Do Wellness Tourists Get Well? An Observational Study of Multiple Dimensions of Health and Well-Being After a Week-Long Retreat

Examining Real-World Evidence of Depression-Related Symptom Reduction Through a Comprehensive Holistic Lifestyle Intervention

Depression is a global health concern, with various treatments available. In this study, participants (n = 430) were self-selected or medically referred to a residential lifestyle program at the Black Hills Health & Education Center (BHHEC), with a mean stay of 19 days. Individualized treatment plans included structured physical activity sessions, counseling sessions, and the provision of a vegan diet. Beck Depression Inventory-II, self-reported total exercise minutes, resistance exercise minutes, and sleep, along with the number of holistic treatments and counseling sessions, were evaluated. Paired samples t-tests indicated a significant decrease in depression scores over time (MT1 = 20.14, MT2 = 6.17, P < .001). Results from the multiple linear regression that evaluated total exercise minutes, resistance exercise, number of treatments and counseling sessions, and average reported hours of nightly sleep on depression scores at time 2 indicated that average reported hours of nightly sleep were the only significant predictor of depression scores at time 2 (P < .05). While depression scores significantly improved from baseline to post-assessment for all participants, it is possible that an unmeasured variable, or the synergistic intervention effect of the wellness program, accounted for changes in depressive symptoms over time. Future studies should incorporate sleep quality and assessing time spent in nature to explore these relationships further.

Dimensions of the health benefits of wellness tourism: A review

The benefits of wellness tourism have been recently noted by researchers and industry representatives. This study examined the health dimensions of these benefits posited by a large array of interdisciplinary studies from 2002 up to the present. Open coding was used to conduct an inductive evaluation to classify these health benefits. Results showed four main dimensions, namely, physical fitness, psychological fitness, quality of life (QOL), and environmental health; however, these dimensions need further investigation. Physiological health benefits can also be demonstrated through future experiments, which can further focus on empirical research on the psychological benefits and its overall effect on the QOL. This study contributes to the current literature by providing novel theoretical foundations and subsequently aids practitioners to understand customers better and convey their marketing messages to tourists more effectively.

Designing the competency-based training model of Iranian medical tourism

BACKGROUND

Despite the great comparative advantage of Iran in terms of infrastructure, technology, and human resources as well as the significance of medical tourism in the tourist industry, in practice, the quality of human resources has received less attention. Consequently, this study was conducted to design a model of competency-based training for Iranian medical tourism.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study was an exploratory mix, and the Delphi method and semi-structured interviews were used for the qualitative part of this study. In the second part, the analytical method was utilized for the quantitative part of this study.

RESULTS

The results indicated the main components of medical tourism to be public interactions and private interactions and seven subcomponents. Medical Tourism's Competency includes three main components and seven subcomponents.

CONCLUSION

Although some training separated and scattered is present in Iran's medical tourism. However, Iran requires a comprehensive training model of which its design was explained in this paper.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Crohn's Disease

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a growing entity within inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). CAM includes mind-based therapies, body-based therapies, supplements, vitamins, and probiotics. Limitations currently exist for health care providers as it pertains to IBD and CAM that stem from knowledge gaps, conflicting reports, limited oversight, and a lack of well-organized clinical data. Even without well-described data, patients are turning to these forms of therapy at increasing rates. It is imperative that the ongoing review of CAM therapies is performed, and future trials are performed to better understand efficacy as well as adverse effects related to these therapies.

Taking care of the researcher -a nature and art-related activity retreat: Sharing natural space puts humanity into perspective

BACKGROUND

There has been an insufficient amount of studies that examine how academic working life of researchers can be supported.

OBJECTIVE

We examine the use of a nature and art-related activity retreat designed for researchers. The purpose was to evaluate if and how researchers perceived different workshop experiences set in nature as meaningful and important with regards to their self-care.

METHODS

A mixed group of six researchers from Sweden, Finland, and the United States met for a three-day retreat consisting of self-selected nature and art-related activities. From data constituted from participant reflections, a focus group interview, a three months follow-up questionnaire, and an analysis of the workshops undertaken, three major themes were identified: "Sharing and connection", "Embodiment" and "Nature".

RESULTS

Analysis of the workshop-style exercises did not show significant variance in reported meaningfulness and usefulness related to the activity itself. However, there was a strong correlation between perceived value and shared experience where the sharing of the natural space was felt to put humanity into perspective.

