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Social workers play a vital role in maintaining and improving the lives of the service users that they work with. Despite this, the role is replete with high levels of stress-related sickness absence, turnover intentions and low levels of jobs satisfaction in addition to poor working conditions. This study sought to further investigate working conditions in the UK social workers, as well as the reasons for these working conditions via a mixed-methods survey and interview study. A total of 3,421 responses were gained from the cross-sectional survey which looked at working conditions, perceived stress, job satisfaction and turnover intentions (both migration and attrition), with the semi-structured interview schedule (n  = 15) based on survey findings and analysed via thematic analysis continuing through to saturation. Similar to 2018, results demonstrated poor working conditions, irrespective of job role, and regression analysis suggested each of demands, control, managerial support, role and change influenced stress. Qualitative results found that workload, lack of managerial support and service user/family abuse were distinct demands associated with the role, whereas buffering positive resources were the social work role, peer support and positive managerial support. Implications for managerial practice, and harnessing the positive experience of peer support, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Advance care planning can improve patient and family outcomes; however, minoritised ethnic communities experience access barriers. Co-production offers a way to design culturally appropriate information and support, but evidence is needed to understand its implementation in palliative care., Aim: To explore and describe how two charities used co-production to develop and deliver community-based advance care planning workshops for South Asian elders., Design: Workshops were co-produced by two charities. In parallel, a multi-component qualitative study was conducted comprising workshop observations, semi-structured interviews with charity staff and focus groups with workshop participants, facilitated by community co-researchers in English, Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi. Data were analysed using thematic analysis., Setting/participants: Four workshops were held in a London (UK) community setting (each with 5-30 participants); four interviews were conducted with charity staff members, and three focus groups with 16 workshop participants., Results: We describe three main themes: Co-production in action: organic origins and trusted foundations; Co-production processes embedded in equal partnership; and Impact of the workshops. Fundamental to co-production processes was the community-led approach of the local charity, the trust of the local South Asian community and the relationship between the charities, including transparent communication and mutual respect. The workshops were reported to be useful and enjoyable, engendering a sense of agency and connection and helped disseminate awareness and knowledge through the community, benefitting the wider system., Conclusions: Co-production can help widen access to advance care planning. Findings offer an in-depth example of co-production-in-action to inform intervention development and research., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Background: Festivals play an important role in improving death and grief literacy, enabling members of the public to engage with these often-sensitive topics. Good Grief Weston festival was co-designed and delivered with the community in Weston-super-Mare, a coastal town in South-West England with high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage but rich community assets. It was held in person over 8 days in May 2023., Objectives: To evaluate the reach and impact of Good Grief Weston festival and gather data to inform future festivals., Design: Mixed methods evaluation (survey and focus groups)., Methods: Online and paper surveys assessing participants' characteristics and experiences were administrated during and after the festival. Survey participants who indicated their willingness to participate were invited to attend a focus group. Focus groups were recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Data were collected by trained community co-researchers., Results: Approximately 3000 people attended the festival. Of 204 completed surveys, 64.5% were from women, age range ⩽15 to ⩾75 years; 88.2% identified as White; 14.9% deaf, disabled/with a chronic condition; 18.9% neurodivergent; 9.0% gay, bisexual or queer. Festival participants were entertained (70.9%), inspired (68.5%), felt part of a like-minded community (54.3%), talked to someone new (49.2%), learnt about grief/bereavement (34.3%), shared or expressed experiences (30.3%) and found out about local support (19.7%). 71.3% reported that they felt more confident talking about grief after attending. Median experience rating was 5 (IQR 0; possible range 1 = poor to 5 = excellent). In free-text comments, participants expressed appreciation for the festival and described benefits in attending. Two focus groups were conducted ( n  = 8 participants, all women), lasting c.1.5 h. Focus groups added rich descriptions of the festival's value, and data to inform the next festival., Conclusion: Findings suggest festivals of this nature can play a central role in a public health approach., (© The Author(s), 2024.)

