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Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) utilize counseling to support the psychological wellbeing of people with post-stroke aphasia, however, SLPs receive variable, usually limited, counseling education. Counseling education may be effective in improving SLPs' knowledge, skills, and confidence in counseling in post-stroke aphasia. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a novel online counseling education program for SLPs working with people with post-stroke aphasia. Our study was a Phase II, two-arm pilot randomized controlled trial with a waitlist control. Participants (n = 49) were stratified by previous counseling training (≥1 day) and co-work with psychologists when addressing psychological wellbeing in post-stroke aphasia, and randomized to either the education program or waitlist control arm. We developed an education program (7-hours self-directed learning; 3-hour online workshop) for the trial. Feasibility outcomes included SLP recruitment, workshop attendance, and participant attrition at follow-up. Participants' counseling self-efficacy and self-rated competency were assessed pre- and post-program (primary endpoint) and at 5-week follow-up. Forty-four (90%) participants attended the workshop with forty-one (84%) participants completing the trial. There was a significant interaction (large effect size) between time and group supporting a positive effect of the program on counseling self-efficacy, F(1,44) = 39.402, p <. 0005, ηp2 =. 472 and self-rated competency for counseling, F(1,44) = 31.824, p <. 0005, ηp2 =. 420. The effects were maintained at follow-up with self-rated competency scores demonstrating further significant improvement. The demonstrated feasibility and preliminary efficacy of this online counseling program warrant a future definitive trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Work-system participation and factors are associated with occupational vocal health for vocally reliant workers, such as sports coaches. However, there is limited use of systems approaches and worker collaboration to address occupational voice. OBJECTIVE: The current research aimed to cooperatively consider coaches' vocally reliant systems participation, including addressing vocal ergonomic factors that can create barriers for occupational vocal health and voice use. METHODS: Collaborative action inquiries explored vocal ergonomics with coaches (n = 24) from nine professional basketball teams. Across three basketball seasons, coaches and a subject matter expert identified what influenced coaches' voices and trialed approaches to optimize vocally reliant coaching participation. Nine action inquiry methods were used, including search conferences, ergonomic approaches to enhance systems participation, and focus groups. Multi-level analyses were also undertaken. RESULTS: Participants cooperatively generated, implemented, and evaluated different strategies. A cumulative total of 57 strategies were explored within teams (team mean = 6.33, SD = 3, range = 4–14). Cross-case analysis identified 25 different strategy types. Overall, participants appraised 31.58% (18/57) strategies as supportive (i.e., enhanced facilitators for voice), 61.40% (35/57) strategies as somewhat supportive (i.e., some enhanced facilitators and some ongoing barriers), and 7.02% (4/57) strategies as unsupportive (i.e., pervasive ongoing barriers not mitigated by strategies). Further, factors across coaches' work-systems continued to influence coaches' voices in dynamic and complex ways. CONCLUSIONS: Collaboration with coaches enriched vocal ergonomic approaches by providing novel, context-anchored insights. Collaboration should form 'part' of broader mechanisms to support coaches' voice use and vocal health at work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to present a thematic analysis of student nurses' experiences of an innovative collaboration between a mental health Recovery College and a nursing faculty, where Recovery College trainers' expertise in co-production and peer facilitation were foregrounded. The aim of this study is to understand how nursing students experienced being peer facilitators of well-being workshops for fellow students following training with Recovery College trainers. Design/methodology/approach: Thematic analysis of qualitative data from eight semi-structured interviews and a focus group with 15 participants. Findings: The overarching theme that emerged was "The process of being a student Peer Facilitator". Six themes emerged from the data: "What we brought"; "Conceptualisation"; "Adaptation"; "we're giving them the tools"; "What we gained"; and "Development". Practical implications: Mental health nurse educators could forge collaborative relationships with Recovery College colleagues with a broader remit than service users' "lived experience" of mental distress. Student nurses should be given opportunities to be peer facilitators and draw on their lived experience as student nurses as means of addressing their and their peers' mental health. Originality/value: Original findings were that the student experience of being a peer facilitator was different to their other experiences in education and clinical practice. They drew on their lived experience throughout and found that they learned skills to address their well-being through supporting other students to improve theirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine associations between speaking fundamental frequency (fos), vowel formant frequencies (F), listener perceptions of speaker