“Religious affiliation had nearly as strong an effect on longevity as gender does, which is a matter of years of life,” said Laura Wallace, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in psychology at the Ohio State University.

The researchers found that part of the reason for the boost in longevity came from the fact that many religiously affiliated people also volunteered and belonged to social organizations, which previous research has linked to living longer. In addition, the study showed how the effects of religion on longevity might depend in part on the personality and average religiosity of the cities where people live, Baldwin Way, an Associate Professor at Ohio State University said.

The first study involved 505 obituaries published in the Des Moines Register in January and February 2012. In addition to noting the age and any religious affiliation of those who died, the researchers also documented sex, marital status and the number of social and volunteer activities listed. Results showed that those whose obit listed a religious affiliation lived 9.45 years longer than those who didn’t. The gap shrunk to 6.48 years after gender and marital status was taken into account.

The second study included 1,096 obituaries from 42 major cities in the United States published on newspaper websites between August 2010 and August 2011. In this study, people whose obits mentioned a religious affiliation lived an average of 5.64 years longer than those whose obits did not, which shrunk to 3.82 years after gender and marital status were considered.

Many studies have shown that people who volunteer and participate in social groups tend to live longer than others. So, the researchers combined data from both studies to see if the volunteer and social opportunities that religious groups offer might explain the longevity boost. Results showed that this was only part of the reason why religious people lived longer. “We found that volunteerism and involvement in social organizations only accounted for a little less than one year of the longevity boost that religious affiliation provided,” Wallace said. “There’s still a lot of the benefit of religious affiliation that this can’t explain.”

So what else explains how religion helps people live longer? It may be related to the rules and norms of many religions that restrict unhealthy practices such as alcohol and drug use and having sex with many partners, Way said. In addition, “many religions promote stress-reducing practices that may improve health, such as gratitude, prayer or meditation,” he said.

The fact that the researchers had data from many cities also allowed them to investigate whether the level of religiosity in a city and a city’s “personality” could affect how religious affiliation influenced longevity. The findings showed that a key personality element related to longevity in each city was the importance placed on conformity to community values and norms. In highly religious cities where conformity was important, religious people tended to live longer than nonreligious people. But in some cities, there is a spillover effect.

Way said there are limitations to the study, including the fact that it could not control for important factors related to longevity such as race and health behaviors. But a potential strength was that, unlike other studies, religious affiliation was not self-reported, but was reported by the obituary writer.

Overall, the study provided additional support to the growing number of studies showing that religion does have a positive effect on health, Wallace said. Other authors on the study were Rebecca Anthony, who is in her final year of medical school at Ohio State University, and Christian End, associate professor of psychology at Xavier University. The study was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

“Previous research has shown that loneliness and social isolation are linked with coronary heart disease and stroke, but this has not been investigated in patients with different types of cardiovascular diseases.”

The study investigated whether the poor social network was associated with worse outcomes in 13,463 patients with ischaemic heart disease, arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm), heart failure, or heart valve disease.

Data from national registers were linked with the DenHeart survey, which asked all patients discharged from April 2013 to April 2014 from five heart centers in Denmark to answer a questionnaire about their physical and mental health, lifestyle factors such as smoking and social support.

Social support was measured using registry data on living alone or not, and survey questions about feeling lonely – Do you have someone to talk to when you need it? Do you feel alone sometimes even though you want to be with someone? “It was important to collect information on both, since people may live alone but not feel lonely while others cohabit but do feel lonely,” explained Ms. Vinggaard Christensen. Feeling lonely was associated with poor outcomes in all patients regardless of their type of heart disease, and even after adjusting for age, level of education, other diseases, body mass index, smoking and alcohol intake.

Loneliness was associated with a doubled mortality risk in women and nearly doubled risk in men. Both men and women who felt lonely were three times more likely to report symptoms of anxiety and depression and had a significantly lower quality of life than those who did not feel lonely.

