Difficulties quitting for smokers with and without a respiratory disease and use of a tailored intervention for smoking cessation – a qualitative study

Introduction: Smokers with respiratory diseases are less likely to quit than those without impaired lung function, yet few studies have investigated the effectiveness of smoking cessation interventions with this population, and none have used a computer-tailored approach. Aims: This paper aims to fill this gap in the literature by exploring smokers’ experiences when trying to quit and their perceptions of a computer-tailored intervention. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 smokers recruited from six GP practices in North London. Thematic analysis was conducted to examine participants’ previous experiences of quitting and their perceptions of receiving personal tailored feedback reports to aid smoking cessation. Results: Participants discussed how their positive smoking experiences coupled with their negative cessation experiences led to conflicts with quitting smoking. Although the computer-tailored intervention was key in prompting quit attempts and participants valued its personal approach; it was not sufficient as a stand-alone intervention. Conclusion: The results highlight the difficulties that smokers experience when quitting and the need for a more personalised stop smoking service in smokers with respiratory diseases. The study also demonstrates the application and potential for computer tailored intervention as part of a wider programme of long-term smoking cessation

Adapting an in‐person patient–caregiver communication intervention to a tailored web‐based format

Background : Interventions that target cancer patients and their caregivers have been shown to improve patient‐caregiver communication, support, and emotional well‐being. Objective : To adapt an in‐person communication intervention for cancer patients and caregivers to a web‐based format, and to examine the usability and acceptability of the web‐based program among representative users. Methods : A tailored, interactive web‐based communication program for cancer patients and their family caregivers was developed based on an existing in‐person, nurse‐delivered intervention. The development process involved: (1) building a multidisciplinary team of content and web design experts, (2) combining key components of the in‐person intervention with the unique tailoring and interactive features of a web‐based platform, and (3) conducting focus groups and usability testing to obtain feedback from representative program users at multiple time points. Results : Four focus groups with 2–3 patient–caregiver pairs per group ( n = 22 total participants) and two iterations of usability testing with four patient–caregiver pairs per session ( n = 16 total participants) were conducted. Response to the program's structure, design, and content was favorable, even among users who were older or had limited computer and Internet experience. The program received high ratings for ease of use and overall usability (mean System Usability Score of 89.5 out of 100). Conclusions : Many elements of a nurse‐delivered patient–caregiver intervention can be successfully adapted to a web‐based format. A multidisciplinary design team and an iterative evaluation process with representative users were instrumental in the development of a usable and well‐received web‐based program. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90066/1/pon1900.pd

Interactive computer-based interventions for sexual health promotion (Protocol)

No description supplie

Dances with Sheep

"As a spokesman for disaffected youth of the post-1960s, Murakami Haruki has become one of the most important voices in contemporary Japanese literature, and he has gained a following in the United States through translations of his works. In Dances with Sheep, Matthew Strecher examines Murakami’s fiction—and, to a lesser extent, his nonfiction—for its most prevalent structures and themes. Strecher also delves into the paradoxes in Murakami’s writings that confront critics and casual readers alike. Murakami writes of “serious” themes yet expresses them in a relatively uncomplicated style that appeals to high school students as well as scholars; and his fictional work appears to celebrate the pastiche of postmodern expression, yet he rejects the effects of the postmodern on contemporary culture as dangerous. Strecher’s methodology is both historical and cultural as he utilizes four distinct yet interwoven approaches to analyze Murakami’s major works: the writer’s “formulaic” structure with serious themes; his play with magical realism; the intense psychological underpinnings of his literary landscape; and his critique of language and its capacity to represent realities, past and present. Dances with Sheep links each of these approaches with Murakami’s critical focus on the fate of individual identity in contemporary Japan. The result is that the simplicity of the Murakami hero, marked by lethargy and nostalgia, emerges as emblematic of contemporary humankind, bereft of identity, direction, and meaning. Murakami’s fiction is reconstructed in Dances with Sheep as a warning against the dehumanizing effects of late-model capitalism, the homogenization of the marketplace, and the elimination of effective counterculture in Japan.

