4101 research outputs found
Sort by
Positive psychology pioneers: Ed Diener's power and potential to influence mental health nursing
No full textThis article is the third in a series that celebrates the work of positive psychologists and how their work has the power and potential to influence mental health nursing practice. Focusing on the contribution of Professor Ed Diener (1946–2021), and his work on subjective wellbeing, will help bring interest and understanding to this exciting and developing area of mental health nursing practice
Critical Commentary. The development of integrated clinical pathways and plurality training: Personal contributions to forensic mental health nursing from an autoethnographic perspective.
No full textThe research area of this study examines the impact of the author’s contribution to the development of Forensic Mental Health Nursing (FMHN) over a 40-year career. This retrospective analysis hopes to capture the impact of the author upon the role development of a distinct FMHN role, including a range of skills, knowledge and areas of practice undertaken by such nurses. However, the word count limitations of this study and specific advice from the University of Bolton have necessitated an approach that focuses upon only two case studies to be illustrative of the contribution to this specialist role. These case studies include the implementation of an integrated clinical pathway (ICP) into mental health, and the development of a programme of multi-professional plurality training in the very specialist forensic field to support its operation. Historically there has been a gap in knowledge and function of forensic teams. The development and use of ICPs in mental health care is rare, and the associated need for a shared understanding of the approach by multi-professional teams is essential for success in the nursing care and treatment of mentally disordered offenders. Additional contributions made by the author to Forensic Mental Health Nursing are detailed in the accompanying Portfolio of Evidence.The aim was specifically to investigate how the contribution of the author positively impacted upon the implementation, operation and success of the model used, with particular attention to the development of the role of FMHNs. The methods used to investigate and evidence this, were the use of an evocative autoethnographic study in the form of a Critical Commentary. This used reflection from a 40-year career to review and evaluate the success of efforts to enhance the role and skill set of FMHNs and integrate them fully into multi-professional teams.The paper contains a selective review of the general FMHN literature, followed by more specific literature, to support the evidence provided in the two illustrative case studies. These are presented as chapters and include a retrospective evaluation of Forensic Plurality Training (a multi-professional training and development programme for new and existing staff in the forensic field), and the use of an Integrated Clinical Pathway model in forensic mental health to co-ordinate and enhance teamwork and patient recovery. This is supported by a Portfolio of Evidence, which contains additional work by the author. This includes research to measure and reduce clinical violence. The implementation of nurse independent prescribing. Initiatives to improve the clinical environment of forensic hospitals and other material, such as professional testimonies from colleagues and significant leaders in the field.The key findings were the increased impact of FMHNs within the speciality and the teams that they were part of. The FMHN role has been transformed from that of ‘passive custodians and deliverers of others’ instructions’, into modern and fully integrated clinical professionals with a unique identity and function. The exemplar case studies are demonstrative of the impact such initiatives play in the enhancement of the nursing contribution to the wider team, thus reflecting ways to promote and facilitate this. The significance of these findings is that since the closure of the large Victorian era asylums, FMHNs have risen to the challenge of de-institutionalisation, and adapted their role into more diverse modes of care delivery. As a result, they have extended and expanded their skills and operational functioning into new and exciting areas of multi-professional practice and have become a key feature of contemporary forensic practice
Re-making teacher professionalism in England: localism and social responsibility.
