Health Outcomes

Purpose-The targeted use of standardized outcome measures (SOMs) of mental health in research with older adults who are incarcerated promotes a common language that enables interdisciplinary dialogue, contributes to the identification of disparities and supports data harmonization and subsequent synthesis. This paper aims to provide researchers with rationale for using ''gold-standard'' measures used in research with community-dwelling older adults, reporting associated study sample psychometric indexes, and detailing alterations in the approach or measure. Design/methodology/approach-The authors highlight the mental health of older adults who are incarcerated. They also discuss the benefits of SOMs in practice and research and then identify goldstandard measures of mental health used in research with community-dwelling older adults and measures used in research with older adults who are incarcerated. Finally, the authors provide several recommendations related to the use of SOMs of mental health in research with this population. Findings-Depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder are common among older adults who are incarcerated. Researchers have used a variety of measures to capture these mental health problems, some parallel to those used with community-dwelling samples. However, a more targeted use of SOMs of mental health in research with this population will contribute to important strides in this burgeoning field. Originality/value-This review offers several practical recommendations related to SOMs of mental health in research with older adults who are incarcerated to contribute to a rigorous evidence base and thus inform practice and potentially improve the health and well-being of this population.

Aaron Beck’s insight—that beliefs about one’s self, future, and environment shape behavior—had major implications for health psychology research and practice. Yet, beliefs about one’s environment have remained
relatively understudied. A recent comprehensive empirically-driven effort has led to the identification of 26
primal world beliefs, or primals, (e.g., the world is: harmless vs. threatening, stable vs. fragile, just vs. unjust,
meaningful vs. meaningless, improvable vs. too hard to improve, beautiful vs. ugly). Primals have been theorized
to influence many outcomes of interest to different psychological subdisciplines, and a psychometrically rigorous
effort has developed a Primals Inventory to measure them. In this brief report, we aim to introduce primals’
potential implications for health psychology research and practice. After summarizing primals’ theorized general
function, we illustrate their connection to health processes and outcomes via five illustrative hypotheses. These
hypotheses concern how primals might influence (a) the cardiotoxic stress axis; (b) conserved transcriptional
response to adversity gene expression patterns; (c) health behaviors; (d) treatment effectiveness; and (e) risk of
developing chronic diseases. Further research on primals in relation to health processes and outcomes might lead
to new avenues of scientific inquiry and innovative methods of improving the trajectory of our society’s health
and well-being.

Background
Despite the increasing popularity of activity trackers, little evidence exists that they can improve health outcomes. We aimed to investigate whether use of activity trackers, alone or in combination with cash incentives or charitable donations, lead to increases in physical activity and improvements in health outcomes.

Methods
In this randomised controlled trial, employees from 13 organisations in Singapore were randomly assigned (1:1:1:1) with a computer generated assignment schedule to control (no tracker or incentives), Fitbit Zip activity tracker, tracker plus charity incentives, or tracker plus cash incentives. Participants had to be English speaking, full-time employees, aged 21–65 years, able to walk at least ten steps continuously, and non-pregnant. Incentives were tied to weekly steps, and the primary outcome, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) bout min per week, was measured via a sealed accelerometer and assessed on an intention-to-treat basis at 6 months (end of intervention) and 12 months (after a 6 month post-intervention follow-up period). Other outcome measures included steps, participants meeting 70 000 steps per week target, and health-related outcomes including weight, blood pressure, and quality-of-life measures. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01855776.

Findings
Between June 13, 2013, and Aug 15, 2014, 800 participants were recruited and randomly assigned to the control (n=201), Fitbit (n=203), charity (n=199), and cash (n=197) groups. At 6 months, compared with control, the cash group logged an additional 29 MVPA bout min per week (95% CI 10–47; p=0·0024) and the charity group an additional 21 MVPA bout min per week (2–39; p=0·0310); the difference between Fitbit only and control was not significant (16 MVPA bout min per week [–2 to 35; p=0·0854]). Increases in MVPA bout min per week in the cash and charity groups were not significantly greater than that of the Fitbit group. At 12 months, the Fitbit group logged an additional 37 MVPA bout min per week (19–56; p=0·0001) and the charity group an additional 32 MVPA bout min per week (12–51; p=0·0013) compared with control; the difference between cash and control was not significant (15 MVPA bout min per week [–5 to 34; p=0·1363]). A decrease in physical activity of −23 MVPA bout min per week (95% CI −42 to −4; p=0·0184) was seen when comparing the cash group with the Fitbit group. There were no improvements in any health outcomes (weight, blood pressure, etc) at either assessment.

Interpretation
The cash incentive was most effective at increasing MVPA bout min per week at 6 months, but this effect was not sustained 6 months after the incentives were discontinued. At 12 months, the activity tracker with or without charity incentives were effective at stemming the reduction in MVPA bout min per week seen in the control group, but we identified no evidence of improvements in health outcomes, either with or without incentives, calling into question the value of these devices for health promotion. Although other incentive strategies might generate greater increases in step activity and improvements in health outcomes, incentives would probably need to be in place long term to avoid any potential decrease in physical activity resulting from discontinuation.

Funding
Ministry of Health, Singapore.

