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Effective voice behavior in healthcare workers is critical for patient safety, quality improvement and workforce well-being. A review of the literature on voice behavior in healthcare highlights that little is known about the voice behaviors of new graduates in allied health and that current theory, from medical and nursing research, does not adequately apply to this sector. New knowledge about voice behavior for this sector of the workforce will support education and healthcare institutions in building and sustaining a healthy voice behavior culture.

This paper reports on phase two of a two-phase study looking at the voice behavior experiences of new allied health graduates over one year. Using a realist perspective and narrative analysis, we uncover and illustrate what works, with whom and under what conditions.

Four synthesized narratives outline the contexts and mechanisms that result in different voice behavior outcomes – speaking up effectively, speaking up with unmet expectations, not speaking up and a reduction in speaking up over time. Experiences of positive interprofessional collaboration and reflective supervision supported effective voice behavior.

This study used a case study approach, focusing on healthcare providers within a large New Zealand city and a cohort of 10 participants. Some researchers argue that small numbers limit the generalization of findings to different populations. Realists argue that, given the way in which knowledge is developed using realist methodologies, the resultant theory is portable. Interviews were conducted online during the COVID-19 pandemic. This may have impacted the connection between the interviewer and interviewee, causing the interviewees to not express their true thoughts. However, the interviewer did take time to connect with the interviewees and build trust over the three interviews over one year. Participants did not capture the diversity in the allied health workforce – most identified as female and none identified as Māori/Indigenous. And finally, participants could inhibit or exaggerate information due to the influence of social desirability. This does not appear to be a significant limitation in this study, given the many examples shared by the participants highlighted their challenges.

This study provides an in-depth exploration of how new graduates in allied health experience speaking up. Our findings enrich the knowledge of speaking up by using synthesized narratives to provide insights into what factors can enable a healthy speaking up culture within the new graduate allied health workforce. This is new knowledge that will be of interest at the individual, team and organizational levels of healthcare. The findings will support curriculum design and new graduate support frameworks for the education and health sectors. Highlighted in this study are the importance of the following factors in supporting speaking up for allied health new graduates: the employment of reflective supervision, purposeful facilitation of team belonging and interprofessional collaboration and tailored speaking up training for allied health new graduates and leaders in healthcare.

By taking a realist perspective and using narrative analysis, we gain an understanding of the voice behavior experiences of new graduates in allied health and the contextual factors and mechanisms that activate effective voice behavior in sub-acute and rehabilitation settings. These findings differ from nursing and medicine and highlight the benefits of reflective supervision and interprofessional collaborative practice.

This study examined the impact of peer mentoring on identity transformation amongst women in prison, exploring how peer mentoring roles develop non-offender identities, contributing to the desistance process.

A qualitative, interpretative approach was adopted. The research was undertaken at a female prison in England and Wales. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with peer mentors, mentees, project workers and prison officers, alongside focus groups. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the findings.

Being a peer mentor contributes positively to identity transformation for women in prison, fostering a legitimate, non-offender identity critical to the desistance process. Mentors view their role as a desistance signal through their interactions with prison staff. However, it can lead to role conflict and tension with other women in prison and prison staff.

Future studies should consider longitudinal approaches to capture the long-term effects of peer mentoring upon desistance.

Recommendations include leveraging peer mentoring as a rehabilitative intervention, providing ongoing support for mentors and educating prison staff on programme benefits to foster a supportive environment.

Enhancing peer mentoring programmes can improve the well-being of women in prison and support their reintegration into society.

This study examined identity transformation in female peer mentors in prison through the lens of social identity and group membership. To the author’s knowledge, no previous studies have focused centrally on identity or applied social identity theory to explore the psychological mechanisms behind these transformations.

Academic libraries are having to reconsider personnel, collections, space, and budget. This paper provides examples of how rightsizing opportunities in those areas can be approached in a positive way.

Librarians at a small, rural, public university library approached rightsizing as an opportunity to shape the library in positive ways. This paper provides a reflection on those efforts in personnel, collections, space, and budget that have taken place over the past decade at this university, and highlights how the library’s role as the driver of these changes helped foster a positive culture.

This paper explains the ways the library is viewed both internally and externally as a more student-focused service and location. Examples in this paper may provide ideas for other libraries to utilize in their rightsizing efforts.

Historically, this library encountered forced cuts due to lower than anticipated enrollments and reduced funding from the state. This contributed to low morale and understandably defensive attitudes; however, these did not serve the library well. Post 2013, the library transitioned to a self-initiated approach to making changes. Some of these changes came about due to stagnation in budgets while others can be attributed to changes in staff due to retirements and new hires. Through this shift to proactive rightsizing, our library team has recognized we are adaptable and nimble. This has benefitted morale and helped the library grow a positive reputation on campus.

The appropriate physical layout of hospital services can help resolve management problems by streamlining the work of medical teams, improving the flow of patients between specific areas and the medical support environment. Nevertheless, the academic literature lacks structured research into how the physical layout of hospitals might be improved. Our study aims to fill this research gap, providing information for researchers and professionals who intend to guide the hospital facility layout planning (HFLP) from the steps and prescribed approaches found in the literature.

This study analyzes the current literature status and concerning approaches that support HFLP and identifies their strengths and weaknesses. The literature was classified using the following criteria: approaches for layout generation, approaches for layout evaluation and healthcare facility layout outcomes.

The hospital facility layout outcomes achieved for each phase served as a basis for identifying a list of strengths and weaknesses for the hospital layout facility generation and evaluation approaches. Readers can refer to this paper to identify the approach that best fits the desired goal and the HFLP step.

This is a contribution to current studies into HFLP, and it provides guidelines for selecting the approach to be utilized based on the desired outcome.

The paper describes how to conduct an HFLP and lists the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. The research may be used as a strategy for determining which tool is most suited based on the practitioner's target purpose.