MEETINGDEM investigated whether the Dutch Meeting Centres Support Programme (MCSP) could be implemented in Italy, Poland, and the UK with comparable benefits. This paper reports on the impact on ...people living with dementia attending pilot Meeting Centres in the 3 countries.
Nine pilot Meeting Centres (MCs) participated (Italy-5, Poland-2, UK-2). Effectiveness of MCSP was compared with Usual Care (UC) on outcomes measuring behavioural and psychological symptoms (NPI), depression (CSDD), and quality of life (DQoL, QOL-AD), analysed by ANCOVAs in a 6-month pre-test/post-test controlled trial.
Pre/post data were collected for 85 people with dementia and 93 carers (MCSP) and 74 people with dementia /carer dyads' receiving UC. MCSP showed significant positive effects for DQoL Self-esteem (F = 4.8, P = 0.03); Positive Affect (F = 14.93, P < 0.00); Feelings of Belonging (F = 7.77, P = 0.01) with medium and large effect sizes. Higher attendance levels correlated with greater neuropsychiatric symptom reduction (rho = 0.24, P = 0.03) and a greater increase in feelings of support (rho = 0.36, P = 0.001).
MCSPs showed significant wellbeing and health benefits compared with UC, building on the evidence of effectiveness from the Netherlands. In addition to the previously reported successful implementation of MCSP in Italy, Poland, and the UK, these findings suggest that further international dissemination of MCSP is recommended.
Aims and Objectives
To investigate the feasibility of a 13‐week mentoring programme in providing social support to promote hope for recovery in anorexia nervosa.
Background
With no clear first‐line ...psychological treatment for people with anorexia nervosa, mentoring support programmes, as an adjunct to treatment, may provide the social support necessary to promote hope for recovery.
Design
A mixed‐method study; participatory action research.
Methods
Women (n = 11), recovering and who had recovered from anorexia nervosa, participated in the programme and completed self‐report questionnaires related to quality of life, distress and the mentoring relationship at different time points. Qualitative feedback from logbooks, workshop evaluation questionnaires, interviews and focus groups was also collected to assess the programme's acceptability.
Results
General compliance for completing most study outcome questionnaires was 90%; however, the mentoring relationship questionnaires were not completed to the same degree. Five key themes emerged from the focus group/interview data: (i) she understands me and could relate to me; (ii) reconnecting with the world—asking questions and being challenged; (iii) mentors’ altruistic motivations and the transformation and discovery of self; (iv) instilling hope—recovery is possible; and (v) effective communication—the key to successful mentoring.
Conclusions
Further research is needed; however, the results provide preliminary support for the mentoring programme's feasibility as an adjunct to treatment. We found that having someone who understands, to talk and share with, met a clear need for people with anorexia nervosa.
Relevance to clinical practice
While further research is warranted mentoring support or recovered mentors, may play a potentially valuable role in supporting those in community settings.
This study evaluated the impact of a telephone support programme with telemonitoring on changes in healthy eating and active exercise in adults with prediabetes using the stage of change framework.
...We performed a post hoc analysis using data from the Japan Diabetes Outcome Trial-1. A total of 2607 participants aged 20-65 years with impaired fasting glucose were recruited from the workplace/community in Japan and randomized to a one year telephone support programme intervention arm (
= 1240) or self-directed control arm (
= 1367). Participants in both arms received monthly data feedback from a weight scale and pedometer. The main outcome measure was the stages of change toward healthy eating and active exercise. The secondary outcome was fasting plasma glucose (FPG).
After the one year intervention, the adjusted odds ratio of progressing to the action/maintenance stage in the intervention vs. control arm for healthy eating was 1.31 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.21-1.43;
< 0.001), but that for active exercise was 1.07 (95% CI 0.99-1.15;
= 0.062). The intervention decreased FPG levels in participants in the contemplation stage, but not in the precontemplation, preparation and action/maintenance stages.
These findings suggest that the telephone support programme by healthcare providers advanced the stage of changes toward healthy eating in people with prediabetes. In particular, it decreased FPG levels in the contemplation stage.
Background
Admission of an infant to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is often a stressful experience for parents and can be associated with feelings of inadequacy to fulfil the desirable ...parental role. The values, opportunities, integration, control, and evaluation (VOICE) programme was developed to engage parents in care, to decrease stress, and to increase empowerment.
Aim
To explore the experiences of parents regarding involvement in the VOICE programme during admission of their infant to the NICU.
Design
The VOICE programme includes at least five personal structured meetings between parents, nurses, and other health care professionals throughout the pathway from birth, NICU, and follow up. A qualitative design was adopted using semi‐structured interviews. Interviews with 13 parents of 11 infants born at <27 weeks' gestational age were conducted: nine mothers and two couples of father and mother. Thematic analysis was deployed.
