Although drinking patterns in women have received increased attention, few studies have focused on middle-aged women. Drinking patterns were investigated in a population sample of 513 Swedish women aged 50-59, and analysed in relation to social situation, and mental and physical health. The chi-square test was used to analyse differences in proportions. Variables showing significant differences were entered into a multivariate or multinomial logistic regression model. Abstainers and occasional drinkers had lower levels of education and more often regular medical control compared with weekly drinkers. Furthermore, abstainers more often had disability pension. Among women drinking alcohol, 56.6% affirmed binge drinking within the last year and 39.4% within the last month. Binge drinkers did not differ in terms of social situation, mental or physical health, compared with other drinkers. Drinking to relieve tension was affirmed by 7.2%. These women had more mental symptoms and less contact with friends compared with other drinkers; furthermore, they were more often binge drinkers. Binge drinking was common and health and social consequences of this drinking pattern in middle-aged women need to be further explored. Women drinking to relieve tension may need intervention for both drinking habits and mental health.
There is a high prevalence of smoking and physical inactivity among individuals with severe mental illness (SMI). The current study assessed the acceptability of introducing physical activity, including perceived advantages and disadvantages, as an adjunct to a smoking cessation service within this population.
109 participants with SMI who were receiving smoking cessation treatment completed a survey assessing perceived interest in physical activity and a 24-item decisional balance questionnaire reflecting potential advantages and disadvantages of becoming more physically active.
The majority of the participants reported being interested in assistance in becoming more active [63% (69/109)]. The highest rated advantages reported were 'It would improve my health or reduce my risk of disease' and 'It would improve how I feel about myself'. Cost, and being active by oneself were the most frequently reported barriers.
This study suggests that many individuals with SMI seeking treatment for smoking cessation may also be receptive to assistance in becoming more physically active. Such individuals endorse both advantages and disadvantages more frequently than those not interested.
This study provides preliminary support for the acceptability of adding physical activity as a smoking cessation strategy with SMI individuals. Addressing salient barriers will be critical to integrating physical activity within this smoking cessation service.
This study examined adolescents' attitudes of cosmetic surgery, as well as the relationships between these attitudes, body appreciation, body ideal internalization, and fashion blog reading. The sample comprised 110 (60 boys, 50 girls) late adolescents (mean age 16.9 years) from a Swedish high school. The results indicated that younger adolescents seem somewhat more accepting of cosmetic surgery. This was especially the case for boys' acceptance of social motives for obtaining cosmetic surgery (boys' M=2.3±1.55 vs. girls' M=1.7±0.89). Girls', and to a limited extent boys', internalization of the thin ideal was related to more favorable cosmetic surgery attitudes. Athletic ideal internalization and body appreciation were unrelated to these attitudes. Finally, girls who frequently read fashion blogs reported higher thin ideal internalization, and also demonstrated a slight tendency of more cosmetic surgery consideration.
AIMS: Potential exists for improving the impact of quit-smoking programmes, by recruiting smokers in early motivational stages, by using active recruitment strategies, and by offering professional assistance to quit. METHODS: This was a randomized population-based intervention study, in Copenhagen, Denmark. A total of 2,408 daily smokers in all motivational stages were included. All participants completed a questionnaire, and underwent a health examination and a lifestyle consultation. Smokers in the high-intensity intervention were offered assistance to quit smoking in smoking cessation groups. RESULTS: Before the lifestyle consultation only 11% of the smokers stated that they planned to quit within one month. After the lifestyle consultation 27% accepted smoking cessation in groups and an additional 12% planned to quit without assistance. Of the smokers who accepted smoking cessation groups 23% had not been planning to quit before the lifestyle consultation. Being a woman, having high tobacco consumption, having a long smoking history, having tried to quit within the previous year, and having a higher motivation to quit predicted participation in smoking cessation groups. CONCLUSIONS: It was possible to recruit a large number of smokers in early motivational stages by using active recruitment strategies and by offering assistance to quit. Lifestyle consultations markedly increased the number of smokers willing to try to quit. Smokers preferred assistance to quit in a smoking cessation group to quitting on their own; therefore, it is important to improve recruitment strategies for smoking cessation programmes.
Accessing health services through the back door: a qualitative interview study investigating reasons why people participate in health research in Canada.
Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of British Columbia, Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, Canada. atownsen@exchange.ubc.ca.
Although there is extensive information about why people participate in clinical trials, studies are largely based on quantitative evidence and typically focus on single conditions. Over the last decade investigations into why people volunteer for health research have become increasingly prominent across diverse research settings, offering variable based explanations of participation patterns driven primarily by recruitment concerns. Therapeutic misconception and altruism have emerged as predominant themes in this literature on motivations to participate in health research. This paper contributes to more recent qualitative approaches to understanding how and why people come to participate in various types of health research. We focus on the experience of participating and the meanings research participation has for people within the context of their lives and their health and illness biographies.
This is a qualitative exploratory study informed by grounded theory strategies. Thirty-nine participants recruited in British Columbia and Manitoba, Canada, who had taken part in a diverse range of health research studies participated in semi-structured interviews. Participants described their experiences of health research participation including motivations for volunteering. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using constant comparisons. Coding and data management was supported by Nvivo-7.
A predominant theme to emerge was 'participation in health research to access health services.' Participants described research as ways of accessing: (1) Medications that offered (hope of) relief; (2) better care; (3) technologies for monitoring health or illness. Participants perceived standard medical care to be a "trial and error" process akin to research, which further blurred the boundaries between research and treatment.
Our findings have implications for recruitment, informed consent, and the dichotomizing of medical/health procedures as either research or treatment. Those with low health status may be more vulnerable to potential coercion, suggesting the need for a more cautious approach to obtaining consent. Our findings also indicate the need for boundary work in order to better differentiate treatment and research. It is important however to acknowledge a categorical ambiguity; it is not always the case that people are misinformed about the possible benefits of research procedures (i.e., therapeutic misconception); our participants were aware that the primary purpose of research is to gain new knowledge yet they also identified a range of actual health benefits arising from their participation.
Myocardial infarction (MI) is a traumatic health event and at the same time a transition of vital importance in human life. The purpose of this study was to elucidate recovery patterns after myocardial infarction with regard to the content of patients' experiences. The study used a descriptive design and a qualitative method. Interviews with 16 men and women were performed, and data were subjected to a thematic content analysis. The recovery process had a pattern of ability, restraints, and reorientation. Through self-help and help from others, the mutual sharing of burdens, and clarifying restraints to recovery, the recovery process progressed toward reorientation. New values and motivation for change, as well as a new balance within the self and relationships were found. The MI had been integrated into life and, through the recovery process, patients' attitudes were better focused, leading to an enhanced quality of life.
