Design Thinking Applications in Physical Activity and Exercise Literacy

Various theoretical models of Health Literacy (HL) discuss its importance for behaviour change, supporting long-term health and disease prevention. During the 21st century Physical Activity (PA), Exercise and Sedentariness (SD) have received an increased priority over other health indices for quality of life purposes due to their central importance over metabolic conditions and their comorbidities. This review aims to conceptualise the main issues and challenges of Physical Inactivity (PI) and SD through the new proposals of Design Thinking (DT) which is considered one of the most promising pathways in health promotion. DT is prioritising empathy for service users, brings together collaborative multidisciplinary teams and provides the opportunity to assess various solutions via iterative practices. This chapter: A. provides a review over the efficacy of health promotion strategies during the current era and the urgency of behaviour change in PA and SD for various population segments. B. Explains how HL links self-care practices to PA and SD habits. And C. Presents DT as a new layout for supporting the exploration and feasibility of more active lifestyles for overall health and quality of life

Analyzing M-Service Quality Dimensions Using Multivariate Statistical Techniques

This paper continues previous work of the authors concerning the identification and statistical analysis of the quality dimensions in mobile services (m-services). In this work, the structure of mservice quality into dimensions and criteria, which these dimensions are further analyzed into, is examined and grounded through an empirical analysis. The use of multivariate statistical techniques is decomposed into two stages: in the first stage, Factor Analysis in order to explore the relationship between the examined items (quality criteria) and the constructs (dimensions) proposed through the study of the relevant literature. In the second stage, Cluster Analysis and Principal Component Analysis are employed in order to explore intra-construct relationships. The contribution of this paper lies on the fact that a mix of multivariate statistical techniques is all integrated in a single framework, so that information about the structure of m-service quality criteria and constructs is obtained. The findings of the study confirm the theoretical background and provide valuable managerial insights

Privacy-preserving recommendations in context-aware mobile environments

© Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose - This paper aims to address privacy concerns that arise from the use of mobile recommender systems when processing contextual information relating to the user. Mobile recommender systems aim to solve the information overload problem by recommending products or services to users of Web services on mobile devices, such as smartphones or tablets, at any given point in time and in any possible location. They use recommendation methods, such as collaborative filtering or content-based filtering and use aconsiderable amount of contextual information to provide relevant recommendations. However, because of privacy concerns, users are not willing to provide the required personal information that would allow their views to be recorded and make these systems usable. Design/methodology/approach - This work is focused on user privacy by providing a method for context privacy-preservation and privacy protection at user interface level. Thus, a set of algorithms that are part of the method has been designed with privacy protectionin mind, which isdone byusing realistic dummy parameter creation. Todemonstrate the applicability of the method, arelevant context-aware data set has been used to run performance and usability tests. Findings - The proposed method has been experimentally evaluated using performance and usability evaluation tests and is shown that with a small decrease in terms of performance, user privacy can be protected. Originality/value - This is a novel research paper that proposed a method for protecting the privacy of mobile recommender systems users when context parameters are used

Incorporating personal narratives in positive psychology interventions to manage chronic pain

In this perspective paper, we argue for incorporating personal narratives in positive psychology interventions for chronic pain. Narratives refer to the telling and retelling of events. Narratives detail accounts of events and provide rich, in-depth information on human interactions, relationships, and perspectives. As such, narratives have been used to understand people’s experiences with pain and pain coping mechanisms—as well as to facilitate therapeutic outcomes. Furthermore, narrative research has shown that narration can help restore and promote relief, calm, hope, self-awareness, and self-understanding in chronic pain sufferers. Positive psychology interventions have been successful in improving the lives of people living with chronic pain, but these psychology interventions do not typically incorporate personal narratives. Still, narrative, and positive psychology scholarship foci overlap, as both aim to enhance people’s quality of life, happiness, and well-being, and to promote the understanding of psychosocial strengths and resources. In this article, we provide a rationale for incorporating personal narratives as an agentic form of positive psychology intervention. To that aim, we outline areas of convergence between positive psychology and narrative research and show how combining positive psychology exercises and narration can have additive benefits for pain sufferers. We also show how integrating narration in positive psychology intervention research can have advantages for healthcare research and policy

Baring all : The impact of the hospital gown on recovery and wellbeing for adults living with a heart condition from birth

