| 1. |
- Timpka, Jonathan, et al.
(author)
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Reduced workforce participation 5 years prior to first Parkinson’s disease sick-leave
- 2018
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In: npj Parkinson's Disease. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2373-8057. ; 4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The importance of understanding the prodromal phase of Parkinson’s disease (PD) by systematic recording of prediagnostic symptoms and reductions in body functions has been highlighted. The aim of this study was to investigate whether persons later diagnosed with PD exhibit increased physician-certified sickness absence 1, 2, and 5 years prior to a first sick-leave episode attributed to PD. A case-control study was performed to analyze data from all nontrivial (exceeding 14 days) sick-leave episodes in Sweden between 2008 and 2014. The 537 incident PD sick-leave episodes were identified as PD sick-leave cases and compared to 537 sick-leave controls identified by matching age, sex, and date of the first day of the sick-leave episode. The total sickness absence and sickness absence due to musculoskeletal diagnoses were found to be increased among the PD sick-leave cases from 5 years prior to the first sick-leave episode ascribed to PD when compared to the controls. No differences between PD sick-leave cases and sick-leave controls were found with regard to mental and behavioral diagnoses. We conclude that the capacity to participate in working life is reduced already at the early prediagnostic stages of PD. This finding can be used as a basis for further research into the process of identifying individuals at risk for developing PD, particularly in combination with further investigation into biochemical, genetic, and imaging biomarkers.
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| 2. |
- Addelyan Rasi, Hamideh, et al.
(author)
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Can a psychosocial intervention programme teaching coping strategies improve the quality of life of Iranian women? : A non-randomised quasi-experimental study
- 2013
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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ Publishing Group. - 2044-6055. ; 3:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: To assess whether a psychosocial intervention teaching coping strategies to women can improve quality of life (QOL) in groups of Iranian women exposed to social pressures. Design: Quasi-experimental non-randomised group design involving two categories of Iranian women, each category represented by non-equivalent intervention and comparison groups. Setting: A large urban area in Iran. Participants: 44 women; 25 single mothers and 19 newly married women. Interventions: Seventh-month psychosocial intervention aimed at providing coping strategies. Primary outcome measures: Effect sizes in four specific health-related domains and two overall perceptions of QOL and health measured by the WHOQOL-BREF instrument. Results: Large effect sizes were observed among the women exposed to the intervention in the WHOQOLBREF subdomains measuring physical health (r=0.68; p<0.001), psychological health (r=0.72; p<0.001), social relationships (r=0.52; p<0.01), environmental health (r=0.55; p<0.01) and in the overall perception of QOL (r=0.72; p<0.001); the effect size regarding overall perception of health was between small and medium (r=0.20; not significant). Small and not statistically significant effect sizes were observed in the women provided with traditional social welfare services. Conclusions: Teaching coping strategies can improve the QOL of women in societies where gender discrimination is prevalent. The findings require reproduction in studies with a more rigorous design before the intervention model can be recommended for widespread distribution.
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| 3. |
- Addelyan Rasi, Hamideh, et al.
(author)
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Empowering newly married women in Iran : A new method of social work intervention that uses a client-directed problem-solving model in both group and individual sessions
- 2013
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In: Qualitative Social Work. - London : Sage Publications. - 1473-3250 .- 1741-3117. ; 12:6, s. 765-781
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We set out to assess the processes by which a personal empowerment-oriented intervention based on learning spaces and the Rahyab problem-solving model can help newly married women in Iran to gain more control over their life situations. Learning to use the problem-solving model independently was an important component of this seven months’ educational program. A descriptive field study design based on qualitative methods was employed for data collection and analysis. The analysis of these processes showed how, through group and individual interventions, these women could influence their intimate relationships by altering their thoughts, their management of emotions, and their overt behavior. We invite more research on how empowerment-oriented interventions can be used to support newly married women as a part of family educational programs.
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| 4. |
- Addelyan Rasi, Hamideh, et al.
(author)
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Empowering Single Mothers in Iran : Applying a Problem-Solving Model in Learning Groups to Develop Participants’ Capacity to Improve Their Lives
- 2013
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In: British Journal of Social Work. - Oxford : Oxford University Press. - 0045-3102 .- 1468-263X. ; 43:5, s. 833-852
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Since 2000, a problem-solving model has been taught to the Society for Protecting the Rights of the Child, and teachers and students of social work in two universities in Iran. Since 2006, with the initiation of UNICEF, social workers, psychologists and even some psychiatrists in Iran have been learning this model. In 2008, a group of researchers created an empowerment-oriented psycho-social group and private intervention project to assess whether a group of Iranian single mothers could use this model, which was traditionally used by professionals only, to effectively and independently meet challenges in their own lives. Our results show that all women used the model effectively and, consequently, made more deliberate decisions to improve their life situations. Some of the women succeeded in finding a job and many improved their family relationships. This study suggests that empowerment-oriented social work can help many clients to achieve their goals, and that this psycho-social intervention project can be a useful model for social work in Iran and many other societies.
