scholarly journals ‘The Feel of the Stones, Sounds of Cars, the Different Smells’: How Incorporating the Senses Can Help Support Equitable Health Promotion

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 108
Author(s):  
Andrew Barnfield

There has been limited consideration to the role of the senses in health promotion regardless of the prominence placed on corporeality in intervention and prevention strategies. Touch as a form of sense-making challenges the representational approaches that characterize health promotion methods to increase participation in physical activity. This paper explores recreational running practices through the sense of touch and is drawn from an in-depth qualitative research project with recreational runners in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. The project examined how recreational running was established and maintained within the city. This paper concludes that there is potential for health promotion to adopt a more open stance towards the study of sensual experiences of the built environment. Insights from approaches attentive to the senses hold promise for agendas and interventions in health promotion practice and intervention.

2014 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  

In Slovenia, the role of general practitioners in counselling physical activity for prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is well recognized. The role of general practitioners in advising healthy lifestyle for individuals who are at risk of developing CVD is formally defined in the National Program for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, which has been running since 2001. Part of the program is counselling on healthy lifestyle including physical activity, performed in all health centres across the country. First a screening and medical examination is performed. In case of higher risk for CVD (>20%) the physician should give advice on the particular risk factor and direct patients to health-education centres, where they can participate in healthy lifestyle workshops lead by health professionals. Physicians and other health professionals who are involved in the implementation of prevention activities within the program need knowledge and skills that are crucial for successful counselling on healthy lifestyle. The educational program “basic education in health promotion and prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases in primary health care/family medicine” consists of two parts. The first part of the training is open to all health professionals working within the program. The second part is intended for health professionals working in health-education workshops. In the last few years a new family practice model has been introduced and disseminated. Some duties of the family physician, including health promotion and counselling, are being transferred to graduate nurses who become part of the family practice team. This new division of work undoubtedly brings many advantages, both in terms of the work organization, and of high-quality patient care. Nevertheless preventive action cannot be fully passed on to graduate nurses. Careful planning and education are needed to ensure a comprehensive approach in healthy life style counselling.


Author(s):  
Sadegh Fathi ◽  
Hassan Sajadzadeh ◽  
Faezeh Mohammadi Sheshkal ◽  
Farshid Aram ◽  
Gergo Pinter ◽  
...  

Along with environmental pollution, urban planning has been connected to public health. The research indicates that the quality of built environments plays an important role in reducing mental disorders and overall health. The structure and shape of the city are considered as one of the factors influencing happiness and health in urban communities and the type of the daily activities of citizens. The aim of this study was to promote physical activity in the main structure of the city via urban design in a way that the main form and morphology of the city can encourage citizens to move around and have physical activity within the city. Functional, physical, cultural-social, and perceptual-visual features are regarded as the most important and effective criteria in increasing physical activities in urban spaces, based on literature review. The environmental quality of urban spaces and their role in the physical activities of citizens in urban spaces were assessed by using the questionnaire tool and analytical network process (ANP) of structural equation modeling. Further, the space syntax method was utilized to evaluate the role of the spatial integration of urban spaces on improving physical activities. Based on the results, consideration of functional diversity, spatial flexibility and integration, security, and the aesthetic and visual quality of urban spaces plays an important role in improving the physical health of citizens in urban spaces. Further, more physical activities, including motivation for walking and the sense of public health and happiness, were observed in the streets having higher linkage and space syntax indexes with their surrounding texture.


2021 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 71-82
Author(s):  
Emilia Bogacka ◽  
Magdalena Fuhrmann

The aim of this paper is to present the significance of the recreational space in Poznań for the physical activity of the city’s residents. The factors considered in the study were the following: the range of possibilities for engagement in paid-for and free-of-charge physical activities, the perceived availability of green areas, the favourite places for physical activity and the role of the neighbourhood and flows in this aspect. The paper presents the results of a survey conducted among 1,244 inhabitants of Poznań in 2017. The respondents positively assessed the possibilities of undertaking physical activity in the context of the city/ space offer. The access to various sports was rated positive, among it the paid activities offered were rated higher than free-of-charge ones. The availability of green areas near the place of residence was assessed as good. Two locations, Cytadela Park and Lake Malta with the surrounding green areas, were the most popular for pursuing physical activity.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 222-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Old

This article calls for an evolution of the nursing role to incorporate time and resources into promoting health through coaching and empowering clients to make healthy life choices. Health promotion practice needs to be incorporated into nursing role descriptions, and nurses must be given the scope to carry out this practice without being distracted by other activities deemed more urgent or important. Integrating this practice may be difficult in a system that itself does not support health promotion or consider it a priority. The health promotion nurse role is one solution to our current health problems and an investment in the wellness of our population. Just as the arena of curative care belongs to the medical profession, the realm of preventive care and health promotion belongs to nurses. This article considers the role of nurses as health promotion practitioners and supports the implementation of a system that focuses on proactive choices and holistic care.


2000 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay Biscomb ◽  
Hilary Matheson ◽  
Natalie D. Beckerman ◽  
Malcolm Tungatt ◽  
Haydn Jarrett

The development and pilot stage of a Sport England programme called GirlSportTM is described. The programme consisted of a magazine and workshop addressing issues surrounding the loss of interest from sport and physical activity amongst adolescent girls. Although teenagers were a clear target market for the programme, it was also designed to be delivered to adult facilitators. Focus groups were undertaken with a select group of 14 & 15-year-old teenage girls and their responses fed into the production of a magazine. The magazine was developed into a supporting workshop. The resources were then utilised in a pilot phase during which the messages and content were evaluated and monitored to assess the effectiveness of the programme. The girls enjoyed an opportunity to reflect about their sport and welcomed the positive messages of women in physical activity. The adults were not surprised by the messages and felt that the content reinforced many of their previously held views. They considered the workshop to be a worthwhile experience and the magazine an interesting read. The comments highlighted in the evaluation are discussed in the context of the cult of femininity and the role of teenage magazines in the construction of successful health promotion messages.


Author(s):  
Robert Zarr ◽  
William Bird

There is a shift in healthcare from treatment of diseases based on the medical model, to a more holistic approach based on prevention and health promotion, using social and environmental factors that impact on an individual to improve their health and prevent disease. This shift is in response to the rapid rise in long-term conditions such as obesity, diabetes, dementia, and mental illness. Healthcare professionals are only slowly adjusting to this shift of healthcare and in this chapter we will look at how the healthcare professional can connect patients with green space to help them increase physical activity and reduce stress. Four initiatives have been used to illustrate how healthcare professionals can engage patients with nature to help tackle the main disease burden.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document