A Localized Lifestyle Medicine Initiative Targeting Mental Health

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avondale-bepress-to-dspace.facultyNursing
avondale-bepress-to-dspace.peer_review_statusPeer reviewed before publication
avondale-bepress.abstract<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>To pilot a community-based, localised lifestyle medicine intervention for improving residents' mental health, wellbeing and resilience. <strong></strong></p> <p><strong>Background:</strong> Mental health is deteriorating globally, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its residual effects. There is an urgent need to provide large-scale interventions that equip the general population with knowledge and skills to improve their mental health, wellbeing and resilience. Disseminating lifestyle medicine interventions through local governing authorities may provide an efficient model for achieving community-wide impact.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong> Avondale University and Lake Macquarie City Council (LMCC), located in Australia, partnered to offer a free, online, seven-week, lifestyle-based mental health promotion program to all residents of the LMCC during a COVID-19 lockdown. LMCC promoted the program through established networks and 2390 households registered—4041 participants. In a mixed-methods design, 138 participants responded to a post-program survey that included questions and statements (using Likert scales) about: their perceived mental wellbeing before and after the program; the program's effect on self-efficacy for managing mental health; and program satisfaction. Qualitative questions probed participants' likes and dislikes and were analysed thematically.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> The majority (89%) of respondents reported that participating in the program improved their mental health, and 99% indicated they would recommend the program to a friend. While 37% rated themselves as having either 'poor' or 'fair' mental health at the beginning of the intervention, only 6% reported being in that range on completion. Most respondents (94%) believed they gained skills to help them manage their wellbeing, and 91% perceived the learnings would continue to impact their mental health positively. Themes generated from the qualitative data showed that most participants liked the video content and delivery style, community camaraderie, growth in personal empowerment, and accessibility. Some participants did not find accessibility easy, disliked the delivery style, and experienced technical difficulties.</p> <p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> The community-based, online, localised lifestyle medicine intervention improved residents' perceived mental health and skills for future mental health management. Overall, participants were satisfied with the intervention and valued the content, community togetherness and emphasis on self-empowerment.</p>
avondale-bepress.articleid1039
avondale-bepress.authorsMelanie Renfrew
avondale-bepress.authorsDarren Peter Morton
avondale-bepress.authorsPaul Meredith Rankin
avondale-bepress.context-key34304078
avondale-bepress.coverpage-urlhttps://research.avondale.edu.au/nh_conferences/35
avondale-bepress.document-typeconference
avondale-bepress.field.author_faculty_disciplineNursing
avondale-bepress.field.comments<p>Used by permission: the author(s).</p> <p>Copyright © The Author(s) 2023</p>
avondale-bepress.field.custom_citation<p>Renfrew, M., Morton, D., & Rankin, P. (2022). A localized lifestyle medicine initiative targeting mental health [Conference presentation abstract]. <em>American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine</em>, 17(1_suppl), 75. https://doi.org/10.1177/15598276221128370</p>
avondale-bepress.field.doi10.1177/15598276221128370
avondale-bepress.field.embargo_date2023-03-21T00:00:00Z
avondale-bepress.field.field_of_education06 Health
avondale-bepress.field.for_20214206 Public health
avondale-bepress.field.issn1559-8284
avondale-bepress.field.peer_reviewBefore publication
avondale-bepress.field.proceedingsAmerican College of Lifestyle Medicine Annual Conference, Orlando, FL
avondale-bepress.field.publication_date2022-11-15T00:00:00Z
avondale-bepress.field.reportable_itemsE5
avondale-bepress.field.research_centreLifestyle Medicine and Health Research Centre
avondale-bepress.field.source_fulltext_urlhttps://doi.org/10.1177/15598276221128370
avondale-bepress.field.staff_classificationContract
avondale-bepress.keywordsMental health
avondale-bepress.keywordsCommunity-based
avondale-bepress.keywordsLifestyle Medicine
avondale-bepress.label35
avondale-bepress.publication-date2022-11-15T00:00:00Z
avondale-bepress.publication-titleNursing and Health Conference Papers
avondale-bepress.statepublished
avondale-bepress.submission-date2023-03-21T15:48:11Z
avondale-bepress.submission-pathnh_conferences/35
avondale-bepress.titleA Localized Lifestyle Medicine Initiative Targeting Mental Health
avondale-bepress.typearticle
dc.contributor.authorRankin, Paul Meredith
dc.contributor.authorMorton, Darren Peter
dc.contributor.authorRenfrew, Melanie
dc.date.accessioned2023-11-01T00:35:53Z
dc.date.available2023-11-01T00:35:53Z
dc.date.issued2022-11-15
dc.date.submitted2023-03-21T15:48:11Z
dc.description.abstract<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>To pilot a community-based, localised lifestyle medicine intervention for improving residents' mental health, wellbeing and resilience. <strong></strong></p> <p><strong>Background:</strong> Mental health is deteriorating globally, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its residual effects. There is an urgent need to provide large-scale interventions that equip the general population with knowledge and skills to improve their mental health, wellbeing and resilience. Disseminating lifestyle medicine interventions through local governing authorities may provide an efficient model for achieving community-wide impact.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong> Avondale University and Lake Macquarie City Council (LMCC), located in Australia, partnered to offer a free, online, seven-week, lifestyle-based mental health promotion program to all residents of the LMCC during a COVID-19 lockdown. LMCC promoted the program through established networks and 2390 households registered—4041 participants. In a mixed-methods design, 138 participants responded to a post-program survey that included questions and statements (using Likert scales) about: their perceived mental wellbeing before and after the program; the program's effect on self-efficacy for managing mental health; and program satisfaction. Qualitative questions probed participants' likes and dislikes and were analysed thematically.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> The majority (89%) of respondents reported that participating in the program improved their mental health, and 99% indicated they would recommend the program to a friend. While 37% rated themselves as having either 'poor' or 'fair' mental health at the beginning of the intervention, only 6% reported being in that range on completion. Most respondents (94%) believed they gained skills to help them manage their wellbeing, and 91% perceived the learnings would continue to impact their mental health positively. Themes generated from the qualitative data showed that most participants liked the video content and delivery style, community camaraderie, growth in personal empowerment, and accessibility. Some participants did not find accessibility easy, disliked the delivery style, and experienced technical difficulties.</p> <p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> The community-based, online, localised lifestyle medicine intervention improved residents' perceived mental health and skills for future mental health management. Overall, participants were satisfied with the intervention and valued the content, community togetherness and emphasis on self-empowerment.</p>
dc.description.versionBefore publication
dc.identifier.citation<p>Renfrew, M., Morton, D., & Rankin, P. (2022). A localized lifestyle medicine initiative targeting mental health [Conference presentation abstract]. <em>American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine</em>, 17(1_suppl), 75. https://doi.org/10.1177/15598276221128370</p>
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1177/15598276221128370
dc.identifier.issn1559-8284
dc.identifier.urihttps://research.avondale.edu.au/handle/123456789/34304078
dc.language.isoen_us
dc.rights<p>Used by permission: the author(s).</p> <p>Copyright © The Author(s) 2023</p>
dc.subjectMental health
dc.subjectCommunity-based
dc.subjectLifestyle Medicine
dc.titleA Localized Lifestyle Medicine Initiative Targeting Mental Health
dc.typeConference Publication
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