CONCLUSION

Organizing and systematizing health preventive retreats for researchers in academia may be an important part of the sustainabile academic community in which the researcher needs to be better taken care of in a more embodied way. Although this study was conducted prior to COVID-19, such retreats and potentially also online versions, could be useful for managing the pandemic and afterwards, in our new "normal".

Effects of running on adiponectin, insulin and cytokines in cerebrospinal fluid in healthy young individuals

Exercise can prevent the sedentary lifestyle-related risk of metabolic and cognitive decline, but mechanisms and mediators of exercise effects on human brain are relatively unexplored. We measured acute exercise-induced changes in adiponectin, insulin and other bioactive molecules in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum from young lean individuals. Samples of serum and CSF were obtained before and 1-h after the 90-min run (75–80% HRmax; maximal heart rate), additional serum was taken at finish-line. Body composition, physical fitness, metabolic rate, cognitive functions, food preference, glucose, insulin and albumin were measured. The spectrum of 174 cytokines was assessed by protein arrays, adiponectin was also determined by ELISA and immunoblotting. CSF adiponectin decreased post-exercise by 21.3% (arrays) and 25.8% (ELISA) (p < 0.009). Immunoblotting revealed reduction in a low-molecular-weight-adiponectin (p < 0.005). CSF adiponectin positively correlated with CSF/serum albumin ratio (p < 0.022), an indicator of blood-brain-barrier permeability. CSF and serum adiponectin were positively associated with memory and running-induced changes in insulinemia and CSF insulin. Additionally, running modulated CSF levels of 16 other cytokines. Acute running reduced CSF adiponectin and modulated insulin and albumin in CSF and serum. Associations of adiponectin with memory and metabolism indicate the potential role of this bioactive molecule in mediating exercise-induced adaptive response in human brain.

The health impact of residential retreats: a systematic review

Background

Unhealthy lifestyles are a major factor in the development and exacerbation of many chronic diseases. Improving lifestyles though immersive residential experiences that promote healthy behaviours is a focus of the health retreat industry. This systematic review aims to identify and explore published studies on the health, wellbeing and economic impact of retreat experiences.

Methods

MEDLINE, CINAHL and PsychINFO databases were searched for residential retreat studies in English published prior to February 2017. Studies were included if they were written in English, involved an intervention program in a residential setting of one or more nights, and included before-and-after data related to the health of participants. Studies that did not meet the above criteria or contained only descriptive data from interviews or case studies were excluded.

Results

A total of 23 studies including eight randomised controlled trials, six non-randomised controlled trials and nine longitudinal cohort studies met the inclusion criteria. These studies included a total of 2592 participants from diverse geographical and demographic populations and a great heterogeneity of outcome measures, with seven studies examining objective outcomes such as blood pressure or biological makers of disease, and 16 studies examining subjective outcomes that mostly involved self-reported questionnaires on psychological and spiritual measures. All studies reported post-retreat health benefits ranging from immediately after to five-years post-retreat. Study populations varied widely and most studies had small sample sizes, poorly described methodology and little follow-up data, and no studies reported on health economic outcomes or adverse effects, making it difficult to make definite conclusions about specific conditions, safety or return on investment.

Conclusions

Health retreat experiences appear to have health benefits that include benefits for people with chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis, various cancers, HIV/AIDS, heart conditions and mental health. Future research with larger numbers of subjects and longer follow-up periods are needed to investigate the health impact of different retreat experiences and the clinical populations most likely to benefit. Further studies are also needed to determine the economic benefits of retreat experiences for individuals, as well as for businesses, health insurers and policy makers.

The Interrelated Physiological and Psychological Effects of EcoMeditation

This study investigated changes in psychological and physiological markers during a weekend meditation workshop (N = 34). Psychological symptoms of anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and happiness were assessed. Physiological markers included cortisol, salivary immunoglobulin A (SigA), heart rate variability (HRV), blood pressure (BP), and resting heart rate (RHR). On posttest, significant reductions were found in cortisol (-29%, P < .0001), RHR (-5%, P = .0281), and pain (-43%, P = .0022). Happiness increased significantly (+11%, P = .0159) while the increase in SigA was nonsignificant (+27%, P = .6964). Anxiety, depression, and PTSD all declined (-26%, P = .0159; -32%, P = .0197; -18%, P = .1533), though changes in PTSD did not reach statistical significance. No changes were found in BP, HRV, and heart coherence. Participants were assessed for psychological symptoms at 3-month follow-up, but the results were nonsignificant due to inadequate sample size (n = 17). EcoMeditation shows promise as a stress-reduction method.