Gesundheitspotenziale des Hochschulsports

Background

This study examines university students health resources like social support and exercising as a coping strategy that may result from regular exercising.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was carried out with more than 4,000 university students participating. Data concerning exercising, stress and health resources like social support (in the field of sports and exercising) and the probability of exercising in stressful situations were collected.

Results

Multifactorial variance analyses show that students who exercise on a regular basis perceive a significantly higher degree of social support than inactive students. Many students perceive a high level of social support in the field of sports and exercising. The more students exercise, the more important exercising is for them as a measure for reducing stress.

Conclusion

Exercising on a regular basis has a considerable impact on students’ social support and integration into the university setting. Exercising and sports are important specific measures for reducing tension and stress. Therefore health promotion measures should offer sufficient exercise opportunities for students in groups picking up the possibility of reducing tension and stress through physical activity.     

Wenn Studierende die gesundheitliche Situation Studierender erforschen

Background

The present paper illustrates the advantages resulting from involving students in research on health in part-time students. A teaching concept involving part-time students from health-related study courses in the investigation of stress in part-time students is introduced.

Patients and methods

The teaching concept was realized and evaluated in two consecutive classes (N _1?=?17; N _2?=?20). A significant increase in research self-efficacy across the semester could be revealed.

Results

The results of the students’ research project show that stress symptoms increase significantly from the first to the third semester in part-time students from health-related study courses (N?=?58), while students’ sense of coherence decreases substantially. The results were presented and discussed with the student researchers; suggestions for interventions were developed. The present approach of research learning is not only an effective method of teaching research competencies to students, but also a useful way of enriching the research on stress in part-time students by involving concerned students.     

Adaptation and cognitive testing of physical activity measures for use with young, school-aged children and their parents

Background

Increasing physical activity is one way to address the public health concern of childhood obesity. Physical activity measures for use with young, school-aged children are limited.

Methods

This study adapted two existing activity measures for young children, specifically self-efficacy and 7-day recall of physical activity.

Results

Through expert review and cognitive testing, the scales were adapted for use with young, school-aged children (ages 7?C9). This article describes how the measures were adapted to insure comprehension of the child self-report measures. Reliability analyses provide support for their use in this population [Cronbach??s alpha?=?0.76 for the self-efficacy scale; moderate correlation between parent report and child report of child physical activity over the past week (rho?=?0.52, P?<?0.01].

Conclusions

Suggestions are offered for researchers interested in using similar methods when designing and adapting physical activity measures for new populations.     

Protective Factors Based Model for Screening for Posttraumatic Distress in Adolescents

Background

There is growing application of school-based screening to identify post-traumatic distress in students following exposure to trauma. The consensus method is based on self-report questionnaires that assess posttraumatic symptoms, functional impairment, depression or anxiety.

Objective

The current research explored the possibility of using a model, based on the assessment of protective factors, as a screening method for identifying youth who may suffer from posttraumatic distress and need professional help in the aftermath of war.

Method

Participants were 482 Israeli high-school students who were exposed to ongoing missile attacks during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2008. The data collected included symptom scales and three protective factor scales assessing perceived self-efficacy, cognitive-emotion regulation and flexibility in the use of various coping strategies.

Results

The results showed that all three protective factors were significant predictors of symptom severity. The protective-factor-based model utilized logistic regression and receiver operating characteristics analysis. The model correctly classified 84 % of adolescents presenting with probable post traumatic stress disorder, identifying them as distressed. Cross-validation was conducted to assess the stability and reliability of the model, which were found to be acceptable.

Conclusion

The protective factors based model could be important as a part of preliminary triage before referral for intervention and for identification of distressed adolescents. School based screening which focuses on assessing protective factors may facilitate cooperation by both adolescent students and the education system.     

Gesundheitsberichterstattung bei Studierenden

Objective

Little research has been done on student health in Germany. High well-being scores but risky health behaviors (e.g., substance use) have been stated but are often not linked with the university context.

Method

To promote health assessment in Germany that includes the university context, empiric research was reviewed.

Results

Best-practice models are based on theoretical models that integrate health indicators as well as personal and university conditions. To assess stress and resources in the university context, new questionnaires were developed and evaluated. Positive and negative aspects of health and personal circumstances were measured by established questionnaires.

