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Background: People with intellectual disabilities experience poorer oral health outcomes, which can negatively impact their quality of life. Disability support staff who support peoplewith an intellectual disability have the potential to assist with oral hygiene. However, there is limited understanding of the current practices of disability support staff around oral health, particularly in Australia., Objective: To describe disability support staff knowledge about oral health, explore their practice perceptions when supporting people with intellectual disabilities around oral health and their experiences of oral health training., Methods: A national cross-sectional survey was undertaken with 156 disability support staff across Australia. Recruitment was via publicly available websites of disability services and social media., Results: Disability staff were generally knowledgeable about appropriate oral hygiene practices and risks to oral health. They were less knowledgeable about the links between poor oral health and chronic diseases (<40%) and the importance of oral care for individuals who are fed enterally. Most participants (>80%) felt oral health was an important part of their care and were interested in further oral health training. Staff in semi-assisted living felt they had more time for oral health tasks compared to home-based living and residential facilities (p = 0.007). Lack of oral health training programs was the main barrier cited (44%), with only a quarter receiving any training in this area., Conclusions: Disability support staff are receptive to promoting oral health. More training around oral health and intellectual disability is needed for this workforce to support them in undertaking this role., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

People living with dementia are at risk of harm due to a decline in their cognition. This decline can cause wandering or persistent walking, which is stressful for both the person with dementia and their carer. Wandering can lead to falls and other injuries, elopement, getting lost and even death. People with dementia who wander are often admitted to long-term care facilities for safety reasons and because their carers cannot cope. Specific strategies, policies, risk assessment and management procedures are needed for these residents. This article explores the challenges encountered and provides solutions for care staff to better manage wandering behaviour in residents in long-term care settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing evidence base indicates that health and educational attainment are synergistic goals. Students' relationships with teachers and other students in the school environment are consistently predictive of a broad range of health and well-being outcomes. Despite the potential importance of relationships between students and a broad range of actors within a school, research tends to reduce 'school staff' to 'teachers'. Previous research has highlighted incongruence between the power imbalance within a teacher-student relationship and the dynamics required to address health and well-being-related issues. To date, there has been no investigation into how the nature of the relationships between students and support staff may differ from those with teaching staff. This article aims to conceptualise the role of support versus teaching staff in promoting health and well-being to understand how school system functioning may affect relationships between school staff and students. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to obtain the perceptions of staff, students and parents within four exploratory case study schools of differing socio-economic status, geographical location and size. In line with the Theory of Health Promoting Schools and Human Functioning, findings demonstrated that the prominence of well-being relies on provision of staffing structures which include a team of support staff to work alongside teaching staff to provide the time and space to deal with issues immediately and build trust and rapport in a one-to-one setting. Further mixed-methods research is required to investigate how staffing structures can facilitate the development of mutually trusting relationships between staff and students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Support from professionals plays an important role in helping people with intellectual disabilities to live an independent life. This research aims to analyse the role played by support professionals based on the perceptions of the professionals and self‐advocates with intellectual disabilities. The research was conducted in Catalonia (Spain). Method: A total of 33 interviews were conducted with front‐line managers and 10 focus groups with 72 self‐advocates. These were recorded and transcribed, and then analysed using thematic content analysis. Results: Self‐advocates particularly value professionals' interpersonal skills and emotional support. Front‐line managers and self‐advocates highlight training actions aimed at enhancing autonomy in the home and propose fostering natural supports and increasing the involvement of people with disabilities. Conclusions: Making progress in the rights of people with intellectual disabilities to an independent life requires requires transforming the support model, promoting decision making among people with intellectual disabilities, and strengthening interpersonal skills linked to emotional support in the training of professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Transforming Care is making mixed progress in supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and complex needs, move to more appropriate specialist accommodations closer to home. Community support staff often spend greatest amounts of time with service‐users, yet are some of the least heard voices about why placements succeed and fail to varying extents. Method: Managers and support staff (n = 13), working in ostensibly "specialist" community placements, were interviewed about perceived barriers and facilitators to implementing Transforming Care. Transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis. Results: Participants identified difficulties balancing people's