The purpose of this report is to evaluate the potential utility of online social networking in enhancing participation in, and maintenance of, a university-based exercise program through the provision of social support. Ninety-one employees previously enrolled in an exercise program were surveyed. Participants were asked about their online social networking habits and their opinions on the possible use of online social networks to increase social support for and adherence to an exercise program. Respondents already belonging to a social networking site (SNS) (79%) were optimistic about the utility, particularly after their exercise program, while those who do not belong to an SNS were less positive. The findings imply that using online social networking to add social support both during and after an exercise program could be effective. / text

This study examines social support and sexual interest among coupled persons aged 57 to 85 in North America. Using quantitative data from the 2006 National, Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (n = 3,005), the dependent variable is sexual interest and the independent variable is social support received from an intimate partner. Using survey and quantitative interview data, I analyze social support older couples receive from their partner, sexual interest, health status, marital status, and gender. In my analysis, I predict that higher levels of social support will positively affect levels of sexual interest, with health, relationship status, and gender mediating the outcomes. This study has gerontological significance because sexuality can impact overall well-being among older adults, and my findings could further our understanding of sexuality among this population.

In recent years, the Internet has emerged as a popular tool for providing social support to chronically-ill populations. However, research is limited in understanding the distinct needs of older cancer survivors who are less comfortable with Internet technology than younger generations. In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 cancer survivors over age 50. Thematic analysis was used to help understand their wants and needs when using the Internet for social support. Four main themes were found: 1) the need to take charge of health outcomes, 2) the benefits of knowing they are not alone in their cancer journey, 3) how to maximize online resources for cancer support, and 4) how the spirit of survivorship is imperative for quality of life. These findings can be used to guide the delivery of online social support interventions, as well as facilitate easy access to such interventions by older cancer survivors.

No description available.

No description available.

This study aims to examine howdifferent forms of social support are perceived to affect the recovery process of people with severe mental health difficulties, and what factors people within this group perceive as being most beneficial for their recovery. This study was conducted in Uganda for eight weeks during November 2013 and December 2013 and is based on semi-structured interviews with people in recovery from severe mental illness such as bi-polar affective disorder and schizophrenia. This study is using Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), which is a qualitative research approach, and the strength of IPA is its commitment to examine lived experience and personal meaning in detail. This study has shown that social support received from service user organisations was perceived to highly affect the recovery process in a most fundamental way. The service user organisations/associations were seen as platforms providing acceptance, understanding and recognition of what one has been or are going through. In terms of social support from family members, this was neither described as particularly helpful or hindering for the recovery process by most of the participants; this finding was somewhat unexpected but could be explained due to the complexity that proved to exist within the relationships between the participants and their family members. Medication was perceived as very important in terms of recovery, however it was strongly pointed out that medication alone was not enough. Despite this a majority of the participants had negative perceptions regarding both the dosage and the prescribed medicine itself particularly the prescription of Chlorpromazine, here feelings of being overmedicated and dealing with severe side effects were expressed, leading to some of the participants changing the prescribed dose on their own, so called manipulative medication.