Conclusions

To promote the health assessment of college students in Germany, the development of instruments and data-based interventions should be continued.     

General self-efficacy and the effect of hospital workplace violence on doctors’ stress and job satisfaction in China

Objectives

This study aims at exploring associations of general self-efficacy (GSE), workplace violence and doctors’ work-related attitudes.

Material and Methods

In this study a cross-sectional survey design was applied. Questionnaires were administrated to 758 doctors working in 9 hospitals of Zhengzhou, Henan province, China, between June and October 2010. General information on age, gender, and years of working was collected, and the doctors’ experience and witnessing workplace violence, job satisfaction, job initiative, occupational stress as well as GSE were measured. General linear regression analysis was performed in association analyses.

Results

Both experiencing and witnessing workplace violence were significantly positively correlated with the level of occupational stress but significantly negatively correlated with job satisfaction, job initiative, and GSE. General self-efficacy significantly modified relationships between both experiencing and witnessing workplace violence with occupational stress (β = 0.49 for experiencing violence; β = 0.43 for witnessing violence; p < 0.001) and with job satisfaction (β = ?0.35 and ?0.34, respectively; p < 0.05). However, it did not modify the relationships between both experiencing and witnessing workplace violence with job initiative (p > 0.05). The levels of occupational stress declined significantly with the increase of GSE, while job satisfaction increased significantly along with its increase. The effects of GSE on occupational stress and job satisfaction weakened as the frequency of violence increased.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that GSE can modify effects of workplace violence on health care workers’ stress and job satisfaction. Enhancing GSE in combination with stress reduction may lead to facilitating health care workers’ recovery from workplace violence, and thereby improving their work-related attitudes.     

Physical activity, self-efficacy, and health-related quality of life in persons with multiple sclerosis: analysis of associations between individual-level changes over one year

Background

Physical activity and self-efficacy represent behavioral and psychological factors, respectively, that are compromised in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS), but might be modifiable through intervention and result in better health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

Purpose

The present study adopted a panel research design and examined the associations between individual-level changes in physical activity, self-efficacy, and HRQOL over a one-year period in persons with MS.

Method

The sample consisted of 269 persons with relapsing–remitting MS who completed the Godin Leisure-Time Questionnaire (GLTEQ), Multiple Sclerosis Self-Efficacy (MSSE) Scale, and Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life—29 (MSIS-29) Scale on two occasions that were separated by 1 year. The data were analyzed using panel analysis in Mplus 3.0.

Results

The initial panel analysis indicated that individual-level change in physical activity was associated with individual-level change in both physical and psychological HRQOL. The subsequent panel analysis indicated that (a) individual-level change in self-efficacy for functioning with MS was associated with individual-level change in physical HRQOL, whereas individual-level change in self-efficacy for control was associated with individual-level change in psychological HRQOL; (b) individual-level change in self-efficacy for functioning with MS, but not self-efficacy for control, mediated the association between individual-level change in physical activity and physical HRQOL; and (c) individual-level change in self-efficacy for controlling MS was the strongest predictor of individual-level change in HRQOL.

Conclusion

Physical activity and self-efficacy both might be important targets of subsequent behavioral and self-management interventions for improving the HRQOL of persons with MS, although self-efficacy is seemingly more important than physical activity.     

Measuring medical students’ sense of preparedness for community visits to antenatal patients in the health centre setting in Trinidad

Aim

The present research aimed to investigate:

1. How well prepared the student thought they were for their first visit to a health centre
2. What had they done to enhance their preparedness
3. How confident they felt they were to ask the required questions
4. The student’s opinion about the extent to which two courses taken prior to the community visit had prepared them for the visits

Subject and methods

A questionnaire consisting of 11 items was completed by 131 second-year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) students from the Faculty of Medical Sciences. The data were treated with chi-square (χ ²).

Results

The majority of the students (84.7 %) responded that they had prepared for the visit. Most of those who had not prepared were those who entered with high school qualifications. The differences were not statistically significant (χ ²?=?2.739; p?>?.05). The differences for what the students did to prepare themselves were not significant by gender, except for the category “discussed with peers” (χ ²?=?7.165; p?<?.01). The most important thing the students (26.5 %) believed they would learn from the early clinical experience was ‘how to communicate effectively with the patients’.

