Activities of daily living

Health shocks—such as new diagnoses of chronic disease—can disrupt daily life and create potential “teachable moments” for behavioral improvement. Yet, existing evidence on post-diagnosis behavior change remains mixed and largely limited to high-income countries. This study addresses a major empirical gap by examining whether chronic disease diagnoses are associated with measurable within-person changes in health behaviors among middle-aged and older adults in Thailand, a rapidly aging middle-income society. We analyzed four waves (2015–2022) of the Health, Aging, and Retirement in Thailand (HART) survey. The analytic sample comprised adults aged ≥45 years with no baseline diagnosis of cancer, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease (N = 2,891; 9,577 person-wave observations). Self-reported physician-diagnosed conditions were used to construct disease-status indicators. Behavioral outcomes included smoking, current alcohol use, sufficient physical activity (≥150 minutes/week), normal body mass index (BMI) (18.5–23), and waist obesity (sex-specific cutoffs). Individual fixed-effects linear probability models with survey-wave fixed effects and adjustment for time-varying covariates (log income, activities of daily living [ADL] score, and marital status) estimated within-person associations, with standard errors clustered at the individual level. Disease-specific models and models including interactions with sex assessed heterogeneity. In pooled analyses, the disease-status indicator was not significantly associated with smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, BMI, or waist obesity. In contrast, a diabetes diagnosis was associated with a reduction of 3.6 percentage-point in current alcohol use, and both diabetes and cancer diagnoses were associated with reductions in frequent drinking. Models including interactions with sex suggested larger diagnosis-associated reductions in selected alcohol-use outcomes among men, although statistical evidence varied by outcome and disease type. Among middle-aged and older Thai adults, chronic disease diagnoses were associated with selective, rather than comprehensive, changes in health behaviors. Diagnosis alone is insufficient to support changes across multiple health behaviors, underscoring the need for structured post-diagnosis counselling, follow-up, and gender-sensitive secondary prevention in aging middle-income populations.

Background Stroke is a leading cause of disability worldwide and is frequently accompanied by psychological and functional impairments. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a third-wave behavioral intervention focusing on psychological flexibility, has been increasingly applied in stroke rehabilitation. Although previous reviews have suggested beneficial effects of ACT in stroke patients, whether these benefits persist in the short term after the intervention ends, and the certainty of the evidence, remain unclear. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines and registered in PROSPERO (CRD420261325108). Randomized controlled trials evaluating ACT in stroke patients were included. Pooled effects were calculated using random-effects models, with separate analyses for post-intervention and follow-up outcomes. Sources of heterogeneity were explored using subgroup analyses and meta-regression. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool, and certainty of evidence was evaluated using the GRADE framework. Results Twenty-two RCTs involving 1,975 participants were included. ACT may be associated with reductions in depressive symptoms (post-intervention: SMD = −1.32, 95% CI: −1.80 to −0.84; follow-up: SMD = −0.76, 95% CI: −1.07 to −0.45) and anxiety symptoms (post-intervention: SMD = −1.36, 95% CI: −1.90 to −0.82; follow-up: SMD = −0.51, 95% CI: −1.42 to 0.40, not significant); depressive symptoms remained statistically significant at follow-up. Heterogeneity was considerable for both outcomes at post-intervention ( I 2 = 93.68% for depression and 93.60% for anxiety), so the pooled estimates represent average effects across studies. ACT may also be associated with improvements in psychological flexibility, quality of life, and sleep quality; however, these outcomes were based on a limited number of studies and showed considerable heterogeneity ( I 2 = 74.68 to 92.26%), so they should be interpreted cautiously. However, no statistically significant effects were observed for activities of daily living, neurological function, or hope. ACT did not appear to increase dropout rates in the available studies ( K = 16; RR = 0.99, 95% CI: 0.58–1.69). Meta-regression analyses indicated that intervention duration may not be a significant moderator of treatment effects. The certainty of evidence ranged from very low to moderate, mainly due to risk of bias and inconsistency. Conclusion Acceptance and Commitment Therapy may be a useful adjunctive intervention for improving psychological outcomes in people with stroke. However, evidence for functional recovery remains insufficient. Future high-quality RCTs with standardized protocols, larger samples, and longer follow-up are needed to confirm the long-term effectiveness of ACT. Systematic review registration https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/ , identifer CRD420261325108.

