Well-being Approach Research Articles

Contextualising assessment within Aotearoa New Zealand: drawing from mātauranga Māori

There is long-standing disparity between the schooling success of many Māori (Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand) learners and non-Māori learners. While much work internationally and nationally has focussed on culturally responsive pedagogies, the idea of culturally sustaining assessment has received less attention. Given the historical dominance of a West-centric education system, assessment practices within Aotearoa New Zealand schools have not necessarily embedded a Māori worldview. Informed by cultural advice, assessment constructs that embody manaakitanga (care, respect, hospitality), wānanga (a forum, a sharing of knowledge, a place of learning) and culturally sustaining pedagogy were examined alongside a literature review and analysis of interviews with four education practitioners. Results show that assessment can be designed to acknowledge Māori learners’ capabilities and educational successes. Findings, presented using a Hauora Approach to Assessment (Well-being Approach to Assessment) framework, provide much needed ways for teachers to contextualise assessment within mātauranga Māori (Maori knowledge system).

The value of health—Empirical issues when estimating the monetary value of a quality‐adjusted life year based on well‐being data

Decisions on interventions or policy alternatives affecting health can be informed by economic evaluations, like cost‐benefit or cost‐utility analyses. In this context, there is a need for valid estimates of the monetary equivalent value of health (gains), which are often expressed in € per quality‐adjusted life years (QALYs). Obtaining such estimates remains methodologically challenging, with a recent addition to the health economists' toolbox, which is based on well‐being data: The well‐being valuation approach. Using general population panel data from Germany, we put this approach to the test by investigating several empirical and conceptual challenges, such as the appropriate functional specification of income utility, the choice of health utility tariffs, or the health state dependence of consumption utility. Depending on specification, the bulk of estimated € per QALY values ranged from €20,000–60,000, with certain specifications leading to more considerable deviations, underlining persistent practical challenges when applying the well‐being valuation methodology to health and QALYs. Based on our findings, we formulate recommendations for future research and applications.

Social-ecological wellbeing of communities engaged in ecotourism: Perspectives from Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhutan

This paper develops an integrative framework of wellbeing through wellbeing perspectives from development studies and social-ecological systems literature. The framework was applied in indigenous communities of a wildlife sanctuary-cum-ecotourism destination in eastern Bhutan. Qualitative methods, including 68 household interviews and six focus groups, were used to assess subjective, socio-relational, material and ecological dimensions of wellbeing in connection to ecotourism and conservation-development debates. Findings suggest the critical yet complex socio-relational aspects of life for wellbeing; the significance of power relations between stakeholders in relation to sense of wellbeing; and the constant trade-offs that correspond to issues of justice and control, particularly with natural resources. The study identifies the need for more research on gender, power and governance in fragile and protected areas engaging in ecotourism. Assessments informed by an integrative wellbeing approach can foster fruitful dialogue on trade-offs and decision-making in ecologically sensitive areas.

Practice learnings from the Psychologist Integration into Primary Health Care Pilot Program on the Tiwi Islands, Northern territory

ABSTRACT Objective: In 2017, a Northern Territory PHN funded pilot program integrating psychology into remote Aboriginal Health Centres, was launched at Julanimawu Health Centre at Wurrumiyanga, Bathurst Island, Tiwi Islands (pop.1600). Psychology was identified as the allied health approach most attuned to the influential socio-cultural needs of Australian Aboriginal people when negotiating health care and effecting behavioural change; namely, providing a time rich, systemic, behaviourally focused, empathic perspective with a story telling method. Method: The program was designed to address the psychological needs of the community through two clearly stated pathways: supporting and educating the staff of the Health Centre on the effects of trauma, and providing a psychological service directly to the community. The psychologist recorded program participant demographic information and kept a diary that acknowledged the program intentions in relation to her experience. Results: Overall, the pilot program demanded non-traditional responses in a non-traditional psychology setting and the capacity to maintain equilibrium without expectation in the face of intergenerational trauma. Aboriginal culture impacted significantly on psychological practice, resulting in a process of decolonisation. The psychologist responded to different perceptions of time, resources, communication, connection and obligation and championed the Social Emotional Wellbeing approach to Aboriginal health. On a systemic level, while the program model recognised that behaviour largely determines health outcomes, the program outcomes suggested that culture largely determines behaviour. Conclusions: A Social Emotional Wellbeing approach is highly applicable, however, the approach requires champions to further support integration into the Health Centre system. Key Points What is already known: The health and wellbeing of Australian Aboriginals is impacted by the consequences of colonisation. The integration of psychology into health care is beneficial when addressing trauma related health issues. Behaviour largely determines health outcomes. What this topic adds: Behaviour largely reflects culture. Decolonising psychology requires an active process contingent on cultural knowledge. Privileging the multi-dimensional connections of social emotional wellbeing is a pathway forward.

