Experience Of Well-being Research Articles

Freedom for some, but not for Mum: the reproductive injustice associated with pandemic 'Freedom Day' for perinatal women in the United Kingdom.

Healthcare services for pregnant and postpartum ('perinatal') women were reconfigured significantly at the advent and for the duration of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and despite the United Kingdom announcing 'Freedom Day' on 19 July 2021 (whereafter all legal lockdown-related restrictions were lifted), restrictions to maternity (antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal) services remained. This study presents data from eight perinatal women about their experiences of psychosocial wellbeing and maternity care in the post-'Freedom Day' epoch. Semi-structured interviews were conducted virtually, with data recorded, transcribed, and analysed by hand. Grounded theory analysis was employed with the final theory assessing the reproductive injustice of the pandemic 'Freedom Day'. Analysing iteratively and inductively led to four emergent themes: 'A Failing System, Failing Women'; 'Harm Caused by a State of Difference'; 'The Privileges (Not Rights) of Reproductive Autonomy, Agency, and Advocacy'; and 'Worried Women and Marginalised Mothers'. Together, these themes form the theory of 'Freedom for some, but not for Mum'. Women experienced a lack of high-quality reliable information about the pandemic, vaccination against the virus, and the changes to, and decision-making surrounding, their perinatal care. Women recognised healthcare professionals and maternity services were stretched and that maternity services were failing but often reported hostility from staff and abandonment at times when they were unsure about how to navigate their care. The most singular injustice was the disparity between women having to accept continuing restrictions to their freedom whilst receiving maternity care and the (reckless) freedom being enacted by the general public.

Managers in the context of small business growth: a qualitative study of working conditions and wellbeing

PurposeIn view of the importance of managers’ wellbeing for their leadership behaviour, employee health, and business effectiveness and survival, a better understanding of managers’ wellbeing and working conditions is important for creating healthy and sustainable businesses. Previous research has mostly provided a static picture of managers’ wellbeing and work in the context of small businesses, missing the variability and dynamism that is characteristic of this context. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore how managers in small companies perceive their working conditions and wellbeing in the context of business growth.MethodsThe study is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with 20 managers from twelve small companies. Content and thematic analysis were applied.ResultsThe findings indicate that a manager’s working environment evolves from its initial stages and through the company’s growth, leading to variations over time in the manager’s experiences of wellbeing and work–life balance as well as changes in job demands and resources. Managers’ working situation becomes less demanding and more manageable when workloads and working hours are reduced and a better work–life balance is achieved. The perceived improvement is related to changes in organizational factors (e.g. company resources), but also to individual factors (e.g. managers’ increased awareness of the importance of a sustainable work situation). However, there were differences in how the working conditions and wellbeing changed over time and how organizational and individual resources affected the studied managers’ wellbeing.ConclusionsThis study shows that, in the context of small business, managers’ working conditions and wellbeing are dynamic and are linked to growth-related changes that occur from the start of organizational activities and during periods of growth. In addition, the findings suggest that changes in managers’ working conditions and wellbeing follow different trajectories over time because of the interaction between organizational and personal factors.

Remote working and experiential wellbeing: A latent lifestyle perspective using UK time use survey before and during COVID-19.

Mental health in the UK had deteriorated compared with pre-pandemic trends. Existing studies on heterogenous wellbeing changes associated COVID-19 tend to segment population based on isolated socio-economic and demographic indicators, notably gender, income and ethnicity, while a more holistic and contextual understanding of such heterogeneity among the workforce seems lacking. This study addresses this gap by 1) combining UK time use surveys collected before and during COVID-19, 2) identifying latent lifestyles within three working mode groups (commuter, homeworker and hybrid worker) using latent class model, and 3) quantifying nuanced experiential wellbeing (ExWB) changes across workers of distinct lifestyles. The direction and magnitude of ExWB changes were not uniform across activity types, time of day, and lifestyles. The direction of ExWB change during the daytime activities window varied in accordance with lifestyle classifications. Specifically, ExWB decreased for all homeworkers but increased significantly for certain hybrid workers. Magnitude of ExWB change correlated strongly with lifestyle. To understand the significant heterogeneity in ExWB outcomes, a spatial-temporal conceptualisation of working flexibility is developed to explicate the strong yet complex correlations between wellbeing and lifestyles. The implications to post-pandemic "back-to-work" policies are 1) continued expansion of hybrid working optionality, 2) provide wider support for lifestyle adaptation and transitions.

