Well-being Programs Research Articles

Evaluation of an Online Physical and Mental Wellbeing Program for UST-CRS Students: A Feasibility Study

Introduction. With the recent transition to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students experience academic difficulties, which affect their wellbeing. There is a need for an online wellbeing intervention program for students to address such concerns. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a six-week online educational wellbeing program for the physical and mental wellbeing of the University of Santo Tomas College of Rehabilitation Sciences (UST-CRS) students. Methods. This is a quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest study that recruited UST-CRS students without physical and mental conditions. Physical and mental wellbeing modules developed by experts were deployed using Wix. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF) and World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) were used for wellbeing assessment, while the Website Grader Tool and survey were used for website evaluation. Descriptive and inferential statistics, like Wilcoxon Signed Rank test and effect size, were conducted using JAMOVI. Alpha was set at 0.05. Results. Seventeen students participated in the online wellbeing program. Results revealed statistically significant difference in the pre and post intervention IPAQ-SF scores on MET-minute for walking (p=0.04; 95% CI=647-1955), total MET-minute activities (p<0.01, 95% CI=259-2412), andWHO-5 scores (p=0.05; 95% CI=4.36-36.5), with effect sizes of Cohen’s d=0.43-0.71. Participants reported satisfaction with the modules, platform, and organizers despite inconsistent attendance. Discussion. The online wellbeing program is feasible and effective in increasing the physical and mental wellbeing of the students. The findings of this study may guide future experimental studies for online wellbeing programs for university students.

In a group, “we’re not just a number”: what we learnt from an accidental hybrid health and well-being group programme for First Nations Australians with diabetes

First Nations peoples in Australia are disproportionately affected by diabetes. We report on a qualitative evaluation of a healthy lifestyle group programme at an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service. The programme was designed by an Aboriginal Health Worker and took place in a regional community. Yarning interviews of five participants and four facilitators were conducted followed by a collaborative analysis. The group context provided connecting and relationship-building opportunities, allowing participants to feel that they were seen as an individual. The accidental hybrid approach adopted due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown supported transition of healthy activities into the home context while still accessing support and motivation from the group. This paper concluded that the unintentional hybrid programme found promising individual and cross-generational health and wellbeing benefits for First Nations families which suggests that intentional hybrid frameworks may show promise in improving First Nations peoples’ health and well-being.

Change Talks: An overview of the mental health and wellbeing programme

In recent years, the mental health needs of children and young people have risen substantially. Sam Tyrer takes us through the development of a school mental health and wellbeing programme and Naomi Hardman shares her work on adapting the content for special educational needs schools and Start Talks and Ready Talks.

Proceedings of a roundtable event 'Workplace Diet and Health - priorities for researchers and practitioners'.

Understanding how the work environment impacts health behaviours is essential to a life course approach in public health nutrition. A roundtable event 'Workplace Diet and Health - priorities for researchers and practitioners' was held by the Nutrition Society in October 2022. The overarching aims of the roundtable event were to consider (i) the relevance of nutritional wellbeing for employers and organisations, (ii) the research priorities for workplace diet and health and (iii) how researchers and practitioners can work with stakeholders in the development and testing of workplace diet and health interventions and nutritional education. Participants represented a range of stakeholders including dietetic and nutrition professionals working in workplace health, academics and science communication with an interest in workplace diet and health, non-governmental organisations and providers of workplace nutritional health and wellbeing programmes. All roundtable participants agreed that good nutrition and access to healthy food at work was part of corporate responsibility comparable to that of health and safety provision. It was recognised that nutritional wellbeing was not seen as a priority by many companies due to the complexity and wide range of employee health and wellbeing options available and the perceived lack of clear financial benefit. Three priority areas were identified and agreed upon by roundtable participants: (1) strengthening the evidence base to demonstrate the tangible benefit of nutritional wellbeing interventions in the workplace, (2) creating a knowledge exchange hub to share best practices and experiences of working across sectors and (3) expand stakeholder engagement in workplace nutritional wellbeing.

