Search Results (7,129)

Educators are working within increasingly complex environments characterized by rapid change and uncertainty, where future conditions, expectations, and appropriate responses are often ambiguous or difficult to anticipate. Technological innovation, political and social polarization, climate-related concerns, shifting policy landscapes, workforce pressures, and the lasting effects of public health disruptions each introduce distinct yet interconnected forms of uncertainty. While these domains of uncertainty have generated substantial bodies of scholarship, less attention has been paid to how multiple forms of uncertainty converge within educators’ professional lives. This essay introduces the concept of stacked uncertainties as a lens for understanding how overlapping uncertainties accumulate, interact, and amplify across interconnected technological, socio-political, ecological, organizational, and policy systems. From this perspective, multiple uncertainties compete for the same personal, relational, organizational, and material resources that support educator well-being and resilience. Resilience is understood as a dynamic process shaped by access to adaptive resources across ecological systems. Applying the concept of stacked uncertainties has practical implications for educational leadership, policy, professional learning, and initiatives aimed at strengthening conditions that support educator well-being and resilience amid ongoing complexity and change. Full article

Background/Objectives: Population ageing has increased the importance of promoting wellbeing and healthy ageing. Gerontological day centres may support the wellbeing of older adults. This study aimed to examine quality of life, active ageing, perceived social support, and loneliness in older adults attending gerontological day centres and to identify the factors associated with quality of life. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with 109 participants aged 60–98 years recruited from gerontological day centres in Huelva and Seville, Spain. Data were collected using the WHOQOL-BREF, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the ESTE II Loneliness Scale, and the Active Ageing Scale. Descriptive and comparative analyses were performed, followed by multiple linear regression to identify factors associated with quality of life. Results: Mean scores were 14.46 (SD = 1.83) for quality of life, 3.06 (SD = 0.36) for active ageing, 10.14 (SD = 3.00) for social loneliness, and 5.62 (SD = 0.93) for perceived social support. The multiple linear regression model accounted for 30.8% of the variance in quality of life (adjusted R² = 0.288), leaving approximately 69.2% of the variance unexplained by these factors. In this model, active ageing (β = 0.395; p < 0.001), social loneliness (β = −0.246; p = 0.004), and perceived social support (β = 0.188; p = 0.027) were independent predictors of quality of life. Bivariate analyses should be interpreted with caution as they were strictly exploratory. Conclusions: The study demonstrates that active ageing, low social loneliness, and solid perceived social support are the core multivariable predictors of quality of life among older adults in day centres. Secondary exploratory trends suggested minor baseline links with sleep duration, marital status, and employment status. Interventions should prioritize promoting active ageing and strengthening social networks, while future research needs to explore additional covariates to account for the remaining unexplained variance in well-being. Full article

Sustainable food system transformation is inseparable from planetary health, the interdependent wellbeing of human populations and the ecological systems that sustain them. Agroecology and regenerative agriculture are frequently portrayed as competing paradigms for sustainable food system transformation. This commentary challenges this framing as both analytically unwarranted and practically counterproductive. Grounded in Ethiopia’s smallholder agricultural context and informed by recent empirical evidence, we argue that these two approaches are complementary and mutually reinforcing. Agroecology emerged from an equity-centered, participatory, and politically engaged framework for transforming food systems, while regenerative agriculture contributes farm-level ecological restoration tools and measurable biophysical outcomes related to planetary health. Neither is sufficient alone: regenerative practices without agroecology’s social architecture risk reinforcing existing inequities; agroecology without a systematic effort to ensure a widespread increase in production for food security and a net positive regeneration of environmental health cannot fully deliver its transformative potential, particularly in contexts where productivity, livelihoods, and ecosystem restoration must be achieved Ethiopia’s concurrent validation of a National Agroecology Strategy (2026–2040) and advancement of a National Regenerative Agriculture Strategy (2026–2036) reflects a growing national recognition that these paradigms are essential partners, not rivals. An integrated framework embedding regenerative practices within agroecological principles offers the most scientifically grounded and contextually appropriate pathway for Ethiopia’s resilient, equitable, and productive agricultural transformation. Reframed in these terms, agroecology–regenerative integration is not simply a technical or sectoral fix but a direct contribution to planetary health, safeguarding the ecological systems, food security, and social equity on which human wellbeing ultimately depends. Full article

