Use of the terms "Wellbeing" and "Quality of Life" in health sciences: A conceptual framework

Background and Objectives: The assessment of wellbeing is a top priority in health sciences. The aim of this paper is to review the history of the concept of wellbeing and “Quality of Life” (QoL), and to understand the theories and assumptions that guided this field in order to provide a conceptual framework that may eventually facilitate the development of a formal synset (grouping of synonyms and semantically similar terms) of health-related wellbeing Methods: The history of the concept of wellbeing and QoL was reviewed in order to provide a conceptual framework. Results: Huge differences exist on the definition of “Wellbeing” and its relationship with QoL, “Happiness” and “Functioning” in the health context. From a dimensional perspective, health related wellbeing could be regarded as an overarching construct characterised by asymmetrical polarity, where “wellbeing” embeds the concept of “ill-being” as “health” incorporates de concept of “disease”. Conclusions: A common conceptual framework of these terms may eventually facilitate the development of a formal synset of health-related wellbeing. This terminological clarification should be part of a new taxonomy of health-related wellbeing based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework that may facilitate knowledge transfer across different sectors and semantic interoperability for care management and planningThe research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement numbers 223071 (COURAGE in Europe) and 282586 (ROAMER), from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III-FIS research grant number PS09/00295, and from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation ACI-Promociona (ACI2009-1010 and ACI- 2011-1080). The study was supported by the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos II

Exploring the Association between Welfare State and Mental Wellbeing in Europe: Does Age Matter?

Previous research reports show mixed results regarding the age gradient in population mental wellbeing, which may be linked to the role that welfare states play. In this study, we investigate whether an age gradient exists in relation to the association between welfare state and mental wellbeing within the adult population in Europe. We combine individual level data from Round 6 of the European Social Survey and country level data on welfare state and use multilevel regression analyses to explore population mental wellbeing. Subjective and psychological wellbeing dimensions were analyzed, and different approaches to measuring welfare state were explored, including a regime typology and composite welfare state measures constructed on the basis of a set of eight individual indicators. We found the age gradient for mental wellbeing to differ between welfare states, with the positive impact of the welfare state increasing with age. A universal and generous welfare state seems to be particularly important for older adults, who are also more likely to be in higher need of transfers and services provided by the welfare state.publishedVersio

Adaptació i càlcul de la matriu del bé comú a la Universitat de Barcelona. Curs 2015-2016

Projecte: FBG308603L’economia del bé comú és una nova forma d'organització de les empreses i de l'economia on es tenen en compte les persones i el seu benestar per sobre d’altres interessos. Fruit d’aquest model ha estat creada la matriu del Bé Comú, una eina que serveix per a mesurar l’impacte de les organitzacions des de una perspectiva d’utilitat social. L’objectiu del projecte és l’aplicació de la matriu del Bé Comú a la Universitat de Barcelona. Amb el primer cop d’ull a la matriu, però, les persones implicades al projecte hem considerat que molts dels indicadors i supòsits que s’hi recullen són difícilment aplicables a una institució universitària del sector públic com la UB i, per tant, caldrà una prèvia adaptació de la matriu abans de poder-hi incorporar la informació de la Universitat. A més, la matriu es fonamenta en una sèrie de valors que són esmentats però no definits amb concreció, tasca que considerem que s’hauria de fer prèviament per evitar equívocs interpretatius. De la mateixa manera, s’esmenten els grups de contacte de la organització. Entenem que la UB haurà de començar verificant que, efectivament, aquests grups de contacte s’adapten a la seva realitat i, de ser oportú, incorporar-ne de nous, eliminar algun dels existents o adaptar-los al context universitari

Changes in depression and suicidal ideation under severe lockdown restrictions during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain: a longitudinal study in the general population - RETRACTION

El texto del artículo original se encuentra disponible en http://hdl.handle.net/10486/70204

Built environment and elderly population health: a comprehensive literature review

Global population aging over recent years has been linked to poorer health outcomes and higher healthcare expenditure. Policies focusing on healthy aging are currently being developed but a complete understanding of health determinants is needed to guide these efforts. The built environment and other external factors have been added to the International Classification of Functioning as important determinants of health and disability. Although the relationship between the built environment and health has been widely examined in working age adults, research focusing on elderly people is relatively recent. In this review, we provide a comprehensive synthesis of the evidence on the built environment and health in the elderly

Multimorbidity patterns in a national representative sample of the Spanish adult population.

