Health Movement Research Articles

Primary healthcare professionals’ perceptions, attitudes and ideas regarding asthma management in Greece: A mixed-method study

Background Implementing asthma guideline recommendations is challenging and there is variation between countries, and different healthcare professionals (HCPs). The International Primary Care Respiratory Group (IPCRG) has introduced the Asthma Right Care (ARC) programme implemented in 24 low, middle, and high countries, including Greece. It offers a promising approach drawn from social movements for health to improve asthma care by engaging HCPs in implementing guideline-based asthma care. Objectives To explore HCPs’ perspectives on current provision of asthma care and their willingness to improve implementation of recommended guidelines using ARC programme tools in Greece. Methods A mixed methods study conducted from September 2020 to April 2021. A convenience sample of 30 pharmacists, and 10 General Practitioners (GPs), responded to a questionnaire investigating perceptions, and attitudes, towards implementation of asthma guidelines. Then, a qualitative survey followed with semi-structured interviews to evaluate the feedback obtained from HCPs to assess the content, and applicability of the ARC tools. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results A range of practical challenges in implementing guideline-recommended interventions, improving asthma control and management were described by all HCPs, including lack of time and education, high workload, patients’ perceptions, and poor communication contributing to poor management and inadequate follow-up of people with asthma. However, most HCPs were willing to use ARC interventions to improve guideline implementation. Conclusion HCPs in Greece encounter challenges in implementing asthma guidelines; however, they can overcome these challenges by using ARC interventions and engagement tools to address barriers and implement efficient asthma management strategies.

Necessity for a global patient co-owned cloud (GPOC)

BackgroundThe use of Cloud-based storage of personal health records has increased globally. The GPOC Series introduces the concept of a Global Patient co-Owned Cloud (GPOC) of personal health records. Here, we present the GPOC Series’ international survey on the necessity of a GPOC.MethodsOnline global survey with invitations sent to health ministries and major organisations. It received answers from health ministries and affiliated advisors of all 193 United Nations (UN) member states, 2 UN observer states (Holy See & Palestine) and 1 de facto UN non-member state (Taiwan) and from 18 major international organisations. The survey examined a dozen aspects encompassing demographics, privacy, sharing, movability, co-ownership, research, company usage, regulation and the necessity of a GPOC.ResultsThe GPOC Survey elicited responses from 267 individuals from 214 entities, including all UN member states, and major international organisations. Twelve domains were identified, covering demographics, correctness, privacy, commercial use, medical and non-medical research, co-ownership, data sharing, record movement, ownership centralisation, patient rights, environmental concerns, and foundation creation. Results show high agreement on most issues, including support for co-ownership (89%) and movement of personal health records (84%). Disagreement was prominent regarding centralised ownership by the state (64%) and data sharing without consent (85%). Additionally, respondents expressed interest in a neutral, decentralised foundation for regulation (73%) and the environmental sustainability of electronic health records (84%).ConclusionsA Global Patient co-Owned Cloud (GPOC) of personal health records could significantly enhance patient independence and involvement in health management, supported by the near consensus agreement across various domains identified in our survey. This consensus underscores the potential of GPOC to democratise healthcare and align with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The survey results demonstrate strong support for GPOC’s role in promoting evidence-based patient management, reducing information silos, and fostering ethical data sharing. Moreover, the overwhelming agreement on key principles of co-ownership, data sharing, and environmental sustainability highlights the global inclination for a decentralised, patient-controlled PHR platform. This platform stands to empower patients worldwide, advance precision medicine, and contribute to the global development and dissemination of artificial intelligence in healthcare.

Book Review: Looking through the Speculum-examining the Women's Health movement by Houck, Judith A.

Book Review: <i>Looking through the Speculum-examining the Women's Health movement</i> by Houck, Judith A.

‘Excellent for mind,body and spirit’: Participant, facilitator, and community stakeholder experiences of Music and Movement for Health

