Health Touch Research Articles

Fabry App: the value of a portable technology in recording day-to-day patient monitored information in patients with Fabry disease

BackgroundFabry disease is a rare inherited disorder resulting from deficient α-galactosidase A enzyme activity. Common disease manifestations are sweating abnormalities, neuropathic pain, gastrointestinal symptoms and fatigue. Challenges are faced by health care professionals in evaluating symptom burden in the current clinical setting, and the demand for alternative methods for monitoring disease-specific symptoms has seen an acceleration in recent years. Smartphone technologies offer the potential for continuity of care and surveillance. As a part of a quality improvement project, a disease specific app was developed in collaboration with a software company (Health Touch Ltd) and made available for patient use in May 2018. The Fabry mobile app records five categories: pain, gastrointestinal symptoms, sweating, activity levels, medications. Fabry disease patients with gastrointestinal and pain symptoms attending the Lysosomal Storage Disorders Unit of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust were reviewed to assess eligibility and invited to download the app for recording their symptoms (activity, sweating, pain and gastrointestinal) and medications. Patient-generated data were transmitted to a secure website for clinicians to review.ResultsOne-hundred and thirty-nine symptomatic Fabry disease patients who had a smartphone (iPhone or android) were invited to download the app. Sixty-seven patients (26 males and 41 females; median age, 49 years [range, 20–81]) downloaded and tracked the Fabry App at least once. The median frequency of use per patient was 6 (range, 1–629). Pain in the hands and abdominal pain were significantly higher (p = 0.009 and p = 0.007, respectively) in patients with classic phenotype compared with patients with non-classic phenotypes.ConclusionsWe demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of a smartphone app to facilitate the remote assessment and monitoring of Fabry disease symptom burden on a daily/weekly basis, as an alternative to the current standard of care that requires patients to recall their symptoms during 6 to 12 monthly annual clinic visits. Patients who were more likely to use the app had greater disease burden. This innovation has the potential to assess disease progression, early therapeutic intervention, thereby decreasing the burden of morbidity and mortality among Fabry patients, and to record long-term effects of Fabry-specific therapies.

Expressive touch in health and social care: A review of touch guidance to explore the extent to which social and communication needs of adults with learning disabilities are considered

AbstractBackgroundPeople with a learning disability can present with complex physical and social needs, and sometimes rely on touch for communication. Historically, touch‐related staff guidance has been described as risk‐averse, lacking an evidence base, control‐orientated and potentially harmful. This project reviews local touch‐related guidance from adult learning disability services, exploring the extent to which they consider the social and communication needs of service users.MethodsFive touch‐related guidance documents were analysed using a summative content analysis. Counts of relevant search terms were analysed quantitatively. Extracts containing the search terms were then analysed qualitatively, to explore their context.FindingsConsiderable variation was noted between the guidance documents. All the documents discuss communication within the context of touch, although to varying extents. The analysis highlighted a focus on safety and risk within most documents, however, some documents also demonstrated encouragement of positive risk management and the safe use of touch.ConclusionsWhile this study has identified several positive aspects of the guidance documents, these helpful recommendations and arguments appear inconsistently within individual documents. Services should work towards developing guidance that consistently considers practical steps to reduce risk and facilitate the safe and effective use of expressive touch cross‐service. Further research into current practice relating to expressive touch is indicated.

‘Touch for Health’ based kinesiology interventions: An innovative qualitative research exploring clients' perspectives

Background and purposeTouch for health (TFH) based kinesiology is a complementary therapy with foundations in a natural health training developed utilising techniques from chiropractic, osteopathy and acupressure therapies. Although popular, the impact of the therapy is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to understand outcomes of TFH-based kinesiology interventions that clients perceive as important in their lives. Materials and methodsA qualitative phenomenological approach was chosen to capture rich descriptive data. Thirteen individuals were recruited from TFH-based kinesiology practices. Focus groups included semi-structured questions, photo-elicitation and a wellness word activity to prompt discussion on impacts of interventions. Audio-recordings were transcribed, coded and grouped to develop themes. Comparisons were made and linked with the wellness model, theory of planned behaviour and mindfulness-based interventions. ResultsThree interrelated themes emerged: impact on awareness, experience of effects and impact on action. TFH-based kinesiology was perceived to enhance self-awareness and feelings of wellbeing, promote self-care and support new actions to manage stress and complement conventional healthcare. The use of a mind-body approach with feedback from muscle testing and less need for dialogue were valued. Photo-elicitation generated rich narratives recounting experiences after interventions. Impacts aligned with the wellness model and resembled outcomes of mindfulness-based interventions. ConclusionThis study provides an insight into experiences and impacts of TFH-based kinesiology. Interventions were seen to facilitate self-awareness, experiences of wellbeing and promote self-care. Findings contribute towards a knowledge-base to foster dialogue and inform TFH-based kinesiologists, health professionals, consumers and research of TFH-based kinesiology and comparative therapies.

