Identifying strengths in youths at substance use treatment admission.

Background: Clinicians have been required to assess client strengths at substance use treatment admission for two decades. Yet little is known about identified strengths in this population that could make it easier for clients to accept having this illness. Objectives: This study explored the profile of clients' strengths and whether strengths varied by background characteristics and constructive use of time. Methods: Data were collected with validated instruments at treatment admission. Substance dependent youths (N = 195, 52% female, aged 14-17, 30% minority), their legal guardians, and admission counselors completed an open-ended prompt about client strengths. Qualitative responses of identified strengths were coded by theme. Univariate comparisons linked count of identified strengths and patient characteristics. Results: Youths had an average of three identified strengths (SD = 1.99) at admission, and 9% did not identify any strengths. Interpersonal strengths were most prevalent (73%), followed by generic intelligence (45%), and grit (31%). Female gender, not having a parent with a high school diploma, narcotic dependence, and shorter duration of consecutive days sober were associated with fewer strengths. Conclusion: Highly sociable, hard-working, and smart were prominent strengths in the sample. Each day sober corresponded with more identified strengths, which may encourage those in early recovery. Identifying strengths can help clients find meaningful sober recreation and may be particularly useful tools for girls and those with low parental education. Developing standards for using identified strengths in treatment planning and consensus on the taxonomy of strengths are topics for future research.

A qualitative investigation of hospital visitors' experiences using the analytic lens of liminality: Informing nursing practice and policy.

This research aimed to inform nursing practice and policy by identifying satisfying and problematic experiences of hospital visitors during the hospitalisation episode of a significant other. An extensive contextual review revealed that healthcare systems in advanced economies face multiple pressures and that in England, the government leaves the determination of hospital visiting rules to individual trusts. The analytic lens of liminality provides rich interpretations of visitors' accounts and demonstrates the importance to visitors of structure (hospital rules and systems) and communitas (social bonding among liminal personae). Supportive hospital structures reduce the challenges of liminality and increase satisfaction. The data further suggest an extension to current understandings of liminality. Strong structure and successful communitas permit a safe exit from liminality after the hospitalisation episode for visitors with a close emotional bond with the patient.

What matters to users of services? An explorative study to promote shared decision making in health care.

BACKGROUND: Involving service users and carers in decisions about their health care is a key feature of health-care practice. Professional health and social care students need to develop skills and attributes to best enable this to happen. AIMS: The aims were to explore service user and carer perceptions of behaviours, attributes and context required to enable shared decision making; to compare these perceptions to those of students and academic staff with a view to utilizing the findings to inform the development of student assessment tools. METHODS: A mixed methods approach was used including action learning groups (ALG) and an iterative process alongside a modified Delphi survey. PARTICIPANTS: The ALGs were from an existing service user and carer network. The survey was sent to sixty students, sixty academics and 30 service users from 16 different professional disciplines, spanning four Universities in England. RESULTS: The collaborative enquiry process and survey identified general agreement that being open and honest, listening, showing respect, giving time and being up to date were important. The qualitative findings identified that individual interpretation was a key factor. An unexpected result was an insight into possible insecurities of students. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that distilling rich qualitative information into a format for student assessment tools could be problematic as the individual context could be lost, it is therefore proposed that the information could be better used as a learning rather than assessment tool. Several of those involved identified how they valued the process and found it beneficial.

Do Social Stories help to decrease disruptive behaviour in children with autistic spectrum disorders? A review of the published literature.

A structured search and identification of themes within the literature regarding the use of Social Stories to decrease disruptive behaviour in children with autistic spectrum disorders is presented. The examination of seven studies showed that the Social Story intervention was successful for the majority of the participants, although the level of success was variable. Overall, Social Stories appear to be an acceptable intervention for use in the classroom, however unplanned verbal prompting by teachers, in some studies, reduced confidence in the effectiveness of Social Stories when used in isolation. An increasing body of literature has indicated that Social Stories are an effective intervention for children diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorders, however very few studies have addressed the efficacy of Social Stories when used with children with other disabilities.

Loneliness in online students with disabilities: qualitative investigation for experience, understanding and solutions.

Online learning has given access to education for diverse populations including students with disabilities. In our university, the ratio of students with disabilities is substantially higher in the online programmes than face-to-face. Online learning provides high accessibility though it can result in a lonely experience. Accordingly, this study aimed to appraise the first-hand experience and understanding of loneliness in online students with disabilities (OSWD), and to discuss possible solutions. Thematic analysis on semi-structured interviews attended by nine OSWD identified: 'Self-paced study can reduce stigma but cause loneliness (Theme 1)', 'Loneliness and social difficulties relate to misunderstanding of disability (Theme 2)', and 'Activities, events and staff for informal socialisation are needed (Theme 3)'. As the demand for online learning is further expanded due to the current global pandemic, our findings will be helpful for online learning institutions worldwide to establish effective strategies to reduce loneliness in OSWD. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41239-021-00301-x.

Commentary: Suggesting Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) for treating addiction.