Conclusion

The majority of the students had prepared themselves for the experience and hoped, most of all to learn how to interact with patients and communicate effectively with them.     

Beurteilung eines Stressbewältigungskurses für Studierende

Background

Mental and physical stress begins when studies begin, but stress management courses can counteract this. In addition to the identification of study-related stress and existing coping mechanisms, the effect of individually learned coping strategies should be considered.

Material and methods

This study involved 18 university students (24.2±2.3 years) and involved three psychological questionnaires (AVEM, KOEPS, SVF) given at the beginning, after 8 weeks in the course, and after 3 months of use at home.

Results

The results showed that 88.9% of the students had a health risk AVEM pattern, with partially strong physical and psychological symptoms reported. While all students showed AVEM risk model performance, the health pattern increased.

Conclusion

Knowledge of certain characteristics and coping patterns allows targeted therapeutic interventions in the context of individual preventive measures.     

Effects of Student Perceptions of Teachers’ Motivational Behavior on Reading,English, and Mathematics Achievement: The Mediating Role of Domain Specific Self-Efficacy and Intrinsic Motivation

Background

In the Korean educational system, academic achievement is one of the crucial factors in assessing a student’s academic ability for postsecondary education. Thus, many researchers have been studying ways to improve students’ academic achievement.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between students’ perceptions of teachers’ motivational behavior and students’ academic achievement, as well as the mediating effects of students’ motivation and self-efficacy on this relation.

Methods

Using the Korean Education Longitudinal Study data, we employed structural equation modeling to assess the impacts of different variables (i.e., students’ perceptions of their teachers’ motivational behavior, self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation) on the academic achievements of 6227 middle school students’. We further examined whether these relationships differed depending on the school subject, specifically, reading, English, and mathematics.

Results

The results indicate that students’ self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation mediated the relation between students’ perceptions of teachers’ motivational behavior and students’ academic achievements in all three subjects.

Conclusion

This study suggests that students’ self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation increase when students perceive their teachers’ motivational behaviors positively, which ultimately improves their performance in reading, English, and mathematics.

     

Sind Bachelor-/Masterstudierende st?rker ausgebrannt?

Background

Are students enrolled in the reformed study programs (bachelor or master) more affected by health problems or do they have to endure higher burdens in the course of study than fellow students striving for a traditional ??diploma?? or ??magister?? degrees?

Methods

In this study 1,277 university students from 5 faculties representing both bachelor/master and diploma/Magister programs, were asked to estimate their burnout levels and the study conditions within the respective programs. The temporary concomitance of the different programs allows a direct comparison of traditional and reformed courses of study.

Results

The analysis revealed no significant differences between the students of different programs in the burnout levels experienced, when controlled for the intergroup variation in duration of study. Significant differences were found in specific forms of stress with only small effect sizes. Influences specific to the field of study seemed to be stronger than the structures of different programs (reformed/traditional).

Conclusion

Approaches to reform bachelor and master programs should therefore be discussed and realized less on a global level than with reference to specific fields of study.     

Zusammenhang von Stressbefinden und Muskelverspannung am Bildschirmarbeitsplatz

Background

Working conditions in the financial sector have evolved over time. Increasing work-related stress and the lack of exercise during daily work on workstations have led to physical and mental health problems which might cause a loss of productivity.

Aims

A major German insurance company offered its employees the possibility to participate in a health management project in order to prevent backache. By anonymous poll the employees were first asked to specify the subjective stress and tension level. In a second step muscle tension of the shoulder and neck area (trapezius muscle) was monitored by surface electromyography.

Results

During the monitoring the employees benefited from a directly carried out biofeedback with coaching. The employer used the data that had been collected anonymously (n=1,270) in order to carry out a status analysis. The evaluation of the results proved significant connections between the subjective feeling and objective results. Stress and tension grew and reached the highest values among the 44 to 50-year-old subjects. An economical model calculation ascertained losses in productivity as well as presenteeism due to risk factors at hand amounting to millions of Euros. On the basis of this data the employer can offer employees continuing and tailor-made measures.     

A Randomized Controlled Study of a Group Intervention Program to Enhance Mental Health of Children of Illegal Migrant Workers

Background

The social–ecological environment of undocumented children of migrant workers includes varying levels of risk factors. Growing up in these conditions compromises children’s development on all levels. Many of these children are in need of psychotherapy, however, due to limited resources, only a few of them receive mental health aid.

