How populist crisis rhetoric affects voters in Switzerland

Right-wing populism has a long tradition in Switzerland. Nevertheless, only little is known about how populist messages in the media contribute to the success of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) and to the acceptance of the party’s anti-immigration policies. In this study, we combine data from a large media content analysis (including newspapers and TV news shows) with data from a panel-survey in order to address this research gap. Thereby we differentiate between effects driven by the content and the form of right-wing populist communication. While right-wing populist content depicts immigrants and the political elite as a threat to the Swiss people, populist style evokes the sense of a crisis by emotionalizing and dramatizing the message. Populist style is therefore assumed to increase the persuasiveness of populist claims. The results of this study suggest that this is the case only for some voters, while it backfires for others

Effect of counselling during pulmonary rehabilitation on self-determined motivation towards physical activity in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – protocol of a mixed methods study

Background: Physical activity promotion in people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is focus of research and public health. Patient-centred interventions like counselling are promising approaches to help patients reducing sedentary behaviour. Aim of the present study is to investigate if a physical activity counselling program during pulmonary rehabilitation increases physical activity level in daily life in people with COPD. Methods: A two-armed, single blind randomised controlled trial including 56 people with COPD will be conducted in an outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation. Patients will participate in a 12-week-rehabilitation program; individuals randomized to the interventional group will additionally participate in five counselling sessions with a physiotherapist, based on the principles of motivational interviewing. The participants’ physical activity level will be measured using an accelerometer (SenseWear Pro®) before, directly and 3 months after pulmonary rehabilitation. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted to learn more about barriers and facilitators regarding daily physical activity. Discussion: If the strategy successfully improves the physical activity level in people with COPD, counselling might be implemented in pulmonary rehabilitation

The influence of pulmonary rehabilitation and counselling on perceptions of physical activity in individuals with COPD : a qualitative study

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore to what extent a combined counselling and pulmonary rehabilitation program (PR) influences the perception of physical activity (PA) and motivation for behavioral change in PA in individuals with COPD. The results of previous quantitative trial that investigated the effect of this combined treatment on daily PA were inconclusive. It is conjectured that a more targeted tailoring of the counselling and PR intervention could improve its effectiveness. Patients and Methods: Eighteen individuals with COPD (median age 69, 8 females) who had participated in the PneumoReha program were interviewed twice (following PR and at three-month follow-up). These interviews were transcribed and analyzed thematically. Based on the codes thus identified, three categories ‘perception of PA intensity’, ‘quality of motivation to perform PA’, and ‘strategies to cope with barriers’ were used to differentiate ‘types’ of participants. Results: Four different types of COPD individuals were distinguished. Study findings indicate that those individuals who participated in the PR program combined with embedded counselling tended to be more active and intrinsically motivated. Conclusion: A typology of four types of people with COPD was developed, characterized by their perception of activity, individual motivation and strategies for managing barriers. The patients’ physical activity level might be influenced by their concept of physical activity and the quality of motivation. Recognizing patients’ different activity behaviors is important for improving the quality of outpatient PR programs and developing tailored (according to each type) counselling interventions embedded in outpatient PR programs. Clinical Trial Registration: The study was registered on the website of https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ with the identifier NCT02455206 (27/05/2015), as well as on the Swiss National Trails Portal SNCTP000001426 (05/21/2015)

Effect of counselling during pulmonary rehabilitation on self-determined motivation to be physically active for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease : a pragmatic RCT

