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ERIC Number: EJ910259
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Feb
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0303-8300
EISSN: N/A
Quality of Life as Medicine: Interventions that Induce Salutogenesis. A Review of the Literature
Ventegodt, Soren; Omar, Hatim A.; Merrick, Joav
Social Indicators Research, v100 n3 p415-433 Feb 2011
This paper reviews the medical (salutogenic) effect of interventions that aim to improve quality of life. Review of studies where the global quality of life in chronically ill patients was improved independently of subjective and objective factors (like physical and mental health, yearly income, education, social network, self-esteem, sexual ability and problems or work). The methods used were subtypes of integrative medicine (non-drug CAM) like mind body medicine, body psychotherapy, clinical holistic medicine, consciousness-based medicine and sexology. In about 20 papers on QOL as medicine, in cancer, coronary heart disease, chronic pain, mental illness, sexual dysfunction, low self-esteem, low working ability and poor QOL, the most successful intervention strategy seems to be to create a maternal, infantile bonding induced by a combination of conversation therapy and bodywork. The papers examined the treatments of over 2,000 chronically ill or dysfunctional patients and more than 20 different types of health problems. Global QOL measured by SEQOL, QOL5, QOL1, self-rated physical health, self-rated mental health, self-rated sexual functioning, anorgasmia, genital pain, self-rated working ability, self-rated relation to self, well-being, life-satisfaction, happiness, fulfillment of needs, experience of temporal and spatial domains, expression of life's potentials, and objective functioning. We found "QOL as medicine" able in the treatment of physical disorders and illnesses including chronic pain (Number Needed to Treat (NNT) = 1-3, Number Needed to Harm (NNH) greater than 500), in mental illness (NNT = 1-3, NNH greater than 500), in sexual dysfunctions (NNT = 1-2, NNH greater than 1,000), self-rated low working ability (NNT = 2, NNH greater than 500), and self-rated low QOL (NNT = 2, NNH greater than 2,000). We found that QOL improving interventions helped or cured 30-90% of the patients, typically within one year, independent of the type of health problem. "QOL as medicine" seems to be able in improving chronic mental, somatic and sexual health issues without side effects.
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Publication Type: Information Analyses; Journal Articles
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A