Island destinations combine natural settings, local culture, and participatory activities that may support recovery, social connection, and personal meaning. Evidence remains limited on the relative contribution of different island experience dimensions to tourist satisfaction and well-being, especially in inhabited island destinations. This study examined four experience dimensions in West Island, Sanya, China, and used the findings to develop a destination improvement model. Tourist satisfaction was conceptualised as a visit-specific evaluation, while tourist well-being referred to the broader psychological benefits associated with travel. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was adopted. The quantitative phase used 411 valid questionnaires from Chinese domestic tourists. A full six-construct confirmatory factor analysis assessed the measurement model, after which multiple and simple linear regressions tested the prespecified direct relationships. The six-factor model showed good fit (χ²(390) = 389.98, p = 0.491, CFI = 1.000, TLI = 1.000, RMSEA = 0.000, SRMR = 0.035). The four experience dimensions explained 58.0% of the variance in tourist satisfaction. Co-creation experience made the largest unique contribution (β = 0.345), followed by emotional experience (β = 0.329) and environmental experience (β = 0.312; all p < 0.001). Educational experience was not significant (β = 0.029, p = 0.422). Tourist satisfaction had a significant positive influence on tourist well-being (β = 0.764, p < 0.001; R² = 0.583). Semi-structured interviews with 12 experienced tourists explained the coefficient pattern through ten themes, and seven academic and industry experts refined five strategic components through two Delphi rounds. The resulting model prioritises cultural co-creation, emotional resonance, environmental quality, and service support, while treating transformative learning as an area for targeted development and evaluation. The integration of survey results, tourist accounts, and expert assessment provides an evidence base for selecting and monitoring destination improvements in inhabited island settings. Full article

Cities increasingly invest in social infrastructure—parks, plazas, libraries, and other shared environments—to foster connection and wellbeing. Yet proximity does not reliably translate into meaningful social interaction, thereby revealing a persistent gap in understanding how connection emerges in urban contexts. This paper advances a relational model of urban social wellbeing that shifts analytical focus from spatial provision to interactional process. Drawing on an integrative conceptual synthesis of urban studies, micro-sociology, and social psychology, the model specifies how environmental conditions shape patterns of engagement over time. Urban social life unfolds as a staged sequence of interactional dynamics that progress from co-presence and recognition through civil inattention, triangulation, acknowledgment, interaction, and repetition. Across these stages, perceived social risk operates as a probabilistic filter that shapes transition likelihoods and explains why interaction often stalls. The paper further introduces social fitness as a contextual and relational capacity that develops through repeated interaction. By distinguishing between relational capacity and relational outcomes, the model explains how social wellbeing emerges through relational layering, as individuals accumulate a portfolio of strong, weak, and invisible ties that support belonging and integration. Conceptualizing urban social life as a dynamic system, the model offers a framework for empirical investigation and positions urban design as the shaping of interactional conditions. Full article

Background/Objectives: Nurses are frequently exposed to emotionally demanding situations, placing them at risk of adverse psychological outcomes such as secondary traumatic stress (STS) and burnout. Personality traits, particularly perfectionism, may influence these outcomes. Submissive compassion, characterized by caring behavior motivated by a desire for approval or avoidance of rejection, may play an explanatory role in these relationships. Methods: This study examined whether submissive compassion was statistically associated with the relationship between perfectionism and professional quality of life (ProQOL) among hospital nurses, while accounting for potential confounding and moderating factors. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among ward nurses working in hospitals in Japan. Participants completed measures of perfectionism, submissive compassion, and ProQOL. Data from 218 nurses were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results: Socially prescribed perfectionism was positively associated with submissive compassion and STS. Submissive compassion was significantly associated with the indirect relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and STS. Age moderated the association between submissive compassion and STS, with stronger indirect effects observed among older nurses. Additionally, self-oriented perfectionism showed a relationship with stress-related outcomes, whereas socially prescribed perfectionism was associated with burnout. Conclusions: The findings suggest that submissive compassion may contribute to the association between perfectionism and adverse psychological outcomes among nurses. These results underscore the potential importance of maladaptive compassion motives in understanding how perfectionism relates to STS in this population and may help inform interventions aimed at supporting nurses’ psychological well-being. Full article

