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Emotionally-based school avoidance (EBSA) is an important driver of persistent school absenteeism and may have worsened in the context of COVID-19. This paper describes the development of a brief parent-focused psychosocial intervention with the goal to address the lack of accessible early interventions for EBSA. The developmental process used a person-based approach with two phases. In Phase 1, qualitative data were collected about intervention preferences and priorities from N = 10 parents and N = 7 practitioners in a series of co-design workshops. Phase 2 refined an intervention blueprint based on iterative consultations with N = 4 parents and N = 3 practitioners. Framework analysis was used to organise findings around key intervention parameters, including relevant mechanisms, content, and delivery methods needed to provide effective, acceptable and feasible support for families affected by EBSA. The resulting blueprint incorporates three online modules to be delivered over three weeks with each module consisting of psychoeducational videos, self-completed learning tasks and a corresponding coaching session. Respective module content includes: (i) self-care strategies to increase parent wellbeing and self-efficacy; (ii) parenting strategies to change behavioural patterns that maintain child distress and avoidance of school; and (iii) strategic communication strategies to increase the quality of home-school relationships. The blueprint has been developed into a full prototype for a forthcoming feasibility study. Plain language summary: Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a noticeable increase in children missing school. One significant contributor to this rise in absences is Emotionally-Based School Avoidance (EBSA). EBSA refers to a situation where a child stays home from school due to feelings of anxiety and distress about attending. Accessing timely support for children with EBSA can be difficult due to lengthy waiting lists for child and adolescent mental health services. This paper outlines the creation of a new, brief psychosocial intervention aimed at helping parents support their child experiencing EBSA. The development process involved two phases. In the first phase, we collaborated with 10 parents and 7 practitioners to gather ideas about the kind of support families require, what should be included in the intervention, and how to make it practical for families to use. Based on these discussions, we formulated a plan for the new intervention. The second phase refined this plan of the intervention to ensure its suitability for families. The intervention is called ISAAC: Intervention for School Anxiety and Absenteeism in Children. ISAAC consists of three online modules to be completed by parents over a three-week period. Each module includes videos, reflection activities and homework tasks which help the parent learn a new skill or try a different way of responding to their child's anxiety about attending school. Parents are also supported by a coach. The first module encourages parents to take care of their own wellbeing and manage stress. The second module helps parents to learn new ways to respond to their child's distress related to school attendance, while the third module provides guidance on effective communication with the child's school. The next step for this intervention is to see whether it is agreeable to parents and practical to deliver in the real-world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Data on children who grow up with parents adhering to violent extremism is scant. This makes it extremely delicate to inform policies and clinical services to protect such children from potential physical and psychological harm. Objective: This paper explores the predicament of children whose caretakers were referred to a specialized clinical team in Montreal (Canada) because of concerns about risks or actual involvement in violent extremism processes. Methods: This paper uses a mixed methods concurrent triangulation design. Quantitative data was obtained through a file review (2016–2020). Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews and a focus group with the team practitioners. Results: Clinicians reported the presence of stereotypes in the health and social services network frequently representing religious extremist parents as potentially dangerous or having inappropriate parenting skills while minimizing the perception of risk for parents adhering to political extremism. Children displayed high levels of psychological distress, mainly related to family separation, parental psychopathology, and conflicts of loyalty stemming from familial or social alienation. Conclusions: Training practitioners to be aware of their own personal and institutional bias may help them to understand the predicament of extremist parents' children and implement systemic, trauma and attachment informed interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores men's experiences of and management strategies for urinary incontinence (UI) following treatment for prostate cancer. Qualitative interviews with 29 men, recruited from two prostate cancer support groups, explored their post-treatment experiences. Drawing on a conceptual toolkit connecting theories of masculinities, embodiment, and chronic illness, this paper identifies older men's experiences and strategies for managing UI and explores how these are shaped by their masculinities. This article identifies interdependence between managing stigma for UI and maintaining masculinity. Men's embodied practices for engaging in activities in public, crucial to masculine identity, were disrupted. In response, they adopted new reflexive body techniques to manage and resolve their UI, and thereby address the threat to their masculine identities, characterised in three strategies: monitoring, planning, and disciplining. The new embodied practices men described suggest three factors as important components for adopting new reflexive body techniques: routine, desire, and unruliness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the