Shahid Islam, Neil Small, Maria Bryant, Tiffany Yang, Anna Cronin de Chavez, Fiona Saville and Josie Dickerson
Participation in community programmes by the Roma community is low, whilst this community presents with high risk of poor health and low levels of wellbeing. To improve rates of…
Abstract
Purpose
Participation in community programmes by the Roma community is low, whilst this community presents with high risk of poor health and low levels of wellbeing. To improve rates of participation in programmes, compatibility must be achieved between implementation efforts and levels of readiness in the community. The Community Readiness Model (CRM) is a widely used toolkit which provides an indication of how prepared and willing a community is to take action on specific issues. The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a CRM assessment for the Eastern European Roma community in Bradford, UK, on issues related to nutrition and obesity.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors interviewed key respondents identified as knowledgeable about the Roma community using the CRM. This approach applies a mixed methodology incorporating readiness scores and qualitative data. A mean community readiness score was calculated enabling researchers to place the community in one of nine possible stages of readiness. Interview transcripts were analysed using a qualitative framework analysis to generate the contextual information.
Findings
An overall score consistent with vague awareness was achieved, which indicates a low level of community readiness. This score suggests that there will be a low likelihood of participation in currently available nutrition and obesity programmes.
Originality/value
To our knowledge, this is the first study to apply the CRM in the Roma community for any issue. The authors present the findings for each of the six dimensions that make up the CRM together with salient qualitative findings.
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Chris Ford and Sebastian Saville
The purpose of this paper is to explain how international drug policy continues to have a hugely damaging effect on population health, human rights and wellbeing, not only on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explain how international drug policy continues to have a hugely damaging effect on population health, human rights and wellbeing, not only on individuals who consume and/or sell drugs but also on societies as a whole. And to review whether anything has changed after United Nations General Assembly Special Session.
Design/methodology/approach
UNGASS had been seen as a real opportunity for scientific evidence to become the driver of future drug policy. This paper looks at any changes that have since taken place that might support such an aspiration.
Findings
The authors found the criminalisation and incarceration of people who use drugs, mainly from the most marginalised sections of society, remains the primary response in almost every member state of the UN and there are at least 33 countries that retain the death penalty for drug offences. The impact on the health of people who inject drugs (PWIDs) living with HIV is devastating and overdose and AIDS related mortality are the leading causes of death. Hepatitis C infections among PWIDs are increasing at epidemic levels even though this now a curable disease.
Practical implications
Changes in drug policy urgently needed.
Originality/value
This paper is an important review of the health implications of bad drug policy.
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Belbin′s Self‐Perception Inventory (SPI) has become a standardtrainers′ tool. Interplace II has developed the original concepts,ironed out the weaknesses of the SPI and made…
Abstract
Belbin′s Self‐Perception Inventory (SPI) has become a standard trainers′ tool. Interplace II has developed the original concepts, ironed out the weaknesses of the SPI and made progress in the field of team building. Examples are given of the specific assistance that can be obtained from the program, together with useful pointers for new users.
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Zoë Smith, Karenza Moore and Fiona Measham
Commonly known as ecstasy, MDMA has been central to the British acid house, rave and dance club scene over the last 20 years. Figures from the annual national British Crime Survey…
Abstract
Commonly known as ecstasy, MDMA has been central to the British acid house, rave and dance club scene over the last 20 years. Figures from the annual national British Crime Survey suggest that ecstasy use has declined since 2001. This apparent decline is considered here alongside the concurrent emergence of a ‘new’ form of ecstasy ‐ MDMA powder or crystal ‐ and the extent to which this can be seen as a successful rebranding of MDMA as a ‘premium’ product in the wake of user disenchantment with cheap and easily available but poor quality pills. These changes have occurred within a policy context, which in the last decade has increasingly prioritised the drugs‐crime relationship through coercive treatment of problem drug users within criminal justice‐based interventions, alongside a focus on binge drinking and alcohol‐related harm. This has resulted in a significant reduction in the information, support and treatment available to ecstasy users since the height of dance drug harm reduction service provision pioneered by the Safer Dancing model in the mid‐1990s.
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In 2020, the Westminster Government proposed statutory provision prohibiting the use of ‘consent to serious harm for sexual gratification’ as a defence to criminal charges of…
Abstract
In 2020, the Westminster Government proposed statutory provision prohibiting the use of ‘consent to serious harm for sexual gratification’ as a defence to criminal charges of violence. This addition to the Domestic Abuse bill was made in response to the 18 month campaign by We Can’t Consent To This and a cross party group of MPs, after rising numbers of homicides of women where the perpetrators claimed the woman asked for the violence, in ‘rough sex’, ‘gone wrong’.
