Spiritual complexity in Australia: Wellbeing and risks

The turn of the twenty-first century was characterised by ‘spiritual revolution', with claims that interest in New Age spirituality was eclipsing religion and would continue to do so in the future. Since then, scholars of religion have been more focused on religious diversity and the rise of the non-religious. While interest in spirituality, uptake of spiritual practices, and identification as ‘spiritual but not religious' have continued to grow, spirituality is typically not taken as seriously as religion, at least in political spheres or by academia. This article examines the history and contemporary dynamics of spiritual complexity in Australia, drawing on the findings of two Australian Research Council–funded studies ‘The Worldviews of Australia's Generation Z' and ‘Religious Diversity in Australia' and on a recent project ‘(Con)spirituality, Science and COVID-19 in Australia'. It argues that it is certainly time for spirituality to be taken more seriously in this country and globally, given spirituality's concern with personal and planetary wellbeing, and also the potential risks spirituality can pose due to its association with dis/misinformation, neoliberalism, and violence. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] Le début du 21e siècle a été caractérisé par une « révolution spirituelle », avec des affirmations selon lesquelles l'intérêt pour la spiritualité du New Age éclipserait la religion et que cette tendance se poursuivrait à l'avenir. Depuis lors, les spécialistes des religions se sont davantage intéressés à la diversité religieuse et à la montée en puissance des non-religieux. Bien que l'intérêt pour la spiritualité, l'adoption de pratiques spirituelles et l'identification comme « spirituel mais pas religieux » aient continué à croître, la spiritualité n'est généralement pas prise aussi au sérieux que la religion, du moins dans les sphères politiques ou dans les milieux universitaires. Cet article analyse l'histoire et la dynamique contemporaine de la complexité spirituelle en Australie, en s'appuyant sur les résultats de deux études financées par le Conseil australien de la recherche, une sur les « visions du monde des Australiens de la génération Z » et l'autre sur « la diversité religieuse en Australie », ainsi que sur un projet récent sur « (Con)spiritualité, science et COVID-19 en Australie ». L'article défend l'idée qu'il est certainement temps que la spiritualité soit prise plus au sérieux dans ce pays et dans le monde, étant donné son intérêt pour le bien-être personnel et planétaire, mais aussi les risques potentiels que la spiritualité peut poser en raison de son association avec la désinformation, le néolibéralisme et la violence. (French) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Social Compass is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Activités et motivations sous-jacentes : quelles relations avec le bien-être en confinement ?

Résumé Introduction La situation de confinement décidée en France pour prévenir la diffusion de la Covid-19 a temporairement modifié la structure des activités quotidiennes. Or, les activités quotidiennes influencent le bien-être. De même, l’intention qui sous-tend l’action est déterminante. Objectifs Cette étude a exploré trois variables hypothétiquement en relation avec le bien-être sous confinement : le temps consacré à chaque activité, la motivation sous-jacente à l’activité, et un potentiel effet de modération de l’effet du temps par la motivation. Méthode Un suivi longitudinal hebdomadaire d’une sélection d’activités potentiellement liées au bien-être chez des individus confinés a été réalisé sur quatre semaines (Nparticipants=461, Nobservations=1213) puis traité par des modèles linéaires mixtes. Résultats Concernant le type d'activités, les temps passés à donner du support social, à effectuer du volontariat, à réaliser une activité physique et à méditer étaient positivement associés au bien-être. De plus, les motivations hédonistes, eudémonistes et altruistes étaient positivement reliées au bien-être, alors que la motivation extrinsèque lui était négativement reliée. Les motivations étaient généralement plus associées au bien-être que le temps passé sur les activités. Enfin, des interactions ont été trouvées entre le temps passé sur les activités et les motivations, en particulier avec les motivations hédoniste et altruiste. Conclusion Cette étude contribue à donner des pistes sur la distribution du temps d’activité en confinement et sur les motivations associées au bien-être dans une telle situation. Introduction The lockdown decided in France to prevent the spread of Covid-19 has temporarily modified the structure of daily activities. But, daily activities and the intention underlying actions influence well-being. Objectives This study explored three variables hypothetically related to well-being under lockdown: the time spent on each activity, the motivation underlying the activity, and a potential moderating effect of time by motivation. Method Weekly longitudinal tracking of a selection of activities potentially related to well-being in confined individuals was conducted over four weeks (N=461, 1213 total observations, April 16–May 20, 2020) and then processed by linear mixed model analyses. Results At the activity level, the time spent giving social support, volunteering, physical activity, and meditation were positively associated with well-being. In addition, hedonic, eudemonic, and altruistic motivations were positively related to well-being, whereas extrinsic motivation was negatively related. Motivations were generally more associated to well-being than time spent on activities. Finally, interactions were found between time spent on activities and motivations, particularly with hedonic and altruistic motivations. Conclusion This study provides insights into the distribution of activity time in confinement and the motivations associated with well-being in such a situation.