Objective

The present research undertook to construct and examine the effectiveness of a specialized group intervention program to enhance children’s self-efficacy and mental health.

Methods

Participants were 70 children aged 8–12 of illegal migrant workers in Israel. The repeated measures design included completion of a self-efficacy scale and emotional, behavioral and social difficulties child-report and teacher-report measures. Children were randomly allocated to either an intervention or control group.

Results

The first hypotheses predicting a greater improvement in self-efficacy between the pre-test and post-test for children in the intervention as opposed to control group was confirmed. The second hypothesis predicting a greater reduction in the self- and teacher-reports of emotional, social and behavioral difficulties was confirmed. The third hypothesis predicting a moderating relation between self-efficacy, group type and time on the dependent variables was confirmed only for children’s self-report of their difficulties.

Conclusions

Findings provide evidence for the effectiveness of this short term playful intervention program for this group of disadvantaged children, suggesting its application to other at-risk groups of children.     

Mindfulness: a systematic review of instruments to measure an emergent patient-reported outcome (PRO)

Purpose

Mindfulness has emerged as an important health concept based on evidence that mindfulness interventions reduce symptoms and improve health-related quality of life. The objectives of this study were to systematically assess and compare the properties of instruments to measure self-reported mindfulness.

Methods

Ovid Medline^®, CINAHL^®, and PsycINFO^® were searched through May 2012, and articles were selected if their primary purpose was development or evaluation of the measurement properties (validity, reliability, responsiveness) of a self-report mindfulness scale. Two reviewers independently evaluated the methodological quality of the selected studies using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments checklist. Discrepancies were discussed with a third reviewer and scored by consensus. Finally, a level of evidence approach was used to synthesize the results and study quality.

Results

Our search strategy identified a total of 2,588 articles. Forty-six articles, reporting 79 unique studies, met inclusion criteria. Ten instruments quantifying mindfulness as a unidimensional scale (n = 5) or as a set of 2–5 subscales (n = 5) were reviewed. The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale was evaluated by the most studies (n = 27) and had positive overall quality ratings for most of the psychometric properties reviewed. The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire received the highest possible rating (“consistent findings in multiple studies of good methodological quality”) for two properties, internal consistency and construct validation by hypothesis testing. However, none of the instruments had sufficient evidence of content validity. Comprehensiveness of construct coverage had not been assessed; qualitative methods to confirm understanding and relevance were absent. In addition, estimates of test–retest reliability, responsiveness, or measurement error to guide users in protocol development or interpretation of scores were lacking.

Conclusions

Current mindfulness scales have important conceptual differences, and none can be strongly recommended based solely on superior psychometric properties. Important limitations in the field are the absence of qualitative evaluations and accepted external referents to support construct validity. Investigators need to proceed cautiously before optimizing any mindfulness intervention based on the existing scales.     

Wozu betriebliche Gesundheitsförderung?

Background

Universities could use workplace health promotion as one suitable instrument for dealing with social and structural changes. In order to implement health promotion, the University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück undertook a needs analysis.

Method

A web survey of students and staff members was conducted. The results were analysed for each group.

Results

Both the health-related behaviour and health status of staff members showed significant differences compared with students. Neck pain was a common problem for staff, whereas students reported more psychological stress. Also, the prospects of a health promotion project differed in these groups.

Conclusion

The members of the University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück showed good health overall; nevertheless, the study points out both the necessity and potential for health-promoting activities.     

Anemia and risk factors among female secondary students in the Gaza Strip

Aims

The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of anemia among female secondary students in the Gaza Strip and to assess the important risk factors that are relevant to the development of anemia.

Subjects and methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted. Data collected by self-administered questionnaire in a sample of 316 students aged 15–18 years.

