Search

Objective: Hearing loss in the older adult population is a significant global health issue. Hearing aids can provide an effective means to address hearing loss and improve quality of life. Despite this, the uptake and continued use of hearing aids is low, with non-use of hearing aids representing a significant problem for effective audiological rehabilitation. The aim of this study was to investigate the reasons for the non-use of hearing aids. Design and study sample: A cross-sectional survey was used to investigate the reasons given for the non-use of hearing aids by people with hearing loss (n = 332) and family members (n = 313) of people with hearing loss in Australia, the UK, and USA. Results: Survey results showed that hearing aid non-users generally cited external factors as reasons for non-use, whereas family members reported non-use due to attitudinal barriers. Past users of hearing aids and family members of past users both identified devices factors as barriers to use. Conclusions: Differences in reasons for non-use may provide further insight for researchers and clinicians and help inform future clinical practice in addressing the low uptake and use of hearing aids by people with hearing loss and the role of family members in audiological rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals with concealable stigma continually decide whether, and if so, how to disclose to others. These complex decision-making processes are evident across various stigmatized sexual health contexts, including sexually transmitted diseases and infections, LGBTQ+ identities, and sexual trauma, among others. One context that has received less attention within communication scholarship is difficulty orgasming among women. Due to the stigma associated with this experience, women are often reluctant to disclose their orgasm difficulties to others, especially their sexual and/or relational partners. However, the motivations women have for, and the factors they consider prior to disclosure have yet to be identified. Building upon extant sexual health communication, concealable stigma, and disclosure research, this study used semi-structured interviews (N = 31) to examine how women disclose orgasm difficulties within their sexual and/or romantic relationships. Our findings highlight several motivations women have for (non)disclosure, and various contextual and situational factors that complicate their disclosure processes. This study contributes to our theoretical understanding of the disclosure processes model (DPM) and the disclosure of concealable (sexual health) stigma. This study also offers practical insights for improving disclosure and experiences with stigma within this context. [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]

Bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, and sadism/masochism (BDSM; "kink") are frequently pathologized as derivatives of abuse. Although the link is unsubstantiated, some kink-identified people who happen to be survivors of trauma may engage in kink, or trauma play, to heal from, cope with, and transform childhood abuse or adolescent maltreatment. The present study sought a thematic model (Braun & Clarke, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101, 2006) of trauma recovery through kink using a critical realist, inductive approach to inquiry. Participants were eligible if they had experienced early abuse, were adults, and practiced kink. Six superordinate themes were generated from semi-structured interviews with 20 participants from five countries: cultural context of healing (e.g. using BDSM norms and previous therapy to reframe kink and trauma), restructuring the self-concept (e.g. strengthening internal characteristics which had been harmed or distorted), liberation through relationship (e.g. learning to be valued by intimate others), reclaiming power (e.g. setting and maintaining personal boundaries), repurposing behaviors (e.g. engaging in aspects of prolonged exposure), and redefining pain (e.g. transcending painful memories through masochism). Notably, participants only reported retraumatizing experiences prior to learning about the structural safeguards of BDSM. Research and clinical implications are discussed by drawing on general models of trauma recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the association between perceived racial discrimination and disability among Asian and Latinx residents of the United States, as the link between discrimination and disability has gone largely ignored in analyses of these populations. Nationally representative samples included 2046 Asian Americans and 2515 Latinx Americans from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS). We used multivariable logistic regression and multivariable negative binomial regression to analyze the association between racial discrimination and five different disability domains as well as racial discrimination and a count of simultaneous functional limitations, respectively. The disability domains included: self-care, cognition, mobility, time out of role, and social interaction. Perceived racial discrimination positively and significantly predicted impairments across a variety of disability domains for both Asian and Latinx populations. The estimated associations between racial discrimination and disability were heterogeneous across Asian and Latinx ethnicities. Racial discrimination may contribute to stress for Asians and Latinxs in the United States, potentially increasing the possibility these populations develop disabilities. Rehabilitation efforts should consider the social contexts in which people of color live, recognizing that discrimination may differentially affect risk profiles for disabilities across racial and ethnic groups. Across Asian and Latinx populations, racial discrimination is associated with impairments in self-care, cognition, mobility, time out of role, and social interaction. Future translational research can explore the utility of brief racial discrimination screens in clinical settings to assess risk for disability in various domains. Professionals should attend to the stress and overall impact of racial discrimination, as it is conceivable that racial discrimination may result in the exclusion or hindrance of people of color who are pursuing meaningful participation in places of work, public spaces, and civic life. Society bears the collective obligation to reduce discrimination against Asian and Latinx populations, particularly against those who experience disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pandemics threaten world stability; however, spread is mitigated with prevention behaviors. We introduce "personally relevant knowledge" to explain the knowledge–behavior gap (i.e., objective and subjective knowledge on information acquisition and behavioral change). Hypotheses are derived from prior knowledge literature, economic psychology, and relevance theory. Multimethod analysis (survey data, partial least squares structural equation path modeling [PLS-SEM], and an asymmetric information theoretic statistical analysis) is applied to H1N1 data from the USA and Australia. Personally relevant knowledge is an important addition to prior knowledge conceptualizations, and information theory uncovers asymmetric variable relationships concerning the knowledge–behavior gap, not captured by PLS-SEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex trauma can have a significant negative impact on the developing brain and occupational performance of children and adolescents. This study explored current practice in occupational therapy in complex trauma utilizing interviews and interpretive descriptive analysis. Nine experienced occupational therapists identified functional concerns that were mapped onto the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health framework. Findings indicated the importance of caregiver involvement in treatment, interventions to address bottom-up processes, advanced training, and being connected with other therapists who serve this population. Given the range of interventions with this complex population, occupational therapists have a unique opportunity to contribute to this emerging area of practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose:The HOME FAST was developed and trialled in Australia as a screening tool designed to be used by any health professional to identify older people at increased risk of falls and to facilitate referral for more detailed assessment and intervention. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical utility of the HOME FAST from the perspective of users. Method:A mixed-methods approach using survey data (n = 32), focus group data (n = 46) and interview data (n = 5) from occupational therapists, physiotherapists, community nurses and other health professionals working in hospitals, community services and private practice, located in the UK, Canada and Australia. Data were integrated using a matrix of quantitative and qualitative data that aligned the findings with established theoretical constructs of clinical utility. Results:Findings across the data sources provide evidence of the clinical utility of the HOME FAST, and these findings align with theoretical constructs about how a tool such as the HOME FAST is adopted in practice. Conclusion:The HOME FAST can be used in a variety of international setting in developed countries and by different health professionals as a screening tool. A manual would assist in the consistent application of the HOME FAST.Implications for RehabilitationHazards in the home environment are a key contributor to falls risk for older peopleThe Home Falls and Accidents Screening Tool (HOME FAST) was designed for any health professional to screen older people at increased risk of falling because of home hazards.Even with psychometric evidence of the reliability and validity of a tool, it is critical that the tool can be easily adopted by clinicians (clinical utility), otherwise its applicability to practice and research is limited.An international mixed-method study has provided evidence of the clinical utility of the HOME FAST. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]