Time to Take a Walk

via Wikimedia Commons

“We are bombarded with political ads on television, radio, and social media, and receive an onslaught of annoying robocalls on our phones. And no doubt after the elections are over, we’ll be subjected to endless analyses of the results. I find this constant ‘news awareness’ stressful.”

I wrote these words two years ago for the editorial, “Finding a Peaceful Place,” in the December 2018 issue. I could have written them today, or actually, any day these past few months.

The simple medicine of taking a walk, in the forest or not.

But I also wrote about a way that I find helps me tune out and relieve stress—the simple act of taking a walk. This year, because of the pandemic, my walks have mostly been confined to a few miles around my suburban neighborhood; I don’t think it qualifies as ‘forest bathing,’ but it still refreshes me. Seeing the pure joy of my dog to be out and about is a delight. […]

2020-11-04T09:29:27-05:00November 4th, 2020|personal health practices, Public health, wellness|0 Comments
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Recent Data on Physical Inactivity Points to a More Active Role for Nurses

“. . .more attention should be given to considering total daily sitting time and to understanding the individual, social, occupational, and community environments that contribute to [it]. Nurses have a pivotal role to play in increasing public awareness about the potential adverse effects of high-volume and prolonged uninterrupted sitting.” –“Too Much Sitting: A Newly Recognized Health Risk”

“Often when I ask patients about their lifestyle, they are quick to admit they need more exercise. As a nurse, I view such conversations as opportunities to discuss and encourage physical activity.” –“The Evolution of Physical Activity Promotion”

According to recently released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 15% of U.S. adults say they don’t engage in any physical activity.

Health effects of being physically inactive.

Leading a sedentary lifestyle can lead to well-documented detrimental health effects, including an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. The World Health Organization estimates that insufficient physical activity results in 3.2 million deaths annually.

Sedentary behavior varies based on location and race/ethnicity.

Using data collected from 2015 to 2018 as part of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the CDC notes that inactivity levels range from an estimated 17.3%  to 47.7%, depending on […]

2020-02-05T10:52:46-05:00February 5th, 2020|exercise, Nursing, personal health practices, Public health|0 Comments
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Quality of Life? Whatever the Patient Believes It Is

Illustration by Eric Collins / ecol-art.com

“What kind of life is that? That’s not how I would want to live.”

In AJN‘s September Reflections essay, “His Wonderful Life,” nurse Elizabeth Buckley interrogates her own judgmental response to a patient with a bluff, abrasive personality (he calls her ‘Nurse Ratchet during their first encounter) who requires nearly nonstop care to stay alive.

The patient has little hope of a meaningful recovery even if he survives the current hospitalization. The reader is surprised when, after a first grueling night of touch-and-go care, the author decides to take him on as her primary patient because she thinks it might be “a good learning opportunity.” (“I texted my friend who worked the day shift to sign me up; she replied that I was crazy.”)

A good life is in the eye of the beholder.

‘Philip,’ obese and with progressive dyspnea and multiple comorbidities, is sure he’ll soon be able to return to his bedbound existence at home watching old movies and chatting on Facebook; the physicians and other nurses are less hopeful. Gradually, over the course of five nights, the author’s respect and affection for the patient grows. He loves his life, however narrow it may seem to an outside observer.

2018-09-19T08:49:44-04:00September 19th, 2018|Nursing, patient experience, Patients, personal health practices|1 Comment
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Smoking Still Kills…in So Many Ways

Seven million tobacco deaths per year.

Today, May 31, is World No Tobacco Day, declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) to bring attention to the health problems caused by smoking. According to the WHO fact sheet on tobacco,

“Tobacco kills more than 7 million people each year. More than 6 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 890,000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.”

When nurses smoked at the nurses’ station.

It’s amazing to me how far we’ve come in a relatively short time in curbing smoking. When I first started working in hospitals, nurses would be smoking at the nurses’ station; shift report was often in a smoke-filled room; patients and visitors were allowed to smoke as long as there was no oxygen tank in the room. And I always hated sitting in the airline seat that was the dividing row from the smoking section—as if a small sign on the seat made a difference in keeping the smoke at bay!

Some resources.

This year, the focus is on smoking as a leading cause of cardiovascular disease—second only to hypertension. Here are some articles from AJN, plus resources that provide information about the mulitple negative health effects of […]

2018-05-31T12:27:31-04:00May 31st, 2018|personal health practices, Public health|1 Comment
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Low Physical Activity Among Chinese American Immigrants with Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes

“…compared with the general population, people who have or are at risk for type 2 diabetes are significantly less likely to engage in regular physical activity.”

On this month’s cover, group practices tai chi during snowfall in Shenyang, China. ©Photo Reuters/Stringer.

We all know that physical activity is important for maintaining health—for everyone. It’s especially important to prevent or manage prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

AJN’s February research feature, “Physical Activity Among Chinese American Immigrants with Prediabetes or Type 2 Diabetes,” takes a special look at the issue among Chinese American immigrants. Diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death among Asian Americans, so researchers wanted to investigate what this population’s knowledge of and barriers to physical activity might be.

Recruiting from a community health center in New York City, researchers conducted interviews with 100 foreign-born Chinese American adults having a diagnosis of prediabetes or type 2 diabete

According to the study authors:

“Chinese American immigrants with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes tend to be sedentary and are less likely to perform moderate or vigorous physical activity than the general population . . . .The findings also highlight some of the barriers to such activity and suggest a need for greater involvement […]

2018-02-07T10:30:12-05:00February 7th, 2018|exercise, Nursing, nursing research, patient engagement, personal health practices|0 Comments
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Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
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