Michael Murray

Engagement in cultural activities and cause-specific mortality: Prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVEnTo determine the relation between engagement in cultural activities and main causes of mortality among full-time employees.nnnMETHODSnFinnish industrial employees (N=7922) completed a questionnaire about engagement in cultural activities (arts and culture, activities in associations, societal action, reading literature, and studying) in 1986 and were followed-up for mortality rates until 1986-2004.nnnRESULTSnHigh engagement in cultural activities was independently associated with decreased all-cause mortality (hazard ratio 0.71, 95% CI 0.57-0.88) and external causes of death (hazard ratio 0.46, 95% CI 0.24-0.90) after adjustment for socio-demographic factors, socio-economic status, work stress, social characteristics, diabetes, and hypertension. High engagement was also associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular mortality after controlling for socio-demographic factors and stress (hazard ratio 0.68, 95% CI 0.49-0.95). The associations with all-cause mortality and deaths from external causes remained after further adjustment for behavioral risk factors. Of the forms of engagement, solitary cultural activities were related to all-cause mortality while socially shared cultural activities were more closely linked to external mortality.nnnCONCLUSIONnBetter overall survival of culturally engaged employees is largely attributable to their lower risk of death from external causes.

‘I Don’t Think They Knew We Could Do These Sorts of Things’ Social Representations of Community and Participation in Community Arts by Older People

As people age the character of their social relationships change. There is evidence that older people who reside in disadvantaged communities often experience social isolation, which in turn has been found to be associated with a variety of health problems. This article reports the initial findings from a participatory arts project with a group of older residents of a disadvantaged urban community. It describes how the older residents represented their community and how they perceived the community arts intervention.

Breast Cancer Screening Recommendations: Is Mammography the Only Answer?

Early detection of breast cancer is important to reduce mortality and morbidity. Traditionally, three methods of breast screening were recommended: mammography, clinical breast examination (CBE), and breast self-examination (BSE). At present, BSE and CBE are no longer widely recommended, while mammography is still broadly promoted in the Western world. The primary intent of this article is to examine whether current health policy recommendations related to breast cancer screening are informed by evidence. The issue of whether women are adequately aware of the potential benefits and risks of breast screening methods to make informed decisions is also discussed. It is argued that it is premature to caution women against BSE and CBE because the current evidence is inconclusive or incomplete. Moreover, women should be better informed about the potential harms associated with mammography screening. Recommendations for research and health policy are also discussed.

The role of peer communication in the socialization of adolescents' pain experiences: a qualitative investigation

BackgroundRecurrent pain is a common complaint among adolescents. Children learn to resolve or cope with pain largely through family dynamics, particularly maternal influences. By adolescence, young people possess an array of pain behaviors, the culmination of multiple opportunities for modeling and reinforcement of attitudes and beliefs about pain. Adolescence is a time of increased autonomy characterized by, among other complex factors, significant increases in peer influence. Although peers are influential in health-risk behavior, little is known how peers impact adolescents pain experience. The present study explored the role of peers in adolescents attitudes toward pain, pain behaviors and over-the-counter analgesics.MethodsSixty-minute focus groups were conducted with a sample 24 junior high school students from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (11 male: mean age = 13.45 years, range = 12–15 years; 13 female: mean age = 13.31 years, range = 12–15 years). Participants were randomly assigned to one of five same-gender focus groups designed to explore a wide breadth and depth of information. Sessions were run until theoretical data saturation. Textual data, from transcribed audiotapes, were analyzed with the constant comparative method.ResultsPeer influences were apparent in how adolescents communicate about pain and how those communications effect pain expression. Overt pain responses to injury were primarily contextual and depended on perceived threats to peer-time and pain severity. Adolescents were intolerant of peers pain behaviors when the cause was perceived as not severe. These attitudes impacted how adolescents responded to their own pain; males were careful not to express embarrassing pain in front of peers, females felt no restrictions on pain talk or pain expression. Evidence for peer influence on attitudes toward OTC analgesics was apparent in perceptions of over-use and ease of access. Findings are discussed within the context of social information-processing and gender role expectations.ConclusionLittle research has addressed how young people experience pain within the context of the psychosocial influences that dominate during adolescence. The findings provide some insight into the role of peer influences via verbal and non-verbal communication, in adolescents pain experience. This exploratory study is a necessary first step in understanding the socialization of adolescents pain experiences.

