Remotely and collaboratively evaluating a campus-based therapy dog program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected the wellbeing of university students and adults in general, emphasizing the need for mental health programming that was compliant with physical distancing mandates. The present evaluation investigated mental health and social connection within the context of COVID-19 by remotely evaluating a virtual animal-assisted activity at the University of Saskatchewan - PAWS Your Stress. The purpose of this article is to outline our evaluation methods and findings, while calling specific attention to the collaborative strategies that were implemented within a remote, time-sensitive context. The evaluation findings revealed that remote animal-assisted programming can facilitate connections with humans and animals, and promote multiple mental health benefits, despite the lack of physical interaction with the animals. Our lessons learned indicate that remote program logic modelling workshops are feasible when suited to audience demographics. Further, our experience suggests that the Most Significant Change technique (a qualitative, participatory, storytelling method that elicits outcome data) can be useful in time-restricted evaluations, and the necessity of central steps in the process may vary depending on evaluation goals. This project has implications for future evaluation work, by demonstrating the effective use of remote methods that allowed for successful stakeholder collaboration.

The four pillars of health coaching: preserving the heart of a movement.

In this special themed issue of Global Advances in Health and Medicine and in articles published on the journal's website (www.gahmj.com), you will read all about this new and maturing approach to health behavior change and the social and cultural conditions in modern medicine that have called this practice into being. You will learn about its inception and history,(1) the philosophic constructs of its application,(2) (,) (3) and its proposed mechanism of action.(4) There are multiple case reports(5) (-) (7) and clinical studies(8) (-) (10) expanding our scientific understanding of coaching in health and wellness and descriptions about how to educate professionals to provide this new service.(11) (,) (12) A review of existing literature in the field demonstrates the rapidly growing reported demonstration of its impact.(13) I believe coaching is poised to have a major transformative impact on health and healthcare internationally; it also is at risk of being usurped and thereby deformed by the power of the existing paradigm of Western disease care and reductionistic scientific thought. That is the issue I wish to raise: How do we ensure the integrity of this new approach so that it can serve as a bridge from a broken system to a new horizon of holistic health and well-being?

Demystifying mindfulness.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an approach to health and wellness that an increasing number of health care providers are practicing and recommending to their patients. This article describes MBSR, its use in health care, and its benefits for patients with conditions such as anxiety, depression, chronic pain syndromes, and insomnia. It also offers advice about how physicians can incorporate elements of MBSR into their daily practices in order to reduce stress in their lives and prevent burnout.

Roots and wings: a pilot of a mind-body-spirit program.

The overwhelming supply and demand for holistic health information and services suggest the need for integrative medical centers to offer experientially based educational programs. Seventeen individuals participated in a pilot of a 12-week multidisciplinary program titled Roots and Wings. Self-reported pre- and postmeasures were completed by 11 participants and indicated promising outcomes across the dimensions of physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Participants had a statistically significant decrease in physical and psychological symptoms and an increase in daily spiritual experiences. Statistically significant positive changes were also found for psychological attitudes and health locus of control in addition to indicators of behavior, satisfaction and attitudes relevant to the goals of Roots and Wings. The content of the program and the implications of these findings for nurse educators are discussed.