Pathways to Wellness
(Asynchronous)
Thriving Versus Surviving: The Mental Health and Well-being of Student Employees During Work Placements View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Maureen Drysdale
Researchers and practitioners agree that gaining work experience while pursuing higher education can significantly ease the transition to full-time employment after graduation by contributing to the acquisition of the skills and qualifications needed by new graduates and required by industry (Campbell & Price, 2016; Freudenberg, Brimble & Cameron, 2011; Leong & Kavanagh, 2013; Rowe, 2017; Schuetze, 2004). Unfortunately, much of this research fails to address variations in students' experiences that impact their mental health and well-being. For example, experiencing bias, discrimination, or exclusion in a work-place setting can negatively impact not only learning and skill acquisition but also mental health and overall wellbeing. This study examined the experiences of student employees during formal work placements and how certain experiences impacted their sense of belonging, self-efficacy, mental health, and overall wellbeing. Valuable knowledge for understanding the complex relationship between experiences in the workplace and how those experiences impact the overall health and wellness of student employees will be presented.
Religiously Oriented Mindfulness for Social Workers: Effects on Mindfulness, Heart Rate Variability, and Personal Burnout View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Regina Trammel
This pilot study explored whether a Moving Pictures Experts Group-3 (MP3) delivery of a Religiously Oriented Mindfulness (ROM) intervention would improve mindfulness, increase cardiac vagal tone, and decrease Personal Burnout for a sample of social workers. To examine the efficacy of such a ROM, pre and posttest data were collected from N = 22 social workers in vivo (at job or university sites) using the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), Heart Rate Variability (HRV), and the Personal Burn-out dimension of the Copenhagen Burnout Scale. Paired-sample t-tests revealed significant differences between pre-and-posttest measures, indicating improvements on all measures with medium to large effect sizes for the MAAS, and HRV, and a smaller effect size for the decrease in Personal Burnout at posttest. ROM is effective in improving mindfulness, increasing HRV, and decreasing Personal Burnout in social workers. The religious nature of this mindfulness intervention, as well as the in vivo nature of this study design is novel in mindfulness studies. The results of this pilot study warrant further exploration of how a religious integration of practices in mindfulness can be effective in improving mindfulness, and self-regulatory function, and preventing burnout in social workers.
Building an Authentic Life from the Ashes of Disruption: How to Use Innerwork to Maintain Wellness During a Global Pandemic View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Chauncey McGlathery
Using the teachings of Carl Jung, as opposed to the traditional Freudian, provides a framework to build an authentic life from our true soul’s blueprint. In my practice as a survivor of the trauma of life as a black man in the Conservative American South, given our continuing social-political quagmire while also advocating for individuals who are managing chronic illness, I have found that authentic life can only emerge only after all the debris of the "Disruption," the event that sends one’s life into chaos, has been cleared. In this paper, I demonstrate how the Jungian practice of Innerwork can be applied to anyone who has experienced a life disruption to regain health and wellness and to find an authentic life. Although disruption disturbs our way of thinking, it also gives us the opportunity to create new wellness practices with a healthier perspective. Wholeness is a reality waiting for us, and it is within our reach.
First Do No Harm: Wind-animated Foliage as a Means of Reducing Stress in Healthcare Spaces View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Kevin Nute, Shane Matsunaga
While research on the health benefits of contact with nature have blossomed over the last three decades, a significant gap still exists between experimental findings and real world applications. The work reported represents an effort to bridge that gap. In addition to the inevitable stresses associated with illness, many healthcare spaces also subject patients and medical staff to two additional but avoidable sources of stress: lack of contact with nature and perceptible change. Potential design-based remedies for these deficiencies are proposed in four common types of healthcare space in which patients are often required to wait for long periods: waiting rooms, examination rooms, outpatient treatment suites, and inpatient bedrooms. The designs proposed apply the findings of published research on the stress-reducing effects of natural indoor animation to these four specific healthcare environments in ways that accommodate both patient and healthcare provider needs. The final planned phase of the work will use electronic questionnaires to measure the effects of animated and static versions of the four room types on the stress levels of both patients and medical staff.
Featured Electromagnetic Pollution - a Technology-based Cause of Male Infertility: Effect of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Dr. Pradeep Kumar
The possible adverse reproductive effects resulting from exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) are of potential public concern. The objective of the present study is to reveal possible effects of electromagnetic fields emitted from a CDMA mobile phone on DNA damage in rat sperms. After the clearance from Institutional Animal Ethical Committee (IAEC) M.D.U. Rohtak, approximately 6 weeks old Swiss albino rats were procured from LLRUVAS, Hisar, Haryana. Rats were housed in plastic cases with 3 per cage in a room maintained at 24 ± 1o C and 50 ± 5 % humidity with an alternating 12 h light-dark cycle. All animals were maintained at an animal care facility according to the guidelines for the use and care of laboratory animals and food and water was available ad libitum. After one week of acclimatization, rats were grouped into 2 experimental groups exposed under electromagnetic radiation emitted from a CDMA mobile phone. Experimental group was exposed to 3hrs exposure followed by 30 minutes rest then again 3 hrs exposure and the control group was kept away from the radiation exposure. Scanning and Transmission Electron microscopic micrograph from both of the groups revealed that the extent of ultrastructural damage was higher in the experimental group as compared to the control group. Further research on the molecular basis of current findings will help us to correlate the radiation exposure from mobile phones and male infertility in a better way.
Suppliers' Food Transport Requirement Compliance to the Food Safety Act for Institutional Government Account: A Case of the New Bilibid Prisons View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Racquel Raymundo
Republic Act 10611 or the Philippine Food Safety Act of 2013 aims to strengthen the food safety regulatory system in the country, primarily focused on the protection of the public from foodborne illnesses and unsanitary or adulterated food. Persons deprived of liberty share the right to safe food. This study aims to critically assess the importance of compliance to the implementing rules and regulations of the RA 10611 specific to suppliers' transportation of raw food materials to the kitchens of biggest prison in the country. A number of methodological and theoretical issues are discussed including implications of the study results and recommendations.
