Abstract The majority of research into the mental health benefits of blue space (outdoor places where water is a central feature) has focussed on the associations between neighbourhood exposure to ...these spaces and population‐level incidence of unipolar depression or anxiety disorder. There has been little exploration of the therapeutic use of blue space by those navigating bipolar, schizophrenia or other psychotic conditions. Knowledge arising from such an exploration could assist in the design and optimisation of nature‐based care for people with these conditions, as well as with self‐management. We conducted semi‐structured online and telephone interviews with 19 adults who self‐reported experience of these conditions. Interviews were conducted in the United Kingdom from August to December 2021. We describe four of the key interpretive themes identified via an in‐depth inductive thematic analysis of the interview transcripts to highlight how participants sought out moments of affective sanctuary through their blue encounters. Blue spaces were described as having the potential to reset the mind, emotions and body. This was in part due to their socially undemanding nature, and ability to provide respite from a socially stressful world. Participants described developing a blue identity, whereby a sense of attachment to and shared history with these places was articulated as well as incorporating blue spaces into self‐ and emotion‐regulation practices. Finally, participants described experiences of and recommendations for a therapeutic blue intervention. The role of biodiversity in contributing to the benefits of blue spaces was implied primarily in terms of perceived soundscapes, but also through visual observations. Synthesis and applications . Blue care for people with bipolar, schizophrenia or other psychotic conditions should consider the need that some individuals have for solitude and proximity to their home when they visit blue spaces, as well as individual differences in the features of blue space interactions that provide the greatest benefit. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
ObjectiveLiving Library events involve people being trained as living ‘Books’, who then discuss aspects of their personal experiences in direct conversation with attendees, referred to as ‘Readers’. ...This study sought to generate a realist programme theory and a theory-informed implementation guide for a Library of Lived Experience for Mental Health (LoLEM).DesignIntegrated realist synthesis and experience-based co-design.SettingTen online workshops with participants based in the North of England.ParticipantsThirty-one participants with a combination of personal experience of using mental health services, caring for someone with mental health difficulties and/or working in mental health support roles.ResultsDatabase searches identified 30 published and grey literature evidence sources which were integrated with data from 10 online co-design workshops conducted over 12 months. The analysis generated a programme theory comprising five context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) configurations. Findings highlight how establishing psychological safety is foundational to productive Living Library events (CMO 1). For Readers, direct conversations humanise others’ experiences (CMO 2) and provide the opportunity to flexibly explore new ways of living (CMO 3). Through participation in a Living Library, Books may experience personal empowerment (CMO 4), while the process of self-authoring and co-editing their story (CMO 5) can contribute to personal development. This programme theory informed the co-design of an implementation guide highlighting the importance of tailoring event design and participant support to the contexts in which LoLEM events are held.ConclusionsThe LoLEM has appeal across stakeholder groups and can be applied flexibly in a range of mental health-related settings. Implementation and evaluation are required to better understand the positive and negative impacts on Books and Readers.Trial registration numberPROSPERO CRD42022312789.
IntroductionPeople with lived expertise in managing mental health challenges can be an important source of knowledge and support for other people facing similar challenges, and for carers to learn ...how best to help. However, opportunities for sharing lived expertise are limited. Living libraries support people with lived expertise to be ‘living books’, sharing their experiences in dialogue with ‘readers’ who can ask questions. Living libraries have been piloted worldwide in health-related contexts but without a clear model of how they work or rigorous evaluation of their impacts. We aim to develop a programme theory about how a living library could be used to improve mental health outcomes, using this theory to codesign an implementation guide that can be evaluated across different contexts.Methods and analysisWe will use a novel integration of realist synthesis and experience-based codesign (EBCD) to produce a programme theory about how living libraries work and a theory and experience informed guide to establishing a library of lived experience for mental health (LoLEM). Two workstreams will run concurrently: (1) a realist synthesis of literature on living libraries, combined with stakeholder interviews, will produce several programme theories; theories will be developed collaboratively with an expert advisory group of stakeholders who have hosted or taken part in a living library and will form our initial analysis framework; a systematic search will identify literature about living libraries; data will be coded into our analysis framework, and we will use retroductive reasoning to explain living libraries’ impacts across multiple contexts. Individual stakeholder interviews will help refine and test theories; (2) data from workstream 1 will inform 10 EBCD workshops with people with experience of managing mental health difficulties and health professionals to produce a LoLEM implementation guide; data from this process will also inform the theory in workstream 1.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval was granted by Coventry and Warwick National Health Service Research Ethics Committee on 29 December 2021 (reference number 305975). The programme theory and implementation guide will be published as open access and shared widely through a knowledge exchange event, a study website, mental health provider and peer support networks, peer reviewed journals and a funders report.PROSPERO registration detailsCRD42022312789.