Palliative recommendation in the emergency room during the first COVID-19 wave: What are the benefits? A study among emergency physicians

At Paris’ Saint-Louis hospital, the collaboration and organisation of the ER teams and those from the palliative care units was completely transformed, at least for a time, by the brutal arrival of SARS-CoV-2. Faced with the necessity of the moment, and initiated by the mobile palliative care team, the absence of structured exchanges of information was replaced with a daily briefing within the ER hospitalisation unit, with the aim of anticipating a possible request to quantify any patients requiring evaluation and palliative care on-site, as well as accompanying the ER doctors and other medical staff present. Beyond describing the patients taken into care under this system, and the benefits in terms of palliative care, a qualitative study conducted with ER doctors allowed us to evaluate the real and perceived benefits, and to conclude that a greater presence of the mobile accompaniment and palliative care team at ER allows for better use of their resources and a subsequent modification of the care pipeline for certain patients. This work shows the fundamental contribution that a mobile palliative care team can make in receiving and treating ER patients, while also improving the experience of the teams faced daily with individuals at the end of their lives. However, it also brings to light a patent lack of palliative care culture in ER services, as well as the absence of a reflex to make use of this type of expertise systematically, despite the benefits being universally acknowledged, opening the way for the joint development of veritable palliative care for acute cases. © 2022 Elsevier Masson SAS En matière de collaboration entre les équipes d'urgences et celles de soins palliatifs de l'hôpital Saint-Louis (AP–HP, Paris), l'irruption brutale du SARS-CoV-2 et ses conséquences sur l'afflux de patients et l'organisation des soins ont, pour un temps au moins, changé la donne. Contraints par la nécessité du moment, et sous l'impulsion de l’équipe mobile de soins palliatifs, l'absence d’échanges structurés a fait place à un échange quotidien au sein de l'unité d'hospitalisation des urgences afin d'anticiper un éventuel appel, de recenser sur place les patients pouvant bénéficier d'un avis et d'une prise en charge palliatifs, mais également d'accompagner les urgentistes et les soignants présents. Au-delà de la description des patients ainsi pris en charge et du bénéfice en termes de prise en charge palliative, une étude qualitative réalisée auprès des urgentistes nous permet d’évaluer le bénéfice réel et ressenti et d'affirmer qu'une présence renforcée de l'EMASP aux urgences permet une meilleure utilisation de ces ressources et une modification subséquente du parcours de certains patients. Ce travail met en évidence la contribution fondamentale que peut apporter une équipe mobile de soins palliatifs à la prise en charge des patients aux urgences et au mieux-être d’équipes quotidiennement confrontées à la fin de vie. Il fait néanmoins apparaître un défaut patent de culture palliative aux urgences ainsi qu'un manque de réflexe de recours à ce type d'expertise alors que les bénéfices en sont unanimement reconnus, et ouvre ainsi la porte au développement conjoint d'une véritable médecine palliative de l'aigu. © 2022 Elsevier Masson SAS

Avis palliatifs aux urgences durant la première vague covid-19 : quels bénéfices?Une étude auprès des urgentistes

Résumé En matière de collaboration entre les équipes d’urgences et celles de soins palliatifs de l’hôpital Saint-Louis (AP-HP, Paris), l’irruption brutale du SARS-CoV-2 et ses conséquences sur l’afflux de patients et l’organisation des soins ont, pour un temps au moins, changé la donne. Contraints par la nécessité du moment, et sous l’impulsion de l’équipe mobile de soins palliatifs, l’absence d’échanges structurés a fait place à un échange quotidien au sein de l’unité d’hospitalisation des urgences afin d’anticiper un éventuel appel, de recenser sur place les patients pouvant bénéficier d’un avis et d’une prise en charge palliatifs, mais également d’accompagner les urgentistes et les soignants présents. Au-delà de la description des patients ainsi pris en charge et du bénéfice en termes de prise en charge palliative, une étude qualitative réalisée auprès des urgentistes nous permet d’évaluer le bénéfice réel et ressenti et d’affirmer qu’une présence renforcée de l’EMASP aux urgences permet une meilleure utilisation de ces ressources et une modification subséquente du parcours de certains patients. Ce travail met en évidence la contribution fondamentale que peut apporter une équipe mobile de soins palliatifs à la prise en charge des patients aux urgences et au mieux-être d’équipes quotidiennement confrontées à la fin de vie. Il fait néanmoins apparaitre un défaut patent de culture palliative aux urgences ainsi qu’un manque de réflexe de recours à ce type d’expertise alors que les bénéfices en sont unanimement reconnus, et ouvre ainsi la porte au développement conjoint d’une véritable médecine palliative de l’aigu. Summary At Paris' Saint-Louis hospital, the collaboration and organisation of the ER teams and those from the palliative care units was completely transformed, at least for a time, by the brutal arrival of SARS-CoV-2. Faced with the necessity of the moment, and initiated by the mobile palliative care team, the absence of structured exchanges of information was replaced with a daily briefing within the ER hospitalisation unit, with the aim of anticipating a possible request to quantify any patients requiring evaluation and palliative care on-site, as well as accompanying the ER doctors and other medical staff present. Beyond describing the patients taken into care under this system, and the benefits in terms of palliative care, a qualitative study conducted with ER doctors allowed us to evaluate the real and perceived benefits, and to conclude that a greater presence of the mobile accompaniment and palliative care team at ER allows for better use of their resources and a subsequent modification of the care pipeline for certain patients. This work shows the fundamental contribution that a mobile palliative care team can make in receiving and treating ER patients, while also improving the experience of the teams faced daily with individuals at the end of their lives. However, it also brings to light a patent lack of palliative care culture in ER services, as well as the absence of a reflex to make use of this type of expertise systematically, despite the benefits being universally acknowledged, opening the way for the joint development of veritable palliative care for acute cases.