Reduction of Fatigue and Musculoskeletal Complaints in Garment Sewing Operator through a Combination of Stretching Brain Gym® and Touch for Health.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of using a combination of stretching and Brain Gym®(BG) + Touch for Health (TfH) movements to reduce fatigue and musculoskeletal complaints (MSCs) in garment-sewing operators. A quasi-experimental study was performed on 53 respondents with two sessions of stretching movements and BG + TfH movements of 5 min duration, three times a week for four weeks. Fatigue was measured using a reaction timer and MSCs were measured using a Nordic Body Map questionnaire. Wilcoxon and Mann–Whitney U tests were performed to examine the differences of pre/post and between the intervention group (IG) and control group (CG). A significant difference was found in IG for pre- and post-fatigue (p < 0.001) and MSCs (p < 0.001), while in CG there was no difference in fatigue (p = 0.200) and MSCs (p = 0.086). Significant differences were found between the IG and CG groups in terms of fatigue (p = 0.046), as well as in MSCs (p < 0.001). A significant decrease in MSCs per part body in IG was found on the left wrist, left hand, and left knee. The percentage of MSC severity decreased in all parts of the body, except the right shoulder, left elbow, and right thigh.

ЗАСТОСУВАННЯ МЕТОДІВ КІНЕЗІОЛОГІЇ У ПРОГРАМІ ПСИХОЛОГІЧНОЇ РЕАБІЛІТАЦІЇ ВЕТЕРАНІВ АТО

The article considers the peculiarities of the use of kinesiology methods in the program of measures of psychological rehabilitation of participants in hostilities. In the course of psychological rehabilitation of anti-terrorist operation veterans we applied methods of the following directions of kinesiology:“Touch for Health”; “HYPERTON Х”;“One Brain / Three in one Concepts”;RESET (Rafferty Energy System of Easing the Temporomandibular Joint).The main purpose of the study was to analyze the features of psychological rehabilitation of ATO veterans through the methods of kinesiology and to determine the effectiveness of the applied program of work with veterans.The actualization of the rapid and long-term psychological recovery of a participant in hostilities prompted us to look for methods that would give appropriate results. To overcome the consequences of combat trauma after the timely provision of primary psychological assistance to the serviceman must undergo a long process of psychological rehabilitation with the involvement of a psychotherapist, and such a process can be delayed for a long time. We have chosen the methods of kinesiology as those that give fast and long-term positive results in working with participants in hostilities. Moreover, the frequency of meetings with a kinesiologist 1-2 times a month for 3-4 months. The session lasts from 40 minutes to two hours (depending on the veteran's requests).Muscle testing (also known as biological feedback or manual muscle testing) has traditionally been used for kinesiology to work effectively with veterans. After determining the "purity of the muscle", we assess the state of the body in accordance with the signal (alarm) points of the body and carry out in accordance with muscle testing correction or in accordance with methods: Healing touch or HYPERTON X. If the veteran reports barotrauma, or frequent major pains before carrying out the general correction we carry out correction of a temporomandibular joint through RESET methods and only then we start the general correction.Inclusion in the program of psychological rehabilitation of kinesiological practices significantly reduces the recovery time of veterans, helps to better absorb the psychotherapeutic effects of psychotherapists, promotes faster recovery of servicemen who were treated after injuries.We see prospects for further research in the processing of data of psychological and psychophysiological test methods, which will confirm the feasibility and effectiveness of kinesiological methods in the psychological rehabilitation of veterans.

Nonverbal Communication through Touch: Meanings for Physical Therapists Working in a Hospital Environment

Objectives: To know the most used types of touch and understand their meanings for physical therapists working in a hospital environment, from the perspective of their feelings, attitudes and behaviors during care. Materials and methods: Qualitative case study conducted by physical therapists working at a hospital in Brazil. For data collection, participant observation and semi-structured interviews were used as techniques. Data were analyzed according to the thematic content analysis proposed by Minayo. Results: 16 physical therapists participated in the study and, from the analysis of the empirical material, four thematic categories emerged: Instrumental touch as a fundamental resource of hospital physical therapy assistance; expressive touch: Its little presence does not mean absence of affection; physical therapist’s feelings related to touch and difficulty talking about touch means that there is a deficiency in training. Conclusions: The underuse of expressive touch revealed the lack of knowledge and unpreparedness in the formation of the physical therapist, which, added to the lack of self-knowledge, hinders the affection and the creation of bonds in relationships. All of this justifies the rare studies on affective touch in health, which reflects an area to be explored and the need to sensitize professionals to influence the quality and humanization of care.