Peer online mental health forums are commonly used and offer accessible support. Positive and negative impacts have been reported by forum members and moderators, but it is unclear why these impacts ...occur, for whom and in which forums. This multiple method realist study explores underlying mechanisms to understand how forums work for different people. The findings will inform codesign of best practice guidance and policy tools to enhance the uptake and effectiveness of peer online mental health forums.
In workstream 1, we will conduct a realist synthesis, based on existing literature and interviews with approximately 20 stakeholders, to generate initial programme theories about the impacts of forums on members and moderators and mechanisms driving these. Initial theories that are relevant for forum design and implementation will be prioritised for testing in workstream 2.Workstream 2 is a multiple case study design with mixed methods with several online mental health forums differing in contextual features. Quantitative surveys of forum members, qualitative interviews and Corpus-based Discourse Analysis and Natural Language Processing of forum posts will be used to test and refine programme theories. Final programme theories will be developed through novel triangulation of the data.Workstream 3 will run alongside workstreams 1 and 2. Key stakeholders from participating forums, including members and moderators, will be recruited to a Codesign group. They will inform the study design and materials, refine and prioritise theories, and codesign best policy and practice guidance.
Ethical approval was granted by Solihull Research Ethics Committee (IRAS 314029). Findings will be reported in accordance with RAMESES (Realist And MEta-narrative Evidence Syntheses: Evolving Standards) guidelines, published as open access and shared widely, along with codesigned tools.
ISRCTN 62469166; the protocol for the realist synthesis in workstream one is prospectively registered at PROSPERO CRD42022352528.
Online forums are widely used for mental health peer support. However, evidence of their safety and effectiveness is mixed. Further research focused on articulating the contexts in which positive and ...negative impacts emerge from forum use is required to inform innovations in implementation.
This study aimed to develop a realist program theory to explain the impacts of online mental health peer support forums on users.
We conducted a realist synthesis of literature published between 2019 and 2023 and 18 stakeholder interviews with forum staff.
Synthesis of 102 evidence sources and 18 interviews produced an overarching program theory comprising 22 context-mechanism-outcome configurations. Findings indicate that users' perceptions of psychological safety and the personal relevance of forum content are foundational to ongoing engagement. Safe and active forums that provide convenient access to information and advice can lead to improvements in mental health self-efficacy. Within the context of welcoming and nonjudgmental communities, users may benefit from the opportunity to explore personal difficulties with peers, experience reduced isolation and normalization of mental health experiences, and engage in mutual encouragement. The program theory highlights the vital role of moderators in creating facilitative online spaces, stimulating community engagement, and limiting access to distressing content. A key challenge for organizations that host mental health forums lies in balancing forum openness and anonymity with the need to enforce rules, such as restrictions on what users can discuss, to promote community safety.
This is the first realist synthesis of online mental health peer support forums. The novel program theory highlights how successful implementation depends on establishing protocols for enhancing safety and strategies for maintaining user engagement to promote forum sustainability.
PROSPERO CRD42022352528; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=352528.
