...Associate Level Material Stress and Illness in the Workplace Matrix Use the following table to describe the relationship between stress and health in the workplace and to identify ways to reduce stress in the workplace. If you use additional sources, include citations consistent with APA guidelines. What is the relationship between stress and health in the workplace? The relationship between stress and health can be regarded as a physiological aspect that could affect health and wellness. Stress in the workplace can lead to a person becoming ill or shutting down both mentally and physically. Stress can not only open up a person to illness but also hinder their ability to heal and get over an illness. Identify a situation in which you experienced stress in the workplace or provide a fictional example. All the dental assistants in my clinic called in sick, leaving me to deal with most aspects of patient care along with my administrative duties. Prioritizing patients and my normal workload became very stressful as I was trying to answer the phones, schedule patients, assist the dentists, take x-rays, etc. I was extremely stressed the whole day and went home feeling stressed as well since I did not accomplish everything I needed. I felt like I had accomplished nothing and spent all day jumping from one thing to another. List ways to reduce stress in the workplace from the situation or example you provided. • Prioritize – list everything that needs to be accomplished...
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...Week#2: Stress and Illness in the Workplace Matrix HCA/250 Helene Garcia 2/10/2012 Serina Madden Associate Level Material Stress and Illness in the Workplace Matrix Use the following table to describe the relationship between stress and health in the workplace and to identify ways to reduce stress in the workplace. If you use additional sources, include citations consistent with APA guidelines. What is the relationship between stress and health in the workplace? | Stress and health are directly affected by our place of work. I view it like this: we are often surrounded by our coworkers, more than we are by our extended families. For this reason, the level of stress that a particular work environment may cause can be detrimental to a person’s health. When anyone is stressed, it can create a number of problems with their health. For example, my aunt was a social worker for 20 years in New York. Her career was so stressful that when she returned from a one- week vacation, she was so overwhelmed and stressed out by her work load; she had a stroke that forced her into early retirement. | Identify a situation in which you experienced stress in the workplace or provide a fictional example. | A very recent encounter that I actually had experienced stress in my workplace was one that involved my boss and me alone. I had been scheduled to work 4 late shifts, out of 5 working days. Every other employee only had to work 1 late shift. I brought it to her attention...
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...Outline and evaluate research into the relationship between the immune system and stress related illness (12 marks) Taylor McAndrew AO1 Cohen et al (1993) investigated the role of general life stress on vulnerability to the common cold virus. He found that the chance of developing a cold, i.e. failing to fight off the infection, was significantly correlated with stress index scores. Cohen et al. concluded that life stress and negative emotions reduce the effectiveness of our immune system, leaving participants less able to resist viral infection. A02 Support for research into the relationship between the immune system and stress related illness came from studies such as Evans and Edgington (1991) who found that the probability of developing a cold was significantly correlated with negative events in the proceeding days. Research findings from Cohen et al. and Kiecolt-Glaser et al. both demonstrated that life stress could reduce or impair immune function eventhough they used didfferent methods. This would indicate that stress does have a negative effect on the immune system. However other research evidence indicates that stress does not always have a negative effect on the immune system. In a major meta-review by Segerstrom and Miller (2004), they concluded that acute short-lasting stressors lead to an unregulation of natural immunity which indicates that short-lasting stressors is beneficial to the immune function which does not support Cohen et al. and Kiecolt-Glasers...
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...between stress and health in the workplace and to identify ways to reduce stress in the workplace. If you use additional sources, include citations consistent with APA guidelines. What is the relationship between stress and health in the workplace? Mood and sleep disturbances, upset stomach and headache, and disturbed relationships with family and friends are examples of stress-related problems. These early signs of job stress are usually easy to recognize. The effects of job stress on chronic diseases are more difficult to see because chronic diseases take a long time to develop and can be influenced by many factors other than stress. Stress plays an important role in several types of chronic health problems-especially cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, and psychological disorders. Identify a situation in which you experienced stress in the workplace or provide a fictional example. A week before Christmas, I was working 8 hour days. Not only did I have to preform like 5 different jobs that day, I also had to deal with many customers that was mad at the world for some reason. After about two hours, I started to get a headache and feel sick to my stomach. The worst thing is, that I really felt like I was going to “snap” on someone soon. Thankfully, I asked my manager if I could go outside for a few minutes and get some fresh air. When I got outside I put positive thoughts in my head and happily finished out my shift. List ways to reduce stress in the workplace...
