Tag: humour

Categories : HospitalsTags :

A Little Humour Goes a Long Way in the Wards

On By ModernMedia

Study finds that a light joke can lift everybody’s mood – but sarcasm can sour things

Photo by Carmel Nsenga

A humorous remark at just the right time can go a long way. Benevolent humour helps medical assistants (MAs) cope positively with their stressful working day, according to a new study published in the journal BMC Primary Care. Researchers surveyed more than 600 MAs to find out how they experience their work and what style of humour they use in their daily working lives. They found that if the respondents preferred light, well-intended humour, they were more satisfied with their work and received more positive feedback. Dark humour, such as sarcasm, was more likely to have disadvantages.

Medical assistants mostly work in primary health care, especially medical practices. In Germany, working as an MA requires a three-year vocational training. The daily work routine of MAs can be very demanding. They are responsible for administrative work and, for example, taking blood samples and applying wound dressings. This new study by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) aimed to investigate how humour helps them get through their day.

“Medical assistants are in very close contact with patients for most of the day. They have a lot of responsibility and experience a lot of stress,” says Julia Raecke from BIBB, who is doing her doctorate at MLU. It has long been known that humour can help healthcare workers cope with stress. “However, little is known about the consequences of different humour styles. We set out to investigate those, as it should make a big difference, whether MAs use puns or sarcasm when dealing with patients. Talking to people that are potentially sick requires a lot of empathy and verbal dexterity,” explains Professor René Proyer, a psychologist at MLU.

The two researchers conducted an online survey of more than 600 MAs. The aim was to understand better the relationship between job satisfaction and different humour styles. In addition to the kind of humour they prefer, respondents also provided information about their well-being in the workplace and how competent they feel at work.

If the respondents preferred positive and benevolent humour, they were in general also more satisfied with their work. But not only that: “MAs with a preference for light humour stated that they received more positive feedback and were more likely to feel that they were making a difference at work,” says Julia Raecke. Surprisingly, presumably negative or dark humour did not score worse across the board. “Even though satire and irony are considered dark humour, we found no negative correlation with the respondents’ well-being,” adds Raecke. In contrast, cynicism and especially sarcasm had negative effects. Yet, this does not mean that sarcasm should be condemned completely. “A short sarcastic remark among colleagues might help to release frustration,” says René Proyer.

According to the researchers, humour is one of several factors that influence well-being at work. “Knowing about the effects of humour and different styles can help to make conversations with patients more pleasant. That said, waiting rooms are not supposed to become comedy clubs. It’s more about using humour consciously and appropriately,” concludes Proyer.

The results of the study could help to develop new training programmes. For example, Raecke is investigating whether the social and emotional skills of MAs can be improved with the help of online training.

Source: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg

Categories : Ageing General InterestTags :

Most Superheroes Will Age Healthily, Researchers Conclude

On By ModernMedia
Spider-Man has a healthy outlook, so long as he doesn’t binge drink or smoke like his mentor, Iron Man. Source: Pixabay

Australian researchers in the Christmas edition of the British Medical Journal took a whimsical look at the ageing trajectories of Marvel superheroes based on their attributes and behaviours as seen in the films, finding them to be largely well-adjusted and likely to age healthily. 

Positive behaviours and health assets
Marvel superheroes are physically active, socially engaged, and optimistic, with high educational attainment and (with one notable exception) healthy weight, all of which have been associated with a positive ageing trajectory.

The review found that superheroes regularly engage in physical activity and exercise, both associated with healthy ageing. They often undertake high intensity interval training (HIIT), associated with improved health status in ageing men.

Even during discussions about how to stop aliens from enslaving humanity, superheroes stand regularly and pace, increasing their step count and further improving their healthy outlook.

In terms of social engagement, superheroes exhibit a high degree of social cohesion and connectedness, both linked to reduced dementia risk. People with strong social ties tend to live longer than isolated people, regardless of other risk factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity.

The superheroes show a positive or optimistic mindset on several occasions, as well as psychological resilience and a sense of purpose, all of which have been associated with healthy ageing.  Some have traumatic backgrounds, including Spider-Man who was orphaned, which increases his risk of substance abuse and mental health problems. However, his supportive social contacts, including positive male role models help mitigate this.

Most of the superheroes did not drink or smoke excessively, save for Iron Man and Thor, which is associated with longevity and healthy ageing. However, Thor is already thousands of years old and the researchers could not assume that modifiable personal traits would affect his life trajectory.

Negative behaviours and risk factors
Superheroes are exposed to loud noises, air pollution, and receive multiple head injuries precipitated by high risk physical activities.

