Rachael Collins, Tom Shakespeare and Lucy Firth
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the views and attitudes that psychiatrists have about recovery colleges (RCs).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the views and attitudes that psychiatrists have about recovery colleges (RCs).
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten psychiatrists from the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust.
Findings
Psychiatrists had a strong concept of the RC model, and were broadly positive about it, recognising many benefits. Various challenges were also acknowledged including how the RC model interacts with the medical model.
Originality/value
This is the first known study to explore solely the psychiatrists’ views of RCs, a group who are likely to be particularly influential within services. The sample was relatively unexposed to RCs, enabling insight into how the RC is perceived by those outside of its functioning as well as the state of wider organisational support, which is important for the success of RCs.
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Bridget M. Breitbach, Rachael Tracey and Teresa Y. Neely
Over the years, digitization has become an important part of libraries because it increases accessibility to the general public via the World Wide Web. Colorado State University…
Abstract
Over the years, digitization has become an important part of libraries because it increases accessibility to the general public via the World Wide Web. Colorado State University Libraries (CSU Libraries) is currently working on a digitization project containing 19,537 wildlife slides. This project is unique because it was managed fully by undergraduate students, from the collection’s donation to the launch of the final Web site containing 1,000 digital images. There were unanticipated set backs and minor problems, but in the end all the pieces fell into place. This paper addresses the process the students took in managing the project and the problems that can occur with such a large collection.
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We learn from history but it can be a mistake to assume that the past will always repeat itself. Nevertheless, it is reasonable assumption that, because of what took place in the…
Abstract
We learn from history but it can be a mistake to assume that the past will always repeat itself. Nevertheless, it is reasonable assumption that, because of what took place in the 20th century, the new millennium will see continuing and increasing globalization as a feature of the business world. The reason for this, as explained by Powers and Collins Jones in their examination of the way the global marketplace has evolved, is that globalization is a logical progression of a process that continued throughout the 20th century.
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Recent invasions, coups, civil wars, and ethnic crusades have caused many individuals and families around the world to flee their homelands for fear of their own safety. The…
Abstract
Recent invasions, coups, civil wars, and ethnic crusades have caused many individuals and families around the world to flee their homelands for fear of their own safety. The exodus of refugees to foreign nations causes a strain on those nations’ health care systems and resources. With the assistance of outside organizations, these countries can develop a health care management system for refugees that provides for both their immediate survival and long-term health stability, while preserving critical national resources. This chapter reviews the refugee problem and presents the short-term tactics and long-term strategies undertaken by seven very different national governments to care for the refugees that cross their borders. A model of a sound health care management system is used to incorporate the best practices of each country into a framework for approaching this multi-billion dollar issue.
Jon A. Chilingerian, Grant T. Savage, Michael Powell and Qian Xiao
We hope this research volume will change the way scholars and managers think about health care management in two fundamental ways. First, we want to challenge the superficial…
Abstract
We hope this research volume will change the way scholars and managers think about health care management in two fundamental ways. First, we want to challenge the superficial separations between national and international health care management. To dissolve these distinctions, the “not-invented-here” or “who cares about a Belgian, Indian, or Thai medical center,” or “that won’t work in our policy system” attitudes must change. Second, we want scholars and managers to learn how to transfer innovative ideas and management practices across cultures and around policy barriers. Cultural, language, and policy differences present formidable barriers, but we believe lessons about managing human resources, informatics, quality, services, and strategies in health care organizations can be transferred.
Mark A. Prince, Tiffany Jenzer, Whitney Brown, Eleftherios M. Hetelekides, Rachel A. Mumm and R. Lorraine Collins
Cannabis use among young adults is increasing, despite being associated with several negative consequences. Protective behavioral strategies (PBSs) are a potential mechanism of…
Abstract
Purpose
Cannabis use among young adults is increasing, despite being associated with several negative consequences. Protective behavioral strategies (PBSs) are a potential mechanism of behavior change for reducing substance use, yet PBS use for cannabis is not well understood. The purpose of this paper is to further define and measure the PBS construct for cannabis.
Design/methodology/approach
A community sample of cannabis users (n=54) participated in eight focus groups discussing the use of PBSs. Participants completed surveys regarding demographics, cannabis use habits and cannabis problems. The authors also administered an existing measure of cannabis PBS and asked them to generate new or unique protective strategies that they had used or had heard of others using.