Assessing the mental health, physical health, and well-being of doctor of pharmacy students

IntroductionStudent well-being is a growing area of interest, though existing literature assessing multiple areas of well-being is lacking. This study aimed to evaluate the well-being of pharmacy students corresponding to three well-being domains (physical health, mental health, personal well-being and burnout) and identify characteristics associated with these domains. MethodsAn online survey adapted from various instruments was disseminated to pharmacy students from 11 pharmacy programs. Survey responses were compared using basic descriptive statistics, and Pearson's chi-Square was used for association analyses. ResultsEight hundred thirty-six students from responded to the survey (24.3% response rate). For physical health, 59.3% of students reported sleeping <7 hours per night and 60.4% reported exercising 1 to 5 hours per week. For mental health, 24.8% of students screened positive for depression and 42% screened positive for anxiety. Lastly, 65.9% of students were at risk for decreased well-being and 63.7% for burnout. Based on association analyses, gender and pharmacy year were associated with screening positive for anxiety and burnout, gender was associated with decreased well-being, and relationship status was associated with screening positive for depression. ConclusionsThis study revealed pharmacy students are at risk for lack of sleep and exercise, depression or anxiety, decreased well-being, and burnout. Also, several characteristics were found to be associated with these negative well-being outcomes. Although response rate and participant demographics could impact the generalizability of these findings, findings further increase awareness about student well-being and inform pharmacy programs supporting well-being by better understanding student risks.

Effects of an Exercise for Well-Being and Physical Training Programme on Muscle Strength, Range of Movement, Respiratory Capacity and Quality of Life in Women with Fibromyalgia: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of an active exercise physiotherapy programme versus an exercise for well-being programme improving muscle strength, range of movement, respiratory capacity and quality of life of women with fibromyalgia. A randomized, assessor-blind, controlled trial was conducted. A total of 141 women diagnosed with fibromyalgia were randomized to a physiotherapy exercise group (n = 47), an exercise for well-being group (n = 47) and a control group (n = 47). The study lasted 4 weeks and the experimental groups received 45 min sessions performed twice a week on alternate days. The primary outcome measures were range of movement and muscle strength. The secondary outcome measures were respiratory capacity and quality of life. The results showed statistically significant improvements in the exercise for well-being and physiotherapy groups vs. the control group at week 5 in relation to joint range of movement (p = 0.004), muscle strength (p = 0.003) and quality of life (p = 0.002). The changes found in all the spirometry parameters seem to be associated to some of the changes in joint range of movement and muscle strength as well as quality of life. Physiotherapy and exercise for well-being improved upper limb and lower limb range of movement and the muscle strength of women with fibromyalgia.

The Well-being of Brazilian Industry Workers on Returning to the Physical Workplace During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Our aim was to assess the prevalence and predictors of well-being among Brazilian industry workers on returning to the physical workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two thousand two hundred forty-one participants completed an online survey between October and November 2021. Well-being was assessed with the World Health Organization Well-being Index, and the questionnaire also addressed sociodemographic and occupational characteristics and the health of workers and their contacts. Associations were estimated with logistic regression models. The prevalence of adequate well-being was 63.15%. The predictors of poor well-being included being female, younger, working exclusively from home or on a hybrid model, having comorbid disorders, and living with someone with any comorbidity. The identification of vulnerable groups with poor well-being may help organizations to direct efforts to the unmet psychological needs of these employees and develop well-being programs during this transition.

A multi-site randomized controlled trial of a brief daily workplace well-being program for community mental health workers —an integrative body-mind-spirit approach

ABSTRACT A brief daily body-mind-spirit (BMS) workplace well-being program has been developed for community mental health workers (CMHW). Aiming to evaluate the program’s efficacy, this study adopted a multi-site randomized controlled trial design. Primary outcome measures included work engagement and burnout. The data analysis included 175 participants. ANOVA revealed significant group x time interaction effects on work engagement (η2 = 0.037, p = 0.039) and on one of its sub-scores: absorption (η2 = 0.048, p = 0.014). Regarding burnout, ANOVA revealed that at T4 there were significant group x time effects on burnout total score and all three of its sub-scores, including work-related burnout, client-related burnout and personal burnout. Partial eta squared ranged between 0.028 and 0.071, suggesting a small-to-medium effect size. Overall findings demonstrated the protective effect of the Brief Daily BMS program in preserving work engagement during challenging conditions, and to a lesser extent in reducing burnout among CMHW.

Implementing Adolescent Wellbeing and Health Programs in Schools: Insights from a Mixed Methods and Multiple Informant Study.