Ms. Vinggaard Christensen noted that people with poor social support may have worse health outcomes because they have unhealthier lifestyles, are less compliant with treatment, and are more affected by stressful events. But she said: “We adjusted for lifestyle behaviors and many other factors in our analysis, and still found that loneliness is bad for health.”

She concluded: “We live in a time when loneliness is more present and health providers should take this into account when assessing risk. Our study shows that asking two questions about social support provides a lot of information about the likelihood of having poor health outcomes.”

European guidelines on cardiovascular prevention state that people who are isolated or disconnected from others are at increased risk of developing and dying prematurely from coronary artery disease. The guidelines recommend an assessment of psychosocial risk factors in patients with established cardiovascular disease and those at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

The study has highlighted growing concerns about the issue and assumes great significance at places where loneliness is turning into a bane for victims due to lack of support system.

The study assumes significance and greater attention as the world marks the International Day of Older Persons on October 1, each year.

On December 14, 1990, the United Nations General Assembly voted to establish October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons as recorded in Resolution 45/106.

The holiday was observed for the first time on October 1, 1991. The holiday is celebrated by raising awareness about issues affecting the elderly, such as senescence and elder abuse. It is also a day to appreciate the contributions that older people make to society. This holiday is similar to National Grandparents Day in the United States and Canada as well as Double Ninth Festival in China and Respect for the Aged Day in Japan.

A Book “Innovations in Healthcare Management: Cost-Effective and Sustainable Solutions”, jointly written by an Indian Doctor and a Finnish Professor, Dr. VK Singh and Paul Lillrank respectively, has been picked for this year’s coveted Shingo publication award.

The award recognizes and promotes writing that has had a significant impact and advances the body of knowledge regarding operational excellence. The Shingo Institute is most interested in recognizing thought leadership.

The book was published in the USA in 2015. Special Indian edition published in 2017.

Elated over the achievement, a beaming Dr Singh has told newspersons recently that a team of Shingo examiners judged the book on the various yardsticks, “and then observed Singh and Paul have written a thoughtful and engaging book describing various aspects of healthcare management innovations and the journey organizations have followed to streamline the delivery of healthcare while facing unique challenges. The book was written by the two authors using 34 contributors and compiled into 22 chapters of interesting content covering a wide range of topics. Most of the chapters provide a snapshot of approaches taken to improve healthcare management but do not delve into the roadmap for implementation.

The examiners said the book would be a good companion guide to stoke innovative thinking for those involved with a healthcare system.

Innovations in Healthcare Management covers a wide range of topics that can be used to create a Lean transformation roadmap. Not only does the book cover the systemic burning platforms shared by various healthcare organizations (i.e. improve quality, reduce cost, improve patient satisfaction), but the book puts a high value on healthcare improvement from the end-user perspective. Additionally, the book identifies opportunities that impacted communities, supply chain, and stakeholders.

According to them, the book adds to the existing body of knowledge by providing not only tools and techniques for transforming an organization, but also includes real-world examples of Lean transformation within healthcare organizations such as Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore, Stanford Health Care, and the Mayo Clinic. Also, there are examples of Lean tools such as A3, Just in Time, and Quantitative versus Qualitative impact analysis.

The book provides a comprehensive approach to Lean transformation within diverse healthcare environments.

It is full of insights and supported with real examples that benefit the reader regardless of Lean knowledge or level of experience.

On the impact front, they said the demonstrated impact for Innovations in Healthcare Management on the body of knowledge is difficult to ascertain. The number of books sold is not reported. However, it can be inferred there is demand and there has been sufficient impact to justify a second printing with a special Indian edition.

The book has been prescribed in Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) prestigious institutes established by Government of India. The authors indicate in the application that the book has reached all continents, there has been “very big demand” in the USA and Europe, and demand in India is “huge”.

