scholarly journals Compassionate Embodied Virtual Experience Increases the Adherence to Meditation Practice

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1276
Author(s):  
Jaime Navarrete ◽  
Marian Martínez-Sanchis ◽  
Miguel Bellosta-Batalla ◽  
Rosa Baños ◽  
Ausiàs Cebolla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Prosocial Behavior ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Implicit Measure ◽  
Meditation Practice ◽  
Virtual Experience ◽  
The Mind ◽  
At Home

Virtual Reality (VR) could be useful to overcome imagery and somatosensory difficulties of compassion-based meditations given that it helps generate empathy by facilitating the possibility of putting oneself into the mind of others. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an embodied-VR system in generating a compassionate response and increasing the quality and adherence to meditation practice. Health professionals or healthcare students (n = 41) were randomly assigned to a regular audio guided meditation or to a meditation supported by an embodied-VR system, “The machine to be another”. In both conditions, there was an initial in-person session and two weeks of meditation practice at home. An implicit measure was used to measure prosocial behavior, and self-report questionnaires were administered to assess compassion related constructs, quality of meditation, and frequency of meditation. Results revealed that participants from the embodied-VR condition meditated for double the amount of time at home than participants who only listened to the usual guided meditation. However, there were no significant differences in the overall quality of at-home meditation. In conclusion, this study confirms that embodied-VR systems are useful for increasing adherence to meditation practice.

scholarly journals Compassionate Embodied Virtual Experience Increases the Adherence to Meditation Practice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ausias Cebolla Marti ◽  
Rosa M. Baños ◽  
Jaime Navarrete
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Prosocial Behavior ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Implicit Measure ◽  
Meditation Practice ◽  
Virtual Experience ◽  
The Mind ◽  
At Home

Virtual Reality (VR) could be useful to overcome imagery and somatosensory difficulties of compassion-based meditations given that it helps generate empathy by facilitating the possibility of putting oneself into the mind of others. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an embodied-VR system in generating a compassionate response and increasing the quality and adherence to meditation practice. Health professionals or healthcare students (n = 41) were randomly assigned to a regular audio guided meditation or to a meditation supported by an embodied- VR system, “The machine to be another”. In both conditions, there was an initial in-person session and two weeks of meditation practice at home. An implicit measure was used to measure prosocial behavior, and self-report questionnaires were administered to assess compassion related constructs, quality of meditation, and frequency of meditation. Results revealed that participants from the embodied-VR condition meditated for double the amount of time at home than participants who only listened to the usual guided meditation. However, there were no significant differences in the overall quality of at-home meditation. In conclusion, this study confirms that embodied-VR systems are useful for increasing adherence to meditation practice.

scholarly journals Investigating healthcare professionals’ views regarding the quality of provided healthcare services

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 38-50
Author(s):  
Agoritsa Koulouri
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Personalized Care ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The Way

Introduction: Quality in healthcare services means doing the right things, making continuous improvements in order to get the best results, being interested in satisfying both healthcare providers and recipients. Aim: To investigate the views of health professionals on the quality of the provided health and social care services. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out on healthcare professionals working in public and private healthcare organizations in December 2017 and January 2018. In total, the study involved 155 healthcare professionals who answered 25 questions on the dimensions of quality and the way they perceive the quality of the provided healthcare to its recipients. Data were collected using a structured anonymous self-report questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed with the SPSS 24.0 statistical package. Results: The majority of the sample was female (75%) with higher education (44.5%) holding a master’s or doctorate degree (45.2%). Participants (86%) consider integral to providing quality healthcare services a combination of appropriate patient care that was linked to a framework of continuous evaluation, control and improvement even after treatment ended. Furthermore, as healthcare quality characteristics are considered the healthcare professional’s satisfaction of their relationship with the user of the services regarding the amount of information provided to the later and the provision of personalized services (>80%). In addition, empathy of health professionals (82%), compliance with the standards and quality of procedures (68%) are qualitative parameters. Conclusions: The way healthcare professionals perceive the quality of customer/user interaction with healthcare services, empathy, personalized care and long-term utility are among the most important quality parameters of health services.