Background: Despite recent drives to empower patients with person centred health care provisions, the institutionalised acceptance of the hospital gown persists. Research has yet to explore the impact of wearing the hospital gown on patients’ health, wellbeing and recovery. Methods: Two small scale studies were carried out to consider the impact of the hospital gown on wellbeing and recovery among adults with and without chronic health conditions. The first study consisted of conducting in-depth, semi-structured interviews (n = 10) with adults living with life-long chronic health conditions, which were audio-recorded, transcribed and thematic analysis was used to identify themes from the qualitative data. The second study was a cross-sectional, online survey exploring adults’ views (n = 200+) and experiences of the hospital gown. Expected results: Qualitative analysis identified the following master themes: (1) loss of ‘healthy’ identity, (2) symbolic embodiment of the ‘sick’ role, (3) relinquishing control to medical professionals, and (4) vulnerability, disempowerment and embarrassment. Quantitative analysis of the online survey data indicated that adults often reported wearing the hospital gown despite lack of medical necessity. Its design was considered to be not fit for purpose and lacking in dignity. Current stage of work: Completed qualitative data collection and preliminary analysis of data. Data collection for online survey is ongoing. Discussion: The implications of these findings are discussed, emphasising the importance of challenging cultural norms in healthcare since de-humanising aspects of care may contribute adversely impact wellbeing and recovery

Baring all : the impact of the hospital gown on recovery and wellbeing

Background: Despite recent drives to empower patients with person centred health care provisions, the institutionalised acceptance of the hospital gown persists. Research has yet to explore the impact of wearing the hospital gown on patients’ health, wellbeing and recovery. Methods: Two studies were carried out to consider the impact of the hospital gown on wellbeing and recovery among adults with and without chronic health conditions. The first study consisted of conducting in-depth, semi-structured interviews (n = 10) with adults living with life-long chronic health conditions, which were audio-recorded, transcribed and thematic analysis was used to identify themes from the qualitative data. The second study was a cross-sectional, online survey exploring adults’ views (n = 700) and experiences of the hospital gown. Expected results: Qualitative analysis identified the following master themes: (1) loss of ‘healthy’ identity, (2) symbolic embodiment of the ‘sick’ role, (3) relinquishing control to medical professionals, and (4) vulnerability, disempowerment and embarrassment. Quantitative analysis of the online survey data indicated that adults often reported wearing the hospital gown despite lack of medical necessity. Its design was considered to be not fit for purpose and lacking in dignity. Current stage of work: Completed qualitative data collection and preliminary analysis of data. Data collection for online survey is ongoing. Discussion: The implications of these findings are discussed, emphasising the importance of challenging cultural norms in healthcare since de-humanising aspects of care may contribute adversely impact wellbeing and recovery

When patients wear backless gowns, they take on the "sick role" and become dependent' : exploring the perspectives of healthcare professionals

The tenets of dignity, safety and privacy are potentially challenged when patients arerequired to remove their own clothes and wear the hospital gown for medical procedures.The current study aimed to explore healthcare workers’ views (n = 3371) on the utility of thehospital gown and its perceived impact on patient wellbeing using a cross-sectional onlinesurvey with closed and open-ended questions. Findings suggested that the gown was oftenused when it was not medically necessary and that it was perceived to negatively impact onpatient wellbeing (leaving patients feeling uncomfortable, vulnerable, cold, exposed and self-conscious). The majority of healthcare workers suggested alternatives and/or modificationsto the hospital gown in order for it to be more patient centred. Barriers and practicalchallenges in promoting patients wearing their own clothing were identified withrecommendations for improving choice, quality, safety and dignity in patent clothing acrossdiverse healthcare setting

Exploring the effect of the hospital gown on wellbeing: a mixed methods study

Background: The importance of personalised and dignified care is increasingly being recognised in healthcare policy and practice. Despite the known impact of clothing on social identity few studies have considered the impact of hospital clothing on patient wellbeing and recovery. Whilst clothing can empower the wearer, it can also induce psychological distress, feelings of disempowerment and lowered self-esteem. Despite recent drives to empower patients with person centred health care provisions, the institutionalised acceptance of the hospital gown persists. Research has yet to explore the impact of wearing the hospital gown on patients' health, wellbeing and recovery. Methods: Two studies were carried out to consider the impact of the hospital gown on wellbeing and recovery among adults with and without chronic health conditions. The first study consisted of conducting in-depth, semi-structured interviews (n = 10) with adults living with lifelong chronic health conditions, which were audio-recorded, transcribed and thematic analysis was used to identify themes from the qualitative data. The second study was a cross-sectional, online survey exploring adults' views (n = 700) and experiences of wearing the hospital gown. Findings: Qualitative analysis identified the following master themes: (1) loss of 'healthy' identity, (2) symbolic embodiment of the 'sick' role, (3) relinquishing control to medical professionals, and (4) vulnerability, disempowerment and embarrassment. Quantitative analysis of the online survey data indicated that adults often reported wearing the hospital gown despite lack of medical necessity. Its design was considered to be not fit for purpose and lacking in dignity. Interpretation: The implications of these findings for public health policy and practice are discussed, emphasising the importance of challenging cultural norms in healthcare since de-humanising aspects of care, as symbolically represented by the hospital gown, may adversely impact on wellbeing and recovery and increase patient distress. Alternatives to the hospital gown are discussed