Afterlife beliefs are common, may affect health outcomes, and are relevant to clients’ relationships. Unfortunately, these beliefs are generally neglected in the psychospiritual literature and in most published religion and spirituality (RS) tools and assessments. Here, an afterlife assessment guide is introduced that incorporates the recommended two-phase RS assessment approach and provides introductory guidelines for mental health professionals (MHPs) to competently assess and address afterlife beliefs and spiritual experiences in the psychotherapy setting. The SRRT consists of sets of sample questions organized around four concepts (Significance, Relationships, Resources, and Treatment). It can be used by MHPs to determine if any afterlife beliefs or experiences of significance may be impacting the client’s well-being or relationships; the MHP can then assess possible afterlife-related resources and tailor specific forms of treatment. The development of the SRRT was informed by current bereavement models, trauma-informed approaches, and ethical practice guidelines for MHPs. Ideally, the SRRT will also serve as an initial resource for MHPs to collaborate and reach consensus regarding assessing and addressing afterlife beliefs and spiritual experiences.

Dance movement therapists face many challenges in implementing effective assessment practices, particularly a dearth of accessible assessment frameworks and functional tools that enable practitioners to collect data. Technological advances are as yet under-utilised in assessment processes. This article introduces Marking the Moves, an iPad app developed to expedite assessment of outcomes of dance movement therapy programs, and discusses pilot trials of its first applications in practice. This app is based on the Framework for Dance Movement Assessment devised by the authors for dance movement therapy programs for clients with disability, including intellectual disability, that measures progress across domains of physical, cognitive, emotional, personal and interpersonal growth. Findings of preliminary trials with therapists and peer professionals in two countries indicate favourable response to the app and its potential for use by dance movement therapists in different contexts and client groups.

Over the past half-century we have witnessed a gradual trend towards increased globalization. This phenomenon
includes such diverse processes as the greater mobility of capital, goods, and services, as well as increasing
diffusion of ideas, technology, and norms. Given the ubiquitous and multi-faceted nature of globalization, we
evaluate the effect of economic, social, and political global integration on a particularly important outcome –
human well-being. Theoretically, we argue that globalization has a large number of different effects on human
well-being, including multiple positive effects and multiple negative effects. Empirically, we analyze the impact
of globalization on well-being using a pooled data set, including 132 countries over the time period 1970–
2007. We find that, on balance, all three forms of globalization positively affect well-being.

The study explored the lockdown and quarantine on the perceived psychological distress and other life outcomes of children after the outbreak of COVID-19 in recent past. The study employed the Narrative Thematic Research Design and chose a heterogeneous sample of 20 full-time mothers to report the experiences of the restrictions of their children aged 9-11 years. These mothers were the primary source of data about the impacts of lockdown and quarantine on their children. A telephonic semi-structured interview protocol was used to collect data. Four themes were generated: poor social and emotional responsivity, decreased interest in studies and other creative activities, psychological distress symptoms and negative health outcomes. Anxiety, irritation, quarrelling behaviours, anger, frustration, low feeling, reduced interest in games, boredom etc. were observed in children. Sleep disturbances, complaints of indigestion and multiple complaints of body aches were major negative health outcomes. The findings showed a variety of negative psychological and health outcomes for children due to the extreme restrictions, uncertainty, apprehension, reduced positive engagement and lowered social connection after the outbreak of the pandemic. Preventive and protective measures are recommended with concerted efforts of parents, school and community to guard children against the ill-consequences of current and future pandemics.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to establish the psychometric properties of 22 measures from a community-based participatory research (CBPR) conceptual model. Design. The design of this study was an online, cross-sectional survey of academic and community partners involved in a CPBR project. Setting. CPBR projects (294) in the United States with federal funding in 2009. Subjects. Of the 404 academic and community partners invited, 312 (77.2%) participated. Of the 200 principal investigators/project directors invited, 138 (69.0%) participated. Measures. Twenty-two measures of CBPR context, group dynamics, methods, and health-related outcomes were examined. Analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis to establish factorial validity and Pearson correlations to establish convergent and divergent validity were used. Results. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated strong factorial validity for the 22 constructs. Pearson correlations (p , .001) supported the convergent and divergent validity of the measures. Internal consistency was strong, with 18 of 22 measures achieving at least a .78 Cronbach a. Conclusion. CBPR is a key approach for health promotion in underserved communities and/or communities of color, yet the basic psychometric properties of CBPR constructs have not been well established. This study provides evidence of the factorial, convergent, and discriminant validity and the internal consistency of 22 measures related to the CBPR conceptual model. Thus, these measures can be used with confidence by both CBPR practitioners and researchers to evaluate their own CBPR partnerships and to advance the science of CBPR. (Am J Health Promot 2015;29[5]:e188–e202.)

the Covirus response has meant that many telephone medical consultations are now taking place. However, many Indigenous patients find these dificult because of their mild to moderate conductive hearing loss that is a result of childhood ear disease. This paper discusses this issue and how communication and health outcomes can be improved despite hearing loss.

Many children and adolescents with physical disability use assistive technology for a range of health, education, employment and participation outcomes. In preparing children to transition to adult-oriented health care services, transition readiness assessment instruments are used to guide service provision. However, the extent to which transition readiness assessment instruments address assistive technology is not known. The purpose of this study is to identify and assess published transition readiness instruments for their inclusion of assistive technology. A scoping review was conducted using a published methodology. Identified transition readiness assessment instruments, and associated publications, were scanned for the keywords assistive technology device, product and equipment. A total of 25 publications, and 23 associated transition readiness assessment instruments, were identified. The terms equipment, medical equipment, life support equipment, durable equipment (associated with the medical condition), and safety equipment (for recreational activities) were identified in four instruments and publications. None of the remaining terms were identified. Transition readiness assessment instruments do not appear to sufficiently address assistive technology for adolescents with physical disability. Further research is needed to guide assistive technology-related service provision during transition.