Shinrin-yoku ('') (i.e., forest bathing), a Japanese wellbeing practice, aims to harmonise a person with a forest by bathing in the forest mindfully using our five senses (Miyazaki, 2018). Practitioners can choose whatever they like to focus on in the forest: different colours of leaves, the sounds of streams, or the warmth of sunshine beaming between leaves. Since the birth of this practice in 1982, shinrin-yoku has been widely used in the Japanese clinical fields (Hansen, Jones, & Tocchini, 2017). Recently, this healing practice has received attention from healthcare practitioners and researchers worldwide (Wen, Yan, Pan, Gu, & Liu, 2019). In this commentary, we will discuss limitations of the current shinrin-yoku research, and how future research can be conducted to appraise the effects of shinrin-yoku on addiction.

Effective involvement: a report on the evaluation of a research awareness training package for public involvement in health research.

BACKGROUND: As the role of Patient and Public Involvement contributors expands to all stages of the research cycle, there is increasing demand for training that meets the needs of this diverse population. To help meet this demand the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care, Yorkshire and Humber, worked with members of the public to develop a bespoke training package. The University of Huddersfield's Public Partnership Group were invited to host the training and undertake an independent evaluation. METHODS: Participatory action research was used to structure the evaluation, such that participants in the training and public members of the evaluation team were co-collaborators with a robust, significant and visible share in the process. This is evidenced by public team members' roles in undertaking the majority of data gathering, including surveys, non-participant observation and interviews, and analysis, engaging in all reflective discussions, leading on producing a formal report and contributing significant sections of this paper.The evaluation was approved by a University ethics panel.Public involvement consisted of the 13 participants who received the training, and 3 of the 6 members of the evaluation team. Data collection took place between November 2017 and March 2018. RESULTS: The evaluation found that participants understood more about the research process from attending the training, gaining greater confidence in their ability to volunteer to get involved. It also highlighted the difficulties of meeting the training needs of a diverse group with varying experiences and expectations. Skilful facilitation was needed to maintain pace, whilst engaging people with different levels of interest and knowledge. The management of the environment to maximise comfort and involvement was important. Early feedback to the delivery team enabled timely updating of the package.Involvement in the evaluation was initially daunting for the three public members of the team, but hugely enjoyable and fulfilling, as well as enriching the process and outcomes. In particular, public involvement in the analysis and interpretation stages increased the authenticity of the evaluation findings. CONCLUSIONS: This evaluation validated the training package and demonstrated the value and impact of Public Involvement at all levels in research.

Post-natal hearing loss in universal neonatal hearing screening communities: current limitations and future directions.

Universal hearing screening has dramatically improved outcomes for babies born with detectable hearing abnormalities; yet there are some infants who develop significant hearing problems after passing a neonatal screen. There is much conjecture as to the number and the characteristics of infants with post-natal hearing losses; yet evidence suggests that many children may be affected, and that a large proportion have no discoverable cause. Currently, screening programmes use lists of risk factors to enroll babies into surveillance programmes. This practice is problematic because audiological follow-ups are expensive and under-utilised, and parental disclosure is often inaccurate. The large databases from universal neonatal programmes could inform the development of effective, evidence-based practice and policy for the detection and intervention of children who develop post-natal hearing losses.

A feasibility study of an educational intervention for children with daytime wetting.

UNLABELLED: Daytime wetting in children is a common problem and though behavioural and educational interventions have been recommended, they have not been extensively evaluated. AIM: To evaluate the feasibility and usefulness of an educational intervention (home workbook) for daytime wetting in children aged six to ten years. METHODS: The workbook was piloted with two groups of children with daytime wetting. One group (n = 10) received verbal information only, while the other group (n = 10) received the same verbal information and the workbook supporting the verbal information. Telephone surveys were undertaken every two weeks to monitor the child's progress. RESULTS: The workbook was acceptable and usable by both children and parents, and was positively evaluated. Though the results do not show a clinically meaningful improvement in symptoms, they suggest a larger trial is worthwhile. CONCLUSION: A simple, paper-based educational intervention for children and parents on the management of daytime wetting is acceptable and usable.

Team based learning in nursing and midwifery higher education; a systematic review of the evidence for change.

REVIEW AIM: The aim of this study is to review the evidence in relation to the experiences and outcomes of students on nursing and/or midwifery higher education programmes, who experience team based learning. REVIEW OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship between team based learning and attainment for nursing and midwifery students in professional higher education. To examine the relationship between team based learning and student satisfaction for nurses and midwifery students in higher education. To identify and report examples of good practice in the implementation of team based learning in Nursing and Midwifery higher education. DESIGN: A systematic Review of the literature was undertaken. The population were nurses and midwives studying on higher education pre and post registration professional programmes. The intervention was learning and teaching activities based on a team-based learning approach. Data sources included CINAHL and MEDLINE. ERIC and Index to Theses were also searched. REVIEW METHODS: International research papers published in English between 2011 and 2017 that met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. Papers that met the criteria were subjected to quality appraisal and agreement amongst authors for inclusion in the review. RESULTS: A total of sixteen papers were reviewed and four themes emerged for discussion. These were Student Engagement, Student Satisfaction, Attainment and Practice Development and Transformational Teaching and Learning. CONCLUSIONS: There is a tentative, though growing body of evidence to support TBL as a strategy that can impact on student engagement, student satisfaction, attainment, practice development and transformative teaching and learning. The literature indicates that implementing TBL within the curriculum is not without challenge and requires a sustained and structured approach. Staff and students need to understand the processes involved, and why they should be adhered to, in the pursuit of enhanced student experiences and outcomes for nurses and midwives in Higher Education.