Results
The findings have been described in one overarching theme: “parental empowerment.” Parents felt strengthened and were empowered in the development of their role as primary caretaker by the VOICE programme. The parental empowerment theme emerged from four related interpretive themes that were derived: (a) involvement in care, (b) personalized information and communication, (c) transition to a parental role, and (d) emotional support.
Conclusion
The VOICE programme can be a structured approach used to implement family support in a NICU to empower parents to become a partner in the care of their infant and feel confident.
Relevance to clinical practice
This study encourages health care professionals to provide parental support through a structured intervention programme, which contributes to the empowerment of parents in the NICU and encouraged them to participate in care and decision‐making.
본 연구는 체육계열 대졸자의 괜찮은 일자리 취업 현황 및 영향 요인 분석을 목적으로 하였다. 연구 분석을 위하여 2015년 부터 2019년까지의 대졸자직업이동경로조사(Graduates Occupational Mobility Survey, 이하 GOMS) 데이터를 활용하였다. 연구대상은 4년제 대학 졸업자 전체 61,268명(체육계열 전공 1019명)으로 ...하였고 통계분석을 위해 빈도분석, 카이스케어검정, t-test, 로지스틱회귀분석 등을 실시하였다. 연구결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 체육계열 대졸자의 괜찮은 일자리 취업 비율은 전체 전공계열과 비교하여 낮은 것으로 나타났다. 둘째, 체육계열 대졸자의 괜찮은 일자리 취업경로는 공식적인 취업경로의 비율이 가장 높지만 전체 대졸자와 비교하면 비공식적 취업경로의 비율이 높은 것으로 나타났다. 셋째, 체육계열 대졸자의 괜찮은 일자리 취업 영향 요인 분석 결과 남성이 여성보다 괜찮은 일자리 취업 확률이 높은 것으로 나타났다. 넷째, 취업준비행동으로서 취업교과목 수강 횟수, 기업채용설명회 참여 횟수가 체육계열 대졸자의 괜찮은 일자리 취업에 의미있는 변수인 것으로 나타났다. 그러나 체육계열 대졸자의 경우 전체 대졸자에 비해 전반적으로 취업지원프로그램 참여빈도가 낮았다. 다섯째, 취업사전관리로서 토익점수가 체육계열 대졸자의 괜찮은 일자리 취업에 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 자격증 보유 개수는 괜찮은 일자리 취업과 부정적인 영향 관계가 나타났다. 본 연구는 체육계열 학생들을 위한 전공 맞춤형 취업 프로그램 등 취업지도에서 일자리의 질에 더 많은 초점이 필요함을 보여준다. 본 연구는 체육계열 대졸자들을 대상으로 한 괜찮은 일자리 취업 요인을 분석한 초기 연구라는데 의의가 있다.
The purpose of this study is to analyze the current status of decent job employment and the factors that affect decent job employment of sports studies graduates. For research analysis, data from the Graduates Occupational Mobility Survey (GOMS) from 2015 to 2019 were used. The subjects of the study were a total of 61,268 graduates(1019 graduates majoring sports studies) from 4-year university. To analyze the data, frequency analysis, chi-square test method, t-test, logistic regression analysis were performed. The results of this study are as follows. 1) The ratio of decent job employment of sports studies graduates was lower than that of all majors. 2) The ratio of formal employment paths is the highest for the decent job employment of sports studies graduates, but the ratio of the informal employment paths of sports studies graduates is higher than that of all majors. 3) Gender was found to have an effect on the decent job employment of sports studies graduates, 4) It was found that the number of taking employment class in academy, and the number of participation in corporate recruitment briefings as job preparation behaviors were significant variables for a decent job employment of sports studies graduates. However, the frequency of participation in the employment support program of sports studies graduates was generally lower than that of all majors. 5) As a pre-management for employment, the TOEIC score influenced the decent job emplyment of sports studies graduates. But the number of licenses had a negative effect on employment in decent jobs. In summary, this study emphasizes that there is a need for more focus on job quality in employment guidance, such as employment programs tailored to majors for sports studies students. This study is significant in that it is an early study that analyzed the factors of decent job employment for sports studies graduates.
