Towards a healthier lifestyle for staff of a psychiatric hospital: description of a pilot programme

Various lifestyle factors contribute to morbidity and mortality. Health promotion programs have the potential to increase awareness about, and possibly modify, some of these factors. In the workplace, these programs can be accessed by large groups of people. A healthy lifestyles programme was piloted for non-clinical staff in Central Sydney Area Mental Health Service, Australia. The aim of the programme was to provide non-clinical staff working in a mental health setting with education and information on a range of health conditions and topics. A needs analysis survey, along with formal and informal liaison and discussion, informed the programme's development and implementation. A total of 28 sessions were held; attendance ranged from 1 to 51 with a mean of 13.57 and a median of 12.5. Feedback regarding the programme has generally been positive. This pilot demonstrates that nurses, with their colleagues from other disciplines, are well positioned to deliver health promotion and education initiatives that may contribute to increasing awareness, and possibly modification, of lifestyle factors.     

The role of stress in the relationships between gender and health‐promoting behaviours

Scand J Caring Sci; 2010; 24; 572–580
The role of stress in the relationships between gender and health‐promoting behaviours Studies have shown that in Western societies, women live longer than men. Among other factors, this has been attributed to health behaviours; men engage in health‐risking behaviours, while women perform health‐promoting behaviours. These tendencies were argued to align with cultural notions of masculinity and femininity. There may be some evidence, however, that men and women engage in different types of health‐promoting behaviours, and stress may play a role in these tendencies. This study attempts to examine the various types of health‐promoting behaviours women engage in and compare them to the tendencies of men. Secondly, it examines the mediating role of stress in the relationships between gender and health‐promoting behaviours. The sample was comprised of 402 young Israeli adults. Half were undergraduate university students majoring in social work. The remaining participants were sampled by ‘snowball sampling’. Participants completed a questionnaire containing 63 closed‐ended questions on various health issues. For the purpose of this study, gender, stress and health‐promoting behaviours measures were used. Data were collected over three academic years by the teacher responsible for the course and were received by the author at the end of the data collection phase. The study was approved by the institution’s internal review board. The results indicate that,‐while women engage in ‘type 2 behaviours’‐ refraining from smoking and drinking, eating breakfast regularly and sleeping 7–8 hours per night‐men engage in ‘type 1 behaviours’‐ physical exercise, refraining from snacking, and maintaining an appropriate body mass. We also found that, to some extent, women refrain from ‘type 1 behaviours’ because of their levels of general stress. Our study suggests that the social construction of masculinity and femininity which undermines individuals’ health needs to be challenged and addressed. In particular, the enduring role of stress in women’s health outcomes should be addressed.     

脑瘫患儿父母健康促进生活方式的研究现状

通过回顾健康促进生活方式影响因素的相关研究,阐述脑瘫患儿父母健康促进生活方式的内涵、研究现状及其对心理援助的临床意义,并对未来进行展望.