This research is based on new data and detailed analysis on 67 non-fatal violent assaults and 24 homicides where the accused claimed that this violence was consensual, focussing on criminal cases in England and Wales over the 10 years from 2010. Some earlier cases are included for historical context and particularly where they became influential in later Criminal Justice System (CJS) outcomes. It addresses a shortage of data on the use of ‘consent’ claims in defence to charges of fatal and non-fatal violence, using keyword searches on historic news and legal archives and submissions from victims in criminal cases to establish the extent of these claims, the nature of the assaults claimed consensual, and to assess the CJS’s response to the claims.
This research – part of the evidence from We Can’t Consent To This which was considered by Government – set out the case for new law on consent defences to violence, despite there being existing common law in England and Wales. This research finds that the so-called ‘rough sex’ defences have been successful in deflecting prosecution for violence against women for decades, identifying failings at every stage of the CJS, in fatal and non-fatal violent assaults. Notably the women injured in these criminal cases do not agree that they consented to the violence, where they are able to take part in criminal proceedings. But still the claims that they did appear to have succeeded.
This research proposes that change in attitudes and outcomes is needed at every stage of the CJS, and, with the UK Government proposing to keep the criminal law on this ‘under review’, identifying where further provision in law or in practice may be needed.
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CPTED’s premise to the improvement of quality of life (QOL) is crime prevention and safety, and yet there is little concern for the impact of CPTED implementation to QOL when the…
Abstract
Purpose
CPTED’s premise to the improvement of quality of life (QOL) is crime prevention and safety, and yet there is little concern for the impact of CPTED implementation to QOL when the crime increases after the interventions.
Design/methodology/approach
This study systematically analyzed articles both quantitatively and qualitatively.
Findings
This study found that the CPTED–QOL relationship discussion was highly inadequate in research. Improvement of QOL has been elevated to an unquestionable and certain truth of CPTED and yet the evidence on this is highly inconclusive.
Originality/value
This study is a contribution to the CPTED–QOL discussion that has been lacking.
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Older people account for a significant proportion of users of health and social care services (Wanless, 2006). Within current constraints on health and social care services, it is…
Abstract
Older people account for a significant proportion of users of health and social care services (Wanless, 2006). Within current constraints on health and social care services, it is essential that interventions such as home visits for older people can be seen to be appropriately deployed resources for facilitating their safe and timely discharge home. This paper discusses the findings of an evaluation project undertaken in 2003/04 within two in‐patient intermediate care services. The service provided short‐term intervention for older people, with an emphasis on rehabilitation to enable a safe return to their own home environment. A government audit report in 2003 concerning effective discharge of older patients from NHS acute hospitals stated that delayed discharges are a significant problem, with 17% caused by delays in assessing patients, shortages of occupational therapists and lack of integrated therapy services (House of Commons, 2003).
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Fiona Ward, Helen St Clair-Thompson and Alex Postlethwaite
Mental toughness describes a set of attributes relating to how individuals deal with challenges, stressors, and pressure. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships…
Abstract
Purpose
Mental toughness describes a set of attributes relating to how individuals deal with challenges, stressors, and pressure. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between mental toughness and perceived stress in police and fire officers.
Design/methodology/approach
The participants were 247 police officers and 130 fire fighters. Participants completed questionnaire measures of mental toughness and perceived stress, and provided information about their age, rank, and length of service within the force.
Findings
Mental toughness was found to be significantly related to perceived stress, with control of emotion, control of life, and confidence in abilities being particularly important. There was no consistent relationship of age, rank, or length of service with mental toughness and perceived stress. However, police officers reported lower levels of mental toughness and higher levels of perceived stress than fire officers.
Practical implications
The results suggest that assessing police and fire officers on a measure of mental toughness could provide a means of identifying individuals more likely to suffer from stress and stress-related physical and psychological illness. In addition, interventions that may enhance mental toughness could have beneficial effects within this population.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine mental toughness and perceived stress within this population, and the findings have important implications for the management of stress.
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Jennifer Oates and Rasiha Hassan
The purpose of this paper is to explore occupational health (OH) clinicians’ perspectives on employee mental health in the mental health workplace in the English National Health…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore occupational health (OH) clinicians’ perspectives on employee mental health in the mental health workplace in the English National Health Service.
Design/methodology/approach
Thematic analysis of data from seven semi-structured interviews is performed in this paper.
Findings
Three themes emerged under the core theme of “Situating OH services”: “the Uniqueness of the mental health service setting”, “the Limitations of OH services” and “the Meaning of mental health at work”. An important finding came from the first theme that management referrals in mental health may be due to disputes about workers’ fitness to face violence and aggression, a common feature of their working environment.
Research limitations/implications
This was a small scale study of a previously unresearched population.
Practical implications
These findings should be used to refine and standardise OH provision for mental healthcare workers, with a particular focus on exposure to violence and workers’ potential “lived experience” of mental illness as features of the mental health care workplace.
Originality/value
This is the first study to explore OH clinicians’ perspectives on the mental health service working environment.