scholarly journals Fatigue and Hepatitis C: a focus group study

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Spataro ◽  
Sophie Afdhal ◽  
Ali A. Weinstein ◽  
Carey Escheik ◽  
Patrick Austin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatitis C ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Personal Satisfaction ◽  
Hepatitis C Infection ◽  
Focus Group Study ◽  
Everyday Activities ◽  
Group Sessions

Fatigue is often undiagnosed by health professionals as it is still seen as a nonspecific symptom without standard evaluations and effective treatments. Fatigue is present across many different diseases and has a profound effect on the quality of life of patients. However, it is still difficult to measure because of the lack of specificity of currently used self-report instruments. Patients with chronic hepatitis C infection, (HCV), experience fatigue as one of the most debilitating symptoms. The purpose of this study was to explore the types and dimensions of fatigue experienced by patients with HCV, identify specific terms they use to describe fatigue and assess how it influences everyday activities. Sixteen individuals with HCV (56% female, aged 58.1 ± 3.7 years) participated in three focus group sessions. The focus group sessions lasted between 60 and 90 minutes and were digitally recorded via audiotapes. Recorded focus groups’ audiotapes were analyzed through thematic analyses. The analysis suggested two primary categories of fatigue experiences. These were: capacity and engagement in activity. Capacity refers specifically to an individual’s sense of how much energy they have to do life activities or their maximum ability to produce energy. The word energy is the ability to perform work and includes one’s ability to access or utilize, expend, and restore it. The phrase engagement in activity, comprised two domains: initiation (getting started or being motivated) and personal satisfaction (value of the activity). This investigation helped to identify important domains of fatigue experienced by those with HCV. The findings augment our current understanding of fatigue for this group because the domains of fatigue and the terms used to describe it are not commonly represented in the most frequently used fatigue assessments.

Facing a Patient Who Seeks Help After a Suicide Attempt

Crisis ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inês Areal Rothes ◽  
Margarida Rangel Henriques ◽  
Joana Barreiros Leal ◽  
Marina Serra Lemos
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Suicidal Patient ◽  
Emotional Difficulties ◽  
Specific Training ◽  
Patient Suicide ◽  
Professional Groups ◽  
Professional Characteristics ◽  
Suicidal Patients

Background: Although intervention with suicidal patients is one of the hardest tasks in clinical practice, little is known about health professionals’ perceptions about the difficulties of working with suicidal patients. Aims: The aims of this study were to: (1) describe the difficulties of professionals facing a suicidal patient; (2) analyze the differences in difficulties according to the sociodemographic and professional characteristics of the health professionals; and (3) identify the health professionals’ perceived skills and thoughts on the need for training in suicide. Method: A self-report questionnaire developed for this purpose was filled out by 196 health professionals. Exploratory principal components analyses were used. Results: Four factors were found: technical difficulties; emotional difficulties; relational and communicational difficulties; and family-approaching and logistic difficulties. Differences were found between professionals who had or did not have training in suicide, between professional groups, and between the number of patient suicide attempts. Sixty percent of the participants reported a personal need for training and 85% thought it was fundamental to implement training plans targeted at health professionals. Conclusion: Specific training is fundamental. Experiential and active methodologies should be used and technical, relational, and emotional questions must be included in the training syllabus.

In Search of the Prosocial Personality

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Wertag ◽  
Denis Bratko
Keyword(s):  
Prosocial Behavior ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Dark Triad ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. Prosocial behavior is intended to benefit others rather than oneself and is positively linked to personality traits such as Agreeableness and Honesty-Humility, and usually negatively to the Dark Triad traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy). However, a significant proportion of the research in this area is conducted solely on self-report measures of prosocial behavior. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between prosociality and the basic (i.e., HEXACO) and dark personality traits, comparing their contribution in predicting both self-reported prosociality and prosocial behavior. Results of the hierarchical regression analyses showed that the Dark Triad traits explain prosociality and prosocial behavior above and beyond the HEXACO traits, emphasizing the importance of the Dark Triad in the personality space.