Experiences of vaginal lengthening treatment and sexual well-being in women with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome: An interview study.

To explore how women with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome experience dilation or surgical vaginal lengthening treatment, and their current sexual well-being. A qualitative interview study. Denmark. Women aged ≥25 years diagnosed with MRKH syndrome. Semi-structured video interviews were conducted with 18 women. Interviews lasted a median of 92 min and were digitally recorded, transcribed and anonymised. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. A qualitative analysis of women's experiences. The analysis identified three themes. Firstly, Experiences with dilation treatment revealed dilation as an awkward routine, especially for adolescents living with parents and yet to sexually debut. While some experienced successful vaginal lengthening, others faced treatment failure leading to frustration and self-blame. Secondly, Experiences with neovaginal surgery described the procedure as extremely painful but resulting in a 'normal size' vagina. Some women felt that the procedure had negatively impacted their self-confidence, and all underscored the importance of maturity before opting for surgery. Lastly, Current sex life and sexual well-being indicated a well-functioning sex life for many women, but with reported low sexual confidence and genital self-image due to the perceived 'deviance' of their genitalia. For women with MRKH syndrome, vaginal lengthening treatment, whether through dilation or surgery, may result in a 'normal size' vagina. However, according to the women's experiences, vaginal lengthening treatment does not adequately foster positive sexual esteem and genital self-image.

Research on the well-being experience of rural China’s post-relocation settlement communities in the public realm

ABSTRACT With economic development and changes in the industrial structure of cities in China, the transformation of industries from agricultural to non-agricultural has brought about significant changes in the living spaces, economic growth, ideology, and cultural attitudes of rural people. Placing people first and responding to rural residents’ wishes in the process of rapid development could become an important issue. This study focuses on the relationship between the well-being experience of relocated residents in rural areas and the public realm of new communities, and constructs a framework for understanding the relationship between the two. By doing so, it aims to resolve the conflict between the design of new settlements and the residents’ needs, thus providing a reference for similar designs in the future.

Networked everyday lives in the ‘care-full’ city: A framework for examining the complexities of immigrants living with dementia, carepartners, and care workers

ABSTRACT The ways in which people living with dementia (PLWD) care and are cared for in urban and suburban environments is not fully understood. Specifically, there is limited research on the impact neighborhoods have on the intersectional experiences of well-being for PLWD and their formal and informal caregivers—particularly for immigrants, women, and those living in under-resourced suburban areas. Writing from the geographical context of the inner suburb of Scarborough in Toronto, Canada, we present a framework for understanding the everyday complexities of care practices in this triad of individuals—PLWDs, care partners, and care workers—that considers their diverse practices, contexts, identities, and relations through time. Documenting these networks of caring complexities, represented in social and spatial ways, can disrupt the ways in which neoliberalism has relegated the understanding of care to be a highly gendered and racialized problem, as well as an individual problem to be solved by the free market, and to be contained in the home between family members (not in the public community realm).

The impact of their role on telephone crisis support workers’ psychological wellbeing and functioning: Qualitative findings from a mixed methods investigation

Little is known about how telephone crisis support workers are impacted by frequent empathic engagement with callers in crisis, including those who are suicidal. This is the only known qualitative study to specifically examine the impact of their role on telephone crisis support workers’ psychological wellbeing and functioning. Eighteen telephone crisis support workers participated in semi-structured interviews, providing detailed accounts of the impact of the role on their wellbeing and functioning. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of interview data resulted in four key themes. Results suggest that telephone crisis support workers’ motivations, background, personal help-seeking and coping practices are likely to impact their experiences of psychological wellbeing and functioning in relation to empathic engagement with callers in crisis. Telephone crisis services should seek to integrate an understanding of workers’ experiences into the provision of training, supervision and support strategies to optimize workers’ wellbeing and functioning.