There are 12 endorsements from a very impressive list of healthcare experts from the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, India, United States, Tanzania, Brunei, South Africa, Sweden, and the Cayman Islands. This information all indicates there is some level of impact being made. However, sales figures and the number of books sold is not available from the publisher or any other resource. A general online search does not generate any appreciable insight on demonstrated impact.

The examiners said the premise of the book is quite simple: “A lot can be done with a little. It is reducing healthcare delivery cost yet maintaining quality through technology, innovation, and various quality models like Lean and others.”

The authors’ statement that “trying to do more with more ends up accomplishing less with more” is the reason for any organization to embrace becoming Lean. The examples in this book describe the successful actions taken inpatient treatment goals of better healthcare in less patient time. The authors have done a great job of compiling a wealth of knowledge from across the globe to demonstrate how innovation, technology, and Lean principles can transform the delivery of quality healthcare and reduce costs.

Healthcare is a troubled industry all over the world. There are new approaches in this book we can all learn from. At the same time, what is needed in America may not be the same as what is needed or will work in India with over 500 million people and incredible levels of poverty. In essence, the book focuses on a country with lesser developed infrastructure, and therefore the problems encountered are not unique to India, but also not universal.

The institute which conferred the award said Innovations in Healthcare Management is a compilation of 22 articles from 34 contributors and two authors. The styles of writing used in the articles flow together quite well and contribute effectively to the authors’ objectives. The stories and examples provided throughout the book offer compelling ideas for understanding how to positively impact the delivery of healthcare from Britain, United States, Singapore, and India.

The book contains many simple illustrations and is grounded with facts and visual examples. All of the articles are well referenced. The summary at the end of each chapter provides a linkage back to the overall premise. The book is an easy read and effective at getting the reader to understand the concepts.

Examiners agreed that there are many takeaways in the publication. The authors successfully support the premise that more can be done with less. They prove that people can be very creative and innovative when faced with a meaningful challenge that can be embraced. They also effectively show the importance of relationship management between the patient, medical staff, and ancillary stakeholders and dispel the concept that patient care only occurs between the hospital and the patient.

Additionally, not all the important healthcare innovations have come from the USA, as India is becoming a leading innovator in healthcare, and others can learn from them.

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Followings are the some of the key challenges that remain to improve healthcare:
• Investment – Compared to the other countries, very small % of Indian GDP is spent on developing healthcare which is about 100 times less than the United States.
• Geography – A wide gap remains between rural and urban healthcare. Most of our healthcare resources are concentrated in big cities leaving the rural areas with no or almost no resources to meet the growing healthcare need.
• Infrastructure – The number of hospitals and health centers in India are far less than what is required. Except for a few super specialty hospitals, most of the hospitals and health centers in India do not have proper infrastructure to provide quality services.

It makes sense then that in India where there is always a huge gap between demand and availability of quality healthcare that cloud technology can play a huge role. Cloud based technology solutions can be leveraged to provide efficient and high-quality services in healthcare at an affordable price for remote locations with little to no infrastructure. With the advancement of technology, cloud is becoming more and more secured and compliant with regulations. Adopting cloud based technology solutions will all organizations engaged in healthcare to focus more on their core activities and reduce utilization of resources that manage technology.

Key research tells us that with digitization of medical data, medical knowledge has increased by 2 times or more in past 3 to 5 years. The way cloud is being adopted more and more by the industry globally and with the growing need for collaboration, flexibility and improved patient care, we can say that cloud will eventually become a commonplace in the industry.

As seen in countries that have developed healthcare systems, these capabilities were key in the development of healthcare to a point where no avenue is left unexplored in the strive towards improvement of healthcare for its citizens.

While the road to these advances may have been littered with challenges, impediments, false starts and hurdles, technologies today and the lessons learned therein will allow developing nations to avoid such pitfalls and leapfrog their healthcare eco-system into the future!

(Contributors: Kausik Bhattacharya, Johnson & Johnson, Sandipan Gangopadhyay, President and COO, Galaxe Solutions. Dheeraj Misra and Anusha Panduga also from Galaxe Solutions.)

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