Qualitative study of experience of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT+) amongst Survivors' Rehabilitation Evaluation after Cancer (SURECAN) trial participants and therapists: A protocol.

Background: This interview study forms part of a mixed methods process evaluation of the Survivors' Rehabilitation Evaluation after Cancer (SURECAN) trial to understand the experiences of participants (who are living with and beyond cancer) in receiving a form of acceptance and commitment therapy, and therapists providing the intervention. SURECAN is a multi-centre, pragmatic, individual participant randomised controlled trial of an intervention based on acceptance and commitment therapy supplemented by support for return to meaningful work and/or physical activity (ACT+). This qualitative study addresses the ways in which participants believe they benefit from ACT+ (or not), and how the ACT+ intervention might best be implemented into routine National Health Service (NHS) care.

Study protocol for a pragmatic randomised controlled trial of comparing enhanced acceptance and commitment therapy plus (+) added to usual aftercare versus usual aftercare only, in patients living with or beyond cancer: SUrvivors' Rehabilitation Evaluation after CANcer (SURECAN) trial.

Background: Two million people in the UK are living with or beyond cancer and a third of them report poor quality of life (QoL) due to problems such as fatigue, fear of cancer recurrence, and concerns about returning to work. We aimed to develop and evaluate an intervention based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), suited to address the concerns of cancer survivors and in improving their QoL. We also recognise the importance of exercise and vocational activity on QoL and therefore will integrate options for physical activity and return to work/vocational support, thus ACT Plus (+).

A meta-ethnography investigating relational influences on mental health and cancer-related health care interventions for racially minoritised people in the UK.

Objective: Despite calls to increase the 'cultural competence' of health care providers, racially minoritised people continue to experience a range of problems when it comes to health care, including discrimination. While relevant qualitative meta-syntheses have suggested better ways forward for health care for racialised minorities, many have lacked conceptual depth, and none have specifically investigated the relational dimensions involved in care. We set out to investigate the social and cultural influences on health care interventions, focusing on psychological approaches and/or cancer care to inform the trial of a new psychological therapy for those living with or beyond cancer.

Evaluating an interactive acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) workshop delivered to trained therapists working with cancer patients in the United Kingdom: a mixed methods approach.

Background: SURECAN (SUrvivors' Rehabilitation Evaluation after CANcer) is a multi-phase study developing and evaluating an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention integrated with exercise and work when highly valued (thus we called the intervention ACT+), for people who have completed treatment for cancer but who have low quality of life. We developed a training programme for therapists working in different psychological services to be delivered over 2-3 days. Our aim was to evaluate the extent to which the training could improve therapists' knowledge and confidence to deliver ACT+ to cancer patients in a trial setting.

Addressing incontinence for people with dementia living at home: a documentary analysis of local English community nursing service continence policies and clinical guidance.

Aim And Objectives: To establish whether the problems and issues experienced by people with dementia living at home and their carers were addressed in the clinical guidance for continence management for community nursing services in England.

Background: Internationally, the numbers of people with dementia are rising. Managing incontinence is a significant issue as the presence of incontinence is one of the triggers for people with dementia to move their residence to a care home.

Getting ready for user involvement in a systematic review.

Objective: This paper aims to support the critical development of user involvement in systematic reviews by explaining some of the theoretical, ethical and practical issues entailed in 'getting ready' for user involvement.

Background: Relatively few health or social care systematic reviews have actively involved service users. Evidence from other research contexts shows that user involvement can have benefits in terms of improved quality and outcomes, hence there is a need to test out different approaches in order to realize the benefits of user involvement and gain a greater understanding of any negative outcomes.

Standing secure amidst a falling world? Practitioner understandings of old age in responses to a case vignette.

The specialist knowledge and skills of health and social care practitioners working with older people are often unacknowledged. This paper examines an important aspect of specialist knowledge, the understandings of ageing and old age that underpin practice in a society where negative assumptions about old age and older people are widespread. These understandings were explored through analysis of data from 30 interviews with health and social care practitioners working with older people at risk of falling.

Service user involvement in nursing, midwifery and health visiting research: a review of evidence and practice.

Objectives: In the UK policy recommends that service users (patients, carers and the public) should be involved in all publicly funded health and social care research. However, little is known about which approaches work best in different research contexts and why. The purpose of this paper is to explain some of the theoretical limitations to current understandings of service user involvement and to provide some suggestions for theory and methods development.

Involving older people in research: methodological issues.

The policy imperative to increase public participation in health and social care research, planning and service delivery raises significant questions about optimum approaches, methods and the extent to which this policy can influence change in practice. This paper highlights the key policy literature on user involvement and participatory research methods to establish the context for a partnership research project exploring perceptions of risk in relation to falls from the perspectives of older people, carers, and health and social care professionals. The paper reports the methods used in developing user involvement in the research at a number of levels, including project management, and a consumer panel working alongside the research team and influencing the dissemination in local falls prevention strategies.

Behavior change and achieving hospital discharge in persons with severe, chronic psychiatric disabilities.

Economic and political pressures have led state governments to shrink and close long-term psychiatric inpatient units in favor of community-based treatment. These pressures present inpatient clinicians with an opportunity to examine their clinical practices and question whether the focus of treatment addresses the behaviors most relevant to helping patients achieve discharge and maintain community tenure. The social learning approach of Gordon Paul is the empirically validated treatment of choice for long-term psychiatric inpatients.