Digital well-being in the tourism domain: mapping new roles and responsibilities

Digital well-being has become a popular theme within a public discourse that increasingly attracts consumers, businesses, government institutions and technology providers who all face challenges in their technology-driven existence. However, there have been no attempts to create a comprehensive framework for a general understanding of digital well-being and the new roles and responsibilities that emerge from it in the tourism domain. Thus, this paper looks at understanding digital well-being in general and its concomitant applications in the tourism domain. After mapping characteristic digital well-being approaches and examples, we foresee the need for establishing a digital well-being continuum between everyday life and tourism that rests on three new sets of roles and responsibilities for the tourism domain, grouped around the need for adopting digital well-being philosophy in tourism, setting up new policies, and designing novel services and experiences.

Successful health-promoting leadership – A question of synchronisation

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to identify the role of the principal in establishing a whole school approach for health and wellbeing. Two questions are asked: (1) What do successful Swedish principals do when they take on a whole school approach? (2) How do these results relate to previous research on successful school leadership?Design/methodology/approachThis paper focuses on the complexity of organisational processes and considers the role of successful leadership in managing a whole school approach to health promotion. It presents findings from two different but interlinked projects, and draws on document studies and interviews with principals, student health team members and teachers in Sweden.FindingsThis paper argues that successful school leaders are crucial in establishing a whole school approach, because of the work they do to synchronise the health-promoting activities in schools. The study identifies four aspects of coordination that need to be enacted simultaneously when leading health-promoting processes. The fifth aspect identified is that a whole school approach is not limited to the school, but the whole local school context, i.e. a synchronisation between different system levels.Originality/valueAlthough limited in scale, this paper reports key findings that could have practical implications for school leaders. The study suggests that successful school leadership research needs to use a health-promoting lens in order to make leadership practices health-promoting practices. It also proposes extended comparative research from different fields and contexts.

Residential treatment and its role in recovery pathways for people with addictions in France: the residents’ point of view

While several quantitative studies exist describing the factors associated with maintaining objectives attained by people with addictions during their stay in residential therapeutic centres (RTC), few studies have examined the point of view of the residents themselves on this question. In the present study, qualitative interviews were conducted with 45 residents of an RTC in the Paris area at the end of their stay or in the 4–9 following months. Residents’ views confirmed the importance of: consolidating risk and stress management skills during their stay; adopting a holistic well-being approach; developing a truly personal health project; a treatment centre that really seems to care; peer support during and after their stay; and improving family and social networks. Obstacles included residents with rarer addictions feeling left out during group work; insufficient anticipation of the risks associated with returning to everyday life; a supportive group approach that disappears when returning to everyday life; and too great a gap between the RTC approach and the values of both the individual’s personal social network and their follow-up care professionals. In conclusion, although residents underline the therapeutic success of their stay, key questions remain concerning obstacles in recovery pathways when returning into real life situations.

Nursing and values-based leadership: A literature review.