Background: Counselling is considered to be a promising approach to increasing physical activity (PA) in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of the current study was to investigate whether a PA counselling program for people with COPD, when embedded in a comprehensive outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) program, increased their daily PA. Methods: A two-armed, single blind randomized controlled trial was conducted as a component of a 12-week outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation program. The participants randomized into the intervention group received five counselling sessions, based on the principles of motivational interviewing (MI), with a physiotherapist. The participants’ steps per day and other proxies of PA were measured using an accelerometer (SenseWear Pro®) at baseline, at the end of the PR program, and three months later. The group-by-time interaction effect was analyzed. Results: Of the 43 participants,17 were allocated to the intervention group and 26 to the usual-care control group (mean age 67.9 ± 7.9; 21 (49%) males; mean FEV1 predicted 47.1 ± 18.6). No difference between groups was found for any measure of PA at any point in time. Conclusions: In this study, counselling, based on MI, when embedded in a comprehensive PR program for people with COPD, showed no short-term or long-term effects on PA behavior. To investigate this potentially effective counselling intervention and to analyze the best method, timing and tailoring of an intervention embedded in a comprehensive outpatient PR program, further adequately powered research is needed. Trial registration: Clinical Trials.gov NCT02455206 (05/21/2015), Swiss National Trails Portal SNCTP000001426 (05/21/2015)

Emotionale und kognitive Facetten des Weingenusses: ein medienpsychologisches Experiment

Wein gehört zu den wichtigsten Kulturgütern der westlichen Welt. Die Internationale Organisation für Rebe und Wein verzeichnet in ihrem Weltkonjunkturbericht 2018 einen auf allen Kontinenten stetig wachsenden Weinkonsum, der sich nach einigen Jahren der Stagnation nun auch wieder in den traditionellen europäischen Erzeuger- und Verbraucherländern manifestiert. 141 Millionen Hektoliter Wein wurden 2017 weltweit produziert, um dieser wachsenden Nachfrage gerecht zu werden (OIV, 2018). Es muss nicht gesagt werden, dass sich die weltweit produzierten Weine in ihrer Qualität jeweils sehr stark unterscheiden

How populist crisis rhetoric affects voters in Switzerland

Right-wing populism has a long tradition in Switzerland. Nevertheless, only little is known about how populist messages in the media contribute to the success of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) and to the acceptance of the party’s anti-immigration policies. In this study, we combine data from a large media content analysis (including newspapers and TV news shows) with data from a panel-survey in order to address this research gap. Thereby we differentiate between effects driven by the content and the form of right-wing populist communication. While right-wing populist content depicts immigrants and the political elite as a threat to the Swiss people, populist style evokes the sense of a crisis by emotionalizing and dramatizing the message. Populist style is therefore assumed to increase the persuasiveness of populist claims. The results of this study suggest that this is the case only for some voters, while it backfires for others

Measuring populist attitudes on three dimensions

Theoretically, populism has been conceptualized as a political ideology with three sub-dimensions: anti-elitism attitudes, a preference for popular sovereignty, and a belief in the homogeneity and virtuousness of the people. However, empirical research to date has treated populist attitudes as a unidimensional construct. To address this issue, we propose to conceptualize populist attitudes as a latent higher-order construct with three distinct first-order dimensions. A 12-item inventory was developed using two survey studies conducted in Switzerland in 2014 and 2015. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to test the construct validity of this measure of populist attitudes. The measurement that is proposed allows for a fine-grained study of populist attitudes in the general public

Keep Record! – Zukunftsvision : die standardisierte, elektronische Dokumentation von physiotherapeutischen Leistungen

Gesetze, Verträge mit den Krankenkassen und insbesondere das physiotherapeutische Berufsethos schreiben vor, dass jeder Patientenkontakt (Anamnese, Diagnose, Untersuchung, Untersuchungsergebnis, Befund, Therapie, Wirkung, Aufklärung, Einwilligung und Therapiebericht) elektronisch oder in Papierform dokumentiert und 10 Jahre lang aufbewahrt werden muss. „World Physiotherapy“ und verschiedene nationale Berufsverbände (z. B. USA, England) haben hierzu Leitlinien veröffentlicht. Auch der Deutsche Verband für Physiotherapie (ZVK), physioaustria und physioswiss erwähnen die „Dokumentation“ in ihren Professionsbeschreibungen