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...Abstract This research looks at the relationship between physical illness and stress. The goal is the show that there is in fact a direct link between stress and physical diseases. This has been done through studies involving rats, monkeys, and even parents of children with cancer. Upon examination of these studies, it becomes apparent that even though differences in characteristics between individuals cause much variability in the link between illness stress, there still proves to be a strong correlation through changes in physiological and behavorial responses to stress which influence susceptibility to disease. Introduction Almost everybody faces some form or variation of stress over their lifetime. Stress is defined as “a state of psychological tension or strain” (Morris, C., & Maisto, A. 2008) resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances. The cause of stress can vary; whether it be from pressures at work or school, commitments to family life and friends, or maybe even financial difficulties. Anytime a person is met with a stressor, any environmental demand that may create stress, rapid changes are sent forward throughout the body. Almost every system in the body is preparing itself to encounter any danger that may be perceived. (Human Diseases and Conditions. n.d.) There are many instances where these stress responses in short-term bursts, or acute stress, can actually be beneficial to a person. Examples include the adrenaline rush one may get when confronted...
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...Cohen et al. investigated the link between general life stressors and vulnerability to the common cold virus. He took 394 healthy individuals and asked them to complete questionnaires on the number of stressful life events they had experienced the previous year, the degree of their stress and their level of negative emotions. The three scores were combined to what is called a stress index. He found that the chance of developing a cold was linked with stress levels. Cohen et al. concluded that stress reduces the effectiveness of our immune system, leaving participants less able to resist viral infection. Cohen et al.’s research measured health outcomes, which shows a relationship between life stress and illness. However, this study does not tell us which part of the stress index is most important. This study also has ethical issues that need to be considered, such as participants needing to be in good health with no illness or infections prior the study. The participants were described as healthy however it is difficult to operationalize ‘healthy individuals’. This is a subjective measurement which does not take into account individual differences which will affect the validity of the data and its application to the general population. A large sample size of 394 individuals was used. This means that there will be a lot of representative data which therefore means it is high in validity. Questionnaires can be an effective research method tool as they allow for a measurement...
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...Associate Level Material Stress and Illness in the Workplace Matrix Use the following table to describe the relationship between stress and health in the workplace and to identify ways to reduce stress in the workplace. If you use additional sources, include citations consistent with APA guidelines. |What is the relationship between stress and health in the workplace? |The relationship between stress and health can be regarded as a physiological aspect that could affect health and wellness. Stress| | |in the workplace can lead to a person becoming ill or shutting down both mentally and physically. Stress can not only open up a | | |person to illness but also hinder their ability to heal and get over an illness (Sarafino, 2011). | |Identify a situation in which you experienced stress in the workplace or provide a |All the dental assistants in my clinic called in sick, leaving me to deal with most aspects of patient care along with my | |fictional example. |administrative duties. Prioritizing patients and my normal workload became very stressful as I was trying to answer the phones, | | |schedule patients...
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...the immune system and stress-related illness (12) AO1 - COHEN ET AL investigated the role of general life stress on vulnerability to the common cold virus. 394 participants completed questionnaires on the number of stressful life events experience in the previous year. They also rated their degree of stress and level of negative emotions such as depression. The 3 scores were combined into a stress index. Ps were then exposed to the common cold virus which lead to 82% becoming infected. After 7 days, the number whose infection developed into a clinical cold was recorded. They found the chance of developing the cold i.e. failing to fight off the viral infection was significantly correlated with stress index scores. AO2 – however this was an indirect study as there were no direct measures of immune function. Nevertheless the results have been supported by Evans & Edgington who found the probability of developing the cold was significantly correlated with negative life events in the preceding days. The study did measure health outcomes (development of clinical colds) showing a relationship between life stress and illness. However, there was no direct manipulation of the independent variable (stress index) therefore a cause and effect relationship cannot be confirmed – only correlational data. Finally, the study doesn’t tell us which of the 3 elements of the stress index is most important and/or if all 3 really contribute to vulnerability to illness. AO1 – Kiecolt – Glaser...