Understanding Individual Differences for Tailored Smoking Cessation Apps

Finding ways to help people quit smoking is a high priority in health behavior change research. Recent HCI studies involving technologies using specific quitting techniques such as social support and SMS messaging to help people quit have reported some success. Early studies using computer generated print material report significant success of tailored versus non-tailored material, however, there is limited understanding on what aspects of digitally delivered quitting assistance should be tailored and how. To address this, we have conducted an empirical investigation with smokers to identify perceived importance of different types of help when quitting and the potential role of technology in providing such help. We found that people are highly individual in their approach to quitting and the kind of help they regard as relevant to their situation. Our contribution is a collection of empirically derived themes for tailoring smoking cessation apps to individual quitting needs. Author Keywords Smoking cessation; tailoring; individual differences; healt

Wschód spotyka Zachód, a później go oddaje: los „czystej literatury” w erze globalnej

As part of the early Meiji (1868-1912) project of constructing a mod- ern “subject” to populate the newly-fashioned, Western-style nation- state, late nineteenth-century Japan’s literary artists enthusiastically engaged in the exploration of the individual self. Borrowing as their template the European realistic novel, they succeeded not only in es- tablishing the modern shōsetsu, but an equally new language in which to write such novels. Their work came to be known as junbungaku, or “pure literature.” Written by, for, and about Japanese subjects, junbun- gaku has come to be understood as a quintessentially Japanese mode of artistic expression.This began to change in 1979 with the début of contemporary nov- elist Murakami Haruki. While engaging Western models in the for- mation of his literary landscape, Murakami rejected the “by/for/about Japanese” strictures of junbungaku, exploring a more global subject grounded in a hybrid conception of that subject as both Eastern and Western. Having thus encountered “the West,” Murakami then “gave it back” as a new, hybrid type of fiction that eschews polarizing con- cepts like “East” and “West,” emerging instead as a truly global form of literature. While scorned by some traditionalists as the “death of jun- bungaku,” Murakami’s work has also been heralded as a rebirth for se- rious global literature.W ramach zamysłu stworzenia nowoczesnej „podmiotu”, który zalud- ni odnowione w zachodnim stylu państwo, w okresie Meiji (1868-1912) literaci japońscy entuzjastycznie rozpoczęli odkrywanie swojego oso- bistego „ja”. Czerpiąc ze wzorca europejskiej powieści realistycznej, zdołali nie tylko wykreować współczesne shōsetsu, ale i równie nowy język, w którym powstawały takie powieści. Ich prace stały się znane jako junbungaku lub „czysta literatura”. Pisana dla, przez i o Japoń- czykach, junbungaku była odbierana jako ściśle japoński sposób wy- razu artystycznego.Ta tendencja zaczęła się zmieniać w 1979 r., wraz z debiutem współczesnego powieściopisarza Harukiego Murakamiego. Tworząc swój literacki krajobraz przy użyciu zachodnich modeli, Murakami odrzucił strukturę junbungaku („przez/dla/o Japończykach”), odkry- wając bardziej światowy podmiot, osadzony w hybrydowej koncepcji podmiotu ze Wschodu i Zachodu jednocześnie. Murakami najpierw spotkał „Zachód”, a następnie „oddał” go jako nową, hybrydową fik- cję, która porzuca spolaryzowane idee „Wschodu” i „Zachodu” i uka- zuje jako prawdziwie światowa forma literatury. Wyszydzane przez niektórych tradycjonalistów jako „śmierć junbungaku”, dzieło Mura- kamiego zostało jednocześnie ogłoszone odrodzeniem poważnej lite- ratury światowej

Teachers Make a Difference: An Interview with Jacquelyn Combs

Transcript of an interview with Master Teacher Jacquelyn S. Combshttps://scholars.fhsu.edu/ors/1244/thumbnail.jp

Factors that influence the provision of good-quality routine antenatal services: a qualitative evidence synthesis of the views and experiences of maternity care providers [Protocol]

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Qualitative). The objectives are as follows: - To identify the factors influencing the provision of quality ANC according to health care providers - To explore how these factors relate to, and help to explain the findings of, the related Cochrane intervention review

Building Online Platforms for Peer Support Groups as a Persuasive Behavioural Change Technique

Online peer group approach is inherently a persuasive technique as it is centered on peer pressure and surveillance. They are persuasive social net- works equipped with tools and facilities that enable behaviour change. This paper presents the case for domain-specific persuasive social networks and provides insights on problematic and addictive behaviour change. A 4-month study was conducted in an addiction rehab centre in the UK, followed by 2-month study in an online peer group system. The study adopted qualitative methods to under- stand the broad parameters of peer groups including the sessions' environment, norms, interaction styles occurring between groups' members and how such in- teractions are governed. The qualitative techniques used were (1) observations, (2) form and document analysis, and (3) semi-structured interviews. The findings concern governing such groups in addition to the roles to be enabled and tasks to be performed. The Honeycomb framework was revisited to comment on its build- ing blocks with the purpose of highlighting points to consider when building do- main-specific social networks for such domain, i.e. online peer groups to combat addictive behaviour