their own bleeding phenotype. DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Black Boxes as Capacities for and Constraints on Action: Electoral Politics, Journalism, and Devices of Representation

Actor-Network Theory, as a theoretical and methodological approach, is particularly insightful when applied to domains of social activity that are in flux, thus making it particularly useful for ethnographic research about unsettled socio-technical systems. Drawing from field research conducted over the last decade, this paper presents two empirical cases that reveal how ANT enables researchers to trace the associations that form the socio-technical objects of political and journalistic practice. We focus on “black-boxed” technical objects, exploring two distinct, yet complementary, analytical moments that emerged during our respective fieldwork. First, we detail the work that an electoral map performs in stabilizing networks of political representation and creating new capacities to act. We then go inside a journalistic organization to reveal a moment of breakdown when the black box of a content management system unravels and fails to do what it is seemingly supposed to do, throwing news production into a tenuous state. The paper concludes by interrogating our empirical findings through the lens of cultural practices, highlighting a few ways sociologists might need to supplement ANT-analysis with a more robust understanding of culture and symbolic belief systems.

A 3‐Month Analysis of Disability, Quality of Life, and Disease Course in Patients With Migraine

To describe a short-term "real-life" longitudinal evolution of migraine course, quality of life, and disability in a sample of patients attending to a specialty center and to evaluate the association between the changes in patient-reported outcomes, number of reported headaches, their severity, and treatment consumption. Clinical trials demonstrated that symptomatic and preventive therapies reduce migraine headache frequency and severity, thus improving quality of life and reducing disability. However, the longitudinal trajectory of health outcomes of patients under specific treatments but out of the setting of a clinical trial is almost unexplored. Longitudinal observational study with a 3-month follow-up. Adult patients suffering from migraine, both with and without aura, were consecutively enrolled and administered the Migraine Disability Assessment, World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule, second version, and the Medical Outcome Survey 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey. Analysis of variance for repeated measures was used to assess longitudinal differences between baseline and the 3-month follow-up at employed assessments, number of days with headache in the previous 3 months and average judgment on attacks' severity, number of triptans and anti-inflammatory drugs consumed for acute treatment of attacks; effect size was used to determine magnitude of change. Baseline differences between completers and non-completers was evaluated with the independent-sample t-test. Pearson's correlation was used to cross-sectionally assess the association between total number of headache in the previous 6 months, average headache severity, total number of triptans and anti-inflammatory drugs taken, and the scores observed at follow-up for the 3 assessment instruments. The independent-sample t-test was used to assess cross-sectional differences between subjects taking preventive therapy and those taking only acute ones for total number of headaches, their severity, and total number of triptans and anti-inflammatory taken, considering scores referred to the 3-month follow-up evaluation. One hundred and two patients were enrolled (85.3% females; mean age 43.5) and 85 patients (85.9% females; mean age 44.3) completed the 3-month follow-up; no relevant differences between completers and non-completers were observed. Small changes (effect size <0.50) were observed in longitudinal analysis, in particular for World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule scales, while frequency and severity of headaches were substantially stable. Few significant correlations were observed, in particular between the total number of days with headache and Migraine Disability Assessment score (0.54; P < .01), and between the total number of days with headache and the total number of triptans taken (0.46; P < .01). Compared with patients taking acute medication only, those on preventive therapy reported worse general health (mean 50.3, standard deviation [SD] 21.0 compared with mean 63.8, SD 16.5; t = 3.31, P = .001) and consumed less anti-inflammatory drugs (mean 3.5, SD 5.6 compared with mean 7.5, SD 9.1; t = 2.25, P = .014). In this study, migraine frequency and intensity were almost stable over 3 months, and an evident trend toward improvement was found in disability and in some health-related quality of life aspects, particularly in the social activity domain. Our results clearly indicate that continuity of care has a positive impact on patients' health status and functioning, also in stable patients already on anti-migraine therapy, and that the use of patient-oriented outcome measures is a viable way to capture such improvements.

Open Source as Practice and Ideology: The Origin of Howard Dean's Innovations in Electoral Politics

ABSTRACT Extending an emerging body of work documenting the migration of technical production models into other domains of social activity, this article analyzes how “open source” works at the levels of both practice and ideology. Through interviews and analysis of public documents relating to Howard Dean's run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2003–2004, this article reveals how many Internet Division staffers drew on open source projects such as the collaborative building of the Linux operating system as a model for their campaign work. In the process, they helped create a series of technical and organizational innovations in online campaigning that have subsequently become core features of electoral politics. At the same time, staffers strategically and publicly deployed the frame of the “open source campaign” as a cultural resource. Situated within narratives of the new economy and participatory democracy, staffers' framing of the campaign as a radical techno-democratic effort provided journalists with an interpretive framework for understanding Dean's run and helped mobilize specialized volunteer constituencies. Given that the campaign was not as participatory in substantive domains as this frame suggested, the article also reveals how the label of open source worked ideologically to elide dynamics of organizational power.

