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Remarkable Lives: Lizzie Hehir in conversation with Jerome Carson.
Get PDFThe purpose of this paper is to provide a profile of Lizzie Hehir. Lizzie tells her own story and is then interviewed by Jerome.
This series of papers used the case study approach. However, each paper is written collaboratively, using the person’s own words. The deeply individual nature of each person’s story, reminds us of the complexities of working in mental health.
In her account Lizzie tells us of her long-term battles with self-harm. It was a struggle that she eventually won.
Individual stories allow us to access people’s lived experience with mental illness. No diagnostic manual can ever truly categorise this uniqueness.
Lizzie shows it is possible to overcome self-harm, though she still experiences something of the trauma she went through, when she has triggers.
When we see burns victims we seldom approach them asking them how they sustained their injuries, but as Lizzie points out, many people feel able to ask people who have self-harmed about their injuries.
Lizzie writes with conviction and humility. Now working in mental health she is able to reach out to others who are as troubled as she once was
The impact of caregiving on the caregivers of people with dementia
Get PDFIn the UK, approximately 850,000 people are living with dementia, and 2/3 is been
care for my informal caregivers. Caring for people with dementia can be burdensome
and the caregivers experience physical, psychological, and financial burdens including social isolation, which negatively influences their quality of life.
The dissertation aims to investigate the impact of dementia caring on the quality of life
of people with dementia caregivers. The aim was broken down into three (3) objectives:
(i) To identify the various challenges which affect the caregiver's quality of life.
(ii) To explore factors that can alleviate caregivers' burden and improve quality of life.
(iii) To investigate how collaboration and access to services can influence caregiver's resilience.
A systematic computerised literature search was done that resulted in 15 peer-review papers (14 qualitative and 1 quantitative methodology) published between 2012- 2019 concerning caregivers of people with dementia. A thematic analysis was used to identify 5 themes (i) resilience, (ii) Services, (iii) quality of life, (iv) access, and (v) collaboration.
The study reveals that factors such as inadequate information and how to access care services, lack of key personnel to facilitate services support and insufficient social support cause the caregivers to experience negative wellbeing. Combine with physical and psychological challenges and lack of social networks create a negative quality of life for dementia caregivers
Effect of electropulsing on the fatigue resistance of aluminium alloy 2014-T6
Get PDFThe effects of electropulsing on the fatigue resistance of aluminium alloy 2014-T6 were studied in
relation to electric current amplitude, pulse duration, and number of repetitions. Utilising the Taguchi
method, the present study identified the current amplitude and the duration of the electropulsing as
the two critical treatment parameters for improved fatigue resistance. A 97% fatigue life improvement
was achieved under the electropulsing conditions that were applied. An increase in microhardness
and a decrease in electrical conductivity due to electropulsing were correlated with enhanced fatigue
resistance in the alloy. Mechanisms related to the effects of the electropulsing treatment were
elucidated based on observations from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission
electron microscopy (TEM) as well as numerical simulation results. The mechanisms identified by
observation included dislocation movement and the secondary precipitation of GP-zones. Further
explication of these mechanisms was provided by the application of a “magnetic field’’ model
The importance of grounded assessments and interventions: Towards a new framework for Developmental Coordination Disorder
Get PDFThe overarching purpose of this Thesis is to evaluate assessments and interventions
for sensorimotor therapy according to the method Retraining for Balance. The purpose of the
first study (Paper I) was to compile instruments based on the 46 diagnostic tools according to
the method Retraining for Balance (RB) in order to be able to analyse previously collected
data and thereby examine whether future studies would be of interest. Results showed that
further studies were of interest and that RB could be a complement to existing treatment
methods for Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). The aim of the second study
(Paper II) was to gain increased understanding of the effects of sensorimotor therapy on the
physical and psychological development of children and young people when using RB. As the
qualitative analyses proceeded three themes emerged, (a) Introductions, (b) Regressions and
(c) Transformations. The process involved in RB can thus be described as a flow in which
Introductions, Regressions and Transformations jointly pushed the individual toward an
increased physical and psychological maturity. The main purpose of study three (Paper III)
was to investigate if a group of primary reflexes are to be found in adults showing symptoms
of sensorimotor disorders, and, if so, is it possible to integrate these reflexes through
sensorimotor therapy (SMT). Results showed that the same diagnostic instruments and
treatment methods can be used for both children and adults with sensorimotor difficulties and
that the difficulties can’t be out grown. The aims of study four (Paper IV) were to (a)
compare healthy children in terms of sensorimotor maturity to untreated children diagnosed
with DCD and (b) compare healthy children to diagnosed children following completed
treatment with sensorimotor therapy. The results showed, in accordance with the first
hypothesis of the study that the Norm group performed better on all sensorimotor tests as
compared to the untreated children from the DCD group, with the exception of an audiometric
test where both groups performed at the same level. Results also showed, after controls for
natural maturing effects, that the participants from the DCD group, after sensorimotor therapy
did catch up with the healthy children, which led to that the second hypothesis was rejected.