Background: Finding alternative ways to reconnect with the deceased is a common feature of bereavement. However, it is currently unclear how bereaved children or young people establish and develop a "continuing bond" with deceased family members., Aim: To investigate how bereaved young people continue bonds with deceased family members., Design: A systematically conducted narrative review was conducted using six electronic databases: CINAHL, Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, PubMed, and BNI. Limiters were applied to peer-reviewed articles published in English. Studies were assessed for methodological quality using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tools., Results: Twenty articles were included in the review. Three overarching themes were generated: unintended connections , intended connections , and internalized connections., Conclusion: Bereaved young people establish a sense of connection with deceased family members through various means (e.g., unprovoked or spontaneous reminders, physical mementos, internalized memories). Some connections are unintended and occur spontaneously. However, other young people will specifically seek ways to remember the deceased to provide a sense of enduring connection.

Stress and mental health at work are the leading causes of long-term sickness absence in the UK, with chronically poor working conditions impacting employee physiological and psychological health. Social workers play a significant part in the fabric of UK society, but have one of the most stressful occupations in the country. The aim of this project was to work with UK social workers to co-develop, implement, and evaluate a series of smartphone-based mental health initiatives. A Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach, consisting of semi-structured interviews and focus group and steering group discussions, was utilized to design the mental health and well-being interventions. Study efficacy was evaluated via a pre- and post-intervention survey and post-intervention semi-structured interviews. Interventions developed were psycho-educational, improved top-down and bottom-up communication, and provided access to a Vocational Rehabilitation Assistant for those struggling and at risk of sickness absence. Six months following dissemination, surveys demonstrated significant improvements in communication, and mean score improvements in four other working conditions. This project, therefore, demonstrates that co-developed initiatives can be positively impactful, despite post-intervention data collection being impacted by COVID-19. Future studies should build upon these findings and broaden the PAR approach nationally while taking a robust approach to evaluation.

Aim: The study aimed to evaluate student and facilitator perceptions regarding the novel use of a virtual learning environment (VLE) in the development and implementation of 'Ivy Street'., Sample/methods: Healthcare professionals enrolled on the first palliative and end-of-life care masters level module and course facilitators were invited to participate in the study. Two online surveys were developed comprising five open-ended questions to gain both student (n=16) and facilitator (n=4) perceptions of Ivy Street. Data were analysed thematically., Findings: The key theme to emerge was the 'Positive Perceptions of Ivy Street'. A second sub theme 'Critical Feedback of Ivy Street' focused on some initial technical issues. Respondents perceived the use of Ivy Street to be enjoyable, enabling and promoting peer discussion, while also having a high impact on student engagement. Respondents commented how Ivy Street removed concerns regarding confidentiality when discussing patient cases through utilisation of standardised Ivy Street characters., Conclusion: The novel use of a VLE through developing characters, a story and vignettes is considered to be an effective and engaging method of learning for healthcare professionals enrolled on a palliative and end-of-life care module., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Motor neurone disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease without cure. Little is known about how young people are affected when a family member has the illness and subsequently dies, resulting in a gap in understanding of how best to support them. One psychotherapeutic approach involves creating a legacy to pass onto the young person, but little research has investigated the use of an emerging format, digital legacies, where videos document a person's life, memories and achievements., Aim: To investigate the views, perceptions and experiences of digital legacies with people affected by motor neurone disease., Design: A qualitative study underpinned by interpretative phenomenological analysis., Setting/participants: People living with motor neurone disease (n = 4) and bereaved young people (n = 3) in the United Kingdom. Open-ended interviews were conducted in person. Ethical approval was granted by a University ethics committee., Results: Five key themes emerged exemplifying mutual challenges and benefits for people with motor neurone disease and bereaved young people. Creating a digital legacy provides a sense of purpose for people with motor neurone disease and a way to convey personality and life experiences. Bereaved young people can modify disease-related memories of the person and gain comfort from hearing and seeing videos., Conclusion: This study expands the existing continuing bonds model of grief to include an 'autobiographical chapter', creating 'The Model of Reciprocal Bonds Formation'.