Search

Summary Background Student nurses/midwives evidence less than exemplary lifestyle habits and poor emotional health, despite exposure to health education/promotion during their educational preparation. Knowledge of the factors that predict nursing/midwifery students’ health could inform strategies to enhance their health and increase their credibility as future health promoters/educators. Objective To establish the predictors of nursing/midwifery student emotional health. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting The research took place at a university in Ireland. Participants We involved a total sample ( n = 473) student nurses/midwives. Methods Participants completed the General Health Questionnaire, Lifestyle Behaviour Questionnaire and Ways of Coping Questionnaire to determine their self-reported emotional health, lifestyle behaviour and coping processes. Multivariate regression was performed to identify the predictors of student emotional health (dependent variable). The independent variables were demographics, coping, lifestyle behaviour and students’ perceptions of determinants of their health. Results Many respondents reported significant emotional distress (48.71%) and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours including smoking (27.94%), physical inactivity (34.29%), alcohol consumption (91.7%) and unhealthy diet (28.05%). Multivariate regressions indicated that the predictors of emotional distress included gender, year of study, smoking, passive coping and beliefs that their student life was stressful or/and that worry stress and boredom adversely impacted their diet. Conclusions Targeting student’s beliefs regarding influences upon their health, promotion of positive lifestyles and adaptive coping is necessary to facilitate health gain of future health professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Communication-oriented Internet technologies and activities such as social media sites and blogs, have become an important component of community and employment participation, not just in the specific function of activities, but as a link to larger communities of practice and professional connections. The occurrence of these activities, evident in their presence on Facebook, LinkedIn and other online communities, represents an important opportunity to reframe and re-conceptualize manifestation of communities especially those in which distributed networks and communities substitute for geographic proximity, offering new opportunities for engagement, especially those who might be functionally limited in terms of mobility. For people with disabilities, as well as the aging, increasingly interacting online, the readiness of social networking sites to accommodate their desire to participate in conjunction with their readiness as users to maximize the potential of platform interfaces and architecture, are critical to achieving the medium’s potential for enhancing community and employment benefits. This essay explores representation/presence of disability and aging using as frames, Facebook and LinkedIn groups. Target identity/member groups on Facebook and LinkedIn were cataloged to explore the presence and representation of disability and aging identities in a socially networked setting. The groups for this study were identified using the search feature designed into the platform architecture, which allow a user to search on specifically designated entities or keywords. Findings suggest that from a policy perspective, institutions need to be cognizant of population characteristics as well as platform opportunities implementing advocacy and relevant support services for people with disabilities and older adults to full ensure engagement and participation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Mental health difficulties in students with special educational needs (SEN) present a significant barrier to their learning. These difficulties often go unrecognised for prolonged periods of time. Recent prevalence studies suggest an alarmingly high rate of mental health difficulties in this population. Depending on the complexity of their needs, average figures range from between 40% to 60%, with the presence of the intellectual disability (ID) in itself, being a risk factor of immense significance. Ongoing clinical and research evidence points to the need for specific interventions at the earliest possible onset, based on sound objective assessment and diagnostic frameworks. Our challenge in the twenty-first century is to continue to develop our "early warning systems", and to rigorously explore, engage and evaluate the range of possible therapeutic interventions available to these young students. A further challenge is to develop appropriate preventative strategies, in an attempt to alleviate the consequences of the entire range of mental health difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]