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BACKGROUND: Students from a range of health disciplines need to learn from people with lived experience of mental distress and recovery to develop recovery capabilities for mental health practice. AIMS: The aims of this study are to describe the co-design of a teaching resource, to explore the experience of people with lived experience during the resource development, and to evaluate the outcome of the resource on student recovery capabilities. METHOD: Using a sequential mixed method, a project group consisting of six people with lived experience and 10 academics from five health disciplines was convened to co-develop teaching resources. People with lived experience met independently without researchers on several occasions to decide on the key topics and met with the research team monthly. The teaching resource was used in mental health subjects for two health professional programmes, and the Capabilities for Recovery-Oriented Practice Questionnaire (CROP-Q) was used before and after to measure any change in student recovery capabilities. Scores were compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. The people with lived experience were also interviewed about their experience of being involved in constructing the teaching resources. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analysed thematically. RESULTS: The finished resource consisted of 28 short videos and suggested teaching plans. Occupational therapy and nursing student scores on the CROP-Q prior to using the educational resource (n = 33) were 68 (median) and post scores (n = 28) were 74 (median), indicating a statistically significant improvement in recovery capability (P = 0.04). Lived experience interview themes were (i) the importance of lived experience in education; (ii) personal benefits of participating; (iii) co-design experience; and (iv) creating the resource. CONCLUSION: Co-design of teaching resources with people with lived experience was pivotal to the success and quality of the final product, and

INTRODUCTION: Recovery-oriented practice policies and occupational therapy education accreditation standards require that consumers are engaged in the design, delivery and evaluation of curricula. This consumer involvement (sometimes referred to as service-user involvement or patient involvement in other contexts) should go beyond consumers simply 'telling their stories' to more meaningful collaboration in curricula. This study was designed to map the current patterns of consumer involvement in occupational therapy programs across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. METHOD: A survey was distributed to all occupational therapy programs across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The survey included questions related to: (a) perceived enablers and barriers to consumer involvement in education; (b) organisational structures and support; (c) ways in which consumer are involved in the design, delivery and evaluation of curricula; (d) access to remuneration for consumers; (e) overall ratings of the level of consumer involvement in curricula; and (f) academic confidence in working with consumers. RESULTS: Usable responses were received for 23 programs from 19 universities (83% response rate). Every program reported some consumer involvement in the curriculum. Consumer participation tended to be mainly focussed on curriculum delivery with less frequent involvement in curriculum design or evaluation. The most common barrier to consumer involvement in curricula was 'funding/remuneration for consumers' and the most common enabler of consumer involvement was 'positive attitudes of teaching staff'. CONCLUSION: In comparison to previous reports, consumer involvement in occupational therapy curricula has increased over the past decade. However, ongoing effort is required to support true collaboration in all aspects of curriculum design, delivery and evaluation. While this will require attention and effort from academic teams, changes at a university level to establish systems to en

This study explored the social inclusion in high school of Australian students with vision impairment (VI). We sought to understand how students described school social inclusion, whether they felt included and what influenced these perceptions. As part of a larger mixed methods study, 12 students with VI, who had previously answered the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) questionnaire, were interviewed about the social aspects of school. These interviews were analysed thematically. Participants described social inclusion as about being noticed and not overlooked by others. While two-thirds of participants reported satisfactory social relationships in high school, one-third, including all those with additional disabilities, reported being teased or rejected by their school peers. Five themes encompassed the varying influences on school social inclusion. These were: (a) putting myself forward; (b) knowing me; (c) having control; (d) having a place to shine; and finally a negative influence (e) peer exclusion and rejection. These themes largely parallel those of competence, autonomy, and relatedness found in self-determination theory. This suggests that staff can enhance the social inclusion of students with VI by facilitating these students’ self-determination. In practice, this would require school staff to focus on enabling students with VI to explore and build on strengths, fully access the curriculum alongside their peers, and have time and opportunity to develop friendships with these peers.

