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Background/aim: Mothers caring for their child or adult with a developmental disability can experience mental health disparity. Protective factors such as healthy behaviours are under-researched. This study investigated relationships between mental health, healthy behaviours, and disability factors., Methods: The cross-sectional online survey included: Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS); Family Empowerment Scale (FES); Health Promoting Activities Scale (HPAS); and a measure of childhood quality of life (QoL)., Results: All mothers were raising offspring (aged 3-36 years) with a developmental disability. Fifty-two percent of mothers (N = 81) had a mental health diagnosis. DASS scores were elevated for depression (58 %), anxiety (52 %) and stress (68 %). Mothers participated in health promoting activities infrequently and reported low satisfaction with community health-supporting facilities. Depressive symptoms, maternal empowerment and two indicators of child-related QoL explained 29.7 % of the variance in healthy behaviours. Depressive symptoms were the most important predictor of lack of health promoting behaviours., Conclusions: Better mental health predicted more frequent participation in health promoting behaviour. Future research might explore the extent to which health promoting behaviours protect mental health. Service changes including family health focused services, and custom designed health promotion or coaching programs may improve the health behaviours of mothers with high care responsibilities., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

To investigate the effectiveness of interventions that aim to improve the mental health of mothers of children with disabilities. Seven databases were searched. Interventions incorporated primarily cognitive-behavioural, psychoeducation, mindfulness or support-group approaches. The Template-for-Intervention-Description-and-Replication guided descriptions. Meta-analyses using a random effect model of randomized controlled trials assessed intervention effects on parenting stress and mental health. Of the 1591 retrieved papers, 31 met criteria to be appraised and 17 were included in the meta-analysis. Cognitive-behavioural approaches reduced parenting stress [2 studies, n = 64, pooled Standardized-Mean-Difference (SMD) = 0.86, 95% CI (0.43, 1.29)] and improved mental health [3 studies, n = 186, pooled SMD = 1.14, 95% CI (0.12, 2.17)], psychoeducation approaches improved mental health [2 studies, n = 165, SMD = 0.60, 95% CI (0.17, 1.03)]. Cognitive-behavioural and psychoeducation interventions are effective. Further research and clinical guidelines are warranted., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC part of Springer Nature.)

Introduction: Studies on mothers of children with disabilities commonly report on their poor quality of life, high stress and mental health symptoms. However, the impact of caring for a child with disability on mother's everyday activities is less understood. The aim of this study is to explore the everyday activities of north-east and south-east Asian (NESEA) migrant mothers of children with disabilities, living in Australia., Methods: Informed by a grounded theory approach, this qualitative study used purposive snow-ball sampling to recruit NESEA mothers who had immigrated to Australia for at least two years and had at least one child with disabilities. Eleven mothers were interviewed. Grounded theory analysis was used to derive themes., Results: The overarching theme is 'Transforming'. Five subthemes emerged: 1) Journeying into the unknown; 2) Being the carer; 3) Being an immigrant; 4) Pillars of support; and 5) Empowered for everyday activities., Conclusion: This study revealed the everyday activities and roles of NESEA immigrant mothers who have children with disabilities, their enablers and barriers in engaging in their valued activities and their positive transformation. Findings underpin the importance of facilitating mothers' participation in activities and roles that promote their well-being. Service providers and policy makers can create opportunities for immigrant mothers to participate in health promoting activities., (Crown Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background/aim: My Family's Accessibility and Community Engagement (My FACE) measures mothers' perceptions of community accessibility and engagement for families raising children with a disability. This study investigated the construct validity including the factor structure and internal reliability of the MyFace scale., Methods: Construct validity was evaluated using hypothesis testing. Structural validity was confirmed with factor analysis. Internal reliability was measured using Cronbach alpha. The nine-item MyFACE includes items representing common community destinations. A 5-point Likert scale measured perceptions of need for change and inclusion., Results: Mothers (N = 83) completed an online survey with MyFACE, maternal and childhood disability scales. Hypothesis testing revealed correlations with MyFACE: Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS)-stress (r = -.25, n = 72, p = .037), DASS-anxiety (r = -.41, n = 70, p < .001,), and DASS-depression (r = -.27, n = 72, p = .023,) scales. MyFACE scores correlated with mothers' total Health Promoting Activity Scale (HPAS) scores (r = .40, n = 74, p < .001). HPAS was the strongest predictor of variation in MyFACE scores F(5, 66) = 5.68, p < .001. Factor analysis demonstrated unidimensionality. Internal reliability was excellent (Cronbach alpha = .80)., Conclusions: The MyFACE tool is psychometrically sound. Compared to child factors, maternal mental health and health promoting behaviour had more influence on mothers' perceptions of family community accessibility and engagement. The MyFACE measures a unique, previously unmeasurable family construct., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Everyday occupations refer to activities that people do associated with their roles, to bring meaning and purpose to life. The occupations of non-Asian mothers of children with disabilities have been well-documented but less is known about the occupations of East Asian mothers., Aims: This scoping review described the everyday occupations of East Asian mothers who have children with disabilities., Methods: A well-documented five-stage framework was utilised, guided by PRISMAScR. A search was conducted across five data bases for peer-reviewed research between 2008-2020, which informed the occupations of mothers living in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Vietnam., Results: Thirty-two articles met criteria, of which twenty-nine were qualitative studies and three were mixed-methods studies. 415 mothers were represented. The themes were: doing, roles, volitional components and processes, cultural values and practices, environmental enablers, barriers and transformation, which provided rich description of various aspects of occupations of East Asian mothers, who have children with disabilities., Conclusions: The everyday occupations of East Asian mothers who have children with disabilities were shaped by their cultural values. This review provided insights into mothers' activity choices and valued roles, which highlighted for practitioners in disability services, the importance of cultural awareness and sensitivity when supporting East Asian mothers and their families., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Substantial evidence identifies mothers of children with a disability as having a higher risk for compromised health outcomes and lifestyle restrictions secondary to caring responsibilities. Healthy Mothers Healthy Families (HMHF) is an evidence informed health and empowerment group-based workshop program., Methods: HMHF features health education and lifestyle redesign content. Mixed methods evaluated the program. This paper presents a pretest-postest time series design to evaluate outcomes over 8 months., Results: Mothers reported significant change across 4 time points including participation in healthy activity (p = 0.017), depression, anxiety, stress symptoms (p = 0.017, 0.016, 0.037 respectively) and empowerment (p = 0.009)., Conclusion: Coupled with qualitative findings, these results suggest that HMHF is effective at improving health and wellbeing outcomes for mothers of children with a disability.