rights, safety and quality of life needs, and felt the system's expectations of them are hard to deliver within the resources, legislation, values and support models provided them. Multidisciplinary expertise was highly valued for both emotional and practical support, but was least valued when perceived as overly blaming or inspectorial. Specialist health input was seen to withdraw prematurely for this particular client group. Conclusion: Recommendations are provided for how staff perspectives should inform Transforming Care in interests of service‐users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent and continuous transformation efforts at South African universities and the varied challenges facing higher education make it increasingly important to undertake an examination of student experiences that extend beyond the academic realm. This paper presents findings on non-academic support services, as experienced by students. The study was conducted at two South African universities and is grounded within an organizational theory perspective. The data indicate that students’ interactions with those charged with providing non-academic services are characterized by substandard services. Participants’ reports are analyzed and the findings indicate that participants critically construct explanations for the substandard services received. Three overarching themes are considered in accounting for substandard non-academic support services: (1) personal, (2) institutional, and (3) interpersonal. The findings are discussed with respect to implications and recommendations for university management and administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined experiences with and knowledge of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among a multistate sample of 111 vocational rehabilitation (VR) support staff. Over 80% of support staff reported working with clients who had expressed thoughts or behaviors related to NSSI, with over 15% doing so at least once a month. However, only about a quarter (27.0%) reported having received training on NSSI. Participants generally scored well on three true/false NSSI knowledge items hut also demonstrated some gaps in knowledge. Support staff commonly work with individuals with NSSI in VR settings hut may benefit from additional training and support in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to explore how disability support organisations and people who work in these organisations understand electronic records within the context of their daily work. Interviews were carried out with 16 front-line support management staff from a consortium of organisations that were introducing a shared electronic record; a software firm representative; and a project manager. Interviews were analysed thematically. Participants lacked consistency in how they described and anticipated the electronic record. They were unclear about who would use and benefit from the record. The role of third parties in the use of the record, such as medical professionals, was also unclear. Clarity about the way in which electronic records might change the work of support organisations could address larger challenges related to the concepts of “choice and control” and “person-centred” support. Without a consistent understanding of electronic records in disability support, there is a risk that future implementations of such records will fail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Self-determination is an important factor in improving the quality of life of people with moderate intellectual disabilities. A focus on self-determination implies that restraints on the freedom of people with intellectual disabilities should be decreased. In addition, according to the Dutch Care and Coercion bill, regular restraints of freedom, such as restrictions on choice of food or whom to visit, should be discouraged. Such restraints are only allowed if there is the threat of serious harm for the clients or their surroundings. Research question: What do support staff consider as restraints on freedom and how do they justify these restraints? Research design: In this study, data were collected by semi-structured interviews. Participants and research context: Fifteen support staff working with clients with moderate intellectual disabilities were interviewed. All participants work within the same organisation for people with intellectual disabilities in the Eastern part of the Netherlands. Ethical considerations: The study was conducted according to good scientific inquiry guidelines and ethical approval was obtained from a university ethics committee. Findings: Most restraints of freedom were found to be centred around the basic elements in the life of the client, such as eating, drinking and sleeping. In justifying these restraints, support staff said that it was necessary to give clarity in what clients are supposed to do, to structure their life and to keep them from danger. Discussion: In the justification of restraints of freedom two ethical viewpoints, a principle-guided approach and an ethics of care approach, are opposing one other. Here, the self-determination theory can be helpful, while it combines the autonomy of the client, relatedness to others and the client’s competence. Conclusion: Despite the reasonable grounds support staff gave for restraining, it raises the question whether restraints of freedom are always in the interest of the client. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background People with intellectual disabilities continue to underutilize technology, in part due to insufficient training. Because support staff professionals provide instructional support, how they perceive integrating new technologies is important for people with intellectual disabilities. Method The authors conducted a sequential mixed-methods exploratory study (quan→ QUAL) including quantitative data from online surveys completed by 46 staff members and qualitative data from five focus groups attended by 39 staff members. Results Quantitative results show strong support for diverse technologies. In contrast, qualitative results suggest that staff members' support of technology decreases when they perceive that technology may jeopardize service users' safety or independence. Conclusions Although staff members identified increasing independence as the main reason to use new technologies with service users, they also worried that technologies used to increase the social inclusion of service users may pose undue risk and thus may limit their embrace of technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The social relationships model was developed to describe positive relationships between support staff and people with intellectual disability. We evaluated an educational intervention based on this model. Method Eighteen staff supporting 5 adult service users with severe or profound intellectual disability from 3 day services received the intervention. Mixed methods were used. A multiple baseline design determined changes in relationship processes between staff and service users following intervention. Descriptive field notes and staff interviews provided qualitative data. Results Positive changes in relationship processes were found, but the results were variable. Of note was a high effect for 1 service user, a minimal effect for 2, and no effect for 2 service users. Field notes revealed contributors to variable results, and interview data highlighted changes not captured by quantitative measures. Conclusions An educational intervention based on the social relationship model shows promise as a means to enhance staff relationships with people with intellectual disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Job analysis needs to be revised from time to time to ensure that it is in line with the organization's current needs and strategies. The need to revise this is no exception in the context of UKM which has been appointed as one of the research universities to ensure staff can perform more effectively. The purpose of the study was to revise the recent job description UKM's support staff in line with its status as a research university. This study uses two methods, first, the conventional research questionnaire and second, the focus group discussion. The questionnaire was distributed and answered by UKM support staff consisting of Grade N17, N22 and N27 employees. A total of 37 sets of questionnaires were successfully collected and analyzed using Nvivo and SPSS Statistical version 21. The use of focus group discussion methods helps improved the accuracy of the collected information. Subsequently, these information were reviewed and coordinated with the information contained in the O * NET system. The findings show that there are seven identified job scope of clerical work i.e. office equipment handling, customer service functions, file management and records, correspondence arrangements, document preparation, scheduling arrangements work and information gathering. However, the results of the factor analysis show that there are only five job scopes involving staff duties at the respective department under studied. The job scope covers customer service functions, file management and records, correspondence, document preparation and information gathering. These job scopes are believed could provide further support towards making UKM a research university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Most staff working in intellectual disability services will be confronted with people with intellectual disabilities who need support around death, dying and bereavement. Previous studies suggest that intellectual disability staff tend to protect clients from knowing about death and avoid communication about death. The aims of this study were to gain further insight into the individual, organisational and contextual factors that affect the communication of death-related bad news to people with intellectual disabilities by intellectual disability staff and to develop guidelines for services to enable appropriate communication with clients about death and dying. Method Semi-structured interviews were held with 20 social care staff working in intellectual disability residential or supported living services in London, who had supported a client affected by death-related bad news in the past 6 months. Results Staff found supporting people with intellectual disabilities around death and dying extremely difficult and tended to avoid communication about death. The following factors had a particularly strong influence on staff practice around communicating death-related bad news: fear and distress around death; life and work experience; and organisational culture. Staff attitudes to death communication had a stronger influence than their client's level of cognitive or communicative abilities. Managers were important role models. Conclusions Service managers should ensure not only that all their staff receive training in death, loss and communication but also that staff are enabled to reflect on their practice, through emotional support, supervision and team discussions. Future work should focus on the development and testing of strategies to enable intellectual disability staff to support their clients in the areas of dying, death and bereavement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focus on the challenges homophobia and transphobia pose to LGBTIQ students at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), a historically black peri-urban university located on the margins of Cape Town. Both the geographical location as well as the internal environment of the university give rise to various challenges for LGBTIQ identifying, and particularly gender nonconforming, students around their sexual freedom and self-affirmation. In transcending the vacuum between the challenges faced by these students and the existing human rights discourse on non-normative sexual orientations and gender identities, the Gender Equity Unit, through its student-driven LGBTIQ programme LoudEnuf, its support staff and in collaboration with the student structure GaylaUWC has been educating and sensitising the campus community through its intersectional awareness-raising initiatives. This article focuses on the effectiveness of awareness-raising in creating a welcoming, comfortable, liberating and safe campus for LGBTIQ students to access comprehensive quality education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analysed the psychometric properties of two published