Background and purposeArts-based interventions are an emerging area of interest in health research for older adults. Music and Movement for Health (MMH) is one such systematically developed interdisciplinary arts-based intervention designed to enhance health and wellbeing of older adults. The objective of this qualitative study was to explore the opinions and experiences of participants, facilitators, and community stakeholders of the MMH intervention. Materials and methodsThis embedded qualitative study was completed as part of a wider evaluation of the MMH intervention. A purposive sample of older adults who had completed MMH (n = 71), facilitators (n = 8) and community stakeholders (n = 4) participated in this study. Data were collected through a combination of focus groups and telephone/virtual interviews. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. ResultsData analysis led to the generation of the overarching theme ‘Positive ageing in place’, which encompassed two themes: (1) ‘Intersection of exercise and arts’ and (2) ‘Fostering a sense of belonging’, and five subthemes. MMH was viewed as a unique arts-based intervention that combined participants' interest in music and dance and had many perceived physical and psychological benefits. Additionally, MMH provided routine and social opportunities to older adults, which were particularly valued in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. ConclusionThe provision of exercise through the arts was enjoyable and, resultantly, desirable to many older adults, with perceived positive physical and psychosocial outcomes. Consequently, the use of arts-based interventions for health promotion and social opportunities among older adults warrants further investigation. Trial registrationISRCTN35313497.

Neurodevelopmental outcomes of school-age children conceived after hysterosalpingography with oil-based or water-based iodinated contrast: long-term follow-up of a nationwide randomized controlled trial.

Does preconceptional exposure to oil-based iodinated contrast media during hysterosalpingography (HSG) impact children's neurodevelopment compared with exposure to water-based alternatives? Our study found no large-sized effects for neurodevelopment in children with preconceptional exposure to oil-based iodinated contrast media during HSG compared with water-based alternatives. HSG is widely used as a diagnostic tool in the female fertility work-up. Tubal flushing with oil-based iodinated contrast has been shown to enhance fertility outcomes in couples with unexplained infertility, increasing the chances of pregnancy and live birth compared with water-based alternatives. However, oil-based contrast contains higher doses of iodine and has a longer half-life, and concerns exist that iodinated contrast media can affect women's iodine status and cause temporary (sub)clinical hypothyroidism in mothers and/or foetuses. Considering that thyroid hormones are vital to embryonal and foetal brain development, oil-based contrast media use could increase the risk of impaired neurodevelopment in children conceived shortly after HSG. Here we examine neurodevelopmental outcomes in school-aged children conceived after HSG. This is a long-term follow-up of the H2Oil trial in which oil-based or water-based contrast was used during HSG (Netherlands; 2012-2014; NTR3270). Of 369 children born <6 months after HSG in the study, we contacted the mothers of 140 children who gave consent to be contacted for follow-up. The follow-up study took place from January to July 2022 (NCT05168228). The study included 69 children aged 6-9 years who were conceived after HSG with oil-based (n = 42) or water-based contrast (n = 27). The assessments targeted intelligence (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children), neurocognitive outcomes (computerized neurocognitive tests), behavioural functioning (parent and teacher questionnaires), and academic performance. Linear regression models, adjusted for age, sex, and parental educational attainment were employed to compare groups. School-aged children born to mothers after oil-based contrast HSG did not significantly differ from children born to mothers after water-based contrast HSG, in regards to intelligence, neurocognitive functioning, behavioural functioning, or academic performance, with the exception of better performance for visuomotor integration functions in children exposed to oil-based contrast preconception. After exploratory correction for multiple comparisons, none of the group differences was statistically significant. The small sample size of this follow-up study limited statistical power. This study provides evidence for the absence of large-sized differences between preconceptional exposure to the two contrast media types but does not rule out more subtle effects on neurodevelopment compared to naturally conceived children without preconceptional exposure to HSG. This study contributes to our knowledge about the long-term effects of different types of iodinated contrast media used in fertility work-up, indicating that choosing oil-based over water-based iodinated contrast media is unlikely to have major effect on the long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of children conceived shortly after HSG. However, further research should focus on the overall safety of iodine exposure during HSG, comparing children conceived after HSG to those conceived naturally as both types of contrast contain high amounts of iodine. The original H2Oil randomized controlled trial was an investigator-initiated study that was funded by the two academic hospitals now merged into the Amsterdam University Medical Centre. The current follow-up study (Neuro-H2Oil) is funded through a research grant awarded to the authors by the Amsterdam Reproduction & Development (AR&D) research institute. S.K. is funded by a AMC MD/PhD Scholarship from the Amsterdam UMC. S.K. reports holding voluntary roles in the civil society organizations Universities Allied for Essential Medicines and People's Health Movement. V.M. reports receiving travel and speaker fees as well as research grants from Guerbet, Merck and Ferring. K.D. reports receiving travel and speaker fees as well as research grants from Guerbet. BWM is supported by a NHMRC Investigator grant (GNT1176437) and reports consultancy, travel support and research funding from Merck, consultancy for Organon and Norgine, and holding stock from ObsEva. The other authors report no conflict of interest. NCT05168228.

