Influence of a community-based stretching intervention on the health outcomes among Korean-Chinese female migrant workers in South Korea: A randomized prospective trial

Health literacy and health care experiences of migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study

Background

Migrant workers are among the most vulnerable populations in society. This study explored the health-literacy experiences of migrant workers in South Korea and how the workers’daily lives have been affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Methods

We conducted a series of semi-structured individual and focus-group interviews with 23 migrant workers (eight Cambodians, six Nepalese, four Sri Lankans, three Bangladeshis, and two Pakistanis) residing in the Daegu and Busan metropolitan areas of South Korea. All interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed using content analysis.

Results

Migrant workers had difficulty accessing and using health care services due, in large part, to linguistic barriers and a lack of an adequate support system. Four main themes were identified: difficulty understanding and using medical services, obtaining necessary health and safety information, the impact of COVID-19, and protecting oneself from becoming infected with COVID-19. Most workers depended on information from social networking services (SNS) and co-workers.

Conclusions

Migrant workers’ difficulty with health care access was exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings suggest the necessity of enhancing migrant workers' health literacy, along with the use of SNS as a viable pathway for sharing health information and resources.

mHealth interventions targeting movement behaviors in Asia: A scoping review

mHealth interventions can promote healthy movement behaviors (physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep). However, recent reviews include few studies from Asia, despite it being home to over 60% of the world population. The aim is to map the current evidence for mHealth interventions targeting movement behaviors in Asia. Six databases were searched up until August 2021. Included studies described an mHealth intervention targeting one or more movement behaviors, delivered in a country/territory in Asia, to a general population. A total of 3986 unique records were screened for eligibility in duplicate. Eighty studies with 1,413,652 participants were included. Most were randomized (38.8%) or quasi-experimental (27.5%) trials. Studies were from 17 countries/territories (out of 55); majority were high- (65.0%) or upper middle-income (28.7%). Physical activity was targeted most often (93.8%), few targeted sedentary behavior (7.5%), or sleep (8.8%). Most targeted one movement behavior (90.0%), and none targeted all three together. Interventions typically incorporated a single mHealth component (70.0%; app, pedometer, text messages, wearable) and were delivered remotely (66.3%). The average intervention length was 121.8 (SD 127.6) days. mHealth interventions in Asia have primarily targeted physical activity in high- and upper middle-income countries. There are few interventions targeting sedentary behavior or sleep, and no interventions in low-income countries.

Development and Clinical Evaluation of a Novel Foot Stretching Robot that Simultaneously Stretches Plantar Fascia and Achilles Tendon for Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis

OBJECTIVE

This paper presents the development and clinical evaluation of a foot stretching robot that simultaneously stretches the plantar fascia and Achilles tendon for the treatment of plantar fasciitis. The therapeutic effectiveness of the robot and feasibility of using metatarsophalangeal joint stiffness as an indicator of recovery were identified through the clinical evaluations.

METHODS

The robot implements an effective foot stretching protocol through a novel mechanism design that simultaneously stretches the plantar fascia and Achilles tendon using a single motor. Thirty patients with plantar fasciitis and fifteen healthy participants volunteered in the cross-sectional clinical evaluation, and nine patients from the patients group participated in the one-month clinical trial. Four main outcomes (Foot Function Index, Visual Analogue Scale-Foot and Ankle, plantar fascia thickness, and metatarsophalangeal joint stiffness) were used for the clinical evaluations.

RESULTS

In the cross-sectional clinical evaluation, the symptomatic feet of patients showed moderate negative correlation between normalized metatarsophalangeal joint stiffness and plantar fascia thickness with statistical significance. In the one-month clinical trial, all the main outcomes showed significant improvement after using the developed robot. Comparing our results with previous studies also indicated a therapeutic superiority of our robot for treating plantar fasciitis.

CONCLUSION

Our foot stretching robot had significant therapeutic effect on plantar fasciitis, and normalized metatarsophalangeal joint stiffness measured by our robot could be used as a monitoring indicator for recovery from plantar fasciitis.

SIGNIFICANCE

This study contributed to practical issues related to treatment of plantar fasciitis, and our results could be applied to effective treatment of plantar fasciitis and progressive monitoring of recovery.

