The construction of people with mental health problems as risk objects: Findings of a case study inquiry.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Risk assessment and management in mental health services are contested and perceived as problematic by both professionals and service users. There is substantial emphasis on risk as a core component of professional practice. However, recovery for people with mental health problems emphasizes self-determination which seems to conflict with risk management.

Therapeutic relationships, risk, and mental health practice.

Despite significant changes to mental health services, nurses remain the professional group most likely to be in close contact with people who experience mental health problems. A core part of the contemporary identity of the mental health nurse is one who is able to provide acceptance and support for an individual's recovery through the therapeutic relationship. Yet there have always been some tensions with the mental health nursing role that can appear to challenge this relational focus.

Measuring the psychosocial burden in women with low-grade abnormal cervical cytology in the TOMBOLA trial: psychometric properties of the Process and Outcome Specific Measure (POSM).

Background: There is a need for an instrument to measure the psychosocial burden of receiving an abnormal cervical cytology result which can be used regardless of the clinical management women receive.Methods: 3331 women completed the POSM as part of baseline psychosocial assessment in a trial of management of low grade cervical cytological abnormalities. Factor analysis and reliability assessment of the POSM were conducted.

REFINE (REducing Falls in In-patieNt Elderly) using bed and bedside chair pressure sensors linked to radio-pagers in acute hospital care: a randomised controlled trial.

Background: falls in hospitals are a major problem and contribute to substantial healthcare burden. Advances in sensor technology afford innovative approaches to reducing falls in acute hospital care. However, whether these are clinically effective and cost effective in the UK setting has not been evaluated.

The contribution of self-help/mutual aid groups to mental well-being.

This article explores the contribution of self-help/mutual aid groups to mental well-being. Self-help/mutual aid groups are self-organising groups where people come together to address a shared a health or social issue through mutual support. They are associated with a range of health and social benefits, but remain poorly understood.

'Practising under your own Pin'- a description of the transition experiences of newly qualified midwives.

Aim: Transition experiences of newly qualified midwives were examined in depth during the third phase of a UK evaluation study of midwifery education.

Background: The fitness to practise and the retention of newly qualified nursing and midwifery graduates are pressing concerns for health care managers. The advantages of preceptorship are reported in the literature but the content and timing of schemes remain unclear.

Beyond the therapeutic: A Habermasian view of self-help groups' place in the public sphere.

Self-help groups in the United Kingdom continue to grow in number and address virtually every conceivable health condition, but they remain the subject of very little theoretical analysis. The literature to date has predominantly focused on their therapeutic effects on individual members. And yet they are widely presumed to fulfil a broader civic role and to encourage democratic citizenship.

The MINT project--an evaluation of the impact of midwife teachers on the outcomes of pre-registration midwifery education in the UK.

Objective: to explore the contribution of midwife teachers in preparing student midwives for competent practice.

Design: a three phase design using qualitative and quantitative approaches. Phase one involved UK wide on-line questionnaire surveys, phase two was a case study method in six UK approved education institutions and phase three was a diary study with newly qualified midwives.

Final year students' perceptions of learning to be a midwife in six British universities.

Midwifery education in the UK has been delivered through the University sector since the mid-1990s, with the requirement to create safe, effective clinicians who are equipped to engage with research and evidence based practice. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of focus group data from 120 senior midwifery students at six British universities to explore the experience of learning to be a midwife. Thematic analysis of the data suggests the following themes pertain to the experience of a number of students: 'teach yourself midwifery', knowing it all, right way of doing things, the importance of physical skills.

The impact of injuries study. multicentre study assessing physical, psychological, social and occupational functioning post injury--a protocol.

Background: Large numbers of people are killed or severely injured following injuries each year and these injuries place a large burden on health care resources. The majority of the severely injured are not fully recovered 12-18 months later. Psychological disorders are common post injury and are associated with poorer functional and occupational outcomes.

Preparedness of newly qualified midwives to deliver clinical care: an evaluation of pre-registration midwifery education through an analysis of key events.

Objective: this study was part of a larger project commissioned to ascertain whether midwife teachers bring a unique contribution to the preparation of midwives for practice. The aim of this phase was to determine whether the student midwives' educational programme had equipped them to practise competently after entry to the professional register.

Design: this was a prospective, longitudinal qualitative study, using participant diaries to collect data.

The lifespan and life-cycle of self-help groups: a retrospective study of groups in Nottingham, UK.

This article is based on an analysis of a practice database held by Self Help Nottingham, an organisation that supports local self-help groups. The database contains details of 936 groups that closed between 1982 and 2007. The aim of the study is to provide qualitative and descriptive quantitative information about the life-cycles of self-help groups, the problems that they face throughout their existence and the likelihood of different problems leading to their closure.

REFINE (Reducing Falls in In-patient Elderly)--a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Falls in hospitals are common, resulting in injury and anxiety to patients, and large costs to NHS organisations. More than half of all in-patient falls in elderly people in acute care settings occur at the bedside, during transfers or whilst getting up to go to the toilet. In the majority of cases these falls are unwitnessed.