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...Outline and evaluate research into personality types and stress related illness. (12 marks) Friedman and Rosenman identified two types of personality that relate to individual responses to stress these were type A and type B. Type A personalities are said to be impatient, competitive, ambitious, aggressive, find it hard to relax. In contrast, type B personalities are the opposite, being less driven, more easy going, patient and able to relax. Friedman and Rosenman conducted a longitudinal study in which 3000 middle aged men in california were examined for signs of CHD, while there personalities were also assessed using a structured interview. The findings showed after 81/2 years, twice as many type A participants had died of cardiovascular problems. while over 12% of type A participants had experiencedd a heart attack compared to just 6% of type B participants. Friedman and Rosenman concluded that Type A behaviour signifcantly increased the risk of coronary heart disease, and that personality types can contributre to stress related illness. A strenght of this study is its sample size as there is a increase in population validity. This is because 3000 participants were used which therefore provides a more representative set of results. However on the other hand a criticism of this study is it also lack external validity as all the participants were male therefore it cant be generalised to other cultures. Furthermore a study which is against Friedman and Rosenman is Myrtek...
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...relationship between the immune system and Stress-related illness. (12marks) It is suggested that stress can result in immunosuppression which can lead to stress-related illnesses such as Coronary Heart Disease and high blood pressure. Kiecolt and Glaser conducted an experiment to see the effects of stress on the immune system. This was achieved by taking blood samples of 75 medical students one month before and during their examination period. They then compared the two blood samples and found decreased leucocyte activity in the sample taken during high levels of stress (during their exams). This shows that stress reduces the activity of the immune system, making them more susceptible to becoming ill. Advantages of the study are that blood tests are objective measurements, so there was no social desirability or experimenter bias when analysing the results. The participants were also compared to themselves which removes participant variables on how they perceive stressors. The experiment was a field experiment so there was no manipulating of the independant variable to deliberately cause stress to the participants which makes it ethical. It also means the research has ecological validity and can be applied to the wider world. However, a field experiment may have extraneous variables which impact the results. For example, the student lifestyle of having little sleep and poor accomidation may have been an alternative source of stress. Another disadvantage is that there was a...
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...There has been a lot of research that suggests that the immune system can be severely affected by stress. Kiecolt-Glaser did an experiment to evaluate the effect of acute stressors on the immune system. She had a group of students who were about to have their medical exams. She took the blood sample one month before the exams and another during the exam period. She measured the NK cell activity to see how the immune system was effected and found that the NK cell activity had dropped significantly in the second blood sample that had been taken shows that stress had caused to lower the efficiency of the immune system and made the students were vulnerable to stress-related illnesses. Also Marucha et al. conducted a study involving a group of students. Marucha inflicted a punch-biopsy 3 days before an exam and found that the wound took 40% longer to heal when the wound was inflicted during the exam period. Also if a acute stressors could have such a negative impact on the immune system on chronic stressors where also suspected to have a similar effect. Kiecolt-Glaser conducted a study where a group of married couples were asked to have discussions about their marriage and also of the couples had blisters on their arms. It was found that the groups of couples that had very supportive discussions showed the wound healing process to be much faster in comparison to the people who had an argumentative discussion. Also another researcher observed 90 newly wedded couples for a 24 hours...
