E-health, Interventions

Your intervention, your way! Short appraisal interventions

by Katarzyna Cantarero, SWPS University, Poland

Subjective well-being is a function of what we were born with, situations that pop up in our lives and (luckily!) what we intentionally do. Many researchers have examined what can effectively boost our psychological functioning. Short appraisal (or affirmation) interventions can be one helpful tool in enhancing positive outcomes for people.

Research shows that short writing tasks (e.g., gratitude lists or letters) can enhance psychological well-being. In a large multi-lab study, researchers from 87 countries indicated that simple reappraisal interventions (i.e., changing how one feels about a situation or focusing on positive aspects of a situation) boosted positive emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Appraising an event that is potentially stressful can be helpful in drawing benefits from it. During these appraisal tasks, individuals come up with arguments about the positive side of situations they find themselves in. 

(more…)

E-health, Mental Health

クリニックの外でカウンセリングを行う：モバイルテクノロジーの有望性

エゴン・デジョンキア＆ ピーター・カペンス、 ルーヴェン大学（ベルギー）

カウンセリングや心理療法の多くは、今も主としてカウンセリングルームの中で行われています。でも、カウンセリングルームを出た後で、患者は自身の問題と対峙し、良くなる機会を見つけ、カウンセリング・セッションで学んだことを実践するのに苦労することがあります。日常生活で起きていることに直接アクセスすることはカウンセリングに非常に有益であるという知見があります。そのような直接的な情報は、介入方法を決めたり、カウンセリングと実生活のギャップを効果的に埋めたりするのに役立ちます。

(more…)

Assessment, Communication, Coping, Illness representation

患者が症状を管理するのを助ける：病識の重要性

ヤエル・ベンヤミニ、テルアビブ大学（イスラエル）

エバンゲロス・C・カラデマス　クレタ大学（ギリシャ）

 

アンナとメアリーは健康な45歳の女性で、ヨーロッパの大都市に住んでいます。彼女たちの周りにはCOVID-19に感染した人が何人もいるし、COVID-19の情報にも日常的に触れています。アンナはCOVID-19が非常に深刻な病気であると信じており、もし感染したら、年齢的には深刻なことにはならないまでも、おそらく厄介な症状に長期間苦しむことになるだろうと心配しています。だから可能な限り在宅で仕事をして、外出の際には必ずマスクをつけ、そして追加の予防接種を受けようと思っています。

(more…)

Coping, Social Support, Stress

ストレスの新しい捉え方は不安な心をどのように落ち着かせるのか

バート・バーキル　ライデン大学臨床心理学部（オランダ）

PEPグループ（ノールトウェイク、オランダ）

 

「感染して入院することになったらどうしよう？」「数か月で請求書が支払えなくなったら？」「ロックダウンは子どもたちの健康にどう影響するのだろう？」

 

コロナウイルスの脅威は、私たちの生活に大きな影響を与えています。どのような対策が必要かを判断したり、いかなるリスクが潜んでいるのかを推定するために、科学者はウイルスの流行について統計モデルを用いて理解しようとしています。これは確かにパンデミックをある程度制御するのに役立ちます。興味深いことに、私たちもそれぞれが常に科学者であるかのように行動しており、しかもその行動はより自動的になされています。人間の心は「予測マシン」で、私たちが感染したり、職を失ったり、批判されたりするリスクを常に推定しているのです。しかしながら、リスクの推定方法には個人差が大きく、中には強い不安に襲われてしまう人もいます

(more…)

Patient engagement

If medicine is a team game, patients should play too: a psychological perspective on patient engagement

By G. Graffigna, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy

Healthcare professionals along the whole care journey must collaborate and coordinate their efforts for healthcare systems to function effectively. In other words, medicine requires teamwork to be successful. If we agree on this principle, then –adopting a sports metaphor –the patient too should be considered a player in the team!

The concept of patient engagement recognizes this, and it is an important ingredient for enhancing the effectiveness and sustainability of healthcare.