Ethnic minority participation in an East Midlands Sure Start.

This paper draws on evidence from a local Sure Start evaluation of low participation rates among ethnic minority families. It reflects national concerns regarding the low use of children's services among ethnic minority families. The evaluation aimed to improve understanding of the factors that affect families' participation in Sure Start services.

Using self-efficacy theory to develop interventions that help older people overcome psychological barriers to physical activity: a discussion paper.

Background: Only a fifth of older people undertake a level of physical activity sufficient to lead to health benefit. Misconceptions about the ageing process and beliefs about the costs and benefits of exercise in late life may result in unnecessary self-imposed activity restriction. Thus, adhering to a physical activity can be difficult particularly when the benefits of exercise are often not immediate.

Understanding the views of parents of children with special needs about the nursing care their child receives when in hospital: a qualitative study.

This article reports a qualitative study designed to explore parents' views on how their child with additional needs had been cared for by hospital nursing staff, focusing on how well their own and their child's needs had been identified and met. Twelve interviews with parents of children with additional needs and a thematic analysis of the interview data was conducted. Four themes were developed to provide an insight into parents' views about their experiences: their prior experiences of hospital care, including the process of being told the original diagnosis; communication with staff; nurse-parent relationships; and perceptions of nurses and nursing care.

Ethnicity and participation in cancer self-help groups.

Objectives: Investigations of the benefits of membership of a cancer self-help group have suggested that it leads to improved sense of support, increased ability to deal with life-events, and decreased anxiety, confusion, depression and helplessness. However, some evidence suggests that people from black and ethnic groups are less likely to join a cancer self-help group. The main aims of the reported study were: to explore possible reasons why people from some ethnic groups have not participated in self-help to the same extent as the rest of the community; and to identify ways in which participation of people from ethnic groups can be increased.

The perceptions of statutory service providers of a local Sure Start programme: a shared agenda?

Sure Start is the UK government's flagship scheme for providing services to children and their families in deprived areas. This study aimed to examine the perceptions of statutory service providers about their experience of working with Sure Start professionals in one Nottinghamshire (UK) Sure Start programme, and to explore the extent to which there was a shared agenda and successful collaboration. A purposive sample of 18 statutory providers working within existing mainstream health, education and social care services were interviewed, between January and March 2005.

The role of self-efficacy in older people's decisions to initiate and maintain regular walking as exercise -- Findings from a qualitative study.

Objective: To study the role of self-efficacy within the process of initiating and maintaining regular walking as exercise for older people.

Methods: A post-trial interview study was carried out among a sub-sample of participants from a trial to evaluate the effect of a self-efficacy walking intervention for older Taiwanese people with moderate hypertension. To fit the study objective purposive sampling was used to sample those participants who were potentially information rich.

Health beliefs of African-Caribbean people with type 2 diabetes: a qualitative study.

Background: There is evidence that African-Caribbean people with diabetes have poorer outcomes than other individuals with diabetes. It is not fully understood why this happens.

Aim: To gain an understanding of how health beliefs influence the way African-Caribbean people with diabetes manage their illness.

Factors affecting participation in Sure Start programmes: a qualitative investigation of parents' views.

The objectives of the present study were to examine the factors that parents identify as promoting or hindering participation in Sure Start programmes, and to identify methods for enhancing parents' engagement with Sure Start. A qualitative, in-depth interview study was conducted with parents registered with two local Sure Start programmes based in the East Midlands, UK, and located in inner city areas with a range of health and social problems associated with social exclusion and disadvantage. Sixty parents, guardians or carers of children living in both Sure Start areas were recruited during autumn of 2004 on the basis of whether they were identified as a 'frequent user' or 'non-frequent user' of Sure Start services.

Evaluating a community-based walking intervention for hypertensive older people in Taiwan: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To study the effect of a community-based walking intervention on blood pressure among older people.

Method: The study design was a randomized controlled trial conducted in a rural area of Taiwan between October 2002 and June 2003. A total of 202 participants aged 60 years and over with mild to moderate hypertension was recruited.

Why do women participate in the English cervical cancer screening programme?

The vast majority of women in England attend for cervical cancer screening. Conventional economic theorising fails to explain why and its predictions are inconsistent with the evidence. Using questionnaire data, we analyse directly motivations for screening attendance.

Introducing HPV triage into the English cervical cancer screening program: consequences for participation.

Objective: To predict the likely impact of adding human papillomavirus (HPV) triage for minor abnormalities on participation in the English cervical cancer screening program.

Method: Contingent valuations of the existing Pap program and a possible HPV-augmented screening program, obtained from questionnaires completed by 1141 women in east-central England.

Results: The value of participating in Pap screening was negatively associated with age, positively associated with educational level, and positively associated with the level of household income.