tonyplant's blog for November 2006
Submitted by tonyplant on November 30, 2006 - 22:44.
Rachel on Sisyphus' Ledge has a discussion going about Hugh Laurie in the comments of her post, Just a note. I had to echo the House, MD/Laurie support and call attention to the many excellent clips of both Fry & Laurie and House on You Tube.
You Tube lots of montages of clips from the various series of House set to music. There are some superb angsty pieces that Frank Zappa might have had in mind when he made his, “It’s like listening to Weber at 4 am on a foggy November morning” (such as 4 a.m.). However, because Rachel recently commented that she enjoyed the smiles on the pictures that I posted from a recent Happystance event, I’m going with a couple of recommendations for smiley, blithe montages: Shoop Shoop Song and Smile.
I've previously enthused about blogging as a creative outlet. I think that facilities like You Tube and affordable software are providing even more creative and entertainment opportunities for people: both as creators and consumers.
read more | 4 comments | You Tube | well-being | happystance | happiness | creativity
Submitted by tonyplant on November 27, 2006 - 20:50.
There are several age-adjusted health scales used to horrify or shame us about our lifestyle choices and health. Real Age claims to calculate the biological age of your body, based on how well you maintain it. HeartAge can be used to tell a 42-year-old man that after a cardiovascular risk-adjustment, he has the heart of a 70-year-old man. There are anxiety and depression scores and quality of life scores. I'd like to propose an risk-adjusted happiness and resilience score for age. Imagine hearing, "You have the body of a 23-year-old but your lifestyle choices and general grumpiness gives you the Mind-Body score of 58-year old".
HeartAge is a novel use of the Framingham Heart Score: it has been reported in Patients' Perceptions of Cholesterol, Cardiovascular Disease Risk, and Risk Communication Strategies. A series of focus groups compared three strategies for communicating cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Participants saw three visual displays that represented the CVD risk for a 42-year-old man with a Framingham Heart Score that predicted a 25% probability for a CVD event within the next 10 years. A crowd chart showed 100 stick figures with 25 of them shaded to indicate the proportion predicted to have a CVD event over the next 10- years: this was contrasted with a similar chart for a same-aged man with no risk factors (1 figure shaded). Similarly, this same information was compared and contrasted in a simple bar graph. The HeartAge was also presented as a chart. But this time, a horizontal bar chart represented age. The first bar depicted the chronological age (42 years);
the second bar showed how this individual compared with the average age of a same-sex person in the Framingham Heart Study having the same 10-year probability of experiencing a CHD event. For the demonstration case, the 42-year-old had the same risk as a 70-year-old.
Analysis of the participants' reactions and responses revealed that the standard visual representations that show statistical probabilities of risk are confusing and uninspiring. However, a strategy that provides a cardiovascular risk-adjusted age calculation was
evaluated as clear, memorable, relevant, and potentially capable of motivating people to make healthful changes.
The
BODE index is gaining in popularity for assessing people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). BODE is a combination of physical and physiological indices and measurements: it can be used in conjunction with quality of life questionnaires to present a full picture of a patient's health and well-being.
read more | add new comment | hearts and mind age | health | happystance | happiness | age
Submitted by tonyplant on November 26, 2006 - 19:33.
The excellent Dr. Crippen of NHS Blog Doc has launched The BritMeds, a carnival round-up of the best of british medical blogging.There is a diverse range of topics and it has a charmingly eccentric british flavour/
add new comment | dr. crippen | BritMeds
Submitted by tonyplant on November 23, 2006 - 17:16.
I was pleased to be invited to participate in a Carer's Day, organised by the Women's Group of the Greater Manchester Police. So, if you've ever wondered what a Happystance workshop looks like, this is it!
Here, a Laughter Chorus performed Happy Birthday with laughs of different tones rather than in song.
We finished with a laughter conga line and some ingenious shoulder and neck rubs.
The picture is generally bleak for carers in the UK but it is essential that carers have some attention paid to their own needs. After the Happystance slot a number of the participants came up to say how much they had enjoyed the event. They had been a little apprehensive that the day would be worthy but very dull and had appreciated the unexpected levity.