Results

The prevalence of anemia among students was 33.5 %. Anemia was found to be more prevalent among adolescents with low socioeconomic status. Anemia was found to be statistically significant regarding the father’s job status, monthly expenditure average, and indiviual monthly expensing. Skipping breakfast was reported by 60.8 % students and 71.2 % ate only 1–2 meals/day. The results indicate that the prevalence of underweight, and high body mass index were 1.3 % and 19.9 % respectively. The results showed that nearly one third of students practiced sedentary life style, and this practice is markedly relevant to anemic students (P?<?0.05). The duration of menstruation (more than 7 days, P?<?0.001) was found to be a risk factor for anemia. Low academic achievements showed significant reduction in anemic students (P?<?0.05). In addition, there were statistically significant differences between anemia and consumption of meat, chicken, liver, natural juices, fruits and vegetables.

Conclusion

Anemia still appears to be a public health problem among female adolescents. It is concluded that different socioeconomic variables and dietary habit factors showed statistical significance for anemia among female students.     

Psychosocial work conditions, perceived stress, perceived muscular tension, and neck/shoulder symptoms among medical secretaries

Purpose

Unfavorable psychosocial working conditions are hypothesized to lead to perceived stress, which, in turn, can be related to an increased risk of development of neck/shoulder symptoms through increased and sustained muscle activation. The aim of the present study was to test this hypothesized process model among medical secretaries, a female-dominated profession characterized by a high amount of visual display unit use and a high prevalence of neck/shoulder symptoms.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire survey was conducted among medical secretaries (n = 200). The proposed process model was tested using a path model framework.

Results

The results indicate that high work demands were related to high perceived stress, which in turn was related to a high perceived muscle tension and neck/shoulder symptoms. Low influence at work was not related to perceived stress, but was directly related to a high perceived muscle tension.

Conclusions

In general, these cross-sectional results lend tentative support for the hypothesis that adverse psychosocial work conditions (high work demands) may contribute to the development of neck/shoulder symptoms through the mechanism of stress-induced sustained muscular activation. This process model needs to be further tested in longitudinal studies.     

Psychosocial determinants of quality of life in parents of obese children seeking inpatient treatment

Purpose

To examine and identify predictors of parental health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a sample of obese and very obese children participating in an inpatient program for treating obesity.

Methods

Data are part of a prospective multicenter randomized-controlled intervention trial. Parents (n = 463) of obese and very obese children (7–13 years) completed standardized questionnaires assessing their own and their child’s HRQoL, psychosocial functioning, demographics and parental weight-specific self-efficacy on the child’s admission to an inpatient pediatric weight management program. Weight and height of the children were measured by trained personnel; parental weight was assessed via self-report.

Results

Parents reported lower mental HRQoL compared to healthy adults and even lower than reference values for acute or chronic illness. With respect to physical HRQoL, parents of obese children reported higher scores than both groups. Effect sizes were small to medium. Overweight parents reported a lower physical HRQoL. Mental HRQoL was higher for married parents with a higher educational level and a higher self-efficacy and for those whose children depicted fewer behavioral problems and reported a higher HRQoL. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that weight-specific self-efficacy explained 3 % of variance in mental HRQoL in addition to the demographic and child psychosocial variables. Parental self-efficacy also partially mediated the association between the child’s HRQoL and parental mental HRQoL.

Conclusion

Childhood obesity is associated with reduced parental HRQoL. Interventions for obesity in children should consider the parents’ psychosocial situation as well. Enhancing parental self-efficacy may be a promising approach.     

Changes in knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of Italian university students regarding contraceptive methods and STDs (1998–2008): a cross-sectional study

Aim

The aim of the study is to evaluate changes in opinions and behaviors of university students about sexual attitudes, use and effectiveness of contraceptive methods and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Subjects and methods

The study was carried out through three surveys in 1998, 2003 and 2008. A self-completion questionnaire, divided into three major sections, was administered. The groups were analyzed with the Chi-square test and the multiple logistic regression analysis; the significance level was set at p?<?0.05.

Results

Contraceptive methods were not used by 12.0, 12.5, and 16.2 % of the sample in 1998, in 2003 and 2008 respectively. The condom was the most common method used by responders, followed by the pill; both methods of birth control are also considered the most effective. In 2008, students demonstrated to have a good knowledge about STDs transmission through sexual intercourse and contraceptive use was higher among responders with multiple partners (p?=?0.028), lower in smokers (p=?0.003) and female gender (p?=?0.001).

Conclusion

The results highlight the necessity to activate programs on sex education, on the use of contraceptives and STD prevention. Peer education should also be considered.