Although conventionally quantified as an urban–rural thermal anomaly, urban heat islands are systematic expressions of development choices that shape unequal exposures and health risks across cities. This article develops an integrated urban development-health framework explaining how imperviousness, vegetation deficit, landscape configuration, urban morphology, thermally absorptive materials and nocturnal heat retention connect heat exposure with physical disease, mental well-being and climate-responsive planning. A critical integrative review reported using PRISMA 2020 and PRISMA-ScR principles, organised evidence from urban climate, public health, environmental epidemiology and planning. The synthesis covers the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI), Local Climate Zones (LCZs), sky-view factor (SVF), height-to-width ratio (H/W), land-surface temperature (LST), Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET), wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) and nocturnal minimum temperature, together with cardiovascular, respiratory, psychiatric, sleep, mortality and well-being outcomes. Six recurrent amplification pathways were identified: imperviousness and low canopy cover; nocturnal heat retention; social vulnerability; blue-green and cool infrastructure; heat–pollution–humidity interaction; and sleep/mental-health disruption. The Urban Heat-Health Development Index (UHHDI) and Urban Heat-Health Amplification Pattern (UHHAP) are proposed as transparent, review-derived tools for urban diagnosis and policy prioritisation. A Spanish/Mediterranean climatic-zone transition analysis illustrates how future climatic severity can be translated into planning-relevant exposure potential. The findings support a shift from simply describing urban heat to diagnosing development-driven heat-health risk, with implications for urban regeneration, thermal justice, public-health adaptation and healthy-city governance. Full article

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the sociodemographic factors influencing oral hygiene habits and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among complete denture wearers at Kuwait University Dental Clinic (KUDC). Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire and an Oral Health Impact Profile-19 (OHIP-19) instrument to assess oral hygiene habits and OHRQoL in 61 complete denture patients, treated by dental undergraduate students at KUDC, between January 2019 and December 2023. Additionally, a clinical assessment of denture hygiene was performed using the Budtz-Jörgensen denture plaque index for all patients (n = 61). Sociodemographic, general health status, oral hygiene habits, and OHRQoL-related data were collected. Results: A total of 37.7% of included participants were aged 51–60 years, with 75.4% being male. Most participants (81.96%) had a high school education or less. Caries was reported as the primary cause of tooth loss (83.6%), and 77.04% recorded irregular dental visits. Only 46.05% of participants demonstrated optimal and/or good denture hygiene. Toothpaste was the most common cleaning method (79.21%), and 70.62% removed their dentures at night. A significant association was found between education level and denture wearing (p = 0.035), as well as between gender and the frequency of dental visits (p = 0.024). However, no significant relationship was observed between gender and denture hygiene (p = 0.52). The OHIP-19 results revealed that poor denture hygiene impacted OHRQoL across multiple domains, including functional limitation, physical pain, psychological discomfort, and social disability. Conclusions: Unsatisfactory denture hygiene was prevalent among participants, possibly due to limited awareness or inadequate instructions provided by dental health practitioners. Education level and gender influenced certain aspects of denture care, highlighting the need for targeted oral health education programs and improved patient guidance from dental practitioners. Additionally, poor denture hygiene was associated with reduced OHRQoL, emphasizing the importance of addressing both oral hygiene practices and their psychosocial impacts to improve overall well-being. Full article