Determining the factors that influence implementation of school-based wellbeing and health programs is essential for achieving desired program effects. Using a convergent mixed-methods, multiple informant design, this study considered factors that influence implementation of health programs for ninth grade students and in what ways implementation is differentially perceived by multiple informants (i.e., participants, instructors, and independent observers). Two types of programs-mindfulness and health education-were implemented with ninth graders (N = 70) in three schools situated in low-resourced urban neighborhoods. Study outcomes were derived from four data sources: (1) focus group participants (N = 45); (2) program instructor fidelity ratings; (3) independent observer fidelity ratings and notes; and (4) instructor open-ended session responses. Using thematic and mixed methods integration analyses, we identified themes related to implementation promoting or challenging factors. Theme names differed when data sources were separately analyzed by informant. Mixed methods integration analysis indicated that four themes were common across all informant groups: (1) competent, attentive, and engaging instructors are essential; (2) programs should involve interactive components (e.g., physical activities, applied learning opportunities); (3) adequate time for program delivery is key for student exposure and engagement; and (4) students' availability and preferences should guide program scheduling. A fifth theme, unique to instructor and observer perspectives, was that program implementation was negatively impacted by distractions from multiple sources, including instructors, students, and settings. Recommendations from students, instructors, and observers for implementation optimization are discussed.

Analysis of the Relation Between Expectation of Employees from Corporate Environment and their Burnout

The study presented in the article was conducted within the framework of the urgent task of studying the factors of the corporate environment of the organization that have a direct or indirect impact on the level of employee burnout. A set of such factors make up the activities of a well-being program in the organization, the portfolio of which is the basis for the formation of a well-being system in the organization, and, consequently, affects the level of loyalty, engagement and satisfaction of employees. The purpose of the study is to assess the relationship between employee expectations from the corporate environment of the organization and their burnout levels. To achieve this goal, a hypothesis is put forward about the possibility of constructing a tool that makes it possible, based on the classification of employees according to their expectations of the availability of activities in the well-being program, to build a fuzzy classification of employees by burnout levels with a ranking of exogenous factors by the degree of influence on burnout indicators. As the initial data, the results of a survey of employees of a number of organizations were used, in which they indicated how important it was for them to have separate groups of measures for the development of the corporate environment in the organization. The constructed model describes functional relationships between the integral indicator of the importance of well-being program activities and burnout indicators based on the allocation of optimal ranges of changes in these indicators. The weighting coefficients of the integral indicator of importance are selected from the condition of minimizing the quality functional of the fuzzy division of points into classes, which is a measure of the unambiguity of the correspondence between the ranges of changes in the weighted sum of assessments of the importance of events and the categories of employee burnout. The proposed model is a working tool that makes it possible, based on the classification of employees according to their expectations of the presence of activities in the well-being program, to construct a fuzzy classification of employees by burnout levels with ranking of exogenous factors according to the degree of influence on burnout indicators. From a practical point of view, the proposed tool will allow the organization's management to predict the impact of specific well-being events on the physical and psychological state of employees and increase the efficiency of planning when forming a well-being program.

Adverse childhood experiences among early childhood educators and improving teacher health and well-being: Changes in teacher affect

Children's social-emotional and cognitive development is enhanced when early childhood educators display positive affect and respond appropriately to children's needs. However, there is little research on factors that influence teachers’ positive affect in the classroom, such as past adversity exposure and promoting teachers’ well-being. The current study examined the interactive effect of teacher participation in a well-being program (Be Well Care Well; BWCW) and their exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on changes in observed teacher affect over time within the classroom setting. Participants included 95 early childhood teachers who completed the ACEs measure, a live classroom observation before participation in activities, and a post-intervention observation. Multilevel modeling estimated the interactive effects of teacher ACEs, participation in BWCW activities, and time on the dependent variable (i.e., teacher affect). Results from the three-level random intercept model showed a significant three-way interaction. Individuals with a higher number of ACEs and lower participation in the well-being program showed a decrease in positive affect over time. This effect was not significant for teachers who reported fewer ACEs. Results indicate that the degree of participation in the well-being program was particularly salient for teachers with higher exposure to past ACEs. Findings suggest that fostering teachers’ physical health and well-being can enhance their affect and enthusiasm in the classroom setting, particularly for those with higher levels of past adversity exposure.

Integrative approaches to methods training for early-career scientists: Rationale and process evaluation of the first cohort of the Michigan Integrative Well-Being and Inequality Training Program.