Background: Research into the prevalence of dishonest academic behaviours suggests that such behaviours may be extensive among international students in higher education., Objective: To compare the academic integrity of domestic and international occupational therapy students and identify possible contributors to students' engagement in dishonest academic behaviours., Design: A quantitative cross-sectional study using a survey containing several standardised scales was used to collect the data., Settings: Five Australian universities., Participants: 701 occupational therapy students., Methods: Students completed a self-report questionnaire comprising demographic questions and six standardised scales: Academic Dishonesty Scale; Academic Dishonesty in the Classroom Setting Scale (ADCS); Academic Dishonesty in the Clinical/Practice Education Setting Scale; Moral Development Scale for Professionals; Academic Dishonesty Tendency Scale; and Perceived Academic Sources of Stress. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to compare the scores of domestic and international students on academic dishonesty factors, moral development, and perceived sources of academic stress., Results: Significant differences between domestic and international students were observed on age; grade point average; hours per week spent in paid work; moral practice; tendency towards cheating; tendency towards cheating in research assignments; pressures to perform; and self-perception. No significant differences were found on students' self-reported scores on academic dishonesty in academic classroom education contexts, fieldwork practice education settings or perceived stresses of workload and examinations and time restraints., Conclusions: The reported incidences of dishonest academic behaviours in the classroom and fieldwork settings were low for all occupational therapy students, irrespective of origin and were comparable to findings from cohorts of other health professional students. However, concomitant with existing research, international students were found to have a greater tendency to engage in dishonest behaviours particularly on research assignments. This may be reflective the socio-cultural issues and external pressures that international students experience. Further study in this area is recommended., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Substantial research identifies mothers of children with a disability as a vulnerable group with compromised health outcomes and restrictions for their own self-care, social, economic and leisure participation. This study investigated perceptions and experiences of mothers following attendance at health education and empowerment workshops (Healthy Mothers Healthy Families). Mixed methods evaluated mothers' experiences. A pragmatic qualitative approach was applied to data analysis of interviews with mothers (N = 19). Four themes emerged: Changes for me; Changes for my family; Wisdom gained; and Worthwhile workshops. Mothers described feeling validated and empowered in this facilitated group intervention and valued education about women's health, tailored research findings, individualised goal setting, time to learn and share with other mothers, and the workshop environment.