This article explores my pedagogical becoming through the enactment of a residential education and support programme (RESP) at Stellenbosch University (SU). I co-created the RESP with nine women ...students who remained in a university residence with me during the Covid-19 pandemic. The RESP focused on the relationality and interrelationships that transpired at the nexus of the institution, the students, and me. I propose that this RESP acted as catalyst for the transmission and acquisition of valuable qualities and dispositions-what Barnett (2009) referred to as epistemic virtues-which are vital to knowledge acquisition in higher education. This article uses an autoethnography approach to capture my personal experiences against the sociocultural backdrop of residential learning and living at SU before, during, and after the pandemic. Narrative prose expressing my embodied emotional, spiritual, and intellectual self (Bochner & Ellis, 1992), and emotional recall were the primary data sources, which I analysed against van Manen's (1982, 1994) conceptualisation of the pedagogical relation and Tronto's (2015) principles of care ethics. Both those authors emphasised the centrality of the pedagogical relation for good and effective teaching. This article demonstrates how an institutional care-based response to the pandemic enacted at one residence (at a university with an erstwhile separatist educational agenda) can surpass its legacy momentarily to point the way towards the possibility of inclusive transformation at such an institution. Furthermore, this article demonstrates how nurturing pedagogical relationships based on care can effectively cultivate and transmit valuable qualities and dispositions (epistemic virtues), and why these are important in our current supercomplex (Barnett, 2007) and fast-changing world. I offer the claim that the acquisition of these epistemic virtues by students holds promise for providing them the key to unlocking an education for life.
Approximately 50% of rare diseases have symptom onset during childhood. A high level of nursing care and an often uncertain prognosis put caregivers of the affected children at high risk for ...psychological distress. At the same time, their caregivers have limited access to appropriate psychological care. The aim of this study was to evaluate a web-based psychological support program for caregivers of children with chronic rare diseases (WEP-CARE).
German-speaking parents (recruited between May 2016 and March 2018) caring for children aged 0-25 years with a rare disease showing clinically relevant anxiety symptoms, were assigned to either the WEP-CARE (n = 38) or treatment as usual (n = 36) condition within a randomized controlled trial. The primary outcome measure was parental anxiety, assessed with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7). Secondary outcomes were fear of disease progression, depression, coping, quality of life and user satisfaction. The group differences were tested through repeated-measures analyses of variance. The WEP-CARE group was additionally followed up three months after the treatment.
A significant time-group interaction was found for anxiety (F (1,35) = 6.13, p = .016), fear of disease progression (F (1,331) = 18.23, p < .001), depression (F (1,74) = 10.79, p = .002) and coping (F (1,233) = 7.02, p = .010), suggesting superiority of the WEP-CARE group. Sustainability of the treatment gains regarding anxiety, fear of disease progression and coping was confirmed at the 6-month follow-up assessment (p < .01). A significant interaction effect could not be found for quality of life (F(1,2) = 0.016; p = .899). Both participating parents and therapists were satisfied with WEP-CARE.
Our results underline the efficacy and feasibility of WEP-CARE for parents of children with various rare diseases.
The primary goal of this review was to determine whether one‐to‐one peer support programmes benefit cancer patients. The secondary goal was to assess the quality of the research methodology and of ...the peer programme description as reported in original research studies. MEDLINE and PsycINFO databases were systematically searched in order to identify relevant studies published between May 2007 and July 2014. Eligible articles were evaluated using pre‐existing criteria based on the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials Statement Checklist. This review included 13 studies: four randomised controlled trials, one non‐randomised comparative study and eight one‐group descriptive studies. All studies reported high participant satisfaction with the peer support intervention, and the majority noted positive outcomes regarding psychological adjustment. The quality of the description of the peer support programmes as well as the research methodology of the studies was rated as fair. Methodological weaknesses included biased recruitment strategies and limited information regarding peer volunteers, non‐users of peer support and those who withdrew from support programmes. One‐to‐one peer support programmes have the unique advantage of being a low‐cost intervention approach, but also showing potential for relieving the health‐care system by reallocating some aspects of the cancer care to community settings. Future research should address the methodological weaknesses in study design and reporting.
Taught postgraduate students in the UK have a limited timeframe for study, with most full-time courses requiring intense scholarship, typically over a 12-month period. Many of these students face ...challenges and concerns with the transition from undergraduate to taught postgraduate study as they adapt to a new learning environment with higher academic expectations. In this paper, we discuss the results of a new experience survey, designed to capture a holistic view of taught postgraduate student feedback beyond traditional academic content and to also capture self-reported challenges experienced during their studies. This article also describes the development of a new collaborative support programme in response to student feedback. The programme has been designed to offer a cohesive package of workshop sessions around academic skills, well-being, support and career development. The importance of providing a targeted support framework for this specific and often overlooked cohort within the HE sector is discussed.
Abbreviations: PGT, Postgraduate Taught; HE, Higher Education; VLE, Virtual Learning Environment
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