Humans are good at making war—and much less successful at making peace. Genocide, torture, slavery, and other crimes against humanity are gross violations of human rights that are frequently ...perpetrated and legitimized in the name of nationalism, militarism, and economic development. This book tackles the question of how to make peace by taking a critical look at the primary political mechanism used to "repair" the many injuries suffered in war. With an explicit focus on reparations and human rights, it examines the broad array of abuses being perpetrated in the modern era, from genocide to loss of livelihood. Based on the experiences of anthropologists and others who document abuses and serve as expert witnesses, case studies from around the world offer insight into reparations proceedings; the ethical struggles associated with attempts to secure reparations; the professional and personal risks to researchers, victims, and human rights advocates; and how to come to terms with the political compromises of reparations in the face of the human need for justice. Waging War, Making Peace promises to be a major contribution to public policy, political science, international relations, and human rights and peace research.
What does it mean to be an advocate, to conduct research and assert findings in public ways with obvious and concerted purpose? Voicing what concerns? On whose authority? For what purpose, and to ...what effect? Can such work produce credible scientific outcomes? These questions and the underlying ethics and praxis issues of participatory action anthropology are explored here through a reflexive lens. In this article, I argue that anthropological praxis based on collaborative and participatory engagement produces credible research outcomes, allows informed consent, and fosters equity in the science‐subject relationship. Because it is both problem and remedy focused, collaborative and participatory engagement allows the identification, and ideally the implementation, of meaningful remedy. When such work is the product of or is endorsed by professional disciplinary organizations, the opportunity for peer review further strengthens the scientific integrity, enhances the credibility of findings, and amplifies the power of any subsequent advocacy effort. To illustrate, I detail some of my own efforts and after‐the‐fact insights on advocacy‐oriented anthropology. The primary point is that to work in the public interest is an honor, a duty, and at times an intensely problematic burden that demands explicit attention to the social terms and potential ramifications of engagement.
The World Commission on Dams brought global attention to the adverse costs of large dam development, including the disproportionate displacement of indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities and the ...extreme impoverishment of development refugees. The WCD recommended that governments, industry and financial institutions accept responsibility for flawed development and make proper reparation, including remedial activities such as the restoration of livelihood and land compensation for relocated communities. One exemplary case cited is Guatemala's Chixoy dam. Completed in 1982, this internationally financed dam was built during a time when military dictatorships deployed policies of state-sponsored violence against a Mayan citizenry. Construction occurred without a resettlement plan, and forced displacement occurred through violence and massacre. This paper describes an attempt to implement WCD reparation recommendations in a context where no political will existed. To clarify events, abuses and meaningful remedy, an independent assessment process was established in 2003, auditing the development record, assessing consequential damages and facilitating the community articulation of histories and needs. The resulting 2005 study played a key role in reparation negotiations. The Chixoy case illustrates some of the more profound impacts of the WCD review. The WCD served as a catalyst in social movement formation and a force that expanded rights-protective space for dam-affected communities to negotiate an equitable involvement in development.
While the fundamental role of water as a human need and a human right has been acknowledged by the United Nations and member states, too often strategies to secure that right conflict with the ...competing interests and actions for the same resource. We are approaching a global tipping point in the hydrosphere where the biocultural sustainability of water resources is threatened by the cumulative and synergistic impacts of degenerative changes. When water that sustains life, livelihoods, and culture is threatened, the cultural stability and diversity of peoples and their environment is also threatened. Achieving long‐term sustainability of our hydrosphere requires re‐embedding social, cultural, and environmental concerns within and throughout the local, regional, and global systems that plan, finance, develop, manage, and use our world's water. WIREs Water 2014, 1:1–9. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1003
This article is categorized under:
Human Water > Rights to Water
In the 1990s, I helped develop a cooperative agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Society for Applied Anthropology to provide social science expertise to communities, ...agencies, and institutions involved in environmental health, impact assessment, planning, policy, and problem-solving processes that include source water protection, environmental risk and hazards management, sustainable development, and ecological restoration efforts.