BACKGROUND: In the context of population aging, multimorbidity has emerged as a growing concern in public health. However, little is known about multimorbidity patterns and other issues surrounding chronic diseases. The aim of our study was to examine multimorbidity patterns, the relationship between physical and mental conditions and the distribution of multimorbidity in the Spanish adult population. METHODS: Data from this cross-sectional study was collected from the COURAGE study. A total of 4,583 participants from Spain were included, 3,625 aged over 50. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to detect multimorbidity patterns in the population over 50 years of age. Crude and adjusted binary logistic regressions were performed to identify individual associations between physical and mental conditions. RESULTS: THREE MULTIMORBIDITY PATTERNS ROSE: 'cardio-respiratory' (angina, asthma, chronic lung disease), 'mental-arthritis' (arthritis, depression, anxiety) and the 'aggregated pattern' (angina, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, cataracts, edentulism, arthritis). After adjusting for covariates, asthma, chronic lung disease, arthritis and the number of physical conditions were associated with depression. Angina and the number of physical conditions were associated with a higher risk of anxiety. With regard to multimorbidity distribution, women over 65 years suffered from the highest rate of multimorbidity (67.3%). CONCLUSION: Multimorbidity prevalence occurs in a high percentage of the Spanish population, especially in the elderly. There are specific multimorbidity patterns and individual associations between physical and mental conditions, which bring new insights into the complexity of chronic patients. There is need to implement patient-centered care which involves these interactions rather than merely paying attention to individual diseases

Impact of multimorbidity on disability and quality of life in the spanish older population

BACKGROUND: Population aging is closely related to high prevalence of chronic conditions in developed countries. In this context, health care policies aim to increase life span cost-effectively while maintaining quality of life and functional ability. There is still, however, a need for further understanding of how chronic conditions affect these health aspects. The aim of this paper is to assess the individual and combined impact of chronic physical and mental conditions on quality of life and disability in Spain, and secondly to show gender trends. METHODS: Cross-sectional data were collected from the COURAGE study. A total of 3,625 participants over 50 years old from Spain were included. Crude and adjusted multiple linear regressions were conducted to detect associations between individual chronic conditions and disability, and between chronic conditions and quality of life. Separate models were used to assess the influence of the number of diseases on the same variables. Additional analogous regressions were performed for males and females. RESULTS: All chronic conditions except hypertension were statistically associated with poor results in quality of life and disability. Depression, anxiety and stroke were found to have the greatest impact on outcomes. The number of chronic conditions was associated with substantially lower quality of life [β for 4+ diseases: -18.10 (-20.95,-15.25)] and greater disability [β for 4+ diseases: 27.64 (24.99,30.29]. In general, women suffered from higher rates of multimorbidity and poorer results in quality of life and disability. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic conditions impact greatly on quality of life and disability in the older Spanish population, especially when co-occurring diseases are added. Multimorbidity considerations should be a priority in the development of future health policies focused on quality of life and disability. Further studies would benefit from an expanded selection of diseases. Policies should also deal with gender idiosyncrasy in certain cases

Positive affect is inversely associated with mortality in individuals without depression

Background: Some studies have analyzed the relation between well-being and mortality but none of them have attempted to disentangle the differential influence that positive affect, negative affect, and evaluative well-being might have on mortality using a longitudinal design in the general population and measuring independently and accurately each component of well-being. The aim of the present study is to assess the association of these well-being components with mortality after adjusting for health and other lifestyle factors and to analyze whether this association is different in people with and without depression. Methods: A nationally representative sample of 4753 people from Spain was followed up after 3 years. Analyses were performed with Cox regression models among the total sample and separately in people with and without depression. Results: In the analyses adjusted for age, sex, and years of education, all three well-being variables showed separately a statistically significant association with mortality. However, after adjustment for health status and other confounders including the other well-being components, only positive affect remained as marginally associated with a decreased risk of mortality in the overall sample [HR = 0.87; 95% CI = 0.73-1.03], in particular among individuals without depression [HR = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.68-0.99]. Conclusion: Positive affect is inversely associated with mortality in individuals without depression. Future research should focus on assessing interventions associated with a higher level of positive affect.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation under grant agreement 635316 (ATHLOS Project), from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement number 223071 (COURAGE in Europe), from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation ACI- Promociona (ACI2009-1010), from the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM) Mental Health and Disability Instruments Library Platform, and from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III-FIS research grants PS09/00295, PS09/01845, PI12/01490, and PI13/00059. Projects PI12/01490 and PI13/00059 have been co-funded by the European Union European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) “A Way to Build Europe.” The study was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM). NMM is supported by the programme “Contratos predoctorales para Formación de Personal Investigador, FPI-UAM,” Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spai