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In the UK, current governmental discourse is placing growing pressure on psychology programmes to demonstrate the development of students' employability skills in an increasingly globalised world, and work-based learning is gaining currency. Many psychology students are motivated to do community-based work, prompted by their desires to contribute to social justice. The authors' purpose in this article is to explore UK psychology students' experiences of community-based work placements in two African contexts. Drawing from data collected from three cohorts of students at the debriefing stage of their studies, they illustrate the richness of the students' learning. Students reported having their cultural preconceptions challenged and the deepening of their cross-cultural awareness. The experiences had an emotional impact on them, and many students reported their desires to help others and the influence on their future planning.

A retrospective, observational survey, conducted under the remit of the Safety Assessment of Marketed Medicines guidelines, collected data on nearly 1100 patients who had attempted an opiate detoxification with lofexidine, to identify current treatment protocols and safety. This approach offered a number of advantages over a prospective, randomized, clinical trial. It captured data on ‘real‐life' patients with a variety of co‐existing illnesses and taking a wide range of concurrent medications. Data on exposure to lofexidine by three pregnant patients were documented and different dosage regimens have been described. The retrospective approach was not, however, without some limitations. The patients' medical notes were found to be incomplete and causality had not been assigned for many of the adverse events. However, providing the limitations of the retrospective approach are acknowledged, useful information has been collected on the current usage and safety of lofexidine, which has enabled the manufacturer to make a number of recommendations. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Introduction The dearth of clinical trials of individualised occupational therapy with people with a diagnosis of psychosis limits the evidence base globally for occupational therapy practice. This study evaluated the feasibility of conducting a pragmatic clinical trial.Method Mixed methods design using a pragmatic perspective; two-centre, one-group pretest-posttest study, at six months. POINTER Occupational Intervention Specification captured routine individualised occupational therapy. Process evaluation included recruitment, retention, intervention delivery, fidelity, adherence and outcome measurement. The primary outcome was participation in activities of everyday life, measured by Time Use Survey, Participation Scale and Utrecht Scale for Evaluation of Rehabilitation-Participation. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure measured self-reported experience of and satisfaction with occupational performance. The Short Form-36v2 Health Survey measured health-related quality of life, a secondary outcome. Participants’ experiences were explored using a questionnaire. Intervention providers’ perspectives were investigated via the POINTER occupational intervention log and focus groups.Results Recruitment was (20/36) and drop-out 20% (4/20). Fidelity was 77%, and adherence was good; POINTER had validity and utility. Outcome measurement was acceptable to participants, indicating increased participation in activities of everyday life.Conclusion A larger clinical trial is merited; recruitment processes need further exploration, and outcome measurement needs refining.