4 attachments | read more | 2 comments | police | happystance | fun | carers
Submitted by tonyplant on November 11, 2006 - 15:18.
Depending on a number of factors you will either believe that flexible working arrangements for carers is the ruination of good business practice or you will think that it is a innovation that is long overdue. A lot of time and discussion has been spent in defining carer.
The definition of carer is an employee who is or expects to be caring for an adult who is either their husband or wife, their civil partner, or a close relation.
The employee will also fall into the government category of carer if they look after somebody who lives at the same address.
If you fall wihin that definition of carer, then you will have the legal right to request adaptable hours from 6 April 2007.
Community Care, amongst others, is unhappy that the definition of carer is quite narrow. It is a little confusing, because by the definition that I quoted above, step-relatives are excluded. Blended families have been a social reality for some time and the omission of step-family members does seem to be quite striking. However, according to Community Carer, step-relatives
are included.
It rejected calls from campaigners to apply the right, enshrined in the Work and Families Act 2006, to all carers, keeping to original plans to cover employees caring for a partner, relative or someone else living at the same address.
1 attachment | read more | add new comment | work | flexitime | carers | caregiver
Submitted by tonyplant on November 9, 2006 - 18:42.
The excellent Dr. Crippen has posted a remarkable discussion of children with depression. He goes through the NICE guidelines for managing depression in children and young people.
The discussion makes for grim reading. Earlier this year, the Great and the Good of the BMJ's Science Committee published a very dispiriting report about the state of children's mental health in the UK. What makes Dr. Crippen's analysis particularly disappointing is the news that GPs seem to be so overlooked despite their front-line position.
Crippo has left a comment on Dr. Crippen's post. He articulates much of the pain and difficulty experienced by families who care for a family member who is depressed.
I don't know what the solution is to the estimated mental health treatment needs of 1 in 10 children. I strongly suspect that the only probable large-scale delivery mechanism that is practical will be based in schools. I am confident that any multi-agency solution must involve the family doctor.
read more | add new comment | dr crippen | depression | carer | caregiver
Submitted by tonyplant on November 2, 2006 - 16:21.
The Duty to Care campaign by The Princess Royal Trust for Carers is reporting findings from a study that they commissioned. The headline that is attracting most attention is that over half of carers (51%) across the UK have felt like walking away from their caring responsibilities.
Some of the stark findings of the report are as follows:
- Almost half of those caring for a partner, parent or child with a disability said they felt they never had a choice in taking up the role.
- With six million carers in the UK, this could equate to just over 3 million people walking away, which would mean that the NHS would not be able to provide the care needed to keep people living independently in their homes.
- A quarter of carers would like financial help; three-quarters would prioritiese time out, practical support and someone to talk to.
- Many carers recognise that there has been a change in their relationship and experience feelings ranging from anger to sadness about the loss of the previous relationship they had with the person they now care for.
The snap-shot series of carers' statistics that are attracting a lot of comment are that:
- 71% of carers said they were stressed.
- 83% of carers are frustrated by their caring role.
- 56% of carers feel depressed.
- 58% of carers are angry.
- 52% of carers are feeling overwhelmed.
- 53% of carers feel that they are taken for granted.
- 32% of carers are caring for a parent.
- 28% of carers are caring for husband/wife/partner.
- 14% of carers are caring for a child with a disability or illness.
- 64% of carers turned to family and friends for help.
Campaigns need to sensationalise their findings in order to attract attention but some of the coverage of this report is ill-judged. Although it is undeniable that many carers feel like walking away, the same sense of duty that led many of them to take up the role of carer would prevent them from abandoning their loved one. In my experience, it is this knowledge that can lead to carers feeling overwhelmed, uncared for, and taken for granted.
1 attachment | read more | add new comment | carers | caregiver
Recent comments
3 years 10 weeks ago
3 years 11 weeks ago
3 years 13 weeks ago
3 years 13 weeks ago
3 years 13 weeks ago
3 years 13 weeks ago
3 years 14 weeks ago
3 years 14 weeks ago
3 years 14 weeks ago
3 years 14 weeks ago