Populations in developed and developing countries are becoming increasingly sedentary and the adverse health effects of relatively sedentary lifestyles, the so called lifestyle diseases, are now obvious. However, moderately vigorous physical activity is positively linked via a cause-and-effect relationship with a range of improved health outcomes. Broadly, current physical activity recommendations suggest that adults should achieve a total of at least 30 minutes a day of at least moderate intensity physical activity on five or more days of the week; however, estimates suggest that the majority of adults in the Western World do not meet these recommendations. Many of the factors involved in the initiation and long-term maintenance of physical activity are not fully understood. Considering the rapid pace of technological development and the general move away from labour-based economies, it does appear that the required level of physical activity necessary for optimal health needs to come from leisure-time activity– specifically, planned, regular, moderately vigorous exercise and/or sport. Unfortunately, many people experience great difficulty in engaging with and maintaining a physically active lifestyle and typically there is a rather large gap between what people know to be healthy and what they actually do. The general aim of this project was to design, implement and evaluate the clinical, social and behavioural effectiveness of a buddy-Motivational Interviewing intervention (buddy-MI) in assisting relatively sedentary adults to adopt and maintain regular physical activity for the purpose of improving their cardio-respiratory fitness, health, and quality of life. Specific aims of the intervention included formally involving social support (via the self-selected motivational-buddy) and strengthening individuals’ motivation for and movement toward their physical activity goals. The experimental intervention specifically aimed to extend the MI treatment effect by enhancing participants’ commitment to physical activity over time via intra-treatment social support (support provided within treatment sessions) as well as extra-treatment social support (day-to-day support) provided by the motivational-buddy. A fundamental was to deliver the intervention in a format that could realistically be implemented within typical primary care settings, workplaces, schools or other similar setting: to work towards healthier more active communities and to potentially reduce health system resource utilisation. Using a repeated-measures pragmatic parallel group randomised controlled trial (RCT) design, relatively sedentary adolescents and adults, in stable health, recruited from a university campus population were allocated to one of two interventions. In the experimental intervention, participants were supported by a self-selected motivational-buddy and they received 2-4 sessions of buddy-MI over a period of 12-months (participant determined schedule) as well as pro-active follow-up emails. The control intervention was standard care MI, and the same email follow-up as in the experimental group but without the additional support of a motivational-buddy. The main outcomes were self-reported physical activity, cardio-respiratory fitness and health related quality of life. These primary outcomes were measured at four time-points over the 12-months intervention and follow-up period and quantitative methods were used to analyse the data. Qualitative data were also analysed and presented in relation to the motivational-buddy component of the intervention. The study evaluated the feasibility and incremental effectiveness of motivational-buddy support compared to one-on-one MI in people who had expressed an interest in becoming more physically active. It used a novel intervention design incorporating self-selected motivational-buddies in an effort to mitigate the twin problems of poor adherence and behavioural regression that are commonly associated with physical activity promotion programmes. The intervention was found to have merit and the potential implications for the health-care system, and the wider community, are discussed.

No description available.

Någon gång i livet kommer de flesta individer tvingas möta på de svårigheter som en sorg för med sig. Sorg är en reaktion på en förlust. Syftet med studien var att belysa stödformer som kan hjälpa individer i deras sorgeprocess. Där sorgeprocessen i detta fall relaterar till förlusten av en närstående. Deltagarna var 23 stycken kvinnor mellan åldrarna 19-62 som hade upplevt en sorgeprocess till följd av närståendes bortgång. Materialet bestod av en enkät med öppna frågor. De insamlade enkäterna analyserades genom en meningskoncentrering för att bilda övergripande teman. För att kontrollera reliabiliteten i analysen genomfördes ett interbedömarreliabilitetstest. Studien resulterade i att familj, partner och vänner ansågs som det mest betydelsefulla stödet. Hur man upplever och hanterar sorg är individuellt. Därmed är även tidsaspekten för en sorgeprocess varierande.

Antalet vuxna som lever med fetma har enligt WHO fördubblats sedan 1980. Kirurgiskt ingrepp såsom gastric bypass är den metod som leder till hållbar viktminskning. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur patienter som genomgått viktminskningskirurgi kan uppleva stödet före, under och efter operation. Studien har en narrativ fenomenologisk ansats, berättelserna har analyserats genom meningskoncentrering, strukturering och tolkning. Studien innefattar berättelser från fem informanter som valdes genom handplockat urval. Resultatet visar att de flesta informanter upplever ett fint stöd från omgivningen under processen. Missnöjet riktar sig mot sjukvården och det först efter operationen. Informanterna upplever sig som ensamma och saknar sjukvårdens förståelse. Den bristfälliga uppföljningen genererar i svårigheter för patienterna att med tiden följa de kostrekommendationer som angavs. En samtalskontakt som stöd för hållbar viktminskning och för undvikande av bristsjukdomar är att rekommendera.