Volunteers: An Effective Medium for Delivering Therapeutic Lifestyle Interventions.

Am J Health Promot

Fachbereich Oecotrophologie, 237055Facility Management, MÜNSTER, Raum: D 410, Germany.

Published: May 2022

Purpose: Lifestyle modification programs have been shown to effectively treat chronic disease. The Coronary Health Improvement Program has been delivered by both paid professional and unpaid volunteer facilitators. This study compared participant outcomes of each mode in the United States.

Design: Pre-/post-analysis of CHIP interventions delivered between 1999 and 2012.

Setting: Professional-delivered programs in Rockford Illinois 1999-2004 and volunteer-delivered programs across North America 2005-2012.

Subjects: Adults ≥21 years (professional programs N = 3158 34.3% men, mean age = 54.0 ± 11.4 years; volunteer programs N = 7115 33.4% men, mean age = 57.4 ± 13.0 years).

Measures: Body mass index, blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), blood lipid profile (total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein), and fasting plasma glucose.

Analysis: Analysis of Covariance, with adjustment for age, gender, BMI change and baseline biometric and effect sizes.

Results: The professional-delivered programs achieved significantly greater reductions in BMI (.4%, < .001) and HDL (1.9%, < .001) and the volunteer-delivered programs achieved greater reductions in SBP (1.4%, < .001), DBP (1.1%, < .001), TC (1.4%, = .004), LDL (2.3%, < .001), (4.0%, = .006), and FPG (2.7%, < .001). However, the effect size differences between the groups were minimal (Cohen's d .1-.2).

Conclusions: Lifestyle modification programs have been shown to effectively treat chronic disease. The Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP) lifestyle intervention has been delivered by both paid professional and unpaid volunteer facilitators. This study compared selected chronic disease biometric outcomes of participants in each mode in the United States. It found volunteer-delivered programs do not appear to be any less effective than programs delivered by paid professionals, which is noteworthy as volunteers may provide important social capital in the combat of chronic disease.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/08901171211062581DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

chronic disease
16
delivered paid
12
volunteer-delivered programs
12
programs
10
lifestyle modification
8
modification programs
8
programs effectively
8
effectively treat
8
treat chronic
8
health improvement
8

Similar Publications

Airway basal stem cell therapy for lung diseases: an emerging regenerative medicine strategy.

Stem Cell Res Ther

January 2025

Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.

Chronic pulmonary diseases pose a prominent health threat globally owing to their intricate pathogenesis and lack of effective reversal therapies. Nowadays, lung transplantation stands out as a feasible treatment option for patients with end-stage lung disease. Unfortunately, the use of this this option is limited by donor organ shortage and severe immunological rejection reactions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Fatigue and inactivity are linked to decreased health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in chronic conditions. A multidimensional approach to activity pacing may improve HRQoL by promoting physical activity (PA) and alleviating fatigue. Addressing fatigue across chronic conditions is crucial, especially when underlying causes are unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Mental health issues, particularly anxiety and depression, are increasingly prevalent among the occupational population. Environmental factors, such as dust exposure, may contribute to the worsening of these symptoms. While previous studies have examined the association between dust exposure and mental health, the moderating effect of sleep duration on this link in occupational settings remains under-explored.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Comparing spirometry, impulse oscillometry with computed tomography for assessing small airway dysfunction in subjects with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

BMC Pulm Med

January 2025

State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease & National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease & National Center for Respiratory Medicine & Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510120, China.

Background: Studies on consistency among spirometry, impulse oscillometry (IOS), and histology for detecting small airway dysfunction (SAD) remain scarce. Considering invasiveness of lung histopathology, we aimed to compare spirometry and IOS with chest computed tomography (CT) for SAD detection, and evaluate clinical characteristics of subjects with SAD assessed by these three techniques.

Methods: We collected baseline data from the Early COPD (ECOPD) study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a prominent neurodegenerative disorder affecting the central nervous system in the elderly. Current understanding of AD primarily centers on the gradual decline in cognitive and memory functions, believed to be influenced by factors including mitochondrial dysfunction, β-amyloid aggregation, and neuroinflammation. Emerging research indicates that neuroinflammation plays a significant role in the development of AD, with the inflammasome potentially mediating inflammatory responses that contribute to neurodegeneration.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!