Abstract Aim: The aim of this study was to examine junior and first year senior athletes’ experiences and perceived effects of flotation-REST, including both the immediate response and experiences over time. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six elite track and field athletes (five female and one male), aged 17-23 years, who were purposefully sampled and had used flotation-REST two to six times. They were each interviewed on two occasions; once directly following a floating session and later a second interview concerning the overall experience. The interview transcripts were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, 1996). Results: From the analysis four themes emerged: Meaning of Flotation-REST, Experiences during Flotation-REST, Perceived Effects of Flotation-REST, and Views on Flotation-REST. Flotation-REST became a learning opportunity concerning relaxation for all athletes and three of them reported that it raised their awareness of the importance of relaxation and psychological skills training. For five athletes the floating sessions also became a breather in the daily life. The floating sessions were perceived as pleasant and relaxing. Three athletes experienced a lot of thoughts in the tank and five of them fell asleep at least twice. After flotation-REST five athletes reported experiencing less stress and an overall increase in well-being as well as feeling calmer and more energized for one or two days, although they were physically tired at practice immediately following a floating session. Being in a better mood and placing fewer demands on themselves as well as feeling more optimistic and present were also mentioned as perceived effects. The results showed more and longer-lasting psychological effects than physiological. The sixth athlete did not experience any special effects, nor did he experience stress in his daily life and sport performance, as opposed to the others. Conclusions: The study shows the potential of flotation-REST as a technique for health promotion and also as a method for stress management. Further, as the results revealed raised awareness, flotation-REST could be valuable together with other psychological skills training techniques, mindfulness and the physical training. However, considering the differences in the athletes’ perceived effects of flotation-REST, it indicates the importance of further research on the topic.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2001. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 178 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 124-136).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-243).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 255-293). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2008. / Title from file title page. Gregory L. Brack, committee chair; Catherine Brack, Ken Resnicow, Roger Weed, Jeffrey S. Ashby, committee members. Description based on contents viewed Feb. 22, 2010. Includes bibliographical references.

Major depression is a prevalent and harmful illness in the United States. About 7% of Americans experience depressive symptoms each year. Leaving depression untreated can result in poor general health and increased susceptibility to severe health risks such as suicide. Although there exists a variety of effective treatment methods for depression, the National Health and Nutrition Survey 2005-2006 reports that less than 30% of depressed individuals will be seen by a mental health care professional. It is essential that current efforts work toward encouraging depressed persons to seek treatment. A number of health promotion campaigns for mental health have tried reaching depressed individuals with little success. Created through a series of projects conducted with depressed men and women, Faces of Depression is a messaging strategy campaign that may prove highly effective with this audience. The campaign utilized video and computer program media in health clinic waiting areas to encourage patients with depressive symptoms to seek help from a primary care physician. These forms of media often capture attention; however, they also require many resources that may not be readily available at a health clinic. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether a cost-sensitive poster version of the Faces of Depression campaign would be an effective alternative to the original media. Undergraduate students completed an online survey concerning their willingness to discuss depression with a physician and their reactions to the health poster. Some had previously sought help from a mental health professional (33%), yet few had received treatment for depression (11%). However, 48% of the participants met the criteria for having current depressive symptoms. Although scores for the posters’ visual elements were low, the idea of the poster in a health clinic waiting area was well received by those currently depressed and non-depressed. Moreover, non-depressed persons were likely to indicate that they would seek help in response to the poster if experiencing depressive symptoms. The study is limited by poster design elements. Amendments to these aesthetic details would likely increase poster effectiveness. Future research should ensure that health promotion materials target those currently experiencing symptoms, especially men. / text

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of health promotion for a group of young adult African American men with invisible disabilities. This hermeneutic phenomenological study used a non-experimental, descriptive design. The purposive sample consisted of 11 young adult, English-speaking, non-institutionalized, African American men with invisible disability between the ages of 25 and 39 years of age living in the Central Texas metropolitan area. This study's research questions were answered using audio-taped, one-on-one qualitative interviews along with detailed fieldnotes. Participants were interviewed twice at a mutually decided upon location to ensure the privacy and comfort of participants. For these young men, an essential component of health promotion involved the reestablishment and reorganization of their bodies in the world while adjusting to living with disability. For them, the essential structure of health promotion was comprised of the following themes: Reconciling Perspectives of the Self, Embracing the Current Body, and Reorienting the Body in the World. Their lived experience of health promotion was reflected in the following themes: Risking the Body to Preserve the Self, Accepting the Evolving Body, and Seeking the Body's Redemption. For this group of young adult African American men, their health promotion experience required risking the body, putting the needs of the self before the needs of the body, and then accepting and valuing the resulting condition of the body. / text

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Chronic illness is endemic in the United States. Though people with chronic illnesses will not be cured, interventions can improve their well-being. Creating art as an intervention has been shown to assist people with chronic illnesses to improve well-being. Though creating art as a health promotion intervention is widespread it has not been well studied and the structure, process and outcomes of the intervention are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe various key components of creating visual art as a healing intervention in the context of chronic illness. This study developed knowledge that will assist practitioners who use this complex intervention and researchers seeking to test its effectiveness in health promotion and healing in a chronically ill population. A qualitative descriptive design was used to explore art as a healing intervention. Photographs of art created by participants were observed, and participants were interviewed to collect data on the structure, process and outcomes of art as a healing intervention. The content and descriptive analysis of the data are used to describe the components of art as an intervention as well as the modifiers of the intervention process and the relationship of the components to each other to allow further research to be appropriately focused. Creating art is an intervention that works with a whole person to provide an opportunity for emergent change through disrupting old patterns, creating movement, and providing the opportunity for the participant to adopt new healthier patterns for living with chronic illness. Creating art does not have a predictable outcome, but rather has patient specific outcomes dependent on the patient's particular needs and individual self-organization. This study contributed to knowledge about creating art as a healing intervention by exploring various intervention components that must be explicated prior to development of program initiatives in practice and conducting systematic studies about the effectiveness of this intervention. The results of this study provide a foundation for a research career that both furthers the use of art as a healing intervention and further develops intervention theory to include complex evaluation methods.