No full textTeaching and teacher education in England have been subject to thirty years of sustained public scrutiny and political intervention (Furlong, 2013). A range of technologies have enhanced central control and promoted cultures of disciplined self-steering. These include systems of specification (through Teachers’ Standards), measurement and comparison (through the audit of ‘hard’ performance indicators and periodic inspection of schools and teacher education), and prescribed forms of reflexive self-monitoring (quality assurance and evaluation processes). This article offers a critical analysis of the re-positioning of teaching and teacher education in England achieved by successive governments from the mid-1980s. Following a review of the trajectory of policies concerned with teacher development, three questions are addressed. How is teaching (re-)conceptualised in the reform of the Teachers’ Standards in England? What models of professionalism are discernible in recent drives to modernise and liberate the teaching profession? How do models of ‘occupational professionalism’ (Evetts, 2011) interact with concurrent moves towards localism and de-centralisation of education and children’s services? The article concludes by identifying areas of tension between devolution of responsibility and the promotion of local accountability, and the continued development of a national teaching service conceived as a public good
Predicting the risk of heart failure based on clinical data
No full textThe disorder that directly impacts the heart and the blood vessels inside the body is cardiovascular disease (CVD). According to World Health Organization (WHO) reports, CVDs are the leading cause of mortality worldwide, claiming the human life of nearly 23.6 million people annually. The categorization of diseases in CVD includes Coronary Heart Disease, Strokes and Transient Ischaemic Attacks (TIA), Peripheral Arterial Disease, Aortic Disease. Most CVD fatalities are caused by strokes and heart attacks, with an estimated one third of these deaths currently happening before 60. The standard medical organization "New York Heart Association" (NYHA) categorize the various stages of heart failure as Class I: with no symptoms, Class II:mild symptoms, Class III: comfortable only when in resting position, Class IV: severe condition or Patient is bed-bound, and Class V: unable to determine the class. Machine Learning-based methods play an essential role in clinical data analysis. This research presents the importance of various essential attributes related to heart disease based on a hybrid machine learning model. The proposed hybrid model SVM-GA is based on a Support vector machine (SVM) and the Genetic Algorithm (GA). This research analyzed an online dataset obtainable at the UCI machine learning repository with the medical data of 299 patients who suffered from heart failures and are classified as Class III or IV as per the standard NYHA. This dataset was collected through patients' available follow-up and checkup duration and involved thirteen clinical characteristics. The proposed Machine Learning models were used to calculate feature importance in this research. The proposed model and existing well-known machine learning based-models, i.e., Bayesian Generalized Linear Model, ANN, Bagged CART, Bag Earth, and SVM, are implemented using python and various performance measuring parameters, i.e.,,, Accuracy, processing time, precision, recall, f-measures are calculated.Experimental analysis shows the proposed SVM-GA model strengthens in terms of better Accuracy, processing time, precision, recall, f-measures over existing methods
COVID-19 relates to both PTSD and PTG in a non-clinical population, why?
No full textWe assessed levels of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and post-traumatic growth (PTG) during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK using an online questionnaire, in May and June 2020, during “lockdown.” Some 440 participants took part and 91.8% of the sample was female. Large numbers of participants had high levels of PTSD, with some 50.2% with “probable PTSD”. Yet 49.5% of participants also demonstrated high levels of PTG. Regression analysis revealed rumination to be key predictors for PTSD and PTG
Comorbidities of combat trauma: unresolved grief and moral injury
No full textThis Grounded Theory study explored the effects of complicated grief and moral injury on veterans’ recovery from postcombat trauma. The main finding was that the interaction between the comorbidities seems to be two-fold: the cumulative anger arising from military life and combat experiences has a major impact on recovery from any or all of the co-morbidities irrespective of its source; and avoidance of the distressing emotions associated with any one of conditions leads to veterans avoiding talking about any of them, with obvious detriment to recovery. These conclusions merit further study to inform mental health policy and optimize offered therap
Reviewing literature to inform policy: Some complexities and tensions.
No full textDrawing on the experience of carrying out a literature review commissioned to support the Review of Teacher Education in Scotland, this paper discusses the role of literature reviews within the movement for ‘evidence-based policy’ making. The first part of the paper discusses the purposes of such reviews and some of the misconceptions that may be associated with them. Several critical questions that shape the work of reviewing are identified. By examining the particular case in which the authors were involved, it is demonstrated how the establishment of terms of reference and definitions of scope are critical factors in determining the outcome of such a project. But so too are the relationships established between those undertaking the project and the commissioners of the work. The conclusion is that reviewing literature is much more of a deliberative process than is commonly understood
The values in action character strengths model in addiction recovery: a case study
No full textPurpose The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how the values in action (VIA) character strengths model can be applied as a resource to support people in addiction recovery. The purpose of this is to appreciate the positive outcomes seen in other areas of research, applied to addiction recovery. To achieve this, a character strengths intervention has been designed and delivered as a case study. The objective of the intervention is to identify some of the strengths described by an individual in their account of recovery, ascertain their signature strengths through validated assessment and, based on the exploration of this information, support the individual in a reflective exercise to consider how their character strengths have positively affected their recovery to date and the effect this new knowledge could have on their ongoing recovery. Design/methodology/approach The VIA character strengths model has identified 24 positive qualities that are present in the human condition. In this case study, the VIA model is used to identify strengths from a first-hand account of the recovery process; the VIA character strengths survey is used to ascertain the signature strengths of the participant who is also the author of the account. Information from the strengths identification and VIA survey is explored, and a follow-up e-interview is conducted using questions designed to encourage the participant to reflect on the use of strengths in their present and ongoing recovery. Findings This case study shows that the VIA model of character strengths can be applied in addiction recovery to help people appreciate how they have used their character strengths in the recovery process, what their signature strengths are and how they can be used with good effect to improve their well-being and future recovery. Originality/value In this work, a new broad-spectrum approach using the VIA model of character strengths has been proposed to help people in addiction recovery use their own resources to improve their function, well-being and thus recovery