self-report suicide assessment competency rating scales – the Suicide Competency Inventory (SCI) and the Suicide Competency Assessment Form (SCAF) – in a sample of 93 public-sector vocational rehabilitation support staff from six states in the United States. Both measures demonstrated very good to excellent internal consistency in our sample. Exploratory factor analysis with principal axis factoring indicated the SCI loads on a two-factor model in this sample, as opposed to the three-factor model proposed by the measure's authors. The SCAF loaded on a single factor, consistent with the theoretical model proposed by the original authors. The SCI and SCAF were highly correlated with each other, providing initial evidence of convergent construct validity. These results provide initial support for the use of these measures as a reliable and valid means of assessing perceived suicide assessment competency in vocational rehabilitation support staff. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

School anxiety is one of the situational anxiety types. The feeling of anxiety in school is unavoidable, yet the intensity of this feeling should not exceed each student's individual "critical point", as exceeding causes disorientation instead of mobilisation. School anxiety can be expressed in behaviour in the most various forms: from passivity in classes, unsure answers, to "super-diligence", a wish to do everything perfectly. It is necessary to help students find effective techniques to regulate anxiety, overcome diffidence and other expressions of emotional imbalance. A set of preventive measures must be established, which will help students develop necessary skills for anxiety mitigation and gain successful anxiety overcoming experience. Educational measures regarding this issue are necessary for teachers and parents as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though use of aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) by staff has been extensively researched, few studies relate to unaided AAC strategies such as key word signing (KWS). We explored the KWS views of two groups: direct support staff in group residential homes and teachers from special education secondary schools. We examined transcripts from individual semi-structured interviews with five direct support staff and five teachers using thematic analysis. Participants discussed consistency of KWS use and reasons for implementing KWS. Compared to direct support staff, teachers described more use of KWS throughout the day with more individuals with intellectual disability. Teachers discussed use of KWS to facilitate students’ present and future interactions, while direct support staff primarily discussed immediate effects. Participants experienced KWS implementation as a learning process and aimed to turn the use of manual signs into a routine habit. This required considerable self-monitoring, and the effort that this continuous self-feedback required, combined with environmental factors, could hinder KWS implementation. These preliminary findings suggest that preservice KWS training and on-site KWS assistance may need to be enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The objective of the study was to assess the relationship between conflict management styles and work-related well-being of employees in a higher education institution in South Africa. Participants were academic personnel (n= 180) and support staff (n= 201), of which 59.9% were females and 29.9% were black African participants of a large South African university. They completed self-report measures of conflict management and work-related well-being. The data were analysed to predict work-related well-being from conflict management styles and to determine the differences between support staff and academic personnel regarding conflict management styles and work-related well-being. Findings indicated the conflict management style of compromise to predict lower levels of engagement and higher levels of disengagement. Support staff reported to utilise the compromising and dominating style more than did academic personnel. Diversity in conflict management styles may serve organisations better than a monolithic conflict management style. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Orientation: A literature search for studies on the well-being of support staff of higher education institutions (HEIs) produced very little results. Appreciation was then used to identify elements that might enhance the well-being of a selected HEI’s support staff. Research purpose: The aim was to explore the strengths of a selected HEI that might serve as driving forces for enhancing its support staff’s well-being. Motivation for the study: The lack of research on the well-being of support staff motivated the study. A need was identified to explore driving forces that might enhance their well-being. Research design, approach and method: A literature review guided by theoretical perspectives and theories on staff well-being was conducted. Subsequently, a qualitative action research design involving an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) workshop with support staff of an institution was followed. Main findings: The following strengths that might serve as driving forces for enhancing the well-being of the institution’s support services staff were identified: hard-working and dedicated support staff, positive relations among colleagues, a willingness to adapt to change,good remuneration and benefits, job security and a supportive work environment. Appreciative Inquiry was found to be well suited for identifying such strengths, as opposed to methods that focus on identifying problems or weaknesses of an organisation. As a result of this study, the relevant institution might react and build on these identified strengths towards promoting the well-being of its support staff. Practical/managerial implications: Institutions should make an effort to enhance staff well being. The results of the study could also be used to encourage HEIs to use AI to establish optimal staff well-being. Contribution/value add: The study confirmed the power of appreciation to identify the strengths that might serve as driving forces for enhancing the well-being of support staff of an HEI.