Health Psychology and the Arts : A conversation

Critical approaches within health psychology continue to explore new methods of working and new theoretical ideas from other disciplines. One area that remains under-explored is the potential links with the arts. This special issue contains a selection of empirical and theoretical reports on the linkages between health psychology and the arts. It includes arts and health projects in clinical, community and educational contexts; projects with young and old people, projects with people from different social and ethnic background and projects using different forms of art. This article introduces the special issue and uses a dialogic format to consider some of the broader issues.

Social history of health psychology: context and textbooks.

Health psychology as a field of research and practice formally developed 30 years ago but it was prefigured by sustained debate within social and applied psychology about the nature of psychology and its role in society. This article considers this pre-history of health psychology and how the field has subsequently developed. It considers how its character is shaped by dominant ideas within psychology and is also enmeshed in broader social relations. To illustrate the changing character of health psychology it considers how the field is represented in a selection of popular textbooks. It concludes by considering the growth of some critical approaches within health psychology.

Developing critical understanding by teaching action research to undergraduate psychology students

Action research assumes the active engagement of the stakeholders, such as the community, in the research, and a multiple‐level process of reflection in order to evaluate and monitor the actions taken. This makes action research a suitable methodology to increase the critical understanding of the participants. In this paper we describe the challenge of teaching action research within the context of an undergraduate community health psychology module. The module was designed using principles from transformative learning, critical pedagogy and action learning. The module took place over one semester; and 15 students (13 females, two males) took part in it. We discuss the background to the module development and the alignment of the learning objectives with the teaching and assessment methods, and reflect upon the students’ experiences in the module and the learning outcomes. We conclude by addressing the major challenges involved in teaching action research to increase critical understanding: the ability to engage in deep learning of undergraduate psychology students; our role and expectations as tutors on the course; and the current higher education system in which action science yet has to find a place.

Using participatory video to challenge the stigma of mental illness: a case study

The diagnosis of mental ill health continues to attract substantial stigma in western society, with evidence suggesting public attitudes to be increasingly negative. Recent reviews have highlighted the extensive research on the nature of this stigma but with limited work on the development of strategies to challenge the stigma. The aim of this case study was to explore the potential of researchers and mental health service users (MHSUs) working collaboratively to identify the main problems the service users experience in their everyday lives and to produce a video challenging the negative image of mental ill health. Discussions were held with volunteers involved in a mental health media action group; all volunteers had been or were currently MHSU. These discussions identified a variety of problems including difficulties in everyday social interaction and negative portrayal of mental ill health in the media. A short video was developed with volunteers summarizing the issues they had raised: this was subsequently shown to a wider audience. The MHSUs reported considerable personal benefits of participation in the project. The paper discusses these findings and the process of producing the video.

Ages and Stages : the place of theatre in the lives of older people

ABSTRACT Despite the growing interest amongst gerontologists and literary and cultural scholars alike, in arts participation, ageing and the artistic outputs of older people, comparatively little attention has yet been paid to theatre and drama. Likewise, community or participatory theatre has long been used to address issues affecting marginalised or excluded groups, but it is a presently under-utilised medium for exploring ageing or for conveying positive messages about growing older. This paper seeks to address this lack of attention through a detailed case study of the place of one particular theatre – the Victoria/New Victoria Theatre in North Staffordshire, England – in the lives of older people. It provides an overview of the interdisciplinary Ages and Stages project which brought together social gerontologists, humanities scholars, psychologists, anthropologists and theatre practitioners, and presents findings from: the archival and empirical work exploring the theatres pioneering social documentaries and its archive; individual/couple and group interviews with older people involved with the theatre (as audience members, volunteers, employees and sources); and ethnographic data gathered throughout the study. The findings reaffirm the continuing need to challenge stereotypes that the capacity for creativity and participation in later life unavoidably and inevitably declines; show how participation in creative and voluntary activities shapes meanings associated with key life transitions such as bereavement and retirement; and emphasise the positive role that theatre and drama can play as a medium for the inclusion of both older and younger people.

The narrative psychology of community health workers.

Community health psychology is an approach which promotes community mobilisation as a means of enhancing community capacity and well-being and challenging health inequalities. Much of the research on this approach has been at the more strategic and policy level with less reference to the everyday experiences of community workers who are actively involved in promoting various forms of community change. This article considers the narrative accounts of a sample of 12 community workers who were interviewed about their lives. Their accounts were analysed in terms of narrative content. This revealed the tensions in their everyday practice as they attempted to overcome community divisions and management demands for evidence. Common to all accounts was a commitment to social justice. These findings are discussed with reference to opportunities and challenges in the practice of community work.