To explore literature that supports an understanding of values-based leadership in nursing. Understanding values-based leadership in nursing means understanding several leadership theories such as authentic, servant and congruent leadership. Electronic databases were systematically searched to locate studies with the terms values-based, authentic, servant and congruent leadership. The literature was assessed with the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tools and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and meta-analysis approach and a thematic analysis. Existing evidence focuses on specific perspectives within three dominant leadership approaches under the umbrella of values-based leadership: authentic, servant and congruent leadership. Limited literature suggests that values-based leadership can support professional collaboration, enhanced trust and voice for nurses, support for staff well-being, empowerment, job satisfaction, patient-focused outcomes and quality care. A dearth of empirical literature concerning values-based leadership and nursing exists. Evidence suggests that authentic, servant and congruent leadership correlate with values-based leadership theories and core nursing values. Nurse managers should recognize the potential benefits of a values-based leadership approach for staff well-being, enhanced professional collaboration and the nurses voice, improved insight into clinical leadership attributes and improvements in quality patient care.

Understanding Effects of Tourism on Residents: A Contingent Subjective Well-Being Approach

Research regarding tourism’s effect on the subjective well-being (SWB) of destination residents has provided important insight, but it generally has relied on indirect analyses and diverse measures. This study used livability theory and a novel contingent SWB method in which respondents directly reported anticipated SWB effects. This method is exploratory, but it provides greater confidence in causal relationships. Results from a general population survey in Oregon (USA) suggested the method functioned as intended. County-level population growth and visitor intensity predicted perceived current impacts of tourism. In turn, perceived impacts predicted change in SWB contingent on a vignette reflecting a 20% increase in tourists. Across all individuals and counties, average SWB changes were negative for the environment domain and positive for other domains. Practical implications are discussed, with the most positive SWB effects from tourism development expected to occur in counties with low visitor intensity, especially those with low population growth.

Generational Portrait of Spanish Society in the Face of Climate Change. A Question to Consider for the Green Economy under the Well-Being Approach

Climate change is emerging as an issue of progressive attention, and therefore awareness, in societies. In this work, the problem is addressed from a generational perspective in Spanish society and is carried out from the approaches of awareness, human action, and self-responsibility. All this from the search of the subjective well-being and the citizens’ happiness, as one of the bases of sustainable development initiatives. With data from the European Social Survey R8, from EUROSTAT, we work in two phases: (1) descriptive and inferential on possible associations of the items with the variable Age, and (2) calculation of probabilities between groups through logistic regression. The results confirm a general awareness, but with apparent statistical differences between age groups. In general, the youngest are the most aware, blame human activity most intensely, are the most concerned, and are the most willing to act. And it is the older people who are less aware of all these issues. Based on this finding, and from the approach mentioned above, it is recommended that leaders, both in the macroeconomic and microeconomic sectors, develop initiatives that sensitize and encourage older age groups.

Home Tours: An approach for understanding dampness and wellbeing in the domestic environment

When research encounters are conducted within the home environment there is a need for strategies that are ethically and practically sensitive to the complex character of these places. We report on an approach to explore the management practices of damp and mouldy housing, and wellbeing implications for tenants living in private rentals in New Zealand. The objective of paying close attention to the embodied and mental activities that a tenant performs within their home led to development of ‘Home Tours’. This is a multi-modal strategy combining a phenomenological methodology with mobile interviews, photographic elicitation, embodied observations, and logbook reflections in order to account for eventualities occurring during a research encounter within the home. We outline and critically reflect on this approach as a way of investigating tenants’ experiences of damp housing and wellbeing implications in a close-up and ethically sound manner.

COVID-19 and Islamic doctrine: service marketing opportunities to address mental health

The purpose of this study is to highlight the Islamic doctrine to address mental health issues people have been experiencing since the onset of COVID-19, and how Islamic doctrine might be in use in the other domains of service marketing. The work has galvanised a qualitative research approach in line with the Islamic principles to undermine the negative consequences of psychological distress. By identifying the most common psychic pains during the COVID-19 pandemic, Islamic principles have been cemented to offer a viable approach and remedy for mental wellbeing. Besides, the teachings of compassion, patience, faith in times of hardship, healing properties of black cumin, honey and ZamZam water are the constituents of Islam that are amenable to address COVID-19 related psychological distress. Religious allegiance with the light of hope equips individuals also might help circumvent any psychological distress resulting in the Islamic counselling in the Islamic service marketing.