“Sometimes it feels like we are puppets, here to listen to but not speak”: listening to the voices of young Bangladeshi students about barriers to well-being at school

ABSTRACT Well-being commonly refers to the concept that equates to a good life. What constitutes a good life at school for students has emerged as an important education agenda over time due to its wide-reaching benefits. However, there is a limited understanding of the well-being experiences of children from diverse cultures and countries, particularly from the Global South, such as Bangladesh. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study among 40 Grade 7–10 students (aged 13–16 years) from Bangladesh, and aims to explore the barriers to their well-being experiences at school. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, the authors found key three barriers: (i) punitive disciplinary school practices; (ii) poor pedagogic school practices; and (iii) perceived injustice at school that prevents students from experiencing well-being at school. The findings have implications for improving school practice and policy for promoting student well-being in Bangladesh.

SPA Philosophy as a Tourism Support - Case Study on Thai SPA and Bali SPA

The SPA industry, a vital component of wellness tourism, offers unique experiences deeply rooted in cultural and natural contexts. This study explores thedistinctive philosophies of Thai and Balinese SPAs, examining their contributions totourism through a comparative analysis. Thai SPAs emphasize balance and energyflow, integrating traditional Thai massage techniques, herbal treatments, and Buddhistprinciples to create a holistic wellness experience. Conversely, Balinese SPAs focuson harmony with nature and spiritual serenity, reflecting the island's Hindu-Buddhistheritage. Treatments in Balinese SPAs often use local ingredients and are performedin serene natural settings, enhancing the connection between guests and the island’scultural and natural beauty. The methodology involved a comprehensive literaturereview and content analysis of academic articles, books, and industry reports, followedby a comparative analysis to highlight the unique features and commonalities betweenthe SPA philosophies of Thailand and Bali. The findings reveal that both SPAtraditions play a crucial role in enhancing cultural tourism by offering authenticexperiences that connect visitors with local traditions and practices. Additionally, theseSPAs contribute to sustainable tourism by utilizing local resources and supportingtraditional practices, which helps preserve cultural heritage and promotes economicgrowth in local communities. The study concludes that the distinctive philosophies ofThai and Balinese SPAs not only provide therapeutic benefits but also serve as culturalambassadors and promoters of sustainable tourism. As global interest in wellnesstourism continues to rise, these unique SPA experiences will remain pivotal inattracting tourists seeking comprehensive well-being experiences, thereby supportingthe overall sustainability and appeal of their respective destinations.

Exploring the Complex Relationship between Social Network Addiction and Mental Health in College Students: A Study Based on Multi-layer Network Analysis

With the development of science and technology, various types of online social media have developed rapidly, attracting a large number of users, but excessive use of social network addiction phenomenon, affecting the life and mental health. For college students, social network addiction is not uncommon and affects their mental health, so it is very important to understand the relationship between social network addiction and mental health and to intervene, so this study aims to explore the relationship between social network addiction and mental health. In this study, 1141 college students completed the Social Networking Addiction Scale and the College Mental Health Scale through an online survey. Social network addiction and mental health were then included as nodes and network analysis was performed using R software. It was found that, in the node network graph, there was a link between the well-being experience dimension of mental health and the mood change dimension of social network addiction, and there was a link between the courage to challenge dimension of mental health and the online social interaction preference dimension of social network addiction. In the total sample and the male sample, "I feel that my life is boring" in the mental health scale is the node with the highest intensity, while "I can't concentrate on my study" in the mental health scale has the highest node intensity in the female sample. From the above results, it is concluded that there is a relationship between some dimensions of social network addiction and some dimensions of mental health among college students. Individuals' boredom affects their mental health and social network addiction, and in the case of female college students, their commitment to study also affects their mental health and social network addiction.