University students in diverse higher education contexts face concurrent risks: flourishing often below optimal levels alongside elevated depression and anxiety, though these are often addressed through generic, undifferentiated wellbeing provision. In diverse settings such as United Arab Emirates (UAE) universities, where international students constitute the majority of many student bodies, how campus activities relate to social belonging is both a wellbeing question and an equity issue. This study examined how extracurricular participation, sport (a subset of extracurricular participation), and exercise were associated with student wellbeing among 801 students across two UAE institutions. Extracurricular participation was associated with social belonging, which showed significant indirect associations with flourishing, depression, and anxiety, consistent across covariate adjustment and robustness checks. Exercise showed a similarly consistent direct association with flourishing; it was also associated with lower depression and anxiety in the primary model, though these associations were less robust than the flourishing finding and did not hold under further sensitivity checks. Sport showed a small association with stress mindset and anxiety, though this relies on a measure with low reliability and should be treated as tentative. Loneliness was not significantly associated with any engagement form. These findings point to a differentiated picture of campus engagement, in which extracurricular participation and exercise show the clearest links to wellbeing, while sport’s association with stress appraisal requires further evidence. Full article

Objective: Latines in the United States (US) experience disproportionate HIV-related inequities, exacerbated by immigration-related legal precarity and exclusionary policies. This study explores how racialized legal status (RLS), a mechanism by which race-neutral legal classifications disproportionately burden minorities, impacts the lived experiences of Latines with HIV (LWH) across the HIV care continuum. Methods: We conducted a secondary qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with 21 LWH, 15 healthcare providers, and 10 key informants in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Drawing on RLS framework, data was analyzed thematically, focusing on emergent themes related to immigration, politics, and legal status and their impact on LWH. Results: Policies linking access to health and social services to legal status intensified economic instability and social exclusion, thus leading to suboptimal disease management. Fear of deportation, institutional mistrust, discrimination, and intersectional stigma contribute to healthcare avoidance, disrupting continuity and engagement across the HIV care continuum. Institutions providing services to LWH struggle to circumvent barriers caused by RLS, straining local and community-based resources. Conclusions: RLS erodes whole-person care by creating barriers for healthcare and social services access. Addressing inequities among Latines requires multilevel responses that reduce exclusionary policies and support the well-being of individuals at the intersection of immigration status and chronic disease management. Full article

Overnight programming is an effective intervention that builds social satisfaction, well-being and community; however, the mechanisms supporting these outcomes are not well understood. This qualitative study explores concepts that contribute to social benefits of overnight programs and outlines best practices. Using purposive convenience sampling of an agency that conducts overnight programming, eight adults with disabilities (ages 22–56) participated in semi-structured interviews. Researchers utilized thematic analysis to analyze the interviews. Five themes developed: (a) Experience (program activities, connection to friends, and fun), (b) Liminality (being away from everyday life, respite, and transitory spaces), (c) Opportunity (personal growth, and trying new things), (d) Social Facilitation (interactions between participants, like-mindedness and relationship building), and (e) Support (friends, and staff). Results illustrate overnight programming provides opportunities for participants to experience new things and build social connections. The findings of this study are consistent with the ideas of liminality and communitas, supported by sense of community theory. Practitioners should consider incorporating the four elements of sense of community (membership, influence, fulfillment of needs, and strong emotional connections) when designing overnight programming. Full article

Human–animal therapeutic relationships are commonly evaluated through their effects on human psychological, emotional and social well-being, whereas the experiences and welfare of non-human animals remain less consistently examined. This narrative interdisciplinary review analyses such relationships through interpretative asymmetry, integrating human–animal studies, ethology, animal welfare science and biological approaches to interspecies communication. Selected cultural examples are used only as illustrative boundary narratives. Interpretative asymmetry is defined not as a statistically measured variable, but as a conceptual and structural imbalance in interpretative authority, communicative access and agency. Humans define therapeutic goals, organize interaction and attribute meanings such as trust, reciprocity or support to non-human animal behaviour. Non-human animals respond through species-specific sensory, behavioural and physiological mechanisms that may indicate affiliation, habituation, stress regulation, inhibition or conflict avoidance. Animal-assisted interventions and animal-assisted therapy (AAI/AAT) should therefore be assessed through human benefit and animal welfare indicators, including workload, rest, agency, withdrawal opportunities and handler competence. Dogs and horses are discussed as applied contexts in which these asymmetries become visible, whereas wild-animal narratives are treated as boundary examples of projection and romanticization. Recognizing non-human animals as active, welfare-sensitive participants is essential for ethical therapeutic practice. Full article