Social Movements and Policy Entrenchment

A vast scholarship shows that social movements can play pivotal roles in bringing about policies that benefit marginalized groups. However, the role of social movements in entrenching those policies—ensuring they take root—remains insufficiently studied. We set a research agenda for the study of how social movements shape policy entrenchment by calling attention to three commonly used strategies—occupying state bureaucracies, engaging in pressure and persuasion tactics, and building alliances with political parties—and analyzing the relationships among them. We illustrate these strategies through short case studies of social movements that achieved significant change benefitting marginalized groups in Latin America: the health movement in Brazil, the unemployed workers’ movements in Argentina, and peasant and indigenous movements in Bolivia.

Wind Instruments and Oral Health: Challenges Faced by Professional Wind Musicians.

Recent studies have shown an association between playing wind instruments and their impact on the orofacial system. However, they have not fully evaluated all aspects of the topic, leaving a gap in the overall understanding. A thorough search of the National Library of Medicine database was conducted using our research strategy, resulting in the identification of relevant studies. An expert perspective was obtained by conducting two in-depth expert interviews with a professor of horn-playing and a specialised dentist. Thirty-seven relevant publications were included in the traditional literature review. The most common diseases among professional wind instrumentalists include the lip area, temporomandibular joint, oral mucosa, respiratory system, oral allergic reactions, and orofacial trauma. Special measures, preventive measures, and expert opinions were utilised to address and overcome the associated orofacial problems. Wind instruments affect the oral health and tooth movement of professional instrumentalists, and dentists should consider the impact of dental changes on embouchure and performance. Dental impressions and three-dimensional intra-oral scans are important for reconstruction. This research highlights the need for specialised dental care for professional wind instrumentalists, and further studies are necessary to fully explore this topic.

The Toilet Revolution Empowers Rural Revitalization based on a Health Perspective

Since the reform and opening up, with the rapid development of the Chinese economy, public health problems have become increasingly serious. At the same time, due to the reality of imbalanced urban-rural development in China, improving the living environment in rural areas is the key and difficult point to achieve rural revitalization. Therefore, in 2015, the Chinese government officially began the "Toilet Revolution", a national public health movement aimed at improving urban and rural public health problems, enhancing people's quality of life, promoting rural economic development, and further promoting the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy. Based on a health perspective, this article analyzes the impact of the "toilet revolution" on rural health human capital by reviewing existing data and literature such as the "China Statistical Yearbook" on the level of health service expenditure and the number of sanitary toilet constructions. It further elucidates the mechanism by which the "toilet revolution" empowers rural revitalization, providing a theoretical basis for the government to deepen the "toilet revolution", narrow the urban-rural gap, and promote rural revitalization.

Analysis of the Patriotic Health Movement in China: A Study on the Crude Health Movement.

Analysis of the Patriotic Health Movement in China: A Study on the Crude Health Movement.

B - 61 Psilocybin as a First-Line Treatment of ADHD in Adult Populations

Abstract Objectives The first line for symptom management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a class of medications that act on dopamine and noradrenaline receptors, which leads to symptom reduction at the cost of significant side effects. These side effects have led to community searching for alternative methods that manage ADHD symptoms in adults that lead to less side effects. Microdosing Psilocybin has emerged as a course of treatment that could provide benefits for those who may experience serious side effects to stimulant medication. Method This literature review was conducted using search terms such as, ADHD attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, psychedelic treatment, stimulant treatment of ADHD, naturalistic treatment of ADHD, 5-HT, neural plasticity. Journals that reported about the benefits and concerns of Psilocybin use for ADHD are Neurochemistry International, American College of Neuropharmacology, European Psychology, Movement and Nutrition in Health and Disease, Journal of Psychopharmacology, and Psychiatry Research. Results Research shows that not only does microdosing Psilocybin have less adverse effects than stimulant medications when being used to treat ADHD, but it also leads to an alternative method that focuses on serotonin receptors when other avenues are unsuccessful. Conclusions This poster illustrates the alternative use of Psilocybin for treatment in ADHD and highlights neurological underpinnings that may lead to explaining success. Limitations of stimulant medications are also reviewed.