People with restricted mobility in humanitarian settings face extreme barriers to healthcare access, leading to functional decline, social isolation, and significant mental health distress [44]. In dense urban Lebanese refugee camps, hazardous infrastructure and the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) further exacerbate the vulnerability of homebound and bed-ridden individuals and their informal caregivers [30]. This study evaluates the operational feasibility and outcomes of a multidisciplinary nurse-led home-based care (HBC) model designed to address these physical and psychosocial needs. This convergent mixed-methods descriptive study investigated a nurse-led HBC program in the Shatila and Bourj el Barajneh refugee camps in Beirut, Lebanon, between June 2021 and October 2023. We analysed routinely collected operational data for 105 patient-caregiver dyads (verbal retrospective consent) and conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with a purposive subsample of 16 dyads as 32 participants 16 patients and 16 informal caregivers (written prospective consent) to explore participant perceptions. Quantitative outcomes were analysed for the n=79 dyads who completed the full intervention. The program achieved a high retention rate of 82%. Quantitative findings demonstrated significant improvements in mental health, with a reduction in depression and anxiety scores for both patients and caregivers (both p < 0.001). Enrolment was accompanied by statistically significant reductions in depression (PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD-7) scores among both patients and caregivers (both \(p<0.001\) ). Statistically significant gains were observed in physical dependency (Basic Activities of Daily Living, p= 0.003), alongside documented wound healing and maintenance of high medication adherence. Qualitative data revealed that the program’s primary value lay in alleviating profound social isolation, restoring dignity, and providing emotional and practical support, which participants often prioritized alongside clinical nursing interventions. Multidisciplinary nurse-led HBC is a feasible and acceptable model for delivering care to highly vulnerable populations in complex humanitarian settings. While the single-arm design precludes definitive causal attribution, observed trajectories indicate that in contexts of chronic distress, the psychosocial and relational components of care are as vital as clinical nursing intervention for fostering resilience in both patients and caregivers.

افراد با محدودیت حرکتی در محیط‌های انسانی با موانع شدید دسترسی به مراقبت‌های سلامت مواجه هستند که این امر منجر به افت عملکردی، انزوای اجتماعی و پریشانی شدید سلامت روان می‌شود [44]. در اردوگاه‌های پناهجویی متراکم شهری لبنان، زیرساخت‌های خطرناک و افزایش بار بیماری‌های غیرواگیر (NCDs) آسیب‌پذیری افراد خانه‌نشین و بستری و مراقبان غیررسمی آن‌ها را تشدید می‌کند [30]. این پژوهش امکان‌سنجی عملیاتی و پیامدهای یک مدل چندرشته‌ای مراقبت مبتنی بر منزل به رهبری پرستار را که با هدف پاسخ به نیازهای جسمی و روانی-اجتماعی طراحی شده است، ارزیابی می‌کند. این مطالعه توصیفی با روش ترکیبی همگرا، برنامه مراقبت مبتنی بر منزل به رهبری پرستار را در اردوگاه‌های پناهجویی شتیلا و برج‌البراجنه در بیروت، لبنان، بین ژوئن 2021 تا اکتبر 2023 مورد بررسی قرار داد. داده‌های عملیاتی جمع‌آوری‌شده به طور روتین برای 105 زوج بیمار-مراقب (رضایت شفاهی گذشته‌نگر) تحلیل شد و مصاحبه‌های نیمه‌ساختاریافته عمیق با زیرنمونه هدفمند 16 زوج به عنوان 32 شرکت‌کننده (16 بیمار و 16 مراقب غیررسمی) (رضایت کتبی آینده‌نگر) جهت بررسی ادراکات شرکت‌کنندگان انجام شد. پیامدهای کمی برای n=79 زوج که مداخله کامل را به پایان رساندند، تحلیل شد. برنامه نرخ نگهداشت بالای 82٪ را به دست آورد. یافته‌های کمی بهبود معنادار در سلامت روان، با کاهش نمرات افسردگی و اضطراب برای بیماران و مراقبان (هر دو p < 0.001) را نشان داد. ثبت‌نام با کاهش معنادار آماری در نمرات افسردگی (PHQ-9) و اضطراب (GAD-7) در میان بیماران و مراقبان همراه بود (هر دو \(p<0.001\)). بهبود معنادار آماری در وابستگی جسمی (فعالیت‌های پایه زندگی روزمره، p=0.003) مشاهده شد، به همراه مستندسازی بهبود زخم و حفظ پایبندی بالای دارویی. داده‌های کیفی نشان داد که ارزش اصلی برنامه در کاهش انزوای اجتماعی عمیق، بازگرداندن کرامت و ارائه حمایت عاطفی و عملی نهفته است که شرکت‌کنندگان اغلب آن را هم‌تراز با مداخلات پرستاری بالینی اولویت‌بندی می‌کردند. مراقبت مبتنی بر منزل به رهبری پرستار، مدلی امکان‌پذیر و قابل قبول برای ارائه مراقبت به جمعیت‌های بسیار آسیب‌پذیر در محیط‌های پیچیده انسانی است. اگرچه طراحی تک‌گروهی نسبت علی قطعی را منتفی می‌کند، اما روندهای مشاهده‌شده نشان می‌دهد که در زمینه‌های پریشانی مزمن، مؤلفه‌های روانی-اجتماعی و ارتباطی مراقبت به اندازه مداخلات پرستاری بالینی برای تقویت تاب‌آوری در بیماران و مراقبان حیاتی است.