Self-managed leisure is a key determinant of volitional development and the transition to adulthood in young people. This article examines the relationship between perceived family and social support environments and levels of self-management and motivation among young people aged 18 to 29. A quantitative descriptive-correlational design was used to administer the Self-managed Leisure Scale (SLS) [Escala de Autogestión del Ocio (SLS)] and the Environment Scale (ES) [Escala de Entornos (EE)] to a sample of 468 young people living in Spain. The results reveal medium-to-high levels of self-management, highlighting that women have greater perceived competencies and relational connections than men, although they also perceive greater social barriers. It was confirmed that greater family and social support correlates significantly with higher levels of autonomy, competence and social relationships in leisure time. In the area of motivation, multiple orientations are observed to coexist, with slightly higher average scores for the identified regulation. It was concluded that self-management is an essential psychosocial mechanism for integral human development, which enables young people to be the authors of their own experience. Fostering environments that nurture basic psychosocial needs is critical for promoting active, healthy and engaged citizens and transforming leisure into a space of participation and well-being. Full article

Background/Objectives: Dog-assisted wellbeing activities are increasingly used in higher education, but their short-term cardiovascular correlates and the usefulness of integrated physiological indices remain insufficiently examined. This study evaluated cardiovascular changes associated with participation in StressLess, a multicomponent university wellbeing program involving supervised interaction with trained dogs, and explored several integrated cardiovascular indices. Methods: A total of 147 students participated voluntarily, generating 379 attendances, of which 375 complete session-level pre–post records were retained. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) were measured before and after standardized rest periods and 30–40 min of supervised interaction. The primary analysis was restricted to each participant’s first attendance (N = 147) to ensure independence. Sensitivity analyses included all valid session records and participant-level averages. Results: At first attendance, mean SBP decreased from 117.56 to 112.88 mmHg, DBP from 74.05 to 70.95 mmHg, and HR from 82.11 to 75.09 beats/min (all p < 0.001; r = 0.41–0.59). The StressLess Cardiovascular Dynamics Index also decreased significantly (mean reduction = 0.408; p < 0.001; r = 0.66), and alternative formulations produced comparable results. Both sensitivity analyses reproduced the direction and statistical significance of the primary findings. Conclusions: Participation in the complete StressLess session was associated with short-term cardiovascular reductions. Because no control condition was included, the specific contribution of dog interaction cannot be separated from rest, social contact, expectancy, and temporary disengagement from academic activity. Integrated indices may provide useful exploratory summaries but require external validation before diagnostic or clinical use. Full article

Introduction: Halitosis is a common oral condition that may negatively affect social interactions, psychological well-being, and quality of life. However, evidence regarding its association with mental health and sleep quality remains inconsistent, particularly among university students. Aim: This cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence of objectively measured halitosis and its association with tongue coating, sleep quality, and symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress among university students from the metropolitan region of Santos, Brazil. Methods: Sixty-two Brazilian university students enrolled in health-related undergraduate programs participated in the study; most were in the first academic year (61.3%) and resided in the municipality of Santos (59.7%). Halitosis was assessed using a portable breath detector, tongue coating was evaluated using the Coated Tongue Index, sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress were measured using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Results: Objectively measured halitosis was identified in 25 participants (40.3%; 95% CI: 29.0–52.7%). The analyses did not provide statistically significant evidence of associations between objectively measured halitosis and tongue coating, sleep quality, or symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress. Significant positive correlations were identified between stress and sleep disturbance, anxiety and sleep disturbance, and depression and sleep latency, daytime dysfunction, and overall sleep quality. Tongue-cleaning habits were significantly associated with the presence of halitosis, whereas oral mucosal desquamation was less frequent among participants with halitosis. Conclusion: The study did not provide statistically significant evidence of associations between objectively measured halitosis and tongue coating, sleep quality, or psychological symptoms in this population. Significant positive correlations were identified between stress and sleep disturbance, anxiety and sleep disturbance, and depression and sleep latency, daytime dysfunction, and overall sleep quality. These findings highlight the importance of objectively assessing oral malodor in epidemiological studies. Full article