View clinical trials related to Health Promotion.
Filter by:The goal of this clinical trial was to investigate possible outcomes of the nutritional supplement magnesium compared to placebo in healthy, working adults. The main questions it aimed to answer were: - Are there differences in ratings of health, stress, well-being and work environment indicators between individuals intaking 375 mg magnesium (daily for 3 months) compared to placebo? - Are there differences in hearing, measured with hearing tests between those receiving 375 mg magnesium compared to placebo? Participants were asked to ingest 375 mg magnesium or placebo daily for 3 months. Researchers compared the group ingesting magnesium with the group ingesting placebo pills to see if there were any differences in for example self-rated health, recovery, wellbeing, etc.
Background A vast majority of adolescents do not meet guidelines for healthy physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep, posing major risks for developing multiple non-communicable diseases. Unhealthy lifestyles seem more prevalent in urban than rural areas, with the neighbourhood environment as a mediating pathway linking urban living and poor health. How to develop and implement sustainable and effective interventions focused on adolescent health and wellbeing in urban vulnerable life situations is a key challenge and research gap. This paper describes the protocol of a Youth-centred Participatory Action (YoPA) project aiming to tailor, implement, and evaluate social and physical environmental interventions using an evidence-informed youth-centred co-creation approach, for structural improvement of the lifestyles of adolescents in urban vulnerable life situations. Methods In diverse urban environments in Denmark, the Netherlands, Nigeria, and South Africa, academic researchers will engage adolescents (12-19 years) growing up in vulnerable life situations and other key stakeholders (e.g., policy makers, urban planners, community leaders) in local co-creation communities. Together with academic researchers and local stakeholders, adolescents will take a leading role in mapping the local system for needs and opportunities; tailoring interventions to their local context; implementing and evaluating interventions during participatory meetings over the course of three years. YoPA applies a participatory mixed methods design guided by the newly developed SUPER-AIM framework assessing: (i) the local Systems, (ii) User perspectives, (iii) the Participatory co-creation process, (ii) Effects, iv) Reach, (vi) Adoption, (vii) Implementation, and (viii) Maintenance of interventions, in an integrated manner. Discussion YoPA aims to fill various research gaps, including the development of a practical protocol guiding the application of co-creation to tailor evidence-informed interventions to divers, multi-country contexts. Additionally, it focuses on advancing the research gap in physical activity and health within Sub-Saharan Africa and the involvement of adolescents in shaping their physical and social environments. Academic researchers envision that the YoPA co-creation approach will serve as a guide for participation of adolescents in vulnerable life situations in implementation of health promotion and urban planning in Europe, Africa and globally.
Physical activity (PA) is one of the few behaviors that individuals can change on their own, incurring minimal costs while simultaneously yielding significant health benefits. Over the past decade, new methods have been developed to measure both physical activity and associated health outcomes, such as blood pressure. Notably, there has been an explosive development of so-called wearables, including smartwatches and activity trackers. Wearables are equipped with multiple sensors that measure various aspects of PA, such as steps and heart rate, as well as cardiovascular health indicators like blood pressure and oxygen saturation. Therefore, wearables can be viewed as Swiss army knives with many tools in one instrument. They are highly popular in the fitness industry, but their role in healthcare is appropriately limited. However, most wearables on the market have several disadvantages that make them unsuitable for use, even among healthy individuals. Several studies have revealed that they do not produce reliable or valid data for metrics like pulse, steps, and PA-related energy expenditure. Furthermore, they are primarily designed for the fitness market, not for use within healthcare systems or as support for behavior change, and they have not been transparently evaluated. Additionally, the algorithms translating signals from sensors into interpretable outcomes are often trade secrets. Worse still, they are updated and modified at irregular intervals, making it challenging to compare outcomes over time. Other significant limitations include questionable patient confidentiality, as data is often uploaded to companies' cloud services. While research monitors are more flexible and transparent compared to commercial wearables, they lack essential features for daily use that are crucial in healthcare environments, such as the ability to communicate with the user. Currently, both commercial and research monitors cannot assess PA on an individual level, as they only utilize a limited portion of the rich data collected. Therefore, it is not surprising that their implementation in clinical care remains a challenge. Given the plethora of new products entering the market without documented validity, it is crucial to provide consumers, patients, healthcare professionals, and researchers with a transparent, evidence-based wearable. Against this backdrop, an interdisciplinary research group with the ambitious goal of developing and testing a high-functioning wearable tailored for use in healthcare-an e-physiotherapist (as opposed to commercial wearables targeting the fitness market-an "e-personal trainer") have been formed. In this project, the focus is on measuring PA, blood pressure, and energy consumption, as they represent some of the most significant risk factors for mortality and morbidity, namely inactivity, hypertension, and obesity. The overall goal of this project is to develop and validate AI-based algorithms for individually measuring various aspects of physical activity (PA), heart rate, energy expenditure, and blood pressure in laboratory settings as well as in everyday conditions. These algorithms represent a significant advancement compared to previous methods. In the case of PA metrics from accelerometry, current approaches rely on cut-points (threshold values) to define the intensity of PA. These cut-points are absolute, and individual variations in biology and biomechanics increase the risk of serious misclassification. To estimate intensity using heart rate, it is well-known that both resting heart rate and maximum heart rate are relative, requiring individual calibration for accurate measurements-essential even for accelerometry if one aims to measure PA on an individual level, a step not commonly taken today. Furthermore, heart rate is influenced by factors beyond PA, such as emotions and medication. To address these issues, combining information from accelerometry (biomechanics) and heart rate (physiological response), enhancing the ability to identify individual intensity and energy expenditure of PA. In this project, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will be employed to analyze the collected data and predict the intensity of PA. If the proposed method demonstrates the ability to measure PA and blood pressure at an individual level, the project will proceed. Our intention is to use AI/ML to combine PA information with blood pressure data, creating a self-learning system capable of suggesting an appropriate dose of PA to optimize blood pressure. This approach has not been studied yet, likely due to the complexity of obtaining and analyzing these data. However, the technology, processing power, and analysis tools are now available, making it timely to investigate its feasibility.