In Their Own Words: How COVID-19 Has Impacted the Well-Being of Persons Living with Dementia in the Community.

COVID-19 has had a devasting impact on older adults in Canada, including persons living with dementia. This intrinsic case study sought to understand the perceptions of persons living with dementia regarding how COVID-19 has impacted their well-being. Ten persons living with dementia participated in in-depth qualitative interviews about their experience with COVID-19. Using thematic analysis, four themes were identified: (1) expressing current and future concerns; (2) social connections and isolation; (3) adapting to change and resilience through engagement and hope; and (4) we're not all the same: reflecting individual experiences of the pandemic. Results highlight that while COVID-19 contributed to isolation, concerns, and frustrations, persons with dementia also demonstrated adaptation and resilience. This study reinforced that persons with dementia and their responses to challenges are unique. Therefore, interventions to support persons with dementia must also be individualized to each person's abilities and circumstances.

[Wellness spaces for hospital staff at Confluence hospitals]. / Des espaces de bien-être pour le personnel hospitalier.

The mobilization and commitment of hospital staff in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic have been remarkable since the beginning of this unprecedented health crisis. To support the teams of the Confluence Hospitals, the management has set up relaxation areas for the professionals.

[How do children and adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) experience lockdown during the COVID-19 outbreak?] / Comment les enfants et adolescents avec le trouble déficit d'attention/hyperactivité (TDAH) vivent-ils le confinement durant la pandémie COVID-19 ?

OBJECTIVES: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the French government has decided a general lockdown. This unprecedented situation has raised concerns about children's and adolescent's mental health. Children and adolescents diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may find this context of restrained activity particularly tricky. The objectives of our study are to gather information about the well-being and global life conditions of children and adolescents with ADHD during the COVID-19 outbreak in France. METHODS: We designed a survey including both open-ended questions and questionnaire items for parents of children and adolescents with ADHD. Parents responded to the following open-ended questions: 1) "How is your child doing since the lockdown?" 2) "How is life at home since the lockdown?" 3) "If you had a remote service provision with a mental health professional (e.g. by telephone or video technology), please share your thoughts and any suggestions with us" 4) "Please share any other items that you think are important about ADHD symptoms of your child and the lockdown situation". This survey was posted on social media on the 6th of April and disseminated by French ADHD-parent and patient organizations. The present article reports the descriptive, qualitative and textometrical analyses of the survey. RESULTS: Between day 20 and 30 of lockdown, 538 parents responded to the survey, and we included 533 responses in the final analysis. The vast majority of responders were women 95 % (95 % CI 93,50; 97,18) with children whose mean age was 10,5 (95 % CI 7.58; 13.44). Since the lockdown, 34.71 % (95 % CI 30.70; 38.94) of children experienced a worsening in well-being, 34.33 % (95 % CI 30.34; 38.56) showed no significant changes and 30.96 % (95 % CI 27.09; 35.10) were doing better according to their parents. The thematic analysis showed that an improvement of their children's anxiety was one of the main topics addressed by parents. This improvement related to less school-related strain and flexible schedules that respected their children's rhythm. Improved self-esteem was another topic that parents linked with a lesser exposure of their children to negative feed-back. Parents repeatedly reported both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. However, optimal lockdown life conditions seemed to compensate for the impact of ADHD symptoms (e.g. sufficient space at home, presence of a garden). Some parents reported worsening of general well-being in their children, and this manifested as oppositional/defiant attitudes and emotional outbursts. Parents also cited sleep problems and anxiety in this context. As regards everyday life during lock-down, at-home schooling was another major topic-parents described that their children struggled to complete school-related tasks and that teachers seemed to have forgotten about academic accommodations. The lockdown situation seems to have raised parents' awareness of the role of inattention and ADHD symptoms in their children's learning difficulties. Due to potential selection biases, the results of our survey may not be generalizable to all children and adolescents with ADHD. The main strengths of this rapid survey-based study lies in the reactivity of the participants and the quality and diversity of their responses to the open-ended questions. CONCLUSIONS: According to their parents, most children and adolescents with ADHD experience stability or improvement of their well-being. An improvement in school-related anxiety and the flexible adjustment to the children's' rhythms as well as parents' increased awareness of the difficulties their children experience are among the key topics in parents' descriptions.