Social science & medicine
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Social science & medicine · Jan 2006
Barriers to healthy eating amongst men: a qualitative analysis.
Currently, little is known about the meanings men attach to food or to the links between food and health. The burgeoning literature on men's health highlights forms of masculinity (e.g. risk-taking, invulnerability) as a factor (negatively) influencing men's health practices. The aim of this study was to provide an analysis of men's accounts of food and health using concepts pertaining to masculinity. ⋯ Our findings suggest two principal barriers to healthy eating in men: cynicism about government health messages and a rejection of healthy food on grounds of poor taste and inability to satisfy. These findings are discussed in relation to masculine ideals such as rationality, autonomy and strength. The implications of our analysis for future research and men's health promotion policy are discussed.
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Social science & medicine · Jan 2006
Social and psychological resources and health outcomes after the World Trade Center disaster.
Previous studies on community disasters tend to assess non-representative samples and use nonstandard measures of well-being. Additionally, few of these studies are longitudinal in design. In this report, we examine the consequences of the World Trade Center Disaster (WTCD) within a stress model perspective to assess level of exposure to the disaster and well-being after this event, as measured by the SF12 mental health and physical health scales. ⋯ Results also indicated that experiencing a panic attack, negative life events, or traumatic events were related to poorer physical health. Respondents who met screening criteria for possible alcohol dependence post-disaster, experienced negative life events, or experienced traumatic events, were more likely to suffer from poorer mental health compared to those who did not meet the criteria, experience negative life events or experience traumas. We discuss these findings relative to community disasters in industrialized and developing countries.
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Social science & medicine · Jan 2006
Patients' and healthcare providers' understandings of life-sustaining treatment: are perceptions of goals shared or divergent?
In this cross-sectional qualitative study, researchers performed in-depth, semistructured interviews with 30 pairs of patients and their primary care providers in an outpatient clinic of a large, urban Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center in the United States. During audiotaped interviews to assess their understanding of advance directive concepts, participants were asked what "life-sustaining treatment" means to them and why they think of it in the way they do. The findings indicate that patients and providers in the United States tend to view and discuss life-sustaining treatment in terms of four goals for end-of-life care: (1) extending the length of life, (2) improving the quality of life, (3) maintaining or improving specific biological functions, and (4) assisting the body for a temporary period of time. ⋯ Many providers indicated that they struggle with conflicting quality-based and physiologic care goals. The findings highlight the importance of eliciting patient preferences not only for specific types of treatment, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but also for end-of-life care goals or desired health-related outcomes, such as maximizing the quantity of life. The findings also suggest that advance directives and patient-provider discussions that focus on acceptable health states and valued life activities may be better suited to patients' end-of-life care goals than those that focus on specific medical interventions.