Many instruments have been developed to examine and quantify symptoms of psychopathology. The main objective of this systematic review was to examine the instrument choice employed to measure mental ill-health in professionals working in the veterinary industry and reporting of psychometric testing of these instruments by researchers. 78 papers were reviewed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite higher reported rates of mental ill-health than the general population, professionals working in the animal care industry have low reported rates of help-seeking behavior. Potential factors involved in veterinary professionals' reluctance to seek help include stigma toward mental ill-health, practical barriers to accessing supports, and a cultural normalization of symptoms in the industry. This preliminary study sought to explore these factors in a sample of veterinarians, veterinary nurses, and veterinary technicians and examine effects of gender, years' experience, and practice location.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith Antarctic expeditioners popularly portrayed in the media during the pandemic as both heroic stalwarts better equipped than any other people to deal with the rigours of isolation and, paradoxically, the only people untouched by the virus, it was all too easy to ignore the actual experiences of those working in the continent. Drawing on the experiences of expeditioners in the Australian Antarctic Program from 2019-21, this article provides a counter to popular media perspective by exploring how COVID-19 protocols-including quarantine and social distancing-affected expeditioners' individual well-being and their experiences of the social environment. We argue that Antarctic life during COVID-19 has not been as detached from the rest of the world nor as heroic as the popular media has suggested, but nonetheless provides important insights for survival in isolated, confined, and extreme environments (ICE) and non-ICE environments at a time of pandemic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhilos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci
July 2022
We are dependent on our oceans for economic, health and social benefits; however, demands on our oceans are escalating, and the state of the oceans is deteriorating. Only 2% of countries are on track to achieve the desired outcomes for the sustainable development goal (SDG 14) for the oceans by 2030, and the changes needed to prevent further degradation, or limit the impact of existing degradation, are not being undertaken fast enough. This paper uses a socio-ecological lens to explore the nature of actors and behaviours for change at the local, community, state, national and international levels, and introduces the need for technology, information- and knowledge-sharing, and policy as interconnected mediators, that work both in concert, and independently, to address the 'super wicked' problem of ocean health and to promote resilience.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The Australian Government aims to increase the number of individuals on humanitarian resettlement visas allocated to regional locations to 50% by the year 2022. A significant issue with this, given the substantive body of research identifying that refugee populations face chronic mental health concerns during resettlement, is the lack of health-related research focusing on the resettlement of individuals of refugee background to rural and regional locations in Australia, especially in the area of mental health.
Objective: To provide a foundation for rectifying this omission, this review is the first to synthesise mental health research focusing on individuals of refugee background specifically resettled to rural and regional locations in Australia.
Background: Women of Refugee Background (WoRB) are a highly vulnerable population with complex going mental health needs following resettlement. In Australia, there has been a substantial increase in WoRB being resettled in rural and regional locations. Despite this, no research to date has specifically focused on factors contributing to mental distress in WoRB in regional resettlement locations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aimed to address a significant gap in the literature by investigating how Women of Refugee Background (WoRB) conceptualise resilience and identify factors that WoRB endorse as contributing to their wellbeing and coping during resettlement. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a group of 21 individuals (nine WoRB and 12 service providers). Thematic analysis identified that WoRB struggled to define resilience, with endorsed factors not fitting with current hegemonic Western understandings and theoretical understandings of resilience.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudents' learning contexts can influence their learning beliefs and academic performance outcomes; as such, students studying during the COVID-19 outbreak may be at risk of negative impacts on their academic self-efficacy and subject grades compared to other cohorts. They may also have specific beliefs about the impact of COVID-19-related changes on their capacity to perform, with potential consequences for self-efficacy and academic performance. Two weeks after the COVID-19-related transition to online-only learning, 89 first-year psychology students completed a measure of academic self-efficacy and indicated how they thought COVID-19-related changes would impact their capacity to perform in a psychology subject.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
April 2021
Women of Refugee Background (WoRB) have been repeatedly identified as an extremely vulnerable population. Within an Australian context, WoRB are increasingly resettled to non-metropolitan locations, otherwise known as regional locations. Despite this, to date, no research has focused on the lived experience and challenges associated with the resettlement of WoRB to regional contexts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study is the first to investigate factors influencing professional mental health support seeking in Women of Refugee Background (WoRB) in Australia. WoRB are a vulnerable population with a range of complex mental health needs. Despite this, research has indicated that WoRB are an underrepresented population in the utilisation of mental health support services.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInterprofessional learning (IPL) is vital for developing work-ready graduates of tertiary health professions and enhancing outcomes of patients with chronic pain. Twenty-two students from six health professions participated in or co-facilitated components of a 6-week group chronic pain management program. Twelve community clients with chronic pain and one family member participated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFamily and domestic violence (FDV) remains a topical issue in Australia. With state incidences of FDV reaching up to 1668 victims per 100,000 persons, the need for tools assessing the likelihood of future offending and recidivism is paramount. The present study reviewed the quality and efficacy of FDV risk assessment tools currently in use by police in each Australian state/territory.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of the study was to compare parent and teacher ratings of executive function and behavioral difficulties of kindergarten-age preterm and term children. Parents of 82 and kindergarten teachers of 105 preterm (<33 weeks' gestation) children and parents of 49 and kindergarten teachers of 46 term four- to five-year-old children completed executive function (EF) and behavior questionnaires. The preterm children were rated to have more EF difficulties than the term children by parents and teachers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to determine whether specific performance-based executive function assessment tools were associated with executive functioning in everyday life as reported by parents and teachers of four- to five-year-old preterm and term children. At the age of 4 years, 141 preterm children born <33 weeks' gestation and 77 term children were assessed using performance-based intelligence (WPPSI-III) and executive function (EF) assessment tools (NEPSY-II, Day-Night and Shape School tasks). The assessment results were compared with the parent and teacher completed questionnaires of EF (BRIEF-P) when the children started kindergarten at the age of 4 to 5 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRisk assessment is a controversial area of forensic practice, yet it has become an integral part of responding to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Given lethal consequences can arise from judicial decisions based on poorly executed risk assessments, it is incumbent on mental health practitioners to utilise best-practice methods and form evidence-based determinations of risk and intervention strategies. This article provides a best-practice guide to IPV risk assessment and summarises available information on the most prevalent IPV risk assessment measures for male and female offenders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: To investigate the relationship between executive functioning and social and perinatal risk factors in four- to five-year-old preterm children.
Methods: Using standardised measures of general intelligence and performance-based executive function (EF) tests prior to starting kindergarten, 141 children born preterm (<33 weeks of gestation) and 77 term comparison children were assessed. Parental and teacher reports of executive functioning were completed when the children commenced kindergarten.
J Autism Dev Disord
December 2014
The factors predicting stress, anxiety and depression in the parents of children with autism remain poorly understood. In this study, a cohort of 250 mothers and 229 fathers of one or more children with autism completed a questionnaire assessing reported parental mental health problems, locus of control, social support, perceived parent-child attachment, as well as autism symptom severity and perceived externalizing behaviours in the child with autism. Variables assessing parental cognitions and socioeconomic support were found to be more significant predictors of parental mental health problems than child-centric variables.
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