Pieniądz jako zjawisko kultury

The author reflects on the evaluation of the notion of money in history. In many situations coins and banknotes were a proof for the existence of local, independent, political power. People’s attitude toward money was quite an important matter, too; in many situations neither money nor those professionally dealing with money were appreciated socially. Numerous utopian movements disliked money. Communism was one of them. The communist economy was driven — at least in theory — by overwhelming planning rather than by the incentive of money. After the fall of communism a question arised whether all or nearly all public activity should be driven by money or whether some domains of social activity should rather be kept as public domains.

Effectiveness of a multicomponent self-management program in at-risk, school-aged children with asthma

Improving asthma knowledge and self-management is a common focus of asthma educational programs, but most programs have had little influence on morbidity outcomes. We developed a novel multiple-component intervention that included the use of an asthma education video game intended to promote adoption of asthma self-management behaviors and appropriate asthma care. To determine the effectiveness of an asthma education video game in reducing morbidity among high-risk, school-aged children with asthma. We enrolled 119 children aged 5 to 12 years from low-income, urban areas in and around San Francisco, CA, and San Jose, CA. Children with moderate-to-severe asthma and parental reports of significant asthma health care utilization were randomized to participate in the disease management intervention or to receive their usual care (control group). Patients were evaluated for clinical and quality-of-life outcomes at weeks 8, 32, and 52 of the study. Compared with controls, the intervention group had significant improvements in the physical domain (P = .04 and P = .01 at 32 and 52 weeks, respectively) and social activity domain (P = .02 and P = .05 at 32 and 52 weeks, respectively) of asthma quality of life on the Child Health Survey for Asthma and child (P = .02 at 8 weeks) and parent (P = .04 and .004 at 32 and 52 weeks, respectively) asthma self-management knowledge. There were no significant differences between groups on clinical outcome variables. A multicomponent educational, behavioral, and medical intervention targeted at high-risk, inner-city children with asthma can improve asthma knowledge and quality of life.

Mental health and deafness: An investigation of current residential services and service users throughout the UK

There is growing awareness of unmet need and deficiencies in services for deaf people with mental health problems, but a paucity of systematic evaluation to underpin service development. The purpose of this study was to identify and assess all residential facilities that provide services to deaf people with mental health problems, and to elicit detailed information on the demography, clinical characteristics and service needs of the residents. A survey carried out in 1996 identified all establishments providing residential care for deaf people with mental health problems. Facilities accommodating at least two residents with a mental health diagnosis were subjected to a more in-depth profile. The survey covered a total of 555 residents living in 44 centres, of whom 372 were deaf adults in the age range 16-65. Twenty facilities and 80% of their residents ( n =160) were assessed in more detail. Residents had high levels of functional impairment, with two-thirds having moderate or severe problems in at least one domain of personal functioning including cleanliness, cooking, shopping, use of transport and budgeting (including 35% of those who had not actually received a formal diagnosis). The domains of social activity and risk of harm to self and others, more than mental illness per se, differentiated residents in psychiatric wards from those in staffed hostels. These residents are generally younger than their hearing counterparts, and appear to have had a much lower level of contact with psychiatric services, in spite of their obvious and significant mental health problems.

Cognitive models of class structure and explanations of social outcomes

AbstractIn this paper we argue that people's explanations of a wide range of social outcomes occur within a framework of expectations derived from beliefs about the pervasive influence of social class on individuals' life‐chances. This claim is tested by examining the effect of varying the social class origins of vignette characters on judgments and explanations concerning their outcomes. Four domains of social activity are examined: occupational attainment, educational achievement, relationship success, and unemployment. In all of these areas, the class background of the characters was found to be associated with different outcome expectations, future expectations, judgments of responsibility and differences in the ways in which outcomes were explained. The results are consistent with the claim that people have cognitive models in which social class background is associated with particular social outcomes across a range of activities, and that these models are reasonably accurate representations of the relationships between social class and life‐chances. This suggests that contrary to theories which have stressed the individualistic nature of belief systems in western societies, social class forms an important part of the popular representation of the influences on occupational, educational and relationship success.