Parental Migration and the Social and Mental Well-Being Challenges among Indonesian Left-Behind Children: A Qualitative Study.

Parental labour migration, of either one or both parents, has been associated with various challenges among left-behind children (LBC). However, there is a limited understanding of the LBC's own views and experiences of social and mental well-being and how the new daily life circumstances they encounter following their parents' migration impact them. This study aimed to understand the influence of parental migration and its aftermath on the social and mental well-being of adolescents (referred to as LBC) in two rural districts in Indonesia. Employing a qualitative design, data were collected through individual in-depth interviews with LBC (n = 24) aged 14 to 18 years, recruited using the snowball sampling technique. Data were thematically analysed, guided by a qualitative data analysis framework. The findings showed that parental migration negatively impacted the social well-being of LBC. This impact was reflected in negative labelling from friends and changes in familial roles which influenced their social interactions and activities with peers. Parental migration was also associated with challenges to the mental well-being of LBC. These manifested in the LBC experiencing fractured emotional bonds, leading to negative emotions, including stress, anxiety, sadness, depression, frustration, loss of motivation, and self-imposed isolation, which were associated with their parents' migration and abrupt disruptions in parent-child communication. The transition to new life situations with caregivers after parental migration and the dynamics within the caregivers' households were additional factors that detrimentally affected their mental well-being. Unmet basic needs and educational needs due to financial hardships faced by mothers and caregivers further exacerbated mental health challenges for the children. The findings indicate the importance and improvement of policies and interventions in Indonesia (e.g., counselling services, non-cash food assistance, family hope program, direct cash assistance) that cover and address the diverse needs of mothers or caregivers and the LBC.

Unpacking complexity in addressing the contribution of trauma to women's ill health: a qualitative study of perspectives from general practice.

There is an intricate relationship between the mind and the body in experiences of health and wellbeing. This can result in complexity of both symptom presentation and experience. Although the contribution of life trauma to illness experience is well described, this is not always fully recognised or addressed in healthcare encounters. Negotiating effective and acceptable trauma-informed conversations can be difficult for clinicians and patients. To explore the experience of primary care practitioners caring for women through a trauma-informed care lens. Qualitative study in the general practice setting of England, with reflections from representatives of a group with lived experience of trauma. This was a secondary thematic analysis of 46 qualitative interviews conducted online/by telephone to explore primary care practitioners' experiences of supporting women's health needs in general practice, alongside consultation with representatives of a lived-experience group to contextualise the findings. Four themes were constructed: 'you prioritise physical symptoms because you don't want to miss something'; you do not want to alienate people by saying the wrong thing; the system needs to support trauma-informed care; and delivering trauma-informed care takes work that can have an impact on practitioners. Primary care practitioners are aware of the difficulties in discussing the interface between trauma and illness with patients, and request support and guidance in how to negotiate this supportively. Lack of support for practitioners moves the focus of trauma-informed care from a whole-systems approach towards individual clinician-patient interactions.

Exploring the Relationships Between Body Image, Sexual Well-Being, and Community Connectedness among Gay, Bisexual and Queer+ Men

ABSTRACT Sexual minority (SM) men are more likely than heterosexual men to experience body dissatisfaction due to prevailing body ideals (e.g. lean and muscular) within the SM community. Negative body image can have harmful effects on well-being, and, by extension, sexual well-being. The current study aimed to investigate whether SM men’s minority identification and LGBTQ+ community connectedness moderates the relationship between drives for muscularity and sexual anxiety. To address this aim, 298 Australian-residing SM men completed an online survey that examined drive for muscularity, sexual anxiety, and connectedness or identification with the LGBTQ+ and SM-specific communities. As hypothesized, the results showed a positive relationship between drive for muscularity and sexual anxiety. Additionally, LGBTQ+ community connectedness, but importantly not SM identification, was found to moderate this relationship, showing a positive association only when connection was at low or average levels. These results highlight the beneficial effects that LGBTQ+ community connection can have for SM men, such as protecting them against the harmful impacts of poor body image on sexual well-being. These results also provide preliminary insights into the need to expand the understandings of bodily diversity, and diversity of sexual well-being experiences, among SM men less connected to the broader LGBTQ+ community.