The Blank in the Mind Questionnaire (BIMQ)

2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Despina Moraitou ◽  
Anastasia Efklides
Keyword(s):  
Negative Affect ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Memory Failure ◽  
Temporary Memory ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Lack Of Knowledge

Metacognitive awareness of memory failure may take the form of the “blank in the mind” (BIM) experience. The BIM experience informs the person of a temporary memory failure and takes the form of a disruption in the flow of consciousness, of a moment of no content in awareness. The aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Blank in the Mind Questionnaire (BIMQ) designed to tap the BIM experience and differentiate it from other memory-related experiences, such as searching but not having in memory a piece of information (i.e., lack of knowledge). The participants (N = 493) were 249 younger adults (18–30 years old) and 244 older adults (63–89 years old) of both genders. Confirmatory factor analysis applied to the BIMQ confirmed a three-factor model with interrelations between the factors. The first factor represented the experience of lack of knowledge, the second represented the experience of BIM, and the third the person’s negative affective reactions to memory failure. The internal consistency of the three factors ranged from Cronbach’s α = .80 to .88. Convergent validity was shown with correlations of the BIMQ factors with self-report measures of cognitive and memory failures, and to the negative-affect subscale of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS).

An Initial Investigation of the Use of Comparative Referents to Assess Social Anxiety

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 367-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura D. Seligman ◽  
Erin F. Swedish ◽  
Jason P. Rose ◽  
Jessica M. Baker
Keyword(s):  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Discriminant Validity ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Injunctive Norms ◽  
Good Reliability ◽  
Convergent And Discriminant Validity ◽  
Excellent Internal Consistency ◽  
Social Quality Of Life ◽  
Comparison Measures

Abstract. The current study examined the validity of two self-report measures of social anxiety constructed using social comparative referent points. It was hypothesized that these comparison measures would be both reliable and valid. Results indicated that two different comparative versions – one invoking injunctive norms and another invoking descriptive norms – showed good reliability, excellent internal consistency, and acceptable convergent and discriminant validity. The comparative measures also predicted positive functioning, some aspects of social quality of life, and social anxiety as measured by an independent self-report. These findings suggest that adding a comparative reference point to instructions on social anxiety measures may aid in the assessment of social anxiety.

The Vietnamese Version of the Health-related Quality of Life Measure for Children with Epilepsy (CHEQOL-25): Reliability

MedPharmRes ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-14
Author(s):  
Tri Doan ◽  
Tuan Tran ◽  
Han Nguyen ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Health Related Quality ◽  
Life Measure ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Parent Proxy

Purpose: This study aimed to translate and culturally adapt the self-report and parent-proxy Health-Related Quality of Life Measure for Children with Epilepsy (CHEQOL-25) into Vietnamese and to evaluate their reliability. Methods: Both English versions of the self-report and parent-proxy CHEQOL-25 were translated and culturally adapted into Vietnamese by using the Principles of Good Practice for the Translation and Cultural Adaptation Process. The Vietnamese versions were scored by 77 epileptic patients, who aged 8–15 years, and their parents/caregivers at neurology outpatient clinic of Children Hospital No. 2 – Ho Chi Minh City. Reliability of the questionnaires was determined by using Cronbach’s coefficient α and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Results: Both Vietnamese versions of the self-report and parent-proxy CHEQOL-25 were shown to be consistent with the English ones, easy to understand for Vietnamese children and parents. Thus, no further modification was required. Cronbach’s α coefficient for each subscale of the Vietnamese version of the self-report and parent-proxy CHEQOL-25 was 0.65 to 0.86 and 0.83 to 0.86, respectively. The ICC for each subscale of the self-report and parent-proxy CHEQOL-25 was in the range of 0.61 to 0.86 and 0.77 to 0.98, respectively. Conclusion: The Vietnamese version of the self-report and parent-proxy CHEQOL-25 were the first questionnaires about quality of life of epileptic children in Vietnam. This Vietnamese version was shown to be reliable to assess the quality of life of children with epilepsy aged 8–15 years.

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