In Paper V, which was an invited Focused Review, our central theme was the importance of
grounded assessments and interventions in regard to DCD. The paper had two aims, (a) to
follow-up Paper III and (b) to fill a gap in literature regarding assessments and interventions
of DCD. Our previous results had indicated that sensorimotor problems could be treated
within all age groups through the method RB. It was therefore concluded that the importance
of primary reflex suppression and vestibular stimulation as well as a combination of top-down
and bottom-up approaches have to be considered in order to develop effective methods for
assessment and intervention of DCD. The method RB underlines not only the importance of
gravity and its influence on the vestibular system but also the importance of parental (or
spouse) guidance during training. Therefore a Brain Body World Interaction (BBWI)
perspective including both a vertical connection (i.e., interactions between the person and
gravity) and a horizontal connection (i.e., the person who socializes, learns and acts in the
world) is proposed as a starting point for a new theoretical framework regarding DCD
Risk assessment framework of mHealth system vulnerabilities: A multilayer analysis of the patient hub
Get PDFAlthough there have been remarkable technological developments in healthcare, the privacy and security of mobile health systems (mHealth) still raise many concerns with considerable consequences for patients using these
technologies. For instance, potential security and privacy threats in wireless
devices, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connected to a patient hub at the application, middleware and sensory layers, may result in the disclosure of private and sensitive data. This paper explores the security and privacy of the patient hub, including patient applications and their connections to sensors and
cloud technology. Addressing the privacy and security concerns of the patient
hub called for a comprehensive risk assessment by using the OCTAVE risk
assessment framework. Findings reveal that the highest risk concerned
data exposure at the sensory layer. In spite of the countermeasures presented in this paper, most served as a means to identify risk early as opposed to
mitigating them. The findings can serve to inform users of the potential vulnerabilities in the patient hub before they arise
Does post-traumatic growth follow parental death in adulthood? An empirical investigation.
Get PDFThis study looked at the loss of a parent in adulthood and whether this was followed by post-traumatic growth? Participants, 100 bereaved adults, from Pakistan and England, lost parents in the last 10 years. They completed three questionnaires. The study hypotheses were, first, that participants whose bereavement occurred more than five years ago would show significantly higher levels of post-traumatic growth. Second, participants with higher levels of post-traumatic growth would experience significantly higher grief scores. Thirdly, participants with higher levels of post-traumatic growth would show significantly higher levels of coping skills. Two hypotheses were rejected, only one received partial support. Yet, levels of post-traumatic growth were high in this sample. Post-traumatic growth does not follow every bereavement. The authors provide autoethnographic material to challenge this. Circumstances surrounding bereavement during the Covid-19 pandemic, are more likely to lead to increases in complicated grief reactions, rather than post-traumatic growth
Online mental health communities, self-efficacy and transition to further support
Get PDFPurpose
This study is exploratory research which aims to understand how users gain support from the online mental health community (OMHC) 18 percent and whether engagement with this community may possibly lead to increased self-efficacy.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 128 users of an OMHC, 18 percent, completed an online questionnaire that asked open-ended questions about the community and how users engaged with it. The results were analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods.
Findings
Based on the construct of self-efficacy within social cognitive theory, it is evident that the platform provides users with increased self-efficacy and encourages further support seeking in a professional capacity, either via an online or offline platform.
Originality/value
OMHCs provide a therapeutic, peer-to-peer space for users in times of crisis which have the possibility to increase self-efficacy when engaged with. However, users must acknowledge that although the online platform is an efficacious resource, it cannot be used as a principal proxy for offline treatment
Whole-body dynamic stability in side cutting: implications for markers of lower limb injury risk and change of direction performance
Get PDFControl of the centre of mass (CoM) whilst minimising the use of unnecessary movements is imperative for successful performance of dynamic sports tasks, and may indicate the condition of whole-body dynamic stability. The aims of this study were to express movement strategies that represent whole-body dynamic stability, and to explore their association with potentially injurious joint mechanics and side cutting performance. Twenty recreational soccer players completed 45° unanticipated side cutting. Five distinct whole-body dynamic stability movement strategies were identified, based on factors that influence the medial ground reaction force (GRF) vector during ground contact in the side cutting manoeuvre. Using Statistical Parametric Mapping, the movement strategies were linearly regressed against selected performance outcomes and peak knee abduction moment (peak KAM). Significant relationships were found between each movement strategy and at least one selected performance outcome or peak KAM. Our results suggest excessive medial GRFs were generated through sagittal plane movement strategies, and despite being beneficial for performance aspects, poor sagittal plane efficiency may destabilise control of the CoM. Frontal plane hip acceleration is the key non-sagittal plane movement strategy used in a corrective capacity to moderate excessive medial forces. However, whilst this movement strategy offered a way to retrieve control of the CoM, mitigating reduced whole-body dynamic stability, it also coincided with increased peak KAM. Overall, whole-body dynamic stability movement strategies helped explain the delicate interplay between the mechanics of changing direction and undesirable joint moments, providing insights that might support development of future intervention strategies