Findings
Thematic analysis of qualitative focus group data provided information about cannabis users’ reasons for regulating cannabis use (e.g. health or legal problems, interpersonal) as well as strategies to moderate cannabis use or attenuate their risk for experiencing adverse consequences (e.g. distraction, existential/spiritual strategies). Analyses of quantitative survey data revealed that use of PBSs was negatively correlated with cannabis outcomes. Perceived helpfulness of strategies was an important predictor of decreased cannabis use and adverse consequences.
Research limitations/implications
Findings expand the understanding of the definition and measurement of strategies for regulating cannabis use and reducing related risk of experiencing adverse consequences.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine cannabis-related PBS using both qualitative and quantitative methods, which provide insights into the definition of PBS and for future refinements of PBS measurement.
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Gabriel Abotsie, Roger Kingerlee, Andrew Fisk, Sam Watts, Rachel Cooke, Luke Woodley, Dawn Collins and Bonnie Teague
Comparatively, men have poorer physical and mental health outcomes than women, with a significantly higher suicide rate. Contributory factors are thought to be social and…
Abstract
Purpose
Comparatively, men have poorer physical and mental health outcomes than women, with a significantly higher suicide rate. Contributory factors are thought to be social and biological, leading to reduced access to health-care services. The study aims to develop and implement community-based support to increase awareness of and access to men’s mental health support networks and groups.
Design/methodology/approach
The project involved three key work-packages discussed in this paper: raising awareness of men’s mental health needs in health care, educational and community settings; collaboration between National Health Services (NHS) and non-NHS health-care support organisations to build multi-sector partnership working; and developing a supported sports-based community intervention aimed at men living with mental health conditions. The acceptability and feasibility of these work-packages were pragmatically evaluated through mixed-methods surveys and qualitative content analysis.
Findings
Overall, both community events and sports groups successfully engaged men living with mental health problems. Organisations interested in men’s mental health are continuing to engage in a partnership initiative. Community events were well-attended and received positive feedback, particularly regarding the educative and real-life experiences approach promoted in the events. The sports intervention is feasible and well-accepted by participants, who described feeling supported with their physical and mental health needs, with increased mental well-being reported.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitations of this project are that the authors only evaluated a football group rather than all work areas. The project collected outcomes relating to participants’ demographics and qualitative reflections of participating in the football group along with a retrospective survey of perceived benefits, but the project did not undertake a pre- and post-comparison of well-being outcomes owing to low completion of these measures. Future work could focus on collecting more pre- and post-measures related to well-being, recovery and inclusion and compare these with men not involved in the football groups or public events.
Practical implications
This paper discusses the development and feasibility of setting up community-based men’s mental health support networks, involving public events, partnership working and targeted-sports interventions. All initiatives were well-received and successfully attended by men living with mental health conditions. Evaluation of the programme revealed the value placed on education about mental health and the role that community sports interventions may play in men’s mental health care.
Social implications
This project has demonstrated three different ways of supporting men’s mental health needs in the community. Community public events were held to raise awareness of men’s mental health needs and issues were well-attended and highlighted the need for health promotion and education in this area across all the communities. The men’s football group demonstrated the feasibility of moving mental health support out into a non-clinical and more community arena in a way that men engaged effectively. Finally, the creation of MensNet has bought together disparate multi-sector organisations successfully to lead public health mechanisms to support men’s mental health needs.
Originality/value
This paper describes a new multi-disciplined approach to supporting health-seeking challenges among men, in particular, how partnership working across NHS and non-NHS sectors can successfully support an identified public health need pragmatically using existing services and organisations.
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In Poetic Justice, Martha Nussbaum (1996) offers one version of an argument frequently repeated in the history of law-and-literature scholarship; to wit, that the literary…
Abstract
In Poetic Justice, Martha Nussbaum (1996) offers one version of an argument frequently repeated in the history of law-and-literature scholarship; to wit, that the literary imagination performs a salutary function with regard to many domains of modern public life. While law and economics are governed by logics of bureaucratic rationality and utilitarian calculus, literature, in particular the novel, presents a counterdiscourse, inviting us to empathize with others, expanding our moral sense, emphasizing the importance of affect and imagination in the making of a just, humane, and democratic society. Nussbaum's broad goal is a commendable one; concerned that “cruder forms of economic utilitarianism and cost-benefit analysis that are…used in many areas of public policy-making and are frequently recommended as normative for others” are, in effect, dehumanizing, she argues for the importance to public life of “the sort of feeling and imagining called into being” by the experience of reading literary texts (1996, p. 3). This sort of feeling and imagining, Nussbaum explains, fosters sympathetic understanding of others who may be quite different from us and a deepened awareness of human suffering.