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Background and purpose: Social engagement is an important active aging strategy to promote older adults' mental health. The purposes of this study were to compare social engagement in older populations around the world and explore associations with mental health outcomes. Materials and methods: An international cross‐sectional survey was conducted from 2017 to 2019. Data were retrieved from The International Social Survey Programme for a secondary data analysis across 30 countries. This study applied the Taxonomy of Social Activities and its six levels as operational definitions for a consistent concept of social engagement for international comparisons. Results: In total, 9403 older adults with a mean age of 72.85 ± 6.40 years responded. The highest levels of older adults' social engagement were found in Switzerland, Thailand, and New Zealand. Older adults of a higher age, with a lower educational level, who were permanently sick or disabled, who had no partner, who were widowed or whose civil partner had died, who lived alone, and who had lower self‐placement in society had significantly lower social engagement than did their counterparts. In the regression model, older adults' social engagement positively predicted general health, self‐accomplishment, and life satisfaction, but negatively predicted loneliness and depression. Conclusions: In aging societies worldwide, encouraging older adults' social engagement would be beneficial to promote mental health. Implications for nursing practice and health policies: Community professional nurses can develop strategies of social engagement based on the needs and sociodemographic factors of older adults to improve their mental health. Developing efficient strategies and local policies by learning from successful experiences in other countries is important to promote social engagement in aging societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DOMAJNKO B. & PAHOR M. Mistrust of academic knowledge among nurses in Slovenia. International Nursing Review 57, 305–311 Aim: The paper discusses the negative attitudes of some nursing assistants in Slovenia towards higher nursing education and academic (theoretical and research based) knowledge. Background: The topic is discussed in the context of traditional hierarchical and patriarchal relations in the health-care sector, professionalization of nursing and the evidence-based debate in nursing. Methods: A secondary analysis of data gathered in 2005 was carried out. The topic of the original research was the interprofessional collaboration between medical and nursing care professionals in Slovenia. The secondary study looked closely into the relations within nursing care. Specifically it focused on the nursing assistants' perspective. Five hundred ninety-two answer to two open-end questions (307 from nurses and 285 from nursing assistants) and five semi-structured interviews (with three nurses and two nursing assistants) were re-analyzed (with the new focus), applying inductive qualitative content analysis and the pragmatic approach to interpretation. Findings: In nursing assistants' view, the difference between themselves and graduate nurses was described in terms of the distinction ‘work – non-work’. Higher education was associated primarily with striving for higher social status. Academic knowledge was not perceived to include the right competencies for either practising or improving the quality of nursing care. Conclusions: The mistrust of the academic nurse on the part of some nursing assistants is interpreted as a barrier to full professionalization of nursing care and also interprofessional collaboration in the health-care sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of the study was to provide and contrast data on quality of life for families in Slovenia that have children with intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities (IDD) and families that have children with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The sample comprised 25 families with children with IDD and 19 families with children with ASD selected from schools in several villages in Slovenia. The data were collected using the FQOLS-2006. The data analysis exploring the relationship between the two study groups (IDD and ASD) using the six measurement dimensions ( Importance, Attainment, Satisfaction, Opportunities, Initiative, Stability) showed the mean ratings for all six measurement dimensions were higher for the IDD group than for the ASD group, although both groups rated Importance quite highly. Within the nine domains examined, there were some differences between the two groups. For the two main outcome measures, Attainment and Satisfaction, the scores for Satisfaction were consistently higher for the IDD group than for the ASD group. A combination of qualitative and quantitative data revealed that two of the nine domains, Family Relationships and Community Interaction, appear to contribute positively to family quality of life for both groups in this sample, while family life relating to the other seven domains requires remediation. Data from this family quality of life study provides evidence to suggest to policy makers and service providers that there might be a substantial amount of work to be done in the future to provide appropriate and efficient support for families with children with disabilities, especially for those with ASD, so that these families can lead lives of quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crime scene technicians collect evidence related to crime and are therefore exposed to many traumatic situations. The coping strategies they use are thus very important in the process of facing the psychological consequences of such work. The available literature shows that crime scene technicians are an understudied subgroup of police workers. Our study is therefore the first unfolding insights into technicians' coping strategies, post‐traumatic symptomatology and somatic health, based on a sample of 64 male crime scene technicians (85% of all Slovene technicians). Crime scene technicians mainly use avoidance coping strategies. Approach strategies that are more effective in the long‐term—i.e. lead to a larger buffering of the effects of traumatic stress—are more frequently used if technicians are familiar with the nature of the task, when they have time to prepare for it, and if they feel that past situations have been positively resolved. Behavioural avoidance strategies were found to be least effective when dealing with traumatic experiences and are also related to more frequent problems of physical health. Results indicate that appropriate trainings for future technicians would facilitate the use of more effective coping strategies and consequently lead to a more effective and satisfied worker. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Research was conducted, within the framework of the International Family Quality of Life Project, on the quality of life of families with a member who has a disability. We concentrated on the nine specific domains that the family life measure used, and recorded data from five of its six measurement dimensions: Importance, Opportunities, Initiative, Attainment and Satisfaction. Method The sample consisted of 20 families from Slovenia with children who have intellectual or developmental disabilities. The data were collected using the Family Quality of Life Survey-2006. Results Except for Community Interaction, the other domains (Health, Financial Well-Being, Family Relations, Support from Others, Support Services, Influence of Values, Careers, Leisure and Recreation) show statistically significant differences among the five dimensions measured. Importance was rated highest, and Attainment and Opportunities were rated lowest, while Initiative and Satisfaction were evaluated lower than Importance but higher than Attainment and Opportunities. Among the domains of family life, Family Relations was evaluated the highest from the perspective of all five dimensions. Conclusions The family members rated Importance high for all of the quality of family life domains, but it appears from the lower Opportunities scores that their opportunities are limited; this may result in fewer possibilities for attaining a better quality of life. The results of our research are useful to Slovene researchers who work in the areas of special pedagogy and rehabilitation, politicians, non-governmental organisations and social services. The quality of life of families with children with disabilities, their empowerment and their inclusion into community life should be significantly enhanced when consideration is given to all the family members' support and service needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]