gender, and vocal femininity--masculinity. Method: An exploratory study was undertaken to examine associations between fos, F1-F3, listener perceptions of speaker gender (nominal scale), and vocal femininity-masculinity (visual analog scale). For 379 speakers of Australian English aged 18-60 years, fos mode and F1-F3 (12 monophthongs; total of 36 Fs) were analyzed on a standard reading passage. Seventeen listeners rated speaker gender and vocal femininity--masculinity on randomized audio recordings of these speakers. Results: Model building using principal component analysis suggested the 36 Fs could be succinctly reduced to seven principal components (PCs). Generalized structural equation modeling (with the seven PCs of F and fos as predictors) suggested that only F2 and fos predicted listener perceptions of speaker gender (male, female, unable to decide). However, listener perceptions of vocal femininity--masculinity behaved differently and were predicted by F1, F3, and the contrast between monophthongs at the extremities of the F1 acoustic vowel space, in addition to F2 and fos. Furthermore, listeners' perceptions of speaker gender also influenced ratings of vocal femininity-- masculinity substantially. Conclusion: Adjusted odds ratios highlighted the substantially larger contribution of F to listener perceptions of speaker gender and vocal femininity--masculinity relative to fos than has previously been reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The aim of this article is to present selected findings from a doctoral study on the subjective well-being and subjective experience of mental health problems in UK mental health nurses. Here the concept of 'nurses' well-being' is explored. Method Data were drawn from a survey of 237 mental health nurses about their mental health and well-being and from interviews with 27 mental health nurses with personal experience of mental health problems and high subjective well-being. Results While nurses' subjective well-being is relatively low, some use strategies to support their well-being in and outside the workplace. Activities outside work that improved their wellbeing were physical exercise, mindfulness practice, spending time in nature and listening to music. Well-being was associated with clear boundaries between home and work life, regular clinical supervision and translating learning from work with patients to nurses' own lives. Conclusion Healthcare employers' staff health and well-being strategies should be informed by nurses' insights into what works for them. This may mean offering opportunities to take part in well-being activities. There are also opportunities to improve staff well-being through shared initiatives open to nurses and patients, and through an inclusive and empowering approach to staff engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The Transsexual Voice Questionnaire (TVQMtF) was designed to capture the voice-related perceptions of individuals whose gender identity as female is the opposite of their birth-assigned gender (MtF women). Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the TVQMtF is ongoing. Aims To investigate associations between TVQMtF scores and (1) self-perceptions of voice femininity and (2) acoustic parameters of voice pitch and voice quality in order to evaluate further the validity of the TVQMtF. A strong correlation between TVQMtF scores and self-ratings of voice femininity was predicted, but no association between TVQMtF scores and acoustic measures of voice pitch and quality was proposed. Methods & Procedures Participants were 148 MtF women (mean age 48.14 years) recruited from the La Trobe Communication Clinic and the clinics of three doctors specializing in transgender health. All participants completed the TVQMtF and 34 of these participants also provided a voice sample for acoustic analysis. Pearson product-moment correlation analysis was conducted to examine the associations between TVQMtF scores and (1) self-perceptions of voice femininity and (2) acoustic measures of F0, jitter (%), shimmer (dB) and harmonic-to-noise ratio (HNR). Outcomes & Results Strong negative correlations between the participants' perceptions of their voice femininity and the TVQMtF scores demonstrated that for this group of MtF women a low self-rating of voice femininity was associated with more frequent negative voice-related experiences. This association was strongest with the vocal-functioning component of the TVQMtF. These strong correlations and high levels of shared variance between the TVQMtF and a measure of a related construct provides evidence for the convergent validity of the TVQMtF. The absence of significant correlations between the TVQMtF and the acoustic data is consistent with the equivocal findings of earlier research. This finding indicates that these two measures assess different aspects of the voice-related experience. Conclusions & Implications Evidence supporting the validity of the TVQMtF is strong and indicates that it is a sound measure for capturing the MtF woman's self-perceptions of her vocal functioning and how her voice impacts on her everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to measure the subjective well-being of a group of 225 UK registered mental health nurses (MHN) using three survey measures, and to identify whether certain demographic and workplace factors correlated with subjective well-being measure scores. An online survey incorporating the subjective well-being questions used by the Office for National Statistics, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale was administered to members