Patient perspectives on the impact of acromegaly: results from individual and group interviews.

PURPOSE: Acromegaly is a chronic condition resulting from a growth hormone-secreting pituitary tumor that can substantially impact patients' physical and emotional well-being. We sought to understand the impact of acromegaly on disease-related concerns and treatment choices from the patient perspective. The path to diagnosis, current disease management, interactions with the treating health care providers (HCPs), and support networks were also assessed. METHODS: Acromegaly patients were recruited primarily from a patient support group (Acromegaly Community). In Phase I, ten patients participated over the course of 5 days in a moderated online discussion board and they answered questions about their disease. In Phase II, a separate nine-patient cohort participated in face-to-face interviews conducted during an acromegaly patient conference. Data were summarized qualitatively by grouping similar answers and quotations. RESULTS: Nineteen acromegaly patients were recruited across the two cohorts, and both groups shared similar concerns. They demonstrated a notable interest in understanding their disease and its treatment. Patients were focused on the impact of the disease on their life, and they expressed a desire to get beyond reminders of their disease. The patients described long journeys to a correct diagnosis and relief at having a name for their condition. Many shared a sense of shock at needing pituitary surgery and felt unsatisfied by the treatment decision process, motivating them to discuss it with other patients. Patients not connected to a patient support group reported feeling helpless and lonely. Most patients shared a desire to improve their general knowledge about acromegaly to spare others their protracted diagnostic period. Patients also reported hesitancy in asking questions or sharing details about the disease's impact on their lives with their HCPs. CONCLUSION: Acromegaly can be a life-changing diagnosis with profound, ongoing effects on patients' lives. Patients struggle with many issues they fail to openly share with their HCPs, but may discuss these issues more easily with other acromegaly patients. Better collaboration between patients and care providers could lead to increased patient satisfaction.

Service user involvement in pre-registration children's nursing education: the impact and influence on practice: a case study on the student perspective.

This article reports on a study that aimed to conduct an in-depth investigation into the impact of user involvement on student learning and subsequent influence on practice as a qualified nurse. This was undertaken through a single case study that followed a narrative inquiry approach. UK policy has recommended user involvement in healthcare education for a number of years; this has in turn increased requirements for involvement from Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2010) now requires program providers to clearly demonstrate how service users and carers contribute to program design, delivery and assessment. Although the literature base is expanding there remains limited evidence of the impact of involvement on student learning and improved outcomes for patients. Narratives were collected from a children's nursing student on completion of her 3-year nurse education program and again after practicing as a qualified children's nurse for 1 year. Taking part in the research enabled the participant to consider and reflect on her experience of user involvement in her education and training. Analysis followed an interpretive approach utilizing "The Listening Guide" (Doucet & Mauthner 2008) with the researcher's interpretation of how the experience was conveyed with clear acknowledgement of reflexivity.The findings identified central themes of authenticity, knowledge of self, resilience and coping, professional relationships, personalization of care, and influence on practice. This demonstrates transformative learning and support to practice, with preparation for situations and ideas on how to respond with empathy and compassion. This article contributes to the emerging evidence base specifically from a children's nursing perspective, an area with a dearth of published material. Further research with a range of students is required to explore the lasting impact on practice.

User involvement in health and social care education: a concept analysis.

This paper presents an evaluative discussion of the literature, and findings from a concept analysis which explores user involvement in the context of health and social care higher education in the United Kingdom. User involvement is increasingly a requirement in higher education and the purpose of the concept analysis was to clarify and elucidate the meaning and nature of the concept. Walker and Avant's (2005) eight step framework for concept analysis was used to provide understanding of the underlying attributes and a model for critique and meaningful evaluation and research. A structured search and discussion of contemporary literature was undertaken. A model case is identified along with antecedents, critical attributes and consequences. The complexities of involvement are delineated with a recommendation for robust research that explores the benefits of involvement.

Service user and carer involvement in student nurse selection: key stakeholder perspectives.

The aim of this study was to evaluate an innovation where service users and carers were involved in the recruitment of child and adult nursing students. Seventy candidates, four service users and carers and six academics who had been involved in the selection process took part in the study. A short questionnaire was administered to the nursing candidates. Two semi structured group interviews were undertaken, one with the service users and carers and another with the academics. Findings reveal that the involvement of service users and carers in student recruitment was largely viewed positively with all three major stakeholders supporting it. Nevertheless the academics were also mindful of the difficulties that may be encountered in the process. The key message to emerge from this study is that service user and carer involvement in student selection is not without its challenges but with careful planning can be beneficial for all involved.