Greening the brain: A horticultural stress management program for perimenopausal symptoms.

Researchers have examined the efficacy of a horticultural stress management program for menopausal women. The quasi-experimental research design was employed by providing stress management and horticulture techniques to the experimental group (n = 55), whereas an informational pamphlet was given to the control group (n = 42). Moreover, this management program was comprised of hands-on training (Herb testing and smelling, Rocky Leaf prints, Grass Doll activity, and Kokedama activity), short lectures, and group discussions (sessions) for two hours, once a week, and continued for four weeks. Data was gathered from public-related activities i.e., camps on women's health and it consisted of three stages; before and after management and one month after completion of the intervention. The primary goal was to increase the stress coping ability, while the secondary goal was to enhance the psychological well-being and decrease menopausal symptoms. The aspects of horticultural attitude, cognitive flexibility, manageability, and knowledge of menopause were measured by using ANCOVA on SPSS 17 v. All the aspects significantly improved in the experimental group. Knowledge of menopause, horticultural attitude, cognitive flexibility, and manageability of stress significantly improved in the experimental group.

Case Report: A Functional Approach to Deal With Sexual Harassment Within Families.

Abuse is followed by multiple short- and long-term psychological consequences. Researchers suggest a significant need to design a culturally relevant and competent treatment plan specifically for the Asian context. This research presents an account of therapeutic strategies that were employed to manage the complaints of sexual harassment and associated psychological challenges. This case report dealt with a 16-year-old girl who was self-referred to the psychologist with complaints of getting sexually harassed by her brother-in-law, difficulty in managing academic challenges, communication gap with parents, and difficulty in handling her anger for the past 7 years. The assessment modalities used with the client were Behavioral Observation, Clinical Interview, Baseline Charts, School Children Problem Scale to rule out emotional-behavioral problems, the Adult-Child Interaction Test, and Downward Arrow Technique for cognitive assessment. The management plan was based on trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) and constituted of goals, such as having self-protection awareness from harassment, reducing the fear and unexplained emotions of grief, increasing self-esteem, designing a proper schedule for studies, and developing good communication ability. Post-assessment showed that anger reduced to 40%, communication gap with parents reduced to 50%, fear of harassment reduced to 40%, and self-image improved up to 40%. Sessions were based on 9 in-person meetings.

Predisposition of Early Maladaptive Schemas and Postpartum Depression during COVID-19 Crisis: Mediation of Mindfulness.

BACKGROUND: Past studies provide crucial evidence that pregnancy and childbirth increase the risk of emotional vulnerability and instability. Current research intends to explore the role of early maladaptive schemas and mindfulness as determinants of postpartum depression for expecting mothers during COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: The data was collected from 170 expecting mothers who conceived and gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Edinburgh postnatal depression scale, the young schema questionnaire-SF 75 items, and the Kentucky inventory for mindfulness scale were administered. RESULTS: Results discovered that mindfulness partially mediated the relationship between three kinds of early maladaptive schemas and postpartum depression. CONCLUSION: Mindfulness-based control techniques can be considered to buffer the impact of the early maladaptive schemas on postpartum depression, for mothers who give birth during any challenging time.

Post Traumatic Growth for Gestational Diabetic Patients During COVID-19: Role of Partner Supportive Communication and Family Environment.

PURPOSE: Leading a normal life and managing daily psychological or physical stress is hard for everybody but when a person is diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) during a widespread pandemic, the battle is inescapable. This research aimed to explore some positive dimensions that can lessen the adversities of these women. DESIGN AND METHODS: We assessed all 200 cases of GDM who were registered in the maternity wards of the government and private hospitals of South Punjab, Pakistan. Respondents were diagnosed with GDM during the first wave of COVID-19. Post-traumatic growth (PTG) inventory, Family environment scale, and Partner supportive communication (PSC) scale were used. SEM and moderation analysis was conducted to test the hypothesized relationship among the variables. RESULTS: Result showed that elicitation of thoughts and feelings (ß = 0.109, t-value = 3.501, p = 0.001), effective listening (ß = -0.144, t-value = 1.928, p = 0.054), and communication towards partner (ß = -0.209, t-value = 4.850, p = 0.005) significantly moderated the relationship between family environment and post traumatic growth. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: This research is beneficial for health practitioners because the trauma of being diagnosed with such a disease can be alleviated by the role of family environment and PSC.

Boosting Sustainability in Healthcare Sector through Fintech: Analyzing the Moderating Role of Financial and ICT Development.

Healthcare organizations are setting new targets of sustainable practices to improve their financial performance without depleting social and natural capital. Maintaining a sustainable, resilient, and durable healthcare system facilitate economies to achieve sustainable competitiveness. Thus, it is important to address and fill the knowledge gap by identifying factors that improve a firm's sustainability. Drawing on technological knowledge spillover theory, this study investigates the effect of FinTech development on the sustainable performance of healthcare firms using panel data comprised of 11 Asia-Pacific countries. By applying the 2-step GMM technique, we find a robust estimate that digital financial technologies improve the sustainable performance of the firms. Contrary to the substitution effect, our results further indicate that financial institutions are collaborating with FinTechs to facilitate financing at the individual and firm-level. We also find that financial and ICT development positively moderates the relationship between FinTech development and sustainable performance.

Psychological Predictors of Anxious Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: COVID-19 epidemic can be associated with a variety of anxious responses and safety behaviors. The present research explored the psychological implications associated with COVID-19 during the outbreak in 2020 to date. Pakistani media has given particular attention to this outbreak in the region. METHODS: Three hundred and forty-seven undergraduate university students from Pakistan completed a battery of questionnaires focusing fear of COVID-19, associated safety behaviors, factual knowledge of COVID-19, and other psychological pointers hypothesized to be as predictors of anxious responses to COVID-19 threat and associated safety behaviors. RESULTS: The sample appeared to be fearful of COVID-19 and this fear was related to disgust sensitivity, anxiety sensitivity-related physical concerns, body vigilance, contamination cognitions, and general distress. Results suggested that the tendency of overestimating the severity of contamination and anxiety sensitivity towards physical concerns are significant predictors of COVID-19 related fear and consequent safety behaviors. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that people with a greater concern of contamination are likely to respond fearfully to COVID-19 and that people with higher fear of COVID-19 are likely to feel contamination concerns.