Does Postural Feedback Reduce Musculoskeletal Risk?: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: There is a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among personnel working in the healthcare sector, mainly among nursing assistants and orderlies. Objective: The objective is to analyze the effectiveness of a multi-component intervention that included postural feedback in reducing musculoskeletal risk. Method: A total of 24 nursing assistants and orderlies in a hospital setting were randomly assigned to an intervention group or a control group. After collecting sociodemographic information, a selection of tasks was made and assessed using the REBA (rapid entire body assessment) method. A multi-component intervention was designed combining theoretical and practical training, including feedback on the postures performed by the professionals involved, especially those involving high musculoskeletal risk. This program was applied only to participants in the intervention group. Subsequently, eight months after the first assessment and intervention, the second assessment was carried out using the same method and process as in the first evaluation. Results: The results indicate that the musculoskeletal risk in the second assessment in the intervention group was significantly reduced. However, no significant changes were observed in the control group. Conclusion: The multi-component intervention applied can significantly reduce the musculoskeletal risk of nursing assistants and orderlies. In addition, it is a low-cost intervention with great applicability.

Factors Influencing Physical Activity Participation among Midlife Immigrant Women: A Systematic Review

Immigrant women are less likely to be physically active and face many barriers to participation in physical activity. This systematic review aims to identify the influencing factors and adaption approaches of physical activity interventions among midlife immigrant women. A systematic literature search was performed using various databases, such as MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL, in February 2021. Studies were included if they investigated midlife immigrant women participating in physical activity interventions and were published in an English peer-reviewed journal in or after 2000. Twenty-two papers were included in this review. Guided by the Ecosocial theory, thematic analysis was utilized for data analysis. Among midlife immigrant women, influencing factors associated with physical activity participation included individual factors (a lack of time, current health status, motivation, and a lack of proficiency in various life skills), familial factors (familial support and seasonality), and community factors (social support and neighbourhood environment). The appropriate adaptation of physical activity interventions included adjustments in language, physical activity intensity, physical activity duration, logistical intervention adjustments and other potential technology-based adjustments. The findings can inform community stakeholders, healthcare professionals and researchers to design appropriate physical activity interventions that meet the needs of midlife immigrant women and improve their health outcomes.

Healthcare, Insurance, and Medical Expenditure of the Floating Population in Beijing, China

Background: China has a large floating population created by the fast urbanization and unique hukou system. With low socioeconomic status, labor-intensive jobs, and the lack of portability of health insurance, the floating population are often disadvantageous in healthcare. However, there is often insufficient attention to healthcare of the floating population.

Method: To provide an informative description of certain aspects of the floating population under healthcare, particularly including demographic characteristics, illness conditions, insurance utilization, and medical expenditure, a survey study was conducted in Beijing, China, collecting data on 437 subjects. Characteristics of the floating population and treatments of their illness conditions are examined using univariate and multivariate regression analysis.

Results: Personal characteristics and healthcare of the floating population are examined in detail. It is found that the floating population has low insurance coverage and utilization rates. Multiple personal characteristics are identified as significantly associated with insurance utilization and medical expenditure.

Conclusions: This study suggests the necessity of further improving healthcare and health insurance protection for the floating population. The identified significant characteristics may assist healthcare providers and other stakeholders identifying the less advantaged.

Theoretical evaluation of Cox’s interaction model of client health behavior for health promotion in adult women

This study aimed to evaluate Cox’s interaction model of client health behavior (IMCHB) as used in studies on women’s health. Using keyword combinations of “women” and “IMCHB” or “interaction model of client health behavior,” we searched the PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and RISS databases for studies on the promotion of women’s health published from January 2009 to April 2019. Finally, 11 studies were selected and evaluated according to seven criteria for theory evaluation, which combined Fawcett’s theory evaluation criteria and Chinn and Kramer’s criteria. We found that the IMCHB corresponds to a verifiable practical level of a middle-range theory, although it may be partially abstract. It contains all four concepts of the metaparadigm of nursing, in terms of a holistic philosophical approach. A theoretical evaluation demonstrated that the IMCHB has significance, generality, testability, empirical adequacy, and pragmatic adequacy for nursing practice and research. However, the lack of clear conceptual definitions and the presence of complex relationships among concepts resulted in a lack of internal consistency and parsimony. According to an in-depth verification through a review of the literature, the IMCHB has been used as a health promotion intervention strategy for various populations of women and has led to useful results in nursing practice. The IMCHB was confirmed to be a suitable theory for experimental and clinical research. Future research can build on this middle-range theory for women’s health research and practice.

Effect of a Pedometer-Based, 24-Week Walking Intervention on Depression and Acculturative Stress among Migrant Women Workers

Little research has examined exercise-based interventions meant to alleviate depressive symptoms among Korean-Chinese migrant women workers living in Korea. Thus, this study evaluated the effectiveness of a 24-week walking program on reducing depressive symptoms and acculturative stress levels in this population. This quasi-experimental sequential walking program was conducted with 132 Korean-Chinese women over a period of 24 weeks. Participants were divided into either a standard treatment group (n = 69) or enhanced treatment group (n = 63). All participants were instructed to walk using a pedometer. The enhanced treatment group also received mobile text messages designed to encourage walking adherence and improve acculturation. Participants were asked to complete two structured questionnaires, the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and the Acculturative Stress Scale, to evaluate the intervention programs. At the end of the program, both groups exhibited decreased depression scores, but the decrease in the enhanced treatment group was more significant both at weeks 12 and 24. Acculturative stress was also found to have decreased at weeks 12 and 24. Our findings show the walking program reduced the depressive symptoms and acculturative stress levels among the Korean-Chinese women in this study. Further studies will be needed to analyze the relationship between walking step count and mental health considering exercise intensity.