(more…)

Communication, Incentives, Motivational interviewing, Social Support

2型糖尿病患者の減量と血糖管理をサポートするには

リア・エイブリー, ティーズサイド大学 （イギリス）

これまで2型糖尿病は進行性の疾患で，インスリン療法が不可欠だと考えられてきましたが，ライフスタイル・行動変容研究はこの悲観的な予後に異論を唱えています。2型糖尿病の有病率が高まるにつれて，症状を上手に管理する上で食事の役割と，食生活を見直すことの重要性を示すエビデンスが次々と出されています。

食事療法には大きく分けて2つの方法があります。1つは，食べるもの（例えば炭水化物など）に焦点を当て，ゆっくりと着実に減らすことにより最適な代謝と血糖管理を目指すものです。もう1つは食べる量に目を向ける方法で，大幅なカロリー制限をして急激に体重を減らす低カロリー食などがあります。

(more…)

Communication, Goal setting

Teaching practitioners Healthy Conversation Skills 

By Wendy Lawrence, University of Southampton

The main causes of death and disease in society today are influenced by our lifestyle choices, and there is a growing focus on ways to improve health behaviours. Front-line practitioners, particularly those working in health, social and community care roles, are a key resource for supporting behavioural change. Routine appointments offer opportunities to initiate conversations about behaviour change every week, but many practitioners feel that they lack the knowledge and skills necessary to provide behaviour change support. This can reduce our confidence for having conversations with clients or patients about potentially sensitive topics, including smoking, weight loss or alcohol intake.

(more…)

Automaticity, Habit, Self-efficacy

To eat or not to eat, that is the question: How can health psychology practitioners help people manage food safety?

By Barbara Mullan, Curtin University, Australia

Extent of the problem

Every year, one in 10 people worldwide (approximately 600 million people) become ill after eating contaminated food, and as many as 420,000 people die. There are vast geographical differences in where these instances occur, with African, South-East Asian, and Eastern Mediterranean regions bearing the highest burden of foodborne disease (further detail about the foodborne disease burden by region can be found here). In addition to these geographical differences, there are also vast differences in the types of agents that are responsible for foodborne disease (e.g., viruses, bacteria, parasites).

(more…)

Financial Incentives, Smoking cessation

Helping pregnant women quit smoking: sharing best practice from the UK

By Felix Naughton, University of East Anglia, UK

 Between 25-50% of female smokers quit smoking after they discover they are pregnant. But why do the remainder continue to smoke throughout their pregnancy?

 Do they not know that smoking during pregnancy is harmful? They usually do. One of our UK studies, that included pregnant women both motivated and unmotivated to quit, found 99% agreed to some degree with the statement ‘smoking during pregnancy can cause serious harm to my baby’ with around 75% agreeing very much or extremely. Yet less than 10% of them were abstinent 12 weeks later. While making a quit attempt is more likely among those with strong ‘harm beliefs’ about smoking in pregnancy, it does not appear to increase the chances of success. 

(more…)

Assessment, Brief behavioural intervention, Goal setting, Habit, Planning

Improving the delivery of brief alcohol advice in primary care: views from both sides of the consultation table

By Amy O’Donnell, Newcastle University, UK

Levels of drinking have fallen recently in some parts of Europe, particularly amongst young people. However, excessive alcohol consumption remains a major risk factor for poor health and early death. Providing simple brief advice to those identified as heavy drinkers can help reduce the amount of alcohol people consume, especially when delivered by primary care clinicians such as general practitioners (GPs) or nurses. Alcohol brief advice involves a short, evidence-based, structured conversation that aims to motivate and support a patient to consider a change in their drinking behaviour to reduce their risk of harm. We still haven’t fully identified the key ingredients of these conversations, but providing personalised feedback on a patient’s alcohol consumption, and encouraging them to self-monitor their drinking, seem to be particularly effective parts of the package.

(more…)