Touch for Health: Use of Pavlovian Processes with Physical Touch as a Means to Improve Menstrual Hygiene Management Initiatives, Measured by Willingness to Pay.

BackgroundTo combat the lack of proper facilities and menstrual health knowledge in developing countries, many WASH (Water, Hygiene, and Sanitation) initiatives are including menstrual hygiene management (MHM) components. However, evidence shows that prior efforts have not been ultimately successful in inducing relevant behavior changes, due in part to cultural constraints and unidimensional interventions. As such, MHM research may need to include consideration of new theories/approaches. Evidence is growing of the role that physical presence/proximity and ability to touch objects has on incentives for consumers to purchase goods, captured through willingness to pay (WTP) figures. Such findings can be partially explained by Pavlovian processes.ObjectiveThis study sought to provide field-work validation of such findings of the role of Pavlovian processes and endowment effect on WTP figures for a female hygiene kit, reflecting motivation to adopt better hygiene behaviors.MethodsThis study used primary survey data collected from females in two upper-level schools in southwestern Nepal (n = 169). When presented in conjunction with a hygiene education session, one group of females was allowed physical interaction with a female hygiene kit, while another was not, before being surveyed on their WTP for the kit. Both non-parametric and parametric statistical analyses were performed to assess the impact of this ability to touch the kits on WTP figures.ResultsResults show a statistically significant difference between the WTP figures of those females allowed interaction with the kits prior to being surveyed and those who did not. This confirms the positive impact of physical presence/touch on motivations to use/acquire hygiene-related tools.ConclusionsSuch findings reveal how, through application of the theory of Pavlovian processes, future (menstrual) health education efforts could harness the human instinct to consume, remember, and use those objects presented in physical form, and include personal contact and demonstrations of better health practices in future MHM and WASH education initiatives. Such an approach may allow protocols and interventions to have more success, and dissemination of healthier behaviors and knowledge to be more prominent.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s41669-019-0168-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Abstract book: 27th International Conference on Health Promoting Hospitals &amp; Health Services

In 2019, the 27th annual International Conference on Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services (International HPH Conference) is hosted by the Polish HPH Network. The title and focus of the conference is: "BALANCING HIGH TECH AND HIGH TOUCH IN HEALTH CARE: CHALLENGES AND CHANCES OF DIGITALIZATION FOR DIALOGUE“ High tech and high touch – are these competing or even contradictory issues or reconcilable principles for the future of health care and health promotion? The titles of two scientific articles, “Disruptive Innovation – Low Touch” and “Getting High-Tech to Remain High-Touch ”, phrase two extreme perspectives on these issues. However, viewpoints, positions and arguments are continuously challenged by rapid technological and social developments - it is probably not that simple! There is a lot of discourse on the effects of ongoing digitalization on health care, but to find out which opportunities and challenges result for health promotion in health care, is an even more complex endeavor. This conference intends to address these questions from a variety of perspectives. Technological development and digitalization are just parts of global megatrends, which affect societies in general, and by that also population health and health care.

Validation and psychometric properties of the Russian version of the Touch Experiences and Attitudes Questionnaire (TEAQ-37 Rus).

