Rethinking aging to stay active and healthy

By Aïna Chalabaev, Grenoble Alpes University, France

As outlined in a previous post, the health benefits of regular physical activity are well established for people aged 65 and over. Clear guidelines have been set by the World Health Organization on the amount and type of activity associated with health gains. However, older people remain among the most inactive segment of the population worldwide.

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MyLifeTool: A person-centred, holistic approach to the self-management of long-term conditions

By Dr Stephanie Kılınç, Teesside University, UK and Jo Cole, the Tees Valley, Durham and North Yorkshire Neurological Alliance, UK 

Long-term conditions are a major concern for global health care systems given their high prevalence and disease burden, including their significant impact on disability-adjusted life years.  They also have a significant negative impact on health-related quality of life and are associated with higher rates of anxiety and depression than the general population.

MyLifeTool is a self-management tool for people living with any long-term condition (e.g. diabetes, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, asthma, anxiety, neurodevelopmental conditions, Acquired Brain Injury, Fibromyalgia).  It was developed in partnership with people with long-term conditions, members of Neuro Key and psychologists from Teesside University.  It is underpinned by our self-management framework which takes a person-centred, non-instructive perspective on self-management.  People with long-term conditions were at the heart of the project, forging the decisions on what MyLifeTool would become and choosing the name. (more…)

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Above Water: Rethinking Drowning Prevention at All Levels

By Kyra Hamilton, Griffith University, Australia and Amy Peden, University of New South Wales, Australia

Drowning is a leading, yet largely preventable, cause of death and injury that remains underrecognized. One common myth: drowning isn’t always fatal. The definition of drowning was revised to clarify that drowning is a process, not an outcome. The outcomes of the drowning process can be death (fatal drowning) or survival with or without persisting injury such as cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain (non-fatal drowning). Terms like “dry drowning”, “secondary drowning”, or “near-drowning” are often used in the media, but they’re outdated and medically inaccurate, so it’s time to stop using them.  (more…)

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Old habits die hard: Disrupting unwanted habitual behaviour

By Annabel Stone and Phillippa Lally, University of Surrey, UK

The New Year is often a time where we aim for change, determined to form new habits and to leave our bad habits behind as the clock strikes midnight. Dusting off our running trainers, filling our shopping trollies with fresh fruit and veg… who hasn’t thought “New Year, New Me”? But a month down the line, why is it our trainers have only seen daylight twice, and that fresh fruit is starting to fur? It seems our bad habits have followed us into the New Year (more…)

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Making Every Health Care Consultation Count: Promoting physical activity in health care settings

By Amanda Daley, Loughborough University, UK

In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Making Every Contact Count initiative aims to use the thousands of consultations that take place every day between health professionals and patients, to promote healthy behavioural changes.  Specifically, Making Every Contact Count aims to enable and encourage health professionals to capitalise on naturally occurring opportunities in routine practice to deliver brief health behaviour change interventions to patients. The success of approaches such as Making Every Contact Count are dependent on health professionals being willing to have these conversations in consultations every day.  Making Every Contact Count is for everyone, and it is not restricted to specific health professionals, health services or patients.  For these reasons, Making Every Contact Count may reduce health inequalities because the idea is that an inclusive approach is taken whereby all patients receive this support within consultations.

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What if it comes back? The question that is on the minds of those who experienced cancer treatment and their loved ones

By Gozde Ozakinci, University of Stirling 

Cancer is very much associated with scary statistics. For instance, like the one ‘1 in 2 people will develop some form of cancer in their lifetime’.  But there are encouraging developments too that suggests that cancer survival rates are improving.  The last count in 2018 suggests that there are nearly 44 million people who survived the cancer diagnosis and treatment in the world. This is welcome news to those who have experienced cancer diagnosis and treatment. 

The improvement in survival rates also means that more and more people live with the consequences of cancer treatment. One of these consequences is experiencing fears about cancer coming back. In the literature, it is defined as “fear, worry, or concern relating to the possibility that cancer will come back or progress” and recognised widely as one of the most significant issues that impact on the quality of life of those living after a cancer diagnosis.  (more…)

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Understanding what influences organ donation

By Dr Lee Shepherd, Northumbria University, UK and Professor Ronan E. O’Carroll, University of Stirling, UK and Professor Eamonn Ferguson, University of Nottingham, UK

There are numerous stories of how deceased organ transplantation has offered a lifeline for people. Indeed, each deceased organ donor can change the lives of up to nine people. However, there are too few organs available for transplantation. This shortage results in large waiting lists and people dying before they receive an organ. Therefore, we need to understand what factors influence the likelihood that someone will donate their organs when they die.

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“Fancy a wee walk?” – Dyadic behaviour change support for walking after stroke

By Stephan Dombrowski, University of New Brunswick, Canada

Walking away from death
Walking is one of the most basic forms of human movement and is associated with a plethora of health benefits. Evidence suggests that those who walk more, are less likely to die prematurely, suggesting that it is possible to walk away from death (at least for a while).

Walking and stroke
Walking as a form of physical activity behaviour is particularly helpful for individuals with stroke, a leading cause of adult disability. Regular physical activity post stroke can reduce the risk of a stroke reoccurring, help with recovery and improve overall functioning, health, and wellbeing. However, people with stroke spend around 75% of waking hours sitting, more than their age-matched peers. Yet, walking is one of the most attainable forms of PA post stroke – 95% of individuals can walk 11 weeks following a stroke. In addition, walking is a preferred form of physical activity for people with stroke who consider it accessible, enjoyable and often sociable. The key question is how to support people with stroke to walk more? (more…)

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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: A promising approach for those living with Long-COVID

By Amy Barradell, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust

If I were to say to you, Long-Covid, what would that mean to you?
A sub-set of people that contracted Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), have continued to experience debilitating symptoms for more than 4 weeks following their acute infection. They commonly report both physical (e.g., breathlessness, fatigue) and psychological (e.g., anxiety, cognitive impairments) symptoms. Those experiencing these symptoms call it ‘Long-COVID’.

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Bringing behaviour change techniques into practice: Making use of available tools

By Marta Moreira Marques, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal

Behaviour change techniques are the building blocks of behavior change interventions. Whether you are trying to help someone increase their physical activity, stop smoking or better adhere to a medication regimen, behavior change techniques are the tools you have at your disposal. Common behavior change techniques include things like goal-setting, self-monitoring, providing information about a behaviour and managing emotions.

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