Pain and subjective well-being among older adults in the developing world : A comprehensive assessment based on the WHO Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health

This paper studies the association of pain with subjective well-being (SWB) and time use among older adults in five low- and middle-income countries using data from the first wave of the WHO Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health. We suggest a novel use of anchoring vignettes as direct control functions to account for potentially correlated reporting behaviors such as correlated response scales when analyzing the relationship between subjective variables such as self-reported pain and SWB. Exploiting detailed data on individual time use and several complementary measures of SWB, including fine-grained activity-specific affective experiences derived from an abbreviated version of the Day Reconstruction Method, we find that both evaluative and experienced well-being are markedly lower for people living with pain compared to those without pain. These disparities persist even after controlling for possible confounding from reporting behaviors through the use of anchoring vignettes. Differences in experienced utility by pain status appear to be exclusively due to worse affective experiences during daily activities for those with pain, which seem to be partially mediated through changes in their functional limitations. Pain-related differences in time use, in turn, seem to provide only small compensating effects, underscoring important challenges to the use of changed activity patterns as a viable coping strategy for individuals enduring pain.

A qualitative study of the machine operator’s experience of wellbeing in the New Zealand logging industry

A qualitative study of the machine operator’s experience of wellbeing in the New Zealand logging industry

The Climate Change Worry Scale (CCWS) and Its Links with Demographics and Mental Health Outcomes in a Polish Sample.

Developing valid and reliable measures of psychological responses to climate change is of high importance, as this facilitates our understanding of people's psychological responses, including their pro-environmental behavior. Recently, the Climate Change Worry Scale (CCWS) was introduced. This study aimed to develop the first Polish version of the CCWS and explore its psychometric properties. Our sample comprised 420 Polish adults aged 18-70, with a mean age of 26.20 (standard deviation = 10.61) years. The CCWS's factor structure was assessed with confirmatory factor analysis. McDonald's omega and Cronbach's alpha coefficients were computed to assess internal consistency reliability. Pearson correlations between climate change worry (CCW) and experience of climate change (i.e., an individual's level of perception of being affected by climate change), pro-environmental behavior, ill-being (i.e., anxiety and depression symptoms), and well-being were calculated. Our results support the strong factorial validity of the CCWS, conforming to its intended one-factor solution, with excellent internal consistency reliability for the total scale score (i.e., McDonald's omega and Cronbach's alpha values of 0.93). We noted large positive correlations between CCW and experiences of climate change, as well as pro-environmental behavior, and medium positive correlations with psychopathology symptoms. CCW scores were not associated with well-being. As the CCWS represents a measure of a specific manifestation of worry, we also examined its discriminant validity against more general psychological distress markers, and it evidenced strong validity in this regard. Overall, the Polish version of the CCWS appears to have strong psychometric properties, and will therefore be a useful tool to use in research on psychological responses to climate change.

Exploring the Relationship between Spiritual Well-being and Psychological Well-being among Novice Clergy and Senior Priests in Myanmar: A Basis of Development and Implementation of a Psycho-Spiritual Intervention Program