Preconceptional care is a very important preventive health service that gives couples the opportunity to prepare for a healthy pregnancy in a physically and psychologically healthy way, aims to identify and minimize the risks that may be present to the mother and fetus. Although preconceptional care is recommended for all couples of reproductive age, it is not at the desired level both in the world and in our country. In the literature, it is seen that the existing knowledge of individuals is insufficient, care is not provided for this period, and research revealing the knowledge and attitudes of individuals is very insufficient. It is thought that if the individuals in the society are informed about this issue and awareness is raised, the rate of benefiting from preconceptional care and counseling services will increase. One of the important components of preconceptional counseling is health education. Health education aims to increase the knowledge of individuals, to create awareness and thus to gain positive health behavior. The Health Promotion Model enables individuals to make behavioral changes to create a healthy lifestyle. Based on this, this research has been planned in order to determine the effect of web-based pregnancy preparation education structured according to the health improvement model in the preconceptional period on women's knowledge, attitudes and health behaviors.
Contact with nature promotes human wellbeing through diverse pathways, providing a potential way to support health especially in primary care, where patients commonly suffer from multimorbidity and poor general health. Social prescribing as a non-pharmaceutical treatment is a promising method to improve health as well as inclusion. This study explores and compares the effects of a nature based and an exercise based social prescribing scheme on mental wellbeing, physical activity and sleep, in a primary care population.
The aim of this study is to determine the effect of virtual reality-based exercise on the intervention and follow-up retention of functional fitness and quality of life among older adults.
Physical activity promotion remains a public health priority and accessible and scalable interventions are needed. Early career professionals are at-risk for inactivity and therefore a critical target for physical activity promotion. An online delivery format made up of web-based lessons and podcasts meets accessibility needs for this time-pressed population and has strong potential for reach. This study explores the feasibility of a theory-based intervention which accounts for action control, namely by leveraging the the Multi-Process Action Control framework (M-PAC) and targeting factors such as incidental affect (e.g., work-related stress) through emotion regulation strategies grounded in the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. The primary objective of this study is to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a 6-week web-based physical activity behaviour change program for early career professionals. Primary outcomes include rates of recruitment, attention, adherence as well as study satisfaction and intervention acceptability. Secondary measures will include physical activity and emotion regulation. Additional measures will explore Multi-Process Action Control constructs, perceived stress, applied mindfulness, action and acceptance, and valued living.
The goal of this research is to evaluate the feasibility and self-reported health outcomes of functional medicine health coaching in elimination diets among clinicians receiving training in functional medicine. A randomized controlled clinical trial of a 5-session functional medicine coaching and elimination diet intervention will be conducted to achieve the purpose of this study. The research team hypothesizes that functional medicine health coaching to support the elimination diet will improve physical and mental health outcomes better than the control condition of a self-guided elimination diet.
This study will test the relative efficacy of high-risk messages in increasing flu shot rates in patients at moderately high risk for flu and complications (those in the top 11-20% of risk). It will also examine whether informing patients that their high-risk status was determined by analyzing their medical records or by an artificial intelligence (AI) / machine-learning (ML) algorithm analyzing their medical records will affect the likelihood of receiving a flu vaccine.
The purpose of this study is to test which modalities (mailed letter, short message service [SMS] text, or patient portal messages) are most effective for encouraging flu shots in high-risk patients.