The Michigan Integrative Well-Being and Inequality (MIWI) Training Program aims to provide state-of-the-art, interdisciplinary training to enhance the methodological skills of early-career scientists interested in integrative approaches to understanding health disparities. The goals of this paper are to describe the scientific rationale and core design elements of MIWI, and to conduct a process evaluation of the first cohort of trainees (called "scholars") to complete this program. Mixed methods process evaluation of program components and assessment of trainee skills and network development of the first cohort (n = 15 scholars). The program drew 57 applicants from a wide range of disciplines. Of the 15 scholars in the first cohort, 53% (n = 8) identified as an underrepresented minority, 60% (n = 9) were within 2 years of completing their terminal degree, and most (n = 11, 73%) were from a social/behavioral science discipline (e.g., social work, public health). In the post-program evaluation, scholars rated their improvement in a variety of skills on a one (not at all) to five (greatly improved) scale. Areas of greatest growth included being an interdisciplinary researcher (mean = 4.47), developing new research collaborations (mean = 4.53), and designing a research study related to integrative health (mean = 4.27). The qualitative process evaluation indicated that scholars reported a strong sense of community and that the program broadened their research networks. These findings have implications for National Institutes of Health (NIH) efforts to train early-career scientists, particularly from underrepresented groups, working at the intersection of multiple disciplines and efforts to support the formation of research networks.

РАЗРАБОТКА ЦИФРОВЫХ ИНСТРУМЕНТОВ ИНТЕГРАЦИИ WELL-BEING В РАБОТУ С ПЕРСОНАЛОМ В АВИАЦИОННОЙ ОТРАСЛИ В ХАНТЫ-МАНСИЙСКОМ АВТОНОМНОМ ОКРУГЕ – ЮГРЕ В УСЛОВИЯХ УДАЛЕННОЙ РАБОТЫ

The study aims to develop tools (including digital ones) for the implementation of well-being technology in organizations based on the findings of a survey on the application of well-being concept and its effect on the employees’ wellness in remote workplaces to ensure the sustaina-ble development of the region (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug ‒ Ugra). The object of the study is the personnel of air industry organizations in Ugra. The subject of the study is the effect of well-being technology on the air industry personnel’s performance to achieve sustainable development in the region. The study has shown that well-being technology is not quite developed in the Ugra labor market and requires a dramatic change in the set of remote workplaces. Well-being programs will allow employers to improve their employees’ physical and mental health and increase their commit-ment, motivation, and performance, thus resulting in the sustainable development of the region’s economy. The study presents the authors’ logical scheme for the development and implementation of well-being technology in organizations with remote workplaces, as well as possible risks, methods to minimize them, and an approach to supervising and collecting feedback from employees. Chatbot is developed in Telegram as a digital support for the integration of the technology into the employees’ management system.

Complementary and alternative medicine for long COVID: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) interventions are growing in popularity as possible treatments for long COVID symptoms. However, comprehensive analysis of current evidence in this setting is still lacking. This study aims to review existing published studies on the use of CAM interventions for patients experiencing long COVID through a systematic review. Systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). A comprehensive electronic literature search was performed in multiple databases and clinical trial registries from September 2019 to January 2023. RCTs evaluating efficacy and safety of CAM for long COVID were included. Methodological quality of each included trial was appraised with the Cochrane 'risk of bias' tool. A qualitative analysis was conducted due to heterogeneity of included studies. A total of 14 RCTs with 1195 participants were included in this review. Study findings demonstrated that CAM interventions could benefit patients with long COVID, especially those suffering from neuropsychiatric disorders, olfactory dysfunction, cognitive impairment, fatigue, breathlessness, and mild-to-moderate lung fibrosis. The main interventions reported were self-administered transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation, neuro-meditation, dietary supplements, olfactory training, aromatherapy, inspiratory muscle training, concurrent training, and an online breathing and well-being program. CAM interventions may be effective, safe, and acceptable to patients with symptoms of long COVID. However, the findings from this systematic review should be interpreted with caution due to various methodological limitations. More rigorous trials focused on CAM for long COVID are warranted in the future.