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| 5. |
- Addelyan Rasi, Hamideh, 1975-
(author)
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Empowering Women in the Middle East by Psychosocial Interventions : Can provision of learning spaces in individual and group sessions and teaching of coping strategies improve women’s quality of life?
- 2013
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Background: This study set out to construct a conceptual framework that can be used in social work with women in the Middle East and other settings where women have limited access to resources, which, as a result, limits their decision-making capacity. The framework has both an empirical and a theoretical base. The empirical base comprises data from two intervention projects among Iranian women: single mothers and newly married women. The theoretical base is drawn from relevant psychological and social work theories and is harmonized with the empirical data. Psychosocial intervention projects, based on learning spaces for coping strategies, were organized to assess if Iranian women could use a problemsolving model (i.e. focused on cognition and emotion simultaneously) to effectively and independently meet challenges in their own lives and improve their quality of life.Methods: Descriptive qualitative and quasi-experimental quantitative methods were used for data collection and analysis. Forty-four single mothers and newly married women from social welfare services were allocated to nonrandomized intervention and comparison groups. The intervention groups were invited to participate in a 7-month psychosocial intervention; the comparison groups were provided with treatment as usual by the social welfare services. The WHOQOL-BREF instrument was used to measure quality of life, comparing each intervention groups’ scores before and after the intervention and with respective comparison groups. In addition, content analysis and constant comparative analysis were performed on the qualitative data collected from the participants before, during and after the intervention.Results: The results of the quasi-experimental study show significant and large effect sizes among the women exposed to the intervention. Small and not statistically significant effect sizes were observed in the women provided with traditional social welfare services. Accordingly, teaching coping strategies can be a means to improve the quality of life of women in societies where gender discrimination is prevalent. The qualitative findings from the Iranian projects illustrate a process of change —socio-cognitive empowerment— with regard to thinking, feeling and acting among women during and after the intervention. The women developed a number of mental capacities essential to coping and life management. All women used the model effectively, and consequently, made more deliberate decisions to improve their life situations.Conclusion: The practical lessons from the Iranian projects highlight the possibilities of empowering women through fostering mindfulness and deliberate decision making as well as achieving consciousness. This study provides provisional evidence that psychosocial intervention projects, based on learning spaces for coping strategies, can help many clients to achieve their goals and improve their quality of life, and that this psychosocial intervention project can be a useful model for social work practice with women in the Middle East. The conceptual framework can help social workers to bridge the gap between theory and practice: that is, to draw from existing social work theories and, through the psychosocial intervention model, better apply this knowledge in their practical work with women in challenging social environments.
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| 6. |
- Addelyan Rasi, Hamideh, et al.
(author)
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Towards a Conceptual Framework for the Socio-Cognitive Empowerment of Women in the Middle East Countries : empirical and theoretical foundations
- 2012
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Summary: This study set out to construct a conceptual framework that can be used in social work with women in the Middle East and other settings where women are consistently limited in their access to resources and, as a result, their decision-making capacity. We employed a qualitative secondary analysis of data from two intervention projects among Iranian women (n=25). Each intervention spanned over seven months, included individual and group sessions, and involved learning an empowerment-oriented problem-solving model. A constant comparative analysis was used to build the conceptual framework.Findings: The practical lessons from the Iranian projects highlight a process of change with regard to thinking, feeling and acting among women during and after the intervention. As the women developed a number of mental capacities essential to coping and life management, we constructed a theoretical proposition, which offers an explanation of their socio-cognitive empowerment. We supplement the basis for these concepts that emerged in this proposition by integrating them with psychological and social work theories into a broader conceptual framework for social work practice.Applications: A conceptual framework has been developed to provide structural support for social work practice with women in the Middle East. This framework can help social workers to bridge the gap between theory and practice; that is, to draw from existing social work theory and, through our model, better apply this knowledge in their practical work with women in challenging social environments.
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| 7. |
- Ahorsu, Daniel Kwasi, et al.