Toward Eve’s Exodus

OPEN ACCESS CC BY-NC-ND Paid In an American context of reproductive injustice, the Christian right legitimizes a coercive pronatalist policy agenda by appeal to the theological belief that ‘human life begins at fertilization,’ which they ground in the biblical narrative of Genesis 1–3. Drawing upon interdisciplinary resources and utilizing an innovative feminist methodology, this article demonstrates that, while the story of pro/creation in Gen. 1–3 does not directly support ‘life at fertilization’ theology, it does provide a de facto undergirding for that conceptualization via its highly androcentric ideology of reproduction. Through symbolic, mythical narration of how ‘life’ comes to be, Gen. 1–3 constructs a central fiction of the Father God’s paternal reproductive omni-potence, which is built upon God’s colonization of agents with the capacity for maternal gestation labor and his violent destruction of those agents’ collective autonomy and capacity for reproductive anti-labor. In its ancient religious context, this rhetoric championed God’s patriarchal, patrilineal world-building project, which served those establishing and reinforcing a society that generated power and wealth for dominant men. As a story deeply socialized through lived religion over time, it operates now as a contemporary social fact that the Christian right exploits to construct its own, more extreme fiction of paternal omnipotence. Illumination of the Gen. 1–3 narrative’s oppressive constructions of women as reproductive laborers/anti-laborers – symbolized by Eve and other agents – enables feminist religio-cultural narrative intervention. A new story of life’s pro/creation is needed in both religious and secular settings to liberate ‘Eve’ and advance the movement for reproductive health, rights, and justice.

Newman’s theory of health as expanding consciousness: an evolutionary concept analysis

BackgroundThe health as expanding consciousness (HEC) theory posits that health and disease are interconnected components of a comprehensive process aimed at expanding consciousness.AimThe objective of this study is to introduce the concept, research status and applications of HEC and offer a comprehensive understanding of its various key components.Data sourcesDatabases including EMBASE, PubMed, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, Wiley, Web of Science, Sinomed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and CQVIP, covering the period from 1986 to 2023.MethodEmploying Rodgers’ evolutionary concept analysis approach, this study included and analysed 70 studies.ResultsThe characteristics of HEC comprise aspects such as movement, time, space, energy, rhythm, and paradigm of health. The antecedents of HEC encompass disease, chaos, binding, centring, and choice point. Consequences associated with HEC include self-transcendence, unbinding, decentring, expanded consciousness, real freedom, pattern recognition, absolute consciousness, and death.ConclusionThis study has identified substitute terms, related concepts, attributes, antecedents, consequences, and empirical references associated with HEC. The findings provide valuable information applicable across various domains of nursing, encompassing practice, education, research, and management.

‘The Doctor in Search of Herself’: women doctors’ autobiographies, second wave feminism, and the feminist women’s health movement, 1976-1987

Second wave feminist legal and educational reform contributed to the fourfold rise in the number of women doctors in the United States between 1970 and 1990, challenging the hierarchical medical...

Analysis the M&amp;A in Wearable Market: Evidence from Google purchase Fitbit

With the continuous progress of science and technology and the improvement of people's living standards, the wearable device market is gradually rising. These devices can be equipped with various sensors and have functions such as monitoring human health and statistical movement data, which have attracted the attention and favor of consumers. The content of this paper is a case analysis of Google's acquisition of Fitbit, which is mainly analyzed by comparing the financial data of the two companies before and after the acquisition. According to the evaluations, it is found that the acquisition is a success for both companies. For Google, operating income, net profit and total asset scale have increased significantly, which has a positive impact on the company, making the company's assets belong to an upward trend. For Fitbit, the acquisition has gradually reduced its loss and made its total assets more stable, with good development potential in the future.

Moving Forward With Pride: LGBTQ+ Health and Contemporary Rights Movements in Asia.

As Pride marches are celebrated globally in June, stigma and discriminatory laws against LGBTQ+ individuals remain prevalent in over a third of countries, potentially worsening health disparities among this population. Despite these challenges, notable progress has been made in Asia. Several countries have seen court rulings favoring LGBTQ+ rights, while the National Medical Commission of India has committed to ending conversion therapy, a harmful healthcare practice. As Asian nations advance and draw inspiration from their neighbors' successes, health practitioners, researchers, organizations, and institutions in the region can advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, offer targeted health services, and promote inclusive healthcare practices.

One Health in two countries: The politics of transdisciplinary healthcare collaboration in Canada and the United States.