of two professional bodies for MHN. There was good consistency between the three subjective well-being measures, each demonstrating that UK MHN had a relatively low subjective well-being. Apart from the Office for National Statistics question, 'Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?', demographic and workplace factors did not correlate with subjective well-being measure scores, although the characteristics of being male, living alone, and being aged 40-49 years were associated with lower mean scores on all three measures. The findings of the exploratory study suggest that a similar study should be undertaken with a larger representative population of MHN, and that qualitative research should explore why and how UK MHN have relatively low subjective well-being. The limitations of this study, namely the response rate and sample representativeness, mean that the results of the present study must be tested in further research on the MHN population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nurses' mental health is of paramount importance, both in terms of patient safety and the sustainability of the workforce. Age, years in the profession, in post and personal experience or exposure to mental health problems are relevant to the mental health nursing workforce crisis in the United Kingdom. This study aimed to determine the relationship between age, years in the profession and post and self-reported experience of mental health problems using an online cross-sectional survey of 225 UK mental health nurses. Number of years in post was inversely correlated with overall experience of mental health problems, particularly living with someone else with mental health problems. Those with experience of living with someone with mental health problems had significantly fewer years of professional experience than those without. This article discusses possible explanations for this phenomenon and makes the case for future research on the topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To summarize and evaluate evidence for the effect of yoga on menstrual disorders. Methods: PubMed, CINAHL/MEDLINE, Web of Science, AMED, and Scopus were searched for English-language literature relevant to the review question. All primary research studies were included. Results: Fifteen studies described in 18 papers were included in the review. A range of yoga interventions were used. Some studies used a combination of Asana, Pranayama, and other yogic relaxation or meditation techniques. All included studies reported some change in their outcome measures, suggesting reduced symptoms of menstrual distress following a yoga intervention; however, the heterogeneity and intensity of the interventions and outcome measures meant that findings have limited generalizability and applicability in practice settings. Conclusions: Further research on the relationship between yoga practice and menstrual disorders is warranted, but there must be both consistency in the methods, measures, and quality of studies and a shift toward research on yoga practices that are replicable outside of the clinical trial setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automatic recordings were made of speech and voice range profiles for 63 vocally healthy Australian men and women without voice training (30 males and 33 females aged 21 to 65 years). Test-retest reliability, evaluated for a subgroup, was high. Speech range profile results were consistent with results reported by others. However, voice range profiles were larger than shown in several previous studies. Nevertheless, voice range profiles were consistent with results reported for a recent study that used a similar elicitation and recording protocol and similar equipment. Results are discussed with reference to methodological issues important for reliable phonetogram recordings. The data may also be clinically useful for comparisons between disordered and healthy voices if similar equipment and elicitation and recording protocols are used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The aim was to develop a new model to predict the outcome at the end of the 1st trimester after a single visit to the early pregnancy unit ( EPU). Methods Prospective observational study in the EPU at Nepean Hospital, between November 2006 and February 2009. Data were collected from all women in the 1st trimester of their pregnancy who had a live intrauterine pregnancy ( IUP) at the 1st transvaginal ultrasound scan ( TVS). 29 historical, clinical and ultrasound end points were recorded. Women were followed until the final diagnosis was established at the end of the 1st trimester: viability or nonviability. A multinomial logistic regression model was developed. The performance of this model was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic ( ROC) curves. Results Data from 416 pregnancies were included: 92.1% were live beyond the 1st trimester, and 7.9% had miscarried. The most useful prognostic variables for developing the logistic regression model were gestational age by dates, vaginal ( PV) bleeding, PV clots, gestational age by TVS, consistency with menstrual dates, mean gestational sac ( GS) size, mean yolk sac ( YS) size and number of previous caesarean sections. Used retrospectively on 416 women based on 25 imputations, the model gave an AUC of 0.88. Based on cross-validation, the independent predictive power obtained an AUC of 0.78. Conclusions We have developed a new model to predict the outcome of the 1st trimester in women with live IUP at the 1st scan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]