230582 research outputs found
Sort by
Multisystemic and Functional Family Therapy for Children on the Edge-of-Care:A Qualitative Exploration of Collaborative Leadership in Implementation
Get PDFEmpirical research has demonstrated the pivotal role of leadership in implementing evidence-based interventions. However, little is known about the interpersonal factors that support or hinder collaboration between senior leaders, particularly in complex, multi-agency settings. This study explored interpersonal factors influencing collaborative leadership during the implementation of Multisystemic Therapy and Functional Family Therapy within the Pan-London Positive Families Partnership, a cross-borough initiative for children on the edge-of-care. Twelve senior leaders participated in semi-structured interviews. Reflexive thematic analysis identified two overarching themes: ‘the importance of a relational approach’ and an ‘adaptive and reflective way of being’, encompassing six subthemes. Findings highlighted the centrality of relational leadership practices, underpinned by psychological safety and informed by attachment principles, containment, mentalisation and adaptability. Leaders enacted strategies that mirrored interventions' therapeutic ethos, fostering trust, supporting collaboration and buffering teams from systemic pressures. This alignment between leadership culture and clinical practice was critical for coherence across organisational layers. This study adds to evidence that relational leadership, underpinned by psychological safety, supports implementation and sustainment of evidence-based interventions in complex systems. By illustrating interpersonal processes, it reinforces the need for models that integrate attachment and relational dynamics to enhance leadership capacity and outcomes for young people and families.</p
Star-shape: development of a human stem cell derived platform to investigate astrocyte morhogenesis and shape-function relations
No full textCorrection:Development of a core outcome set for the assessment of spasticity in adults: a study protocol (Trials, (2025), 26, 1, (567), 10.1186/s13063-025-09289-5)
No full textFollowing the publication of the original article [1], we were notified that the second author’s name was incorrectly spelled as “Stephan Ashford” instead of “Stephen Ashford”.</p
A phase transition for the biased tree-builder random walk
Get PDFWe consider a recent model of random walk that recursively grows the network on which it evolves, namely the Tree Builder Random Walk (TBRW). We introduce a bias ρ ∈ (0,∞) towards the root, and exhibit a phase transition for transience/recurrence at a critical threshold ρc=1+2¯¯¯ν, where ¯¯¯ν is the (possibly infinite) expected number of new leaves attached to the walker’s position at each step. This generalizes previously known results, which focused on the unbiased case ρ=1.The proofs rely on a recursive analysis of the local times of the walk at each vertex of the tree, after a given number of returns to the root.We moreover characterize the strength of the transience (law of large numbers and central limit theorem with positive speed) via standard arguments, establish recurrence at ρc, and show a condensation phenomenon in the non-critical recurrent case
Causal Graph Learning for Face-Based Interpretable Hierarchical Diagnosis of Depression
No full textDepression has become one of the most serious mental illnesses, leading to a substantial decline in quality of life, an elevated risk of suicide, and significant societal challenges. Despite significant progress in the application of deep learning for depression diagnosis, most prevalent methods rely on correlative rather than causal features, limiting their accuracy and interpretability. Here, we propose a causal graph learning (CGL) method for the hierarchical diagnosis of depression. Specifically, we first construct a novel depression facial graph (DFGraph) structure based on a prior knowledge, which collects information about subjects’ facial cues. Our CGL model leverages the DFGraph structure and incorporates a built-in masking mechanism, which is designed to effectively differentiate causal features from confounding ones. It employs backdoor adjustment techniques, which control for confounding variables by blocking noncausal paths, to identify and select pertinent causal features, thereby enhancing the accuracy of the hierarchical diagnosis of depression. We conducted extensive experiments on the collected depression dataset. Our results show that the proposed method provides better results and interpretability is further improved compared to the publicly available baseline
Correction:Development of a core outcome set for the assessment of spasticity in adults: a study protocol (Trials, (2025), 26, 1, (567), 10.1186/s13063-025-09289-5)
No full textFollowing the publication of the original article [1], we were notified that the second author’s name was incorrectly spelled as “Stephan Ashford” instead of “Stephen Ashford”.</p
Research and training fellowships as a mechanism for building research capacity in social care:an evaluation of the fellowship component of a capacity-building programme in England
Get PDFResearch capacity building in social care has received increased attention and dedicated funding in recent years, yet opportunities for practitioners to engage with research or apply evidence-based practice remain limited. This paper evaluates one mechanism for developing capacity through a research-practice partnership: funding and supporting social care staff to undertake practitioner-research fellowships.This qualitative study incorporated interviews with fellows, applicants, mentors, line managers, and experts by experience; focus groups with academic supervisors and programme leads; and reviews of progress reports. Using thematic analysis, it identified three themes: challenges in applying for and undertaking fellowships, and partnership support that helped address them; the impacts of fellowships on social care practitioners and organisations; and lessons learned at individual, team and system levels, including the importance of engaging middle managers, creating a supportive academic environment, and widening access across a diverse social care workforce.Although research capacity building in social care remains in its infancy, fellowships provide valuable opportunities to nurture practitioner-researchers and foster a research culture. They enable two-way learning between practice and academia, bridging the research–practice gap. However, questions remain around sustainability, inclusivity, and long-term pathways for practitioner-researchers, highlighting the need for continued investment, infrastructure, and flexible models of support
Psycho-social factors associated with disagreement between prospective and retrospective measures of childhood maltreatment
Get PDFBackground: Prospective and retrospective measures of childhood maltreatment often identify different individuals and are differentially associated with psychopathology. This study examines psycho-social factors that may explain discrepancies between these measures. Methods: Data were drawn from the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative birth cohort of 2,232 children born in 1994–1995 across England and Wales and followed to age 18 (93% retention). Childhood maltreatment was assessed through: (a) prospective assessments from caregivers, researchers, and clinicians at ages 5–12, and (b) retrospective self-reports at age 18 using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (for maltreatment occurring up to age 12). For the analyses, we focused on participants identified as maltreated from either measure (n = 290) and an a-priori selected array of potential explanatory variables assessed between ages 5–18. We conducted two sets of analyses: comparing individuals with only prospectively identified maltreatment to those identified by both prospective and retrospective measures to understand why some participants did not retrospectively report or recall maltreatment; and comparing individuals with only retrospective self-reports to those identified by both prospective and retrospective measures to understand why maltreatment had not been detected prospectively. Results: Participants in the prospective-only group reported greater social support over the life course and lower psychopathology at age 18 compared to those identified through both prospective and retrospective measures. Individuals in the retrospective-only group had higher socioeconomic status, higher self-reported adult involvement at age 12, and less exposure to domestic violence compared to those identified through both prospective and retrospective measures. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that perceptions of social support and better mental health may buffer retrospective recall of childhood maltreatment in those with prospective measures. Furthermore, more positive family functioning and socioeconomic factors may hamper prospective detection of childhood maltreatment in those who retrospectively report it.</p