The One Health perspective highlights the potential synergies between the human, animal, and environmental health sciences, especially in an era of budget shortfalls, climate change, and emerging infectious diseases of zoonotic origin. Canadian physicians and veterinarians arguably lay the foundation of One Health in the late 19th century, when they pioneered the study of "comparative medicine" in Montreal, but they fell into disciplinary silos before World War I to the lasting detriment of the Canadian population. This article explores both the advantages and impediments to cross-disciplinary healthcare collaboration in Canada, highlighting the country's vast size, sparse population, and political decentralization in particular, and offers a number of policy recommendations that would allow the country to reclaim its rightful role as a leader in the One Health movement.

Rethinking and advancing the movement of resistance, activism, and advocacy in health in four central arenas of the Middle East Region

AbstractThe Middle East region has a long history of resistance, activism, and advocacy movements in health, most recently as part of the 2011 region‐wide Arab Spring. Despite this storied history, however, movements of resistance, activism, and advocacy in health in the region are rarely unpacked, examined, or documented. This historical and contextual analysis aims to examine the long‐standing confiscated health rights and subsequent experiences of resistance, activism, and advocacy in health in populations in Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, and Iraq. Promoting a health equity and health rights‐based approach is key to achieving Universal Health Coverage and health‐related Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in contexts that experience fragile socioeconomic and humanitarian conditions and political instability such as many countries in the Middle East. Marginalized populations, including Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, Lebanese Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender+ (LGBT) communities, Egyptian women and girls affected by Female Genital Mutilation, and Iraqi refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, have been severely impacted by decades of oppression, conflict, and displacement. These populations have faced various forms of discrimination, neglect, and violence that have hindered their access to quality healthcare and basic health rights. Rather than relying on government efforts, local and international movements to advocate for and protect the health rights of these populations are key. Innovative approaches, strategic dialogue and collective actions are prerequisites for promoting resistance, activism, and advocacy in health in all country's systems structure. This analysis highlights the important of this social public health issue in the most turbulent region and provides evidence to guide all countries to realize equitable human rights for health for all populations.

Forging a psychological solidarity: from the community mental health movement to Latinx life coaching in the South Bronx

Forging a psychological solidarity: from the community mental health movement to Latinx life coaching in the South Bronx

Development and Unfolding of the Life Course Movement in the Field of Maternal and Child Health: An Oral History.

A life course perspective in maternal, child, and family health allows for integrated exploration of outcomes, incorporating multifactorial determinants of health to interrogate sources of inequity and identify opportunities for intervention. This article explores the historical development, integration, and implications of the contemporary life course perspective in the field of maternal and child health (MCH), and particularly the people and events which institutionalized the framework as central to national and local MCH practice and research over the last decades. Drawing on an oral history approach, key leaders of the life course movement in MCH were interviewed. Lived experiences and personal recollections of six interviewees were recorded and synthesized using a narrative descriptive approach to portray the social ecology of the movement's origins. We documented systematic efforts made in the first two decades of the 21st century to consciously promote life course through convening a National MCH Life Course Invitational Meeting, incorporating life course as a foundational framework for strategic planning at the Maternal Child Health Bureau, and development of tools and resources by MCH professional organizations. The integration of life course theory into the MCH field signified a major shift towards addressing protective and social factors, which aligns with the field's historical emphasis on social justice and rights-based approaches, and parallels the broader public health movement towards social determinants of health and the need to address structural racism. The ongoing relevance of the life course approach in promoting reproductive justice and addressing inequities in health underscores the historical importance of its adoption and use in the current mainstream of MCH research, policy, and practice.

Infant mortality and social causality: Lessons from the history of Britain's public health movement, c. 1834-1914.

What are the historical conditions under which a sociologically informed understanding of health inequality can emerge in the public sphere? We seek to address this question through the lens of a strategically chosen historical puzzle-the stubborn persistence of and salient variation in high infant mortality rates across British industrial towns at the dawn of the previous century-as analysed by Arthur Newsholme, the Medical Officer of the Local Government Board. In doing so, we retrace the historical processes through which the evolving public health movement gradually helped crystallise a scientific understanding of the social causes of excess mortality. We map the dominant ideology of the public sphere at the time, chart the shifting roles of the state, and retrace the historical origins and emergence of 'public health' as a distinctive category of state policy and public discourse. We situate the public health movement in this historical configuration and identify the cracks in the existing ideological and administrative edifice through which this movement was able to articulate a novel approach to population health-one that spotlights the political economy of social inequality. We relate this historical sequence to the rise of industrial capitalism, the social fractures that it spawned, and the organised counter-movements that it necessitated.