It has been demonstrated that nurturing and affiliative touch is essential for human emotional and physical well-being throughout our entire life. Within the last 30 years a system of low-threshold mechanosensitive C fibers innervating the hairy skin was discovered and described; this system is hypothesized to represent the neurobiological substrate for the affective and rewarding properties of touch. This discovery opens new perspectives for multidisciplinary research of the role of affiliative social touch in health and disease, and calls for establishing novel psychometric tools assessing individual differences in the domain of affective touch. The main objective of the study was to construct and validate a Russian version of the Touch Experiences and Attitudes Questionnaire (TEAQ), a self-report measure recently developed to quantify individual experience and attitude to social and affective touch. A pool of 117 items was translated into Russian and all the items were assessed for appropriateness for Russian culture (232 participants). After exploring the factor structure (468 participants), we composed a 37-item questionnaire (TEAQ-37 Rus) characterized by good reliability and a clear 5-factor structure, covering the aspects of attitude to intimate touch, attitude to friendly touch, attitude to self-care, current intimate touch experiences, and childhood touch experiences. Confirmatory factor analysis (551 participants) has demonstrated good consistency and reliability of the 5-factor structure of the TEAQ-37 Rus. Cross-validation research demonstrated moderate positive correlations between predisposition to social touch and emotional intelligence; positive correlations with extraversion and openness facets of the Big Five personality model were also found. As predicted, participants with higher TEAQ-37 Rus scores rated all observed kinds of touch as more pleasant, with a particular preference for slow touch. We anticipate that this questionnaire will be a valuable tool for researchers of social touch, touch perception abnormalities, and the importance of touch experiences for emotional and mental health.

Sleep, Agitation, and Irritation: Proxies for Functional Impairment Among Service Members Seeking Mental Health Treatment

ABSTRACTSymptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have a negative effect on occupational, social, and marital/intimate partner functioning. Other problem emotions or behaviors, such as sleep troubles, irritation, or agitation, could also have a similar relationship to a variety of functional impairments. The current study sought to (a) replicate findings supporting a relationship between symptoms of psychopathology and a variety of functional impairments; (b) examine the relationship between sleep disturbances, agitation, and irritation on the same functional impairments; and (c) examine the differences in the strength of the relationships described in (a) and (b). Military providers completed a survey indicating clinical perceptions of the variables of interest for one service member from their clinical caseload. Higher levels of depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptomatology were related to all domains of functional impairment, as were reported levels of sleep disturbances, agitation, and irritation. Few differences were found in the strength of the correlations established for depression/anxiety/PTSD and sleep problems/irritation/agitation. Given the potential hesitation of service members to report symptoms of psychopathology, reports of sleep problems, irritation, and agitation may present unique clinical benefits by providing an additional health touch point for education on behavioral health and available services.

Bone marrow transplant leukaemia patients and kinesiological muscle balance through Touch for Health

Bone marrow transplant leukaemia patients and kinesiological muscle balance through Touch for Health

Making mental health important

Ever since I started working on this journal I have been aware that mental health, though widely recognized as ‘important’, is something of a Cinderella issue for many community nurses: not fully understood, not embraced, even a bit untouchable. Yet aspects of mental health touch every aspect of community nursing practice, from care of the patient with a chronic wound or indwelling catheter, to care of the patient dying at home and their family, to helping someone with diabetes manage their insulin. The social, emotional and psychological consequences of chronic illness and old age are numerous and readily identified by nurses: poor self-image, social isolation, depression to name a few. Dealing with these issues forms part of the practice of caring.

“Applied Kinesiology” in medicine and dentistry – a critical review

The "Applied Kinesiology" evolved in the USA is increasingly being used in Central Europe. In this review the development of the method and its practical application in medicine and in dentistry are elucidated. Furthermore the propagation of the method by the International College of Applied Kinesiology (= ICAK) and the "Touch for Health" (=TFH) is described. School medicine's criticism of "Applied Kinesiology" as well as the methodological replies from "Applied Kinesiologists" are outlined. It is important to realise that there is to date a lack of evidence for the effectiveness, validity and reliability of "Applied Kinesiology". The following requirements are thus vital: "Applied Kinesiologists" must develop clear criteria for single subgroups of "Applied Kinesiology", prove the effectiveness of their methods, and explain their findings in agreement with current medical knowledge.

Health kiosk use: a national comparative study

Provides an initial analysis of the use of InTouch with Health touch screen information kiosks located throughout the UK. Presents data for more than 50 kiosks and models use to a variety of variables. The data were collected via kiosk transaction logs and questionnaire. Seeks to explain use differences between kiosks. The amount of kiosk use and the number of kiosk users were explained in terms of both neighbourhood factors and kiosk host factors. Significant variables determining the amount of use and number of users include the size of the kiosk host organisation and whether intermediary help is available to the kiosk user, either from a health professional or a receptionist. The general economic well‐being of the area was found to be significant in explaining the length of session time, while word of mouth and help from other users was a significant variable explaining the number of session pages viewed.

»Touch for Health ...«. Magic in II Reg 4,31–37 with a Remark on the History of Yahwism

Article »Touch for Health ...«. Magic in II Reg 4,31–37 with a Remark on the History of Yahwism was published on January 1, 1996 in the journal Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (volume 108, issue 1).