© 2018 AFB. All rights reserved. Introduction: This study compares the experiences of high school students with visual impairments (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) in and out of school. Methods: Twelve visually impaired high school students completed the same in-the-moment survey seven times daily for seven consecutive days. The frequencies of their activities, interactions, and ratings of internal variables (fitting in, acceptance, loneliness, and enjoyment) were compared across three contexts: home, school, and other (neither home nor school) contexts. Results: Participants spent much of their time out of school alone at home. They rated leisure and structured recreation in “other” locations as their most enjoyable activities. Doing nothing at school was the least positively rated activity. Participants fitted in significantly less and felt significantly less accepted at school than elsewhere. A large proportion of school interactions involved receiving help; few involved giving help. Participants with additional disabilities reported more school social challenges than their peers who were only visually impaired. Discussion and implications for practitioners: This study highlights the subjective dimensions of choice in everyday life. The social impact of doing nothing at school provides an imperative for staff members to ensure that adolescents with visual impairments can participate in lessons. Staff may also need to facilitate opportunities for these students to reciprocate with peers. Adolescents with visual impairments highly value activities with friends out of home and, as with most adolescents, may need to lean on their families for assistance in this area until they can participate in such activities independently.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The use of simple screening tools to measure nutritional adequacy in a public health context in developed countries are currently lacking. We explore the relationship between food variety and nutrient intake of London school children using a simple tool with potential use for screening for inadequate diets. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in 2010. The survey included 2579 children aged 7-10 years in 52 primary schools in East London in the United Kingdom. The analysis included 2392 children (93% of the original sample). Food variety was assessed as the total number of listed foods recorded over 24 h using the validated Child and Diet Assessment Tool (CADET) comprising 115 listed foods divided into 16 food categories. Dietary quality was determined by the proportion of children meeting recommended intakes of individual micronutrients, namely, calcium, iron, zinc, folate, vitamin A and vitamin C. RESULTS: The mean number of CADET-listed foods consumed daily by children was 17.1 (95% CI: 16.8, 17.5). Children who consumed fewer than 11 foods on the collection day had particularly low nutrient intakes. Children consuming three different vegetables and two different fruits on average consumed 19-20 listed foods. It was estimated between 4 and 20% of children did not meet the recommended levels for individual micronutrients during the period of data collection. CONCLUSIONS: A simple method using food counts to assess daily food variety may help public health nutritionists identify groups of children at risk of inadequate diets.

BACKGROUND: Recovery oriented service provisions means focusing on outcomes that are important to consumers themselves rather than to clinicians or services. Partners in Recovery (PIR) is an Australia-wide initiative designed to provide service coordination and brokerage for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. One PIR service engaged a consumer-led research team to evaluate the service from the perspective of consumers. This consumer-led study was established to explore PIR consumers' perceptions of outcomes they achieved through their involvement with PIR. METHODS: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews exploring participants' views about and experiences with PIR. Data analysis occurred simultaneously with data collection using constant comparative analysis. RESULTS: Twenty consumers participated. They reported experiencing valued outcomes in six domains: feeling supported; feeling more hopeful and positive about the future; improved mental clarity, focus and order in life; getting out of the house and engaging in positive activity; having a better social life; and improved physical health. CONCLUSIONS: Exploring outcomes achieved by PIR consumers, from their own perspective provides a nuanced understanding of the contribution these programs can have in supporting individuals' recovery. Findings from this study highlight the kinds of outcomes consumers achieve when engaged with service coordination and brokerage services. Findings also suggest that outcome measures used in these types of services should focus on recovery outcomes as well as met and unmet needs.

Introduction: We investigated child outcomes and mothers' perspectives following technology-based intervention sessions aimed at improving children's social play skills. Method: Participants in this multiple case study included five children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, their mothers and five typically developing playmates, who had completed a parent-delivered play-based intervention 18 months previously. The initial intervention included the use of a technology-based interactive DVD at home and clinic-based sessions involving video-modelling. In this study, children received two additional technology-based clinic sessions involving video-modelling. Children's social play skills were measured pre- to post-intervention using the Test of Playfulness. Trends in scores were descriptively analysed by case. Mothers' perspectives were explored through semi-structured interviews; data were descriptively analysed by group and case. Results: Two children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder showed an increase in their social play skills, and three a decrease in skills. Of the playmates, three showed consistent social play skills, one an increase and one a decrease. Qualitative findings suggest parents felt better able to support their child. Parents also suggested next steps for the intervention were necessary as their child continued to develop. Conclusion: Additional intervention support using technology after initial intervention may need to be adapted to different developmental stages and for use across different contexts.