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...Research that has suggested a link between stress and ill health. Looking at the link between stress and illness, there have been many studies done to show the direct effect stress has in relation to illness, the main three pathways looked at are the direct effect, stress interacting with pre-existing vulnerabilities and how stress leads to behavioural changes that are not beneficial to one’s health. However it is hard for researchers to establish a definite cause and effect relationship between stress and specific physical symptoms or illnesses. Not only do people's minds and bodies react differently to stress, but there also are other factors at work when someone falls ill. Most researchers have found the more a person suffers from stress the weaker his or hers immune system becomes. In trying to understand why stress can be bad for the body is to look at it from an evolutionary perspective, where in the past our ancestors were often confronted with life threatening situations and as a result the ‘fight or flight’ response evolved. Whilst being confronted by dangerous situations such as confrontation with a predator it was necessary to send blood to the muscles and be in a heightened state of arousal, however today it might not be relevant to most everyday stressors. So we can say most stressors do not pose a physical danger to us yet the way our nervous and endocrine systems have evolved we react to the stressors as if they did, whilst it might have been an adaptive response...
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...Chronic illness has a large effect on everyone, no matter what the age. In adolescents, they are still dependent on their parents as their caregivers, and are old enough to understand and make decisions for themselves. Chronic illness has been defined as “an illness that is prolonged in duration, does not often resolve spontaneously, and is rarely cured completely.” (Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing). Adolescence is “a period of rapid physical, psychological, emotional and social development during which young people develop a sense of an independent identity, focus on peer acceptance, and plan for the future and then develop romantic and intimate relationships.” (Erickson 1963, Suris et al 2004 Christie & Viner 2005). Young people with chronic illness have the same developmental issues as those who are perfectly healthy. Hundreds of studies have been undertaken in regards to how chronic illness impact the lives of adolescents and the people around them. One example is the Methodological quality was assessed using criteria described by Cesario et al (Journal of Obstetrics, Gynaecology& Neonatal Nursing 31 2002 31) and the conclusion was that 20 studies identified involving young people with wide variety of chronic illnesses. Seven common themes were found between identified studies; developing and maintaining friendships, importance of family, attitude to treatment, experiences of school, being normal/getting on with life, relationship with healthcare...
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...discussing the effects of stress and alcoholism to a person’s wellbeing as well as different support and therapeutic techniques that can help with stress and treat alcoholism. Case Study: John John is suffering from alcoholic hepatitis due to excessive drinking. He is having severe stomach problems and has been exhibiting moodiness, sleep deprivation, weight loss and lack of energy. Along with alcoholism, John is suffering from stress due to the possibility of his wife leaving him and his job being on the line. Evaluation of models behavior According to the case study John has multiple health issues that the doctor cannot explain from a physical point of view. His medical problems can be explored by understanding what psychosomatic medicine (the mind body relationship) is. According to Friedman (2002) “a significant proportion of patient complaints (at least 25 percent) made to physicians are psychological in nature and have no significant physical counterpart.”(pg. 80) Patients, like John, exhibit symptoms from tension (caused by an unhappy marriage) such as headaches, pain, or weakness and no physical explanation can be found because the problems are somatization. (Friedman, 2002) Somatization is symptoms that have no known medical explanation and are affected by psychological processes. (Friedman, 2002) John’s stressors at the moment consist of his failing marriage, debt and the possible loss of his job. The first type of behavior model is the illness behavior (sick role)...
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...sources of stress Holmes and Rahe carried out research into the idea that life changes are linked to stress and illness. They suggested that change is stressful and therefore this affects health. They developed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS), as a way to measure the relationship between life changes and physical illness. The SRRS is made up of 43 life events and each event is given a score called life change units (LCUs). Rare et al used the SRRS to test the hypothesis that the number of life events a person experienced would be positively correlated with illness. He used 2700 participants which were all males who worked for the US Navy and made them complete the SRRS. They made them carry out a questionnaire before a tour of duty and they had to note down all the life events that they experienced in them six months (to create the LCU score). An illness score was then calculated based on the number, type and severity of illnesses that the men developed whilst on tour. The SRRS and the illness score were analysed and it was discovered that there was a significant weak positive correlation between LCU score and illness score of + 0.118. They found that it does not matter whether an event is positive or negative; it is the amount of change an individual has to deal with during a life event that creates stress. This supports the idea that there is a positive correlation between life changes and physical illness, this occurs because life changes cause stress and stress causes...
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