Lifestyle Redesign
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Publication of the Lifestyle Redesign Manual in Simplified Chinese
June 6, 2023

After several years of a rigorous translation process, the Simplified Chinese version of the Lifestyle Redesign®: The Intervention Tested in the USC Well Elderly Studies (2nd Edition) is published by the Peking University Medical Press.

Lifestyle Redesign® is an occupational therapy intervention framework developed at USC Chan that improves health and wellness through building healthier lifestyles. The framework was initially researched in the landmark Well Elderly Studies, led by Dr. Florence Clark, former Associate Dean and Chair of USC Chan.

The second edition of the manual Lifestyle Redesign®: The Intervention Tested in the USC Well Elderly Studies was published in English in 2015. As early as 2018, the China Initiative development teams at USC and Peking University Health Science Center (PKUSHC) expressed an interest in translating this manual for the Mainland Chinese practitioners, and subsequently consolidated a translation team composed of primarily rehabilitation physicians and professors from PKUHSC, but also occupational therapy (OT) practitioners and students at PKUHSC, as well as OT scholars from Taiwan. The chief translators were Prof. Mouwang Zhou, Prof. Ninghua Wang, and Dr. Yanyan Yang, and the associate chief translators were Dr. Tao Li and Dr. Cui Wang. All five translators are part of the China Initiative core development team on the PKUHSC side. The chief reviewer, Dr. Ay-Woan Pan, is an associate professor at the School of Occupational Therapy, National Taiwan University, with extensive experience using Lifestyle Redesign-informed interventions in the Chinese context.

The translation and reviewing took six years, with several rounds of proofreading and revisions. During this process, the translators and the USC team deliberated on whether to culturally adapt the content or to only translate the meaning. Given the multiple cultures and practices that co-exist within China, and to preserve the book’s original value, the translators decided to not change the content. The Chinese cover of the manual was finalized in January 2022.

In a recent video created by the Peking University Medical Press (PUMP), the editor-in-chief of the translated manual, Yan Liu, converses with the chief translators to discuss the details of this version. Prof. Zhou highlights PKUHSC’s partnership with USC as what prompted this project. He states that, given this well-established intervention that originated at such a prestigious institution, this manual is of high value and can benefit the Chinese population. Prof. Wang shares how well-researched the Lifestyle Redesign-informed interventions are, and how innovative it is in considering all aspects of an individual’s daily living.

In the video, China Initiative collaborators at PKUHSC also describe rehabilitation and occupational therapy, with the hope of raising public awareness of our profession. Throughout the video, the translators emphasize key concepts of Lifestyle Redesign, including viewing the person holistically, goal setting, and the influence of the environment on participation in occupation. Additionally, Dr. Yang describes how, as part of the PKUHSC master’s program curriculum, students are taught about Lifestyle Redesign in the Health and Wellness course and how it can be applied to all ages and all populations. Prof. Zhou emphasizes that there is much to be learned from USC’s innovative approach to developing an academic course based upon this research project.

To conclude the video, the editor-in-chief expressed interest in publishing another book in 5 years focused on the application of Lifestyle Redesign-informed occupational therapy in the Chinese context. The USC Chan Lifestyle Redesign® Knowledge Mobilization Initiative looks forward to seeing a greater number of practitioners in China use Lifestyle Redesign principles to improve the population’s quality of life.

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