The Comparative Effectiveness of Mobile Phone Interventions in Improving Health Outcomes: Meta-Analytic Review

Background

As mobile technology continues expanding, researchers have been using mobile phones to conduct health interventions (mobile health—mHealth—interventions). The multiple features of mobile phones offer great opportunities to disseminate large-scale, cost-efficient, and tailored messages to participants. However, the interventions to date have shown mixed results, with a large variance of effect sizes (Cohen d=−0.62 to 1.65).

Objective

The study aimed to generate cumulative knowledge that informs mHealth intervention research. The aims were twofold: (1) to calculate an overall effect magnitude for mHealth interventions compared with alternative interventions or conditions, and (2) to analyze potential moderators of mHealth interventions’ comparative efficacy.

Methods

Comprehensive searches of the Communication & Mass Media Complete, PsycINFO, Web of Knowledge, Academic Search Premier, PubMed and MEDLINE databases were conducted to identify potentially eligible studies in peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, and dissertations and theses. Search queries were formulated using a combination of search terms: “intervention” (Title or Abstract) AND “health” (Title or Abstract) AND “*phone*” OR “black-berr*” (OR mHealth OR “application*” OR app* OR mobile OR cellular OR “short messag*” OR palm* OR iPhone* OR MP3* OR MP4* OR iPod*) (Title or Abstract). Cohen d was computed as the basic unit of analysis, and the variance-weighted analysis was implemented to compute the overall effect size under a random-effects model. Analysis of variance–like and meta-regression models were conducted to analyze categorical and continuous moderators, respectively.

Results

The search resulted in 3424 potential studies, the abstracts (and full text, as necessary) of which were reviewed for relevance. Studies were screened in multiple stages using explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria, and citations were evaluated for inclusion of qualified studies. A total of 64 studies were included in the current meta-analysis. Results showed that mHealth interventions are relatively more effective than comparison interventions or conditions, with a small but significant overall weighted effect size (Cohen d=0.31). In addition, the effects of interventions are moderated by theoretical paradigm, 3 engagement types (ie, changing personal environment, reinforcement tracking, social presentation), mobile use type, intervention channel, and length of follow-up.

Conclusions

To the best of our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive meta-analysis to date that examined the overall effectiveness of mHealth interventions across health topics and is the first study that statistically tested moderators. Our findings not only shed light on intervention design using mobile phones, but also provide new directions for research in health communication and promotion using new media. Future research scholarship is needed to examine the effectiveness of mHealth interventions across various health issues, especially those that have not yet been investigated (eg, substance use, sexual health), engaging participants using social features on mobile phones, and designing tailored mHealth interventions for diverse subpopulations to maximize effects.

Educational intervention for promoting stretching exercise behavior among a sample of Iranian office employees: applying the Health Promotion Model

INTRODUCTION

Health Promotion Model (HPM) is one comprehensive model by which health behavior predicting factors could be determined.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a designed interventional program based on HPM on promoting stretching exercise (SE) behavior among office employees.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This interventional designed study was carried out on 87 office employees who were working in the three health networks affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran. These participants were randomly divided into intervention group (N=44) who complied with educational program based on HPM and control group (N=43) who did not receive the program. The data were collected through a demographic questionnaire and a researcher-made questionnaire based on HPM at three times of baseline, 3- and 6-month follow-ups and analyzed using SPSS version 19.

RESULTS

Totally, 40 office employees with mean age of (37.70±7.40) in intervention and 37 ones with mean age of (35.97±7.34) in control group were assessed. At baseline, both groups were the same regarding the HPM constructs of perceived barriers, perceived self-efficacy, commitment to plan, and interpersonal influences (P>0.05). However, following intervention, there was a significant difference between two groups during 6-month follow-up in all these predictor factors (P<0.0001). Furthermore, the mean score of SE behavior in intervention group (22.43±6.50) was significantly better than the control group (15.45±0.93) (P<0.001). The pain severity also in intervention group (1±1.22) also was significantly less than control group (2±2.03) after 6-month follow-up (P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

The SE educational programs applied in this study were effective for promoting SE among office employees.