Relevance Of Lifestyles Research Articles

Holding individuals accountable for engaging in harmful health behaviours when managing scarce resources

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the views of Bulgarian citizens about the relevance of lifestyles in the management of scarce resources through rationing and explore whether they are associated with participants’ characteristics. Design/methodology/approach A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 322 Bulgarian respondents. Respondents faced a hypothetical rationing scenario where they have to decide whether information about five harmful health behaviours (smoking, excess alcohol consumption, illegal drug use, overeating/poor diet and engaging in dangerous driving (speeding and/or under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs)) should be relevant in priority setting decisions. Descriptive statistics and logistic regressions were performed. Findings The majority of respondents disagree with the idea that personal responsibility for illness should count in priority decisions. Notwithstanding, there seems to be a wider consensus in giving lower priorities to patients that engage in dangerous driving (excess of speed and/or under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs), illegal drugs use and excessive alcohol intake. Overeating/poor quality nutrition was the risky behaviour less condemned by respondents followed by smoking. Respondents’ sociodemographic, health and beliefs about rationing criteria had different impact in the penalization of the risk behaviours. Originality/value This study is the first attempt to awaken attention to the impact that personal responsibility for health may have on intergenerational access to healthcare.

La salute č anche socialmente determinata? Teorie, valori, proposte

Is medical care the only determinant of individual and population health? Of course not, but different opinions exist on this issue: supporting the relevance of the ‘inherited' conditions in which people are born, grow, live and work; or supporting the relevance of lifestyles and individual characteristics in determining social conditions, associated with health status. This essay offers an analysis of these different points of view, starting from the decennial debate in the scientific literature and from the related proposals, highlighting WHO positions and the influence of Amartya Sen's thinking.

Relevance of Lifestyle and Attitudinal Factors to Spine Surgery Outcomes: Empirical Results on a Heterogeneous Sample

Background Context: Patient demographic and medical indicators influence the well-being of spine surgery patients. It may, however, be worthwhile to evaluate other lifestyle and attitudinal factors. We hypothesized that such factors would explain at least as much variance in outcome as more commonly considered covariates. Purpose: To compare explained variance in outcome of lifestyle and attitudinal factors as compared to standard demographic and medical covariates. Study Design/Setting: Cross-sectional observational study of patients drawn from an active clinic and internet-based support group. Patient Sample: A heterogeneous sample of 376 patients was recruited, comprised of people with diagnoses of cervical (n = 80), lumbar (n = 228), and scoliosis (n = 68) spine disorders. Outcome Measures: Quality of Life (QOL) outcomes were measured using the Oswestry Disability Index, Neck Disability Index, Rand-36, PROMIS Pain Impact, NRS Back and Leg Pain, Scoliosis Research Society-22r, and Global Health. Methods: This study compared explained variance in QOL outcomes in demographic and medical versus lifestyle and attitudinal factors. Demographic and medical factors included age, gender, body mass index, and co-morbidities. Lifestyle factors included exercise and commuting practice. Attitudinal factors related to social connectedness: giving and receiving emotional support, feeling overwhelmed by others’ needs, helping orientation, and general helping behaviors. Regression analyses estimated explained variance. Patient groups differed in most factors evaluated, so the regression analyses were computed separately by group. R2 statistics were characterized as null, small (0.02), medium (0.15), and large (0.35) effect sizes (ES), and proportions were compared for the medical/demographic versus lifestyle/attitudinal factors by group. Results: Similar proportions of variance were explained by demographic/medical and lifestyle/attitudinal covariates across groups, with half of effect sizes being small in magnitude and 6% being medium. Lumbar patients tended to have more small effect sizes among lifestyle and attitudinal covariates than among medical/demographic covariates (z = – 1.29, p < 0.10). Similar patterns were found for both generic and disease-specific outcomes. Conclusions: Spine surgery outcome research should investigate lifestyle and attitudinal factors to enhance the personal and salutogenic relevance of the research. Time spent commuting, exercise practice, and social connectedness appear to be relevant factors. A pre-operative evaluation of overweight and smoking status, limited social connectedness, and long daily commutes could alert the surgeon to delay or avoid performing procedures on these patients to avoid poor outcomes.

The relevance of sleep, circadian rhythm and lifestyle as related to a holistic theory of health.

This paper highlights the relation between health, lifestyle, sleep and circadian rhythm in disease, using a holistic theory of health, for subjects with, for example, coronary heart disease, nursed in intensive care or post-operative ward following coronary arterial by-pass surgery. The paper will also illuminate the World Health Organization's health targets nine and 13-17, adopted by the Member States of the European Region, about the relevance of lifestyle and its influence on the subject's health values for patients with coronary heart disease. Sleep is affected by a person's own will, repertoire and circumstance, both internal and external. It plays a meaningful part in maintaining good health. Disturbance of sleep leads to change in circadian rhythm and is an early symptom of psychophysiological and social ill health, independent of disease. It influences a person's values, actions and ability to adjust. Disturbance of sleep over longer periods leads to disease. Patients who have undergone, for example, coronary arterial by-pass surgery are expected to change their lifestyle. It is therefore important that the nurse can define the subject's sleep patterns and circadian rhythm.

The Relevance of Life Style and Demographic Information in Designing Package Travel Tours. James R. Abbey. Department of Outdoor Recreation, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322. 1978. 296p

The Relevance of Life Style and Demographic Information in Designing Package Travel Tours. James R. Abbey. Department of Outdoor Recreation, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322. 1978. 296p