НАПРЯМКИ УДОСКОНАЛЕННЯ СИСТЕМИ МЕНЕДЖМЕНТУ ПЕРСОНАЛУ В УМОВАХ ВІЙНИ

The war in Ukraine has led to changes in all areas of business and created new challenges for the HR management system, properly and timely implemented improvements to the HR management system can help a company identify existing problems, improve team spirit, add or restore motivation to employees, train staff to be more flexible, obtain necessary retraining, adapt to new working conditions after relocation, and generally become more resistant to challenges in an uncertain environment. The purpose of the article is to study the problems of enterprise HR management systems and to substantiate possible improvements to increase their efficiency in the context of the war in Ukraine. The article analyses the most significant structural changes in the economy and enterprise operation that occurred in the country due to the war and their impact on HR management. The main changes include: staff reductions in most companies, wage cuts while increasing the workload per employee, and the need to relocate and change the scope of business. The main challenges that need to be addressed to improve HR management systems are identified: significant stress levels among employees due to various factors (lack of sense of security, possibility of being fired, information warfare, worries about relatives, etc.), the need to prepare employees for a change in their field of work, relocation, a significant increase in the workload on the onboarding system for new employees, work-life balance disruption, and psychological problems faced by the vast majority of employees. The article emphasizes the need to implement improvements gradually, given the limited budgets of enterprises. The study allowed us to identify possible ways to improve the functioning of HR management systems in times of war by implementing a number of solutions in a comprehensive strategy, including: developing employee well-being and mental health programs, conducting team-building and searching for leaders among employees, improving the system of information transfer and employee education, creating a new sense of purpose for employees.

Proactive career behavior in management: A systematic literature review

The purpose of the conducted systematic review is to identify how organizations can promote proactive career behavior among employees. The review includes 91 articles published in highly ranked English language journals till 2022. The review covers three categories of job seekers — the employed (the domestic labor market), those in active search (the external labor market), students. The employed workers include both new recruits and those who are interested in further career advancement. The study interprets the key definitions related to proactive career behavior and clarifies the variants of operationalization. The authors suggest four measures how to promote employees’ proactive career behavior. Due to the novelty of the topic in the domestic academic context, the identified definitions, operationalization and methods of organizational support require empirical testing in Russian organizations. The paper introduces the publications in highly ranked journals; it increases the credibility of the obtained results and shows possible ways of empirical testing of the identified assumptions. The practical significance pertains to companies’ interest in well-being, diversity and inclusion programs. Supporting employees in their efforts related to career success has a positive impact on their well-being and expands a range of tools for managing diversity through a greater autonomy in building individual career trajectories. In Russia, most of the research on proactivity is conducted in the fields of psychology and sociology. The present review suggests a range of issues for management, shifting the focus to the role of organizations in the career success of their employees.

Design and implementation of the Professional Wellbeing Programme of the Medical Council of Uruguay

Multiple studies have reported a high prevalence of mental health problems among male and female physicians. Although doctors are reluctant to seek professional help when suffering from a mental disorder, specialised services developed specifically to treat their mental health problems have reported promising results. The purpose of this article is to describe the design and implementation of the Professional Wellbeing Programme (Programa de Bienestar Profesional) of the Uruguayan Medical Council (Colegio Médico del Uruguay). The context, inputs, activities and some of the outputs are described according to a case study design. The main milestones in the implementation of the programme are also outlined, as well as the enabling elements, obstacles and main achievements. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of international collaboration to share experiences and models, how to design the care process to promote doctors’ access to psychiatric and psychological care, the need for them to be flexible and dynamic in adapting to new and changing circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and to work in parallel with the medical regulatory bodies. It is hoped that the experience described in this work may be of use to other Latin American institutions interested in developing mental health programmes for doctors.

Tailored sleep hygiene counselling in combination with diet and physical activity advice for weight reduction in an employee well-being programme: a randomised feasibility study delivered remotely

Tailored sleep hygiene counselling in combination with diet and physical activity advice for weight reduction in an employee well-being programme: a randomised feasibility study delivered remotely - Volume 82 Issue OCE1

Is Positive Education an Appropriate Framework for Student Wellbeing in Anglican and other Christian Schools: A Review of the Literature

This literature review investigated potential problems associated with the uncritical implementation of a Positive Education approach to student wellbeing in the context of Anglican (or other Christian) schools. Six themes were considered in turn, drawing on a wide range of literature from the fields of education, philosophy, psychology, sociology and theology. These themes are as follows: 1. Distinctives of Anglican education in Australia; 2. Holistic education and the good life; 3. Understanding student wellbeing and flourishing; 4. The need for student wellbeing programs in schools; 5. Student wellbeing, Positive Psychology and Positive Education; 6. Is Positive Education compatible with a Christian worldview. The paper concludes that Positive Education programs, including PERMA and the VIA Character Strengths, ought to be critically considered and carefully adapted before implementation in Anglican or other Christian schools.

Students’ Perceptions and Experiences of an Online Wellbeing Program: A Phenomenological Study

Students’ Perceptions and Experiences of an Online Wellbeing Program: A Phenomenological Study