The study explored the in-depth experiences of spiritual well-being and its role on psychological well-being among clergy towards development and implementation of a Psycho-Spiritual Intervention Program. In particular, the study looked into the lived-experiences of spiritual well-being through the quality of relationship that one has within each component of spiritual well-being and its role on psychological well-being among novice clergy and senior priests because novice clergy and senior priests are the most important stages in priestly life. There is a big difference between these two groups in terms of number of years in priestly life, year of ordination, age and occupation. In order to achieve breadth and depth in the understanding of this phenomenon, the researcher employed the explanatory sequential mixed-method design. A total of 271 clergy (135 novice clergy and 136 senior priests) completed questionnaires about spiritual well-being and psychological well-being, 10 novice clergy and 10 senior priests were then selected for in-depth interviews. The results of regression analyses showed that overall spiritual well-being is a significant predictor of psychological well-being among the clergy. Personal component of spiritual well-being alone and environmental component of spiritual well-being alone were significant predictors of psychological well-being among novice clergy and senior priests respectively. The interviews substantiated these results. It further revealed that transcendental and communal component of spiritual well-being still appear in the picture of the relationship between spiritual well-being and psychological well-being among the clergy. These components, however, were manifested in different ways among the novice clergy and the senior priests. The findings specifically showed that the experience of spiritual well-being within the personal component benefits personal growth, environmental control, self-acceptance, purpose in life and emotional stability among the novice clergy. The experience of spiritual well-being in environmental component, on the other hand, benefits peace of mind, self-acceptance and others-acceptance, increased ability of problem-solving skills, increased happiness and a better physical health among senior priests. The implications of the study for clergy, for counseling practice and for future research have discussed.

Toy tourism: Exploring the co-creating roles of toy-tourist-destination congruence and self-construal in creating well-being and its outcomes

Toy tourism is an emerging tourism development in which tourists and toys can gain interactive and well-being experiences at travel destinations. However, few studies have examined the process of how this can be accomplished through toy tourism activities. By using self-congruence theory and self-construal as a theoretical basis, the study results ( n = 254) demonstrate that the value creation process in toy tourism is an interactive process achieved by integrating destination variables (i.e., congruence among toys, tourists, and tourism destinations) and personal trait variables (i.e., self-construal). Furthermore, such co-creation mechanisms illustrate contributions to the toy tourists’ well-being (i.e., self-expressiveness) and its outcomes (i.e., self-identity and storytelling). This study provides theoretical insights into well-being formation by examining relationships between tourist, destination, and toys through toy tourism activities. Moreover, it provides useful practical implications for toy tourism-related industries.

Reflections on Transformation, Teamwork, and Mentoring: Student Teachers’ Self-Assessed Learning, Equality, and Equity in Competence-Based Education

<p style="text-align:justify">This research concentrated on observing academic student teachers’ teamwork, especially its effectiveness and their attitudes to collaboration and transformation, as well as their reflective, written self-assessments in relation to teamwork. Teams have been studied widely, but these kinds of special contexts are rare. The target group was higher education teachers, the context was an introduction of a new pedagogical program, and the teams acted under the guidance of mentors and occasional lecturers. Besides the content analysis, the study method was a deep analysis of the essays. The most effective positive influencers proved to be social exchanges, including mentoring, peer support, input for learning and the experiences of wellbeing. Individual distrust of working methods in teams, and emotional suspicions of their self-efficacy in transformational settings emerged as latent factors, revealing mainly the difficulty of changing traditional mindsets. The analyses offered individual and community-wide opportunities to steer education in the future.</p>

Hospitalized children experience: Play heroes to build bridges between hospital days and everyday life

Play has positive effects on children’s well-being and development. Play heroes, in Danish, called “Legeheltene”, have worked, for the last 7 years, to improve play and movement for hospitalized children in Danish hospitals. However, the significance of this novel Danish intervention is insufficiently researched. This phenomenological-hermeneutic study explored how children experience interacting with a play hero when hospitalized at a Danish paediatric unit. Combined observations and interviews were performed with children from two paediatric departments. Data were analyzed with inspiration from the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur. Three themes were identified: “A sense of familiarity,” “From loneliness to connectedness,” and “Becoming more powerful.” Children experience that interaction with play heroes is existentially meaningful. Through playful activities, children experience that they are connected to their daily lives outside the hospital and their true selves. Bridges to children’s everyday lives are built, leading to an improved sense of freedom, security, and the ability to manage difficult aspects of their hospital stay. Engagement with play heroes provides children with an experience of well-being and can be a positive direction in care provided to hospitalized children.