Measuring Career Well-Being on Working Mothers: Adaptation of Well-Being at Work Scale

Abstract This research aimed to conduct the adaptation and validation of the Well-Being at Work Scale (WBWS) in order to ready it for implementation as the instrument to measure career well-being on working mothers as respondents in Indonesia. The career well-being approach was based on the concept of general well-being which included affective and cognitive components. The respondents were mothers working full-time in the formal sector and had fulfilled the requirement of several pre-determined criteria. The collected research data was analyzed with the confirmatory factor analysis in order to obtain instrument reliability and validity. Based on the analysis, results were obtained that the WBWS model adaptated had fulfilled the goodness-of-fit criteria, meaning that there was compatibility between the developed model and the empirical data. Furthermore, this research was hoped to provide contribution in the measurement and development of research of career well-being on working mothers.

Sustainable health equity: achieving a net-zero UK

Sustainable health equity: achieving a net-zero UK

Use of a wellbeing framework for establishing building sustainability performance requirements in building regulations

Improving the sustainability of New Zealand’s housing stock is a significant challenge. Economic, indoor climate and energy use data indicates the affordability, healthiness and environmental impacts of new and existing houses in New Zealand are relatively poor compared with other OECD countries. Poor performance is largely due to the building energy and environmental performance requirements prescribed by regulations, which are low in New Zealand compared with other jurisdictions. Building performance requirements will need to be raised in order to improve the sustainability of housing.A wellbeing approach to determining public benefits from raising building performance requirements in regulations is outlined in this paper. This approach draws on the Living Standards Framework (LSF) developed by The New Zealand Treasury. This framework links 12 domains of wellbeing to each other and to 4 capital stocks, including housing, that underpin future wellbeing. The LSF is used to assess the impacts of raising building performance requirements on community wellbeing. Results indicate better knowledge of the relationships between the domains of wellbeing and the underpinning capital stocks is needed to improve the identification and analysis of preferred regulatory settings.

A Well-Being Approach to Soil Health—Insights from Aotearoa New Zealand

This paper explores the concept of soil health from a human well-being perspective in Aotearoa New Zealand. Globally, soils play an integral role in wider society and the environment by maintaining a large range of ecosystem services and benefits. As populations and resource constraints increase and food production and food security become growing issues globally, there is a recognition of the importance of defining soil condition or soil health for sustaining all ecosystems, including services and benefits to humans, plants, animals, and micro-organisms. While the ecosystem services approach has helped to illuminate the varied services soils provide, an understanding of the complex human–soil relationships and values has been missing. Those seeking to understand and form concepts about soil health have concentrated on the more inherent biochemical, physical and economic (e.g., productivity) aspects of soils, but not on the human, social or cultural dimensions. It is argued in this paper that soils form an integral part of our social and cultural fabric and are fundamentally important to human and societal well-being. The way humans interact with, value and use soil is a critical part of determining the health and sustainability of soil ecosystems. We discuss how a well-being approach can improve understanding of soil health with respect to societal goals and needs. We believe this type of approach, which includes social and cultural dimensions, provides a more diverse and inclusive knowledge base and perspective to better inform the development of integrative policy. This would lead to improved management and decision-making of land resources and soils in Aotearoa New Zealand and globally.

Environmental Health Diagnosis in a Park as a Sustainability Initiative in Cities

Environmental health diagnosis was made in a sport and recreational park in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. The objective of this research was to perform an environmental diagnosis in Tucson Park; it concentrated on air quality (fine and coarse particulate matter, carbon dioxide), environmental noise, water quality of springs and a pond according to national standards, and macroinvertebrates as biological indicators of water condition, as well as phytosanitary state of wooded area. Additionally, a survey was conducted to study environmental perception. Results of the study highlighted significant statistical differences concerning the amount and size of particles for the winter and spring seasons. Noise levels within the park premises exceeded the Mexican standard. Water quality measured through general criteria of integrated water quality index (WQI) qualified the park´s analyzed springs as acceptable but to abstain its use and human consumption. Finally, the perception survey identified insecurity as the major problem, followed by the lack of lighting and effective communication of courses and workshops for the community to attend. It is one of the first environmental diagnoses in sport parks in Mexico´s Metropolitan Areas as an integrated approach of ecosystem health and wellbeing of city inhabitants.

