The purpose of this paper is to identify regions of Los Angeles County with high burdens of serious mental illness and determine whether these regions align with those…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify regions of Los Angeles County with high burdens of serious mental illness and determine whether these regions align with those experiencing the greatest economic hardship.
Design/methodology/approach
This cross-sectional study analyzed the estimated prevalence of serious mental illness and the locations of publicly funded mental health service providers within each census tract of Los Angeles County. The burden of serious mental illness was calculated for each census tract using these variables and an optimized hot spot analysis was conducted to determine which regions were the most underserved in terms of serious mental illness.
Findings
There is a significantly higher burden of serious mental illness in Southeastern Los Angeles and Pomona Valley than in the rest of Los Angeles County (p = 0.01). The same can be said regarding the Lancaster-Palmdale area and San Fernando Valley (p = 0.05). These areas do appear to align with the areas of Los Angeles County with an economic hardship index in the fourth quartile.
Originality/value
Mental health initiatives targeting the four hot spot regions should be given priority by the County of Los Angeles. This is especially true when allocating funds from Proposition 63, which aims to address mental health disparities in underserved, unserved or inappropriately served populations.
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Mr. Robert Bernays, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health, speaking at Leeds on October loth, at a meeting convened by the Lord Mayor in support of the National Health…
Abstract
Mr. Robert Bernays, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health, speaking at Leeds on October loth, at a meeting convened by the Lord Mayor in support of the National Health Campaign, said that the object of the campaign was nothing less than to improve the health, and with it the happiness—for the two were inseparable—of the whole nation. The growth of the social services had been remