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In 2023, the UK Government published its long-awaited reform strategy for England's children's social care system. Whilst the strategy set out planned reforms for several aspects of the wider system, an area requiring particular 'priority' was the purported workforce instability seen within child protection social work. However, the strategy has subsequently faced criticism on the basis that the suggested reforms were not satisfactorily informed by the testimonies of practicing social workers. This paper draws from a mixed-method study to report on the lived experiences of a sample of 201 child protection social workers practicing across England, in the context of better understanding the factors which they believed were impacting on workforce stability within England's child protection system. Implications that emerge are the need for an increase in the monetary commitment offered by the UK Government (especially in the context of tackling high caseloads, and improving local authority pay scales to reduce the allure of agency work); a targeted emphasis on challenging local cultures preoccupied with evidencing compliance over time spent with children; and the Government taking a more assertive role in tackling the often-counterproductive commentary perpetuated by politicians and media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moral thinking and communication are critical competencies for confronting social dilemmas in a challenging world. We examined these moral competencies in 70 college students and graduates from Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Participants were assessed through semi-structured written interviews, Facebook group discussions, and a questionnaire. In this paper, we describe the similarities and differences across cultural groupings in (1) the social issues of greatest importance to the participants; (2) the factors influencing their approaches to thinking about social issues and communicating with others; and (3) the characteristics of their moral functioning in terms of moral awareness, moral judgment, moral discourse, and moral decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on an innovative interprofessional education (IPE) initiative conducted in three care homes across Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom (UK). Students from a variety of professions including nursing, physiotherapy, social work, podiatry, counseling, and sports rehabilitation worked collaboratively in the homes to address the residents' individual goals. We found that care homes provided students with many opportunities for interprofessional working and learning. Through better understanding the dimensions of different perspectives and approaches, students improved their education and transformed their perceptions of aged care. Having a diverse range of professionals allowed staff to gain insight into the latest evidence-based practice and address the multiple needs of the residents more holistically. Residents gained an enriched sense of meaning and purpose in their daily life by engaging in fulfilling and meaningful activities. The complexities of undertaking an IPE initiative in this setting are also considered and we conclude by proposing important avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we use a UK case study to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health (emotional, psychological, social wellbeing) of farmers. We outline the drivers of poor farming mental health, the manifold impacts of the pandemic at a time of policy and environmental change, and identify lessons that can be learned to develop resilience in farming communities against future shocks. We undertook a survey answered by 207 farmers across the UK, focusing on drivers of poor mental health and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also conducted 22 in-depth interviews with individuals in England, Scotland and Wales who provide mental health support to farmers. These explored how and why the COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health of farmers. These interviews were supplemented by 93 survey responses from a similar group of support providers (UK-wide). We found that the pandemic exacerbated underlying drivers of poor mental health and wellbeing in farming communities. 67% of farmers surveyed reported feeling more stressed, 63% felt more anxious, 38% felt more depressed, and 12% felt more suicidal. The primary drivers of poor mental health identified by farmers during the pandemic included decreased social contact and loneliness, issues with the general public on private land, and moving online for social events. Support providers also highlighted relationship and financial issues, illness, and government inspections as drivers of poor mental health. Some farmers, conversely, outlined positive impacts of the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic is just one of many potential stressors associated with poor farming mental health and its impacts are likely to be long-lasting and delayed. Multiple stressors affecting farmers at the same time can create a tipping point. Therefore, there is a need for long-term support and ongoing evaluation of the drivers of poor mental health in farming families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how, in the midst of changing political times, some characteristics of HIV activism are changing, and suggests the relevance of these shifts for other fields of health activism. Despite the UK achieving UNAIDS's '90–90-90ʹ testing and treatment goals, many in the UK lack up-to-date HIV knowledge and retain stigmatising attitudes, and some areas of testing failure remain. In response, people with HIV and HIV organisations are generating imaginative, collaborative projects that indicate effective contemporary forms of health activism may, as other critical health research suggests, be decentred, participatory, multimodal, affective, and implicit. The paper describes a 2016 HIV NGO-run comedy event directed at HIV awareness which was researched via qualitative pre- and post-measures, and two-month follow-up interviews. Findings pointed to strong effects of comedy, as enjoyment and 'break' in HIV thinking, feeling, and action; of a one-off event's emotionality and particularity; and of performance in generating collectivity and HIV citizenship. The paper discusses the potential transferability of these findings to other health activisms, particularly around stigmatised conditions. It argues that such strategies of emotionality, multi-modality, and solidarity in a performance event can work as implicit activism for changing times, generating social change via a doubled politics of resistance and alterity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore how the information-sharing context influences how speech and language therapy (SLT) and nursing staff interact on stroke units and what they discuss. Ethnographic methodology was used, with data collected during 40 weeks of fieldwork across three inner city stroke units in the UK. Data comprised field notes collected during 357 h of participant observation and 43 interviews. Interviews were conducted with 14 SLTs, 1 SLT assistant, 24 registered nurses and 4 nursing assistants. This paper is focused on informal information-sharing. SLTs and nurses had different experiences of time and space (the temporal-spatial context) with respect to ward presence and proximity to patients, influencing how they interacted, the content of their talk and their relationships. Most interactions had the quality of interruptions, in which SLTs seized moments in between nursing tasks. Conditions were less suited to sharing information about communication than swallowing and SLTs felt more allied to other therapists than nurses. The temporal-spatial context impeded information-sharing, particularly about patients' communication needs. Consideration should be given to developing relationships between SLTs and nurses as key partners for patient care and raising the profile of communication information in ways that are relevant and useful to nursing work. Strategic waiting for opportunities to interrupt nurses and gain their attention is central to how speech and language therapists manage their need to share information informally with nurses. The small "windows in time" available for interaction influence information-sharing, with a limiting effect on information about patients' communication. There is potential to improve information-sharing between speech and language therapists and nurses by considering how the relevance of information for patient care could be made clearer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A task carried out in error creates a latent condition that can result in a future undesirable outcome if the error is not detected later. The paper presents a study of the relatively under-researched phenomenon of post-task latent error detection. Focusing on UK naval aircraft maintenance, it was hypothesised that time, location and systems cues influence individual latent error detection amongst naval air engineers who experience the phenomenon. The systems view of human error is combined with a multi-process approach to post-task latent error research, for which findings suggest that distributed cognition across the entire socio-technical system may be influential in post-task latent error detection. Directions for future research will be of benefit to those interested in furthering safety resilience using a systems approach to minimise the consequences arising from latent error. Relevance to human factors/ergonomics theoryThe nature and extent of post-task latent error detection is explored using a systems approach, for which distributed cognition across the entire socio-technical system appears influential. The aim of current research is to develop interventions to further mitigate for latent errors and thus advance the systems application of ergonomics theory. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In-car route guidance is automatic, requiring a minimum of time and thinking. This paper explores the use of personalised information when providing instructions for navigating a journey. We focus on older women with a lifetime of experience. Ten female participants were interviewed to elicit their comfort zone with respect to navigating in a car from their own home. Two routes were then devised for each participant, which extended beyond this comfort zone, and presented to them in two different formats. Participants then navigated the route of their least preferred format. Questionnaires and interviews were used to explore the effects of the formats on their confidence, cognitive effort and use of cognitive mapping facilities. The questionnaire data showed that the more detailed instructions supported cognitive mapping processes and the interviews suggested that this support was valued prior to executing the route. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Having access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) is a prerequisite to meaningful participation in society. Objectives: This paper seeks to: i. explore the engagement of homeless drug users (HDUs) with ICTs and ii. discuss the findings with reference to recovery from drug dependence. Methods: The study design was qualitative and longitudinal, involving data collected in 2012-13 via 52 semi-structured interviews with 30 homeless drug users (25 men; five women). Participants were recruited from 17 hostels in two English cities. Interview data were analyzed using Framework. Results: HDUs had access to ICTs, used ICTs, and wanted to engage with them more. Experiences of digital exclusion were a function of participants' inability to afford ICTs, the relatively cheap and poor quality technology available to them, limited knowledge about ICTs, and lack of support in using them. That HDUs were often unable to take full advantage of technology because they had nobody to explain what their devices could do or to show them how they worked was ironic given that using ICTs to (re)establish and maintain relationships were functions of technology that HDUs particularly liked. Conclusions: The physical, human, cultural, and social capital of HDUs influenced their access to, and use of, ICTs. Equally, ICTs were themselves an important recovery resource. Services and others should endeavor to provide HDUs with easy access to good quality technology, as well as offers of support and education so that all individuals have the knowledge and confidence to make optimum use of the technology that is available to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]