Barries to Health

The article I chose to analyze is titled Coping in parents of children who are chronically ill: strategies for assessment and intervention, which focused on psychosocial and physical health related determinants in their strategy to confront caregiver burden and promote positive coping strategies to identified stressors. The research done by Melnyk, Feinstein, Moldenhouer, and Small (2001), addressed strategies for assessing stress related needs in parents of chronically ill children and health promotional interventions, which have similarities to aspects of the group's video and components of their health promotional program structure. Specifically, Melnyk et al. (2001), explore the effects of their educational-behavioral program pilot study, respectively, the COPE (Creating Opportunities for Parent Empowerment) program.

Both the group's program and the study's suggestions, offered an educational and health awareness component in respect to common stress related areas of caregivers' health and essentially coping mechanisms. As described by Melnyk et al. (2001), "such interventions have been shown to decrease parental and child anxiety, increase compliance with medication and treatment regimens, decrease preventable problems, and increase feelings of control." Similarly, both of programs discussed various physical health threats to ones wellbeing due to increasing stress and helpful tools to help alleviate and manage them. Overall, both programs took a problem solving approach in guiding program design and implementation, which is found to be useful by "identifying problems, determining options, evaluating options and choosing the best one, acting, and seeing if it works," (Melnyk et al., 2001), which likely will result in better coping outcomes.

b. What was the biggest strength of the video? Why?

I believe that the biggest strength of the video was the variety of effective tools in disseminating their program and desired information. Specifically, they included a useful technique incorporating a "Stress Journal" which was provided by the group I efforts to minimize a potential barrier with regard to not buying a journal. They also incorporated the "Heart rate reserve method," aerobic exercise, and yoga, to reduce stress by providing strategies to participate successfully. Likewise, "Hidden fitness tips" component provided useful educational tools, and quality resources such as the booklet which I believe is called "Exercise &ump; Physical Activity: Your Everyday Guide from the National Institute on Aging." By integrating the previously discussed areas, I feel like this group hit upon some key points in regards to effectively providing information to their target audience.

c. How does the video suggest OT can help meet some specific societal needs other than that