Superheroes are repeatedly exposed to loud noises such as explosions, which is linked to hearing loss, which in turn is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. Some of the superheroes, such as Hulk and Thor, have booming voices, potentially indicative of early sensorineural hearing loss.

During their activities, superheroes sustain multiple major head injuries, increasing their dementia risk. Involvement in high risk activities, which could increase their likelihood for life changing physical injury and disability.

Of the individual cases presented, Black Panther has probably the best health outlook, as he is extremely wealthy and intelligent, health assets that he shares in common with Iron Man. However, unlike Iron Man, he does not drink or smoke excessively, and is a vegetarian, which has well-studied benefits in healthy ageing.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Hulk was noted to have serious health concerns. Bruce Banner transforms to the Hulk when he experiences tachycardia—specifically, a heart rate of 200 beats per minute. The frequency of this occurrence suggests a predisposition to cardiac arrhythmias, possibly indicating underlying cardiac disease.

Hulk’s body mass index (BMI) is about 120 (calculated from height 213cm–243cm and weight 471kg–635kg). Although being in the overweight category might be protective, obesity is associated with a higher death rate as well as dementia, and several chronic health conditions and frailty. Hulk’s BMI also raises pragmatic concerns around future access to appropriate healthcare. Hulk’s almost constant anger (“That’s my secret Captain. I’m always angry”) might lead to increased inflammation and comorbidity in advanced old age.

Source: The British Medical Journal

Categories : General InterestTags :

Brain Surgeons versus Rocket Scientists: Who’s Brainier?

On By ModernMedia
Source: Sammy Williams on Unsplash

A light-hearted research article published in the Christmas edition of the BMJ sought to see once for all who is ‘brainier’: brain surgeons versus rocket scientists.

Brain surgeons and rocket scientists are often put on a pedestal as the exemplars of intellectual endeavour. But which of them is smarter and deserves the accolade more? Or at all? A group of neurosurgeons – who were, of course, totally unbiased – decided to resolve this conundrum.

Delving into the background of the phrases, they wrote that, “The phrase ‘It’s not rocket science’ is thought to have originated in America in the 1950s when German rocket scientists were brought over to support the developing space program and design of military rockets,” a research team led by University College London neuroscientist Inga Usher explained in their new paper.

“The origin of ‘It’s not brain surgery’ is less clear. It is tempting to speculate that the pioneering techniques of the polymath and neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing captured the attention of the public and promulgated the phrase.”

Their study aimed to settle the debate once and for all, and to “provide rocket scientists and brain surgeons with evidence to support their self-assuredness in the company of the other party.” The researchers tested participants across cognitive domains such as emotional discrimination and motor control. Eschewing an overall winner, they assessed the cognitive characteristics of each specialty using a validated online test, the Great British Intelligence Test (GBIT). This test had been used to measure distinct aspects of human cognition, spanning planning and reasoning, working memory, attention, and emotion processing abilities in more than 250 000 members of the British public. Rather than being an IQ test, it is intended to more finely discriminate aspects of cognitive ability. The dataset also let the researchers benchmark both specialties against the general population.

The neurosurgeons showed significantly higher scores than the aerospace engineers in semantic problem solving (possibly attributable to their familiarity with Latin and Greek scientific terminology). Aerospace engineers showed significantly higher scores in mental manipulation and attention. Domain scores for memory, spatial problem solving, problem solving speed, and memory recall speed were similar for both groups. When each group’s scores for the six domains were compared with those in the general population, only two differences were significant: the neurosurgeons’ problem solving speed was quicker and their memory recall speed was slower. No significant difference was found between aerospace engineers and the control population in any of the domains. 

The researchers observed that, “despite the stereotypes depicted by the phrases ‘It’s not rocket science’ and ‘It’s not brain surgery’, all three groups showed a wide range of cognitive abilities. In the original GBIT, 90% of Britons scored above average on at least one aspect of intelligence, illustrating the importance of studying multiple domains that make up a concept of intelligence rather than a single measure.”

The researchers came to the conclusion that, based on the findings, in situations that do not require rapid problem solving, it might be more correct to use the phrase “It’s not brain surgery”. It is possible that both neurosurgeons and aerospace engineers are unnecessarily placed on a pedestal and that “It’s a walk in the park” or another phrase unrelated to careers might be more appropriate. Other specialties might deserve to be on that pedestal, and future work should aim to determine the most deserving profession.

On a more serious note, they also considered that fewer young people are choosing surgery or engineering as a career path, and that such pursuits are commonly seen as ‘masculine’, deterring many females at an early stage. Their results however, showed that neither field differed significantly in cognitive aspects from the general public, which should help reassure future candidates that there is no ‘requirement’ for any type of personality trait.

Source: The British Medical Journal