From fatigued to fit: an investigation of the impact of physical exercise in the management of radiotherapy-induced fatigue in prostate cancer patients

AbstractAim:The aim of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of physical exercise in managing fatigue during radiotherapy for prostate cancer patients. It explores the impact of various physical exercise regimes and their role in the prevention and management of fatigue to help inform best practice.Method:A literature search was conducted on OVID Medline database with a follow-up search on google scholar to include relevant references found during the initial search. Relevant systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials (RCTs) arising from this search were reviewed.Findings:There is evidence to support the notion that physical exercise in all its forms is an effective and safe intervention for fatigue management for prostate cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Although widely studied, there is limited evidence of fatigue management strategies being clearly implemented into current radiotherapy practice for patients with prostate cancer. This information is essential to enable therapeutic radiographers to educate prostate cancer patients regarding effective exercise strategies and ensure that fatigue is managed optimally.Conclusion:Further research is required into the optimum physical exercise prescription to reduce radiation-induced fatigue, and standardised best practice guidelines should be developed nationally. A future move toward patient education into physical exercise and wellbeing should be a central component of the therapeutic radiographer role with specialist advice offered by review radiographers, empowering patients to become more physically active during treatment. Therapeutic radiographers have a unique opportunity to educate and promote physical exercise through a holistic wellbeing approach that aims to mitigate fatigue and improve quality of life.

Exploring the Linkage between Income Inequality, GDP and Human Well-Being

The scorning of gross domestic product (GDP) is as old as its birth. Income inequality and ensuring human well-being are few out of many causes of its fulmination. Existing literature on the concern issues reveals that, where there are great disparities in wealth, there are heightened level of social distrust. Poor countries having reasonable distribution of wealth are much better in terms of health and happiness of people than in rich countries having unfair distribution of wealth. It has also been found that, people’ health are better in the more equally income distributed societies than the societies having highly skewed distribution of income. It has repercussion effect in the form of reduction of workforces’ productivity, upsurge in national expenditures on health, and diversion of resources from prolific endeavours to somewhere else. These are results of growth driven policies which ensure improvements in GDP indicator without assuring improvements in the human well-being. The status of income inequality raises questions on the sustainability of GDP driven development. Hence there is a need for an alternative. This paper is an attempt to discuss the issues concerning rise in income inequality and to shift our focus towards Human Well-Being approach as an alternative to GDP approach.

A sustainable shipbreaking approach for cleaner environment and better wellbeing

Shipbreaking has great economic benefits but generates substantial hazardous materials as wastes to the surrounding environment of shipbreaking yards. Currently, a number of methods are exercised all over the world for breaking ships. However, ‘beaching method’ is of most concerns due to its nature of activities. A computer simulation has been carried out and the results reveal that the toxic wastes which, without proper management and treatment, accumulate on the yard ground and gradually diffuses into soil. Thus, leach to sea-water, contaminate and degrade water quality, create a declining trend of biotic structure and eventually affect the ecological systems resulting in sudden or gradual disappearance of mangroves and vegetation. Computer simulation results also confirm that if shipbreaking activities are performed on a bed that is constructed using pebbles of various sizes in such a way that the pebble size gradually increases and the bed permeability gradually decreases across the depth starting from the top surface of the bed, the concentration of hazardous materials could be restricted and catastrophic environmental damages could be avoided. The proposed shipbreaking approach is thought to be sustainable as it uses naturally found construction materials which could be reused for other purposes and offers cleaner, environmentally sound production process of raw materials without incurring significant implementation costs.