Comparing the Mental Health of Healthcare Students: Mental Health Shame and Self-compassion in Counselling, Occupational Therapy, Nursing and Social Work Students.

Poor mental health of healthcare students is a cause for concern in many universities. Though previous research has identified mental health shame and self-compassion as critical in this student group, how these variables differ across different healthcare disciplines remains to be evaluated. Healthcare students (n = 344; counselling, occupational therapy, social work and nursing) completed measures regarding these variables. MANOVA and regression analyses were performed. (1) Counselling and nursing students were more depressed than occupational therapy students; (2) nursing students were more anxious than occupational therapy and social work students; (3) occupational therapy students had more positive attitudes towards mental health than the others; and (4) nursing students worried about their own reputation associated with their family more than counselling students. Self-compassion was the strongest predictor of mental health in all groups; however, the effect sizes varied: largest in nursing and smallest in social work students. Findings will help inform effective interventions for students in each healthcare discipline.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the future of telecommuting in the United States.

This study focuses on an important transport-related long-term effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States: an increase in telecommuting. Analyzing a nationally representative panel survey of adults, we find that 40-50% of workers expect to telecommute at least a few times per month post-pandemic, up from 24% pre-COVID. If given the option, 90-95% of those who first telecommuted during the pandemic plan to continue the practice regularly. We also find that new telecommuters are demographically similar to pre-COVID telecommuters. Both pre- and post-COVID, higher educational attainment and income, together with certain job categories, largely determine whether workers have the option to telecommute. Despite growth in telecommuting, approximately half of workers expect to remain unable to telecommute and between 2/3 and 3/4 of workers expect their post-pandemic telecommuting patterns to be unchanged from their pre-COVID patterns. This limits the contribution telecommuting can make to reducing peak hour transport demand.

"Am I a student or a Healthcare Assistant?" A qualitative evaluation of a programme of prenursing care experience.

AIM: To examine the experiences of prenursing healthcare assistants (HCA) during a 6-month programme of prenursing care experience. BACKGROUND: Care experience prior to commencing programmes of nurse education is broadly considered to be advantageous. However, it is not clear how formal care experience prior to nurse education has an impact on the values and behaviours of the aspirant nurse. DESIGN: A longitudinal prospective qualitative study using focus group discussions. METHODS: Data were collected from 23 prenursing HCA during September 2013-February 2014. Three focus groups were held at the beginning, middle, and end of the programme of care experience at each of the participating hospitals. A thematic analysis was used to analyse data sets from each hospital. Findings from each hospital were then compared to reach final themes. RESULTS: Five major themes were identified in the analysis of qualitative data: personal development; positioning of role in the healthcare team; support and supervision; perceived benefits; and advice and recommendations. These themes were underpinned by deep aspirations for better care and better nurses in the future. CONCLUSIONS: Prenursing care experience can positively prepare aspirant nurses for programmes of nurse education. The benefits identified were confirmation of aspiration (or otherwise) to pursue nursing, learning opportunities, and aspiration to improve patient experience. Risks for the programme included poor supervision, role ambiguity or confusion, demotivation through a deteriorating view of nursing, and poor treatment by others. The longer term impact on values and behaviours of this cohort requires further evaluation.

Are the special educational needs of children in their first year in primary school in Ireland being identified: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: If the window of opportunity presented by the early years is missed, it becomes increasingly difficult to create a successful life-course. A biopsychosocial model of special educational need with an emphasis on participation and functioning moves the frame of reference from the clinic to the school and the focus from specific conditions to creating supportive environments cognisant of the needs of all children. However, evidence suggests that an emphasis on diagnosed conditions persists and that the needs of children who do not meet these criteria are not identified.The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a well-validated, teacher-completed population-level measure of five domains of child development. It is uniquely placed, at the interface between health and education, to explore the developmental status of children with additional challenges within a typically developing population. The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which the special educational needs of children in their first year of formal education have been identified. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Ireland in 2011. EDI (teacher completed) scores were calculated for 1344 children. Data were also collected on special needs and on children identified by the teacher as needing assessment. Mean developmental scores were compared using one-way ANOVA. RESULTS: Eighty-three children in the sample population (6.2%) had identified special educational needs. A further 132 children were judged by the teacher as needing assessment. Children with special needs had lower mean scores than typically developing children, in all five developmental domains. Children considered by the teacher as needing assessment also had lower scores, which were not significantly different from those of children with special needs. Speech, emotional or behavioural difficulties were the most commonly reported problems among children needing further assessment. There was also a social gradient among this group. CONCLUSIONS: A small but significant number of children have not had their needs adequately assessed. Teacher observation is an effective means of identifying children with a level of impairment which prevents them from fully participating in their educational environment and could be integrated into a multi-disciplinary approach to meeting the needs of all children.

Suicide by prisoners. National clinical survey.

BACKGROUND: The number of suicides in prison has increased over recent years. This is the first study to describe the clinical care of a national sample of prison suicides. AIMS: To describe the clinical and social circumstances of self-inflicted deaths among prisoners. METHOD: A national clinical survey based on a 2-year sample of self-inflicted deaths in prisoners. Detailed clinical and social information was collected from prison governors and prison health care staff. RESULTS: There were 172 self-inflicted deaths: 85 (49%; 95% CI 42-57) were of prisoners on remand; 55 (32%; 95% CI 25-39) occurred within 7 days of reception into prison. The commonest method was hanging or self-strangulation (92%; 95% CI 88-96). A total of 110 (72%; 95% CI 65-79) had a history of mental disorder. The commonest primary diagnosis was drug dependence (39, 27%; 95% CI 20-35). Eighty-nine (57%; 95% CI 49-64) had symptoms suggestive of mental disorder at reception into prison. CONCLUSIONS: Suicide prevention measures should be concentrated in the period immediately following reception into prison. Because hanging is the commonest method of suicide, removal of potential ligature points from cells should be a priority.