dramatic evacuation from Kabul airport in August 2021, the UK government proclaimed its commitment to a 'warm welcome' for Afghans. In this paper we draw on original qualitative research to explore the emerging experiences of evacuees, and other recent arrivals, during their first year in London. Using the narratives of our Afghans participants, as well as insights from key stakeholders, we show how they navigated slow, opaque bureaucratic processes and lack of communication with official agencies. As a result of these lengthy processes, many thousands of evacuees remained in temporary hotel accommodation for protracted periods. Drawing on the concept of 'everyday bordering', we explore the extent to which Afghan resettlement policies are achieving their objectives. We consider how such policies are birthed within a punitive immigration system, which is designed to 'wear down' migrants in the UK, regardless of their reason for migration. Moreover, we argue that the ad hoc response of the Home Office and the Foreign Office has created 'false distinctions' between categories of Afghan refugees, reinforcing notions of 'deserving' versus 'underserving' migrants. This distinction allows the government to present itself as humanitarian, 'rescuing' people from Afghanistan, while simultaneously maintaining its commitment to the 'hostile immigration environment'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we sought to give voice to the unspoken issue of mothers' disintegrative responses—that is, intrusive thoughts and dissociative experiences—in the context of infant care. Three methodologies were employed: (a) in-depth interviews were conducted with 23 Israeli women up to 3 months postpartum; (b) 126 Israeli women up to 12 months after childbirth responded to an open-ended questionnaire; and (c) a clinical case study was performed. Mothers referred to intrusive thoughts as "attacks," and related primarily to three themes: fear of losing their grip, aggressive fantasies, and guilt and shame. Dissociative experiences were described as vague and elusive, with three major themes emerging: detachment, disorientation, and helplessness. We argue that the findings correspond with psychosocial approaches whereby disintegrative responses may be an indication of maternal ambivalence and a reflection of "contagious arousal" in which the mother identifies with the experience of the infant. The findings offer a new direction to clinicians working with mothers by suggesting that the mother's openness to these responses may be an opportunity for her to acknowledge subjective and repressed parts of herself and undergo a process of reintegration out of disintegration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Musahar youth have been struggling for basic needs and face indignity at multiple facets in the society due to caste. In contemporary times, historicity of caste, stigmatized identity, indignity, poor social values and low participation status make it difficult to avail any kind of social, educational and employment support. Sustainability is a form of survivability, and lack of dignity diminishes wage work, forcing them to migrate. This paper is based on PhD research data and applied qualitative research methods following in-depth interview, oral history, seasonal calendar and so on. Historical marginality of caste persists and frames aspiration, dignity and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A stand-alone strangulation offence was introduced in Queensland, Australia in 2016. One of the elements of the Queensland strangulation offence is that the victim did not consent to the strangulation. This paper reviews the harms and dangers associated with strangulation before overviewing the debates about the use of strangulation during sex. Drawing on focus group discussions conducted with domestic violence support workers and men's behaviour change workers, we discuss four overlapping themes identified in the discussions. These were perceptions that: strangulation during sex is normalised; consent is not informed; it happens in the context of coercive control; and the requirement of consent opens a loophole in the strangulation offence. Considering the issues raised, and the clear risks and harms, we suggest that consideration should be given to whether it is ever possible to consent to strangulation and we consider possible reforms such as following the two-tiered approaches to consent used in the England and Wales law and elsewhere in Australia. We also conclude that law reforms such as these are partial solutions and there is significant need for more community education about the risks and harms of strangulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health information management (HIM) is at the core of health organisations, providing essential information. In Malawi, there is a substantial deficit of qualified personnel, specifically health information managers, who can properly manage health information in electronic and paper-based formats. The nation has no higher education institution offering an academic programme in HIM. Objective: To investigate the need for HIM professionals in Malawi government health facilities, to determine the kinds of data managed by data users; competencies of HIM workers and challenges associated with the current HIM system. Method: A cross-sectional research design was adopted, with a qualitative approach to gather data from data users and key informants, using two focused interview guides. Data were collected from 13 participants from 6 government health facilities representing the primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare delivery levels. Data were analysed thematically. Results: Data users handled a diverse range of data, the majority having moderate skills in HIM. Both data users and key informants reported experiencing challenges in dealing with the existing HIM system. Findings also revealed key challenges associated with the absence, or inadequacy, of a well-trained HIM professional workforce in Malawi health facilities. Conclusion: