Dataset Information

Advancing health promotion through massage therapy practice: A cross-sectional survey study.

ABSTRACT: The human resources needed to provide health promotion services to improve health behaviors in populations are currently limited. Health promotion and education is included in the definition of massage therapy, and many within the massage therapy profession understand that health promotion and education are a part of massage therapy practice. However, the amounts and types of health promotion activities in massage therapy practice have not been thoroughly explored. The objective of this study was to investigate the current attitudes, practices, and barriers toward providing health promotion in a national sample of practicing massage therapists. A descriptive cross-sectional survey disseminated May to August 2016 to practicing massage therapists in the United States. The majority (90.2%) of the 182 participants agree or strongly agree that it is important for massage therapists to provide health promotion. Therapists with less favorable attitudes about providing health promotion reported more barriers to providing the messages to their patients. Barriers to providing health promotion included a lack of guidelines, knowledge, and skills. Training and guidelines for massage therapists regarding health promotion would be a reasonable next step for future research development. Utilizing massage therapists as health promoters may provide opportunities to deliver more prevention messages to patients which may impact public health.

SUBMITTER: Kennedy AB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6030570 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Advancing health promotion through massage therapy practice: A cross-sectional survey study.

Kennedy Ann Blair AB Cambron Jerrilyn A JA Dexheimer Jennifer M JM Trilk Jennifer L JL Saunders Ruth P RP

Preventive medicine reports 20180511

The human resources needed to provide health promotion services to improve health behaviors in populations are currently limited. Health promotion and education is included in the definition of massage therapy, and many within the massage therapy profession understand that health promotion and education are a part of massage therapy practice. However, the amounts and types of health promotion activities in massage therapy practice have not been thoroughly explored. The objective of this study wa ...[more]

PMID: 29984138

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Project description:OBJECTIVES:Despite the popularity of yoga and evidence of its positive effects on physical and mental health, little is known about yoga practice in the UK. This study investigated the characteristics of people who practise yoga, reasons for initiating and maintaining practice, and perceived impact of yoga on health and well-being. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS:A cross-sectional online anonymous survey distributed through UK-based yoga organisations, studios and events, through email invites and flyers. 2434 yoga practitioners completed the survey, including 903 yoga teachers: 87% were women, 91% white and 71%?degree educated; mean age was 48.7 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Perceived impact of yoga on health conditions, health outcomes and injuries. Relationships between yoga practice and measures of health, lifestyle, stress and well-being. RESULTS:In comparison with national population norms, participants reported significantly higher well-being but also higher anxiety; lower perceived stress, body mass index and incidence of obesity, and higher rates of positive health behaviours. 47% reported changing their motivations to practise yoga, with general wellness and fitness key to initial uptake, and stress management and spirituality important to current practice. 16% of participants reported starting yoga to manage a physical or mental health condition. Respondents reported the value of yoga for a wide range of health conditions, most notably for musculoskeletal and mental health conditions. 20.7% reported at least one yoga-related injury over their lifetime. Controlling for demographic factors, frequency of yoga practice accounted for small but significant variance in health-related regression models (p<0.001). CONCLUSION:The findings of this first detailed UK survey were consistent with surveys in other Western countries. Yoga was perceived to have a positive impact on physical and mental health conditions and was linked to positive health behaviours. Further investigation of yoga's role in self-care could inform health-related challenges faced by many countries.

Project description:BACKGROUND: Relatively little knowledge is available to date about health literacy among the general population in Europe. It is important to gain insights into health literacy competences among the general population, as this might contribute to more effective health promotion and help clarify socio-economic disparities in health. This paper is part of the European Health Literacy Survey (HLS-EU). It aims to add to the body of theoretical knowledge about health literacy by measuring perceived difficulties with health information in various domains of health, looking at a number of competences. The definition and measure of health literacy is still topic of debate and hardly any instruments are available that are applicable for the general population. The objectives were to obtain an initial measure of health literacy in a sample of the general population in the Netherlands and to relate this measure to education, income, perceived social status, age, and sex. METHODS: The HLS-EU questionnaire was administered face-to-face in a sample of 925 Dutch adults, during July 2011. Perceived difficulties with the health literacy competences for accessing, understanding, appraising and applying information were measured within the domains of healthcare, disease prevention and health promotion. Multiple linear regression analyses were applied to explore the associations between health literacy competences and education, income, perceived social status, age, and sex. RESULTS: Perceived difficulties with health information and their association with demographic and socio-economic variables vary according to the competence and health domain addressed. Having a low level of education or a low perceived social status or being male were consistently found to be significantly related to relatively low health literacy scores, mainly for accessing and understanding health information. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived difficulties with health information vary between competences and domains of health. Health literacy competences are associated with indicators of socio-economic position and with the domain in which health information is provided.

Project description:BackgroundMedical practices, which are businesses through which one or more physicians treat patients, have likely not yet taken full advantage of the reach of social media. This study analyzed data collected using an anonymous survey to assess the potential utilization of large, established social media platforms in health care. The survey collected data from a diverse population of health care professional students, faculty, and physicians affiliated with the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC). This study provides significant, actionable data to more efficiently implement a social media strategy focused on age to help developing private practices and outpatient clinics from the perspective of those with experience in the field of medicine.ObjectiveThis cross-sectional, exploratory, descriptive study aims to explore the most effective strategies to use social media based on patient age to bring further success to a medical practice.MethodsData were gathered from an anonymous, peer-validated Qualtrics survey created by the corresponding authors based on the recommendations from a panel of experts including executive leadership at TTUHSC. The survey used a variety of question styles to measure differences between social media platforms, including frequency of use, current and future implications in medicine, and comfort in a health care setting. The sample population included students, interns, faculty, and physicians affiliated with the TTUHSC located throughout West Texas.ResultsThe anonymous survey included 673 individuals from several different age groups predetermined at the beginning of the study. There were 154 respondents aged between 18 and 25 years, 171 aged between 26 and 35 years, 133 aged between 36 and 45 years, 104 aged between 46 and 55 years, and 111 aged between 56 and 89 years. The sample population also has a variety of educational achievements. The respondents were grouped based on the highest level of education attained, and this included 23.5% (n=158) of respondents who earned a high school diploma, 42% (n=283) who earned a bachelor's degree, 17.1% (n=115) who earned a master's degree, and 17.4% (n=117) who earned a doctorate degree.ConclusionsAs social media continues to gain momentum, efficient utilization of the available platforms can help medical practices achieve larger patient populations and deliver more personalized care. However, privacy and security concerns should be considered while using social media in health care settings. Although this study demonstrated overwhelming interest in using social media in the medical field across all age groups, adoption willingness appears to be higher in younger respondents than in older respondents. Facebook was the most widely accepted social media platform in health care settings among all age groups. Nonetheless, other social media platforms could potentially be used more effectively depending on the age range of the targeted patient population.

Dataset Information

Advancing health promotion through massage therapy practice: A cross-sectional survey study.

Publications

Advancing health promotion through massage therapy practice: A cross-sectional survey study.

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