(author)
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Associations Between Fear of COVID-19, Mental Health, and Preventive Behaviours Across Pregnant Women and Husbands : An Actor-Partner Interdependence Modelling
- 2022
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In: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. - : Springer. - 1557-1874 .- 1557-1882. ; 20, s. 68-82
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The present cross-sectional study examined the actor-partner interdependence effect of fear of COVID-19 among Iranian pregnant women and their husbands and its association with their mental health and preventive behaviours during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. A total of 290 pregnant women and their husbands (N = 580) were randomly selected from a list of pregnant women in the Iranian Integrated Health System and were invited to respond to psychometric scales assessing fear of COVID-19, depression, anxiety, suicidal intention, mental quality of life, and COVID-19 preventive behaviours. The findings demonstrated significant dyadic relationships between husbands and their pregnant wives' fear of COVID-19, mental health, and preventive behaviours. Pregnant wives' actor effect of fear of COVID-19 was significantly associated with depression, suicidal intention, mental quality of life, and COVID-19 preventive behaviours but not anxiety. Moreover, a husband actor effect of fear of COVID-19 was significantly associated with depression, anxiety, suicidal intention, mental quality of life, and COVID-19 preventive behaviours. Additionally, there were significant partner effects observed for both the pregnant wives and their husbands concerning all outcomes. The present study used a cross-sectional design and so is unable to determine the mechanism or causal ordering of the effects. Also, the data are mainly based on self-reported measures which have some limitations due to its potential for social desirability and recall biases. Based on the findings, couples may benefit from psychoeducation that focuses on the effect of mental health problems on pregnant women and the foetus.
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| 8. |
- Ahorsu, Daniel Kwasi, et al.
(author)
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Cyberchondria, Fear of COVID-19, and Risk Perception Mediate the Association between Problematic Social Media Use and Intention to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine
- 2022
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In: Vaccines. - : MDPI. - 2076-393X. ; 10:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Vaccination is the most effective way to control the COVID-19 pandemic, but vaccination hesitancy threatens this effort worldwide. Consequently, there is a need to understand what influences individuals' intention to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Restriction of information gathering on societal developments to social media may influence attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination through exposure to disinformation and imbalanced arguments. The present study examined the association between problematic social media use and intention to get the COVID-19 vaccine, taking into account the mediating roles of cyberchondria, fear of COVID-19, and COVID-19 risk perception. In a cross-sectional survey study, a total of 10,843 residents of Qazvin City, Iran completed measures on problematic social media use, fear of COVID-19, cyberchondria, COVID-19 risk perception, and intention to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results showed that there was no direct association between problematic social media use and intention to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Nonetheless, cyberchondria, fear of COVID-19, and COVID-19 risk perception (each or serially) mediated associations between problematic social media use and intention to get a COVID-19 vaccine. These results add to the understanding of the role of problematic social media use in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, i.e., it is not the quantity of social media use per se that matters. This knowledge of the mediating roles of cyberchondria, fear of COVID-19, and COVID-19 risk perception can be used by public health experts and policymakers when planning educational interventions and other initiatives in COVID-19 vaccination programs.
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| 9. |
- Alonso, Juan-Manuel, et al.
(author)
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Preparticipation injury complaint is a risk factor for injury : a prospective study of the Moscow 2013 IAAF Championships.
- 2015
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In: British Journal of Sports Medicine. - : BMJ Publishing Group. - 0306-3674 .- 1473-0480. ; 49:17, s. 1118-U45
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: To determine the health status of athletes before the start of an international athletics championship and to determine whether preparticipation risk factors predicted in-championship injuries.METHODS: At the beginning of the 2013 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships, all registered athletes (n=1784) were invited to complete a preparticipation health questionnaire (PHQ) on health status during the month preceding the championships. New injuries that occurred at the championships were prospectively recorded.RESULTS: The PHQ was completed by 698 (39%) athletes; 204 (29.2%) reported an injury complaint during the month before the championships. The most common mode of onset of preparticipation injury complaints was gradual (43.6%). Forty-nine athletes in the study reported at least one injury during the championships. Athletes who reported a preparticipation injury complaint were at twofold increased risk for an in-championship injury (OR=2.09; 95% CI 1.16 to 3.77); p=0.014). Those who reported a preparticipation gradual-onset injury complaint were at an almost fourfold increased risk for an in-championship time-loss injury (OR=3.92; 95% CI 1.69 to 9.08); p=0.001). Importantly, the preparticipation injury complaint severity score was associated with the risk of sustaining an in-championship injury (OR=1.14; 95% CI 1.06 to 1.22); p=0.001).SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS: About one-third of the athletes participating in the study reported an injury complaint during the month before the championships, which represented a risk factor for sustaining an injury during the championship. This study emphasises the importance of the PHQ as a screening tool to identify athletes at risk of injuries before international championships.
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