Introducing a training programme in HIM would improve data management in health facilities in Malawi. Well-managed data would improve the delivery of health care services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Trauma registries are a means for improving trauma care in low- and middle-income countries, though a number of challenges for the sustainability of these trauma registries exist. Mobile health applications represent a promising technology for low- and middle-income country trauma registries. The development, implementation and evaluation of a mobile application trauma registry for use at the Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, Uganda is demonstrated. Methods: A paper-based trauma registry was implemented at the Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital. Based on feedback from local stakeholders, this was developed into an open-source mobile application version of the trauma registry. The mobile application was evaluated by 17 healthcare workers using a modified Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology questionnaire and qualitative analysis. Results: Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology scores showed the majority of participants responding positively to the major constructs of Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence and Facilitating Conditions, with mean Likert scores (out of 7) of 6.41 (±1.43), 6.25 (±1.41), 5.44 (±1.43) and 5.32 (±1.99), respectively. There was also a young average user age (29.1 years). Qualitative analysis identified response themes of ease of use, efficiency and potential for future research and clinical use; users also suggested expansion of the type of platforms the application was available on. Conclusion: Though a number of challenges exist for sustaining trauma registries in low- and middle-income countries, substantial involvement of local stakeholders and responsiveness to feedback should be used to facilitate the use of these technologies in developing countries. This study demonstrates a potential methodology for developing and evaluating trauma registry technologies for use in low- and middle-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Hospital in the Home models are rapidly expanding in response to increasing bed pressures. This study examined patient and multidisciplinary health professional perceptions of a new geriatric evaluation and management and rehabilitation hospital in the home service in Australia. The service was unique, as adults of all ages with a variety of rehabilitation or geriatric evaluation and management needs were within scope. Methods: A qualitative descriptive approach was used with a consumer co-researcher and a consumer advisor being integral to decision-making. Patient feedback was collected via a paper-based patient satisfaction survey between August 2020 and February 2022. Additionally, interviews with current and past staff were conducted from July to November 2021. Reflexive thematic analysis was conducted for qualitative data and descriptive statistics used for quantitative data. Results: Patient surveys were analysed (n = 199, 42.2% response rate) with 60.8% of participants aged 75 years or over and 26.6% speaking a language other than English. High satisfaction was expressed. Feelings of comfort, familiarity, convenience, and reassurance were voiced. A person-centred approach enhanced involvement in care. Challenges included carer burden and clear communication. Sixteen staff (33% response rate) were interviewed. In general, staff said the service was inclusive and responsive, and the home environment beneficial, particularly for patients from culturally diverse backgrounds. A strong hospital partnership and comprehensive multidisciplinary approach were vital. Challenges included fragmentation due to part-time roles and combining with a pre-existing acute hospital in the home service. Conclusions: This qualitative exploration of staff and patients' perceptions of a geriatrician-led, multidisciplinary geriatric evaluation and management and rehabilitation hospital in the home service demonstrated that it was person-centred and optimised patients' control and ownership of care. The inclusive service parameters ensured responsiveness to diverse needs whilst allowing earlier return home from hospital, both of which are vital for quality patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic low back pain is characterised by multiple and overlapping biological, psychological, social and broader dimensions, affecting individuals' lives. Multidisciplinary pain services have been considered optimal settings to account for the multidimensionality of chronic low back pain but have largely focused on cognitive and behavioural aspects of individuals' pain. Social dimensions are usually underexplored, considered outside or beyond healthcare professionals' scope of practice. Employing Actor Network Theorist Mol's concept multiplicity, our aim in this paper is to explore how a pain service's practices bring to the fore the social dimensions of individuals living with low back pain. Drawing on 32 ethnographic observations and four group exchanges with the service's clinicians, findings suggest that practices produced multiple enactments of an individual with low back pain. Although individuals' social context was present and manifested during consultations at the pain service (first enactment: 'the person'), it was often disconnected from care and overlooked in 'treatment/management' (second enactment: 'the patient'). In contrast, certain practices at the pain service not only provided acknowledgement of, but actions towards enhancing, individuals' social contexts by adapting rules and habits, providing assistance outside the service and shifting power relations during consultations (third enactment: 'the patient-person'). We therefore argue that different practices enact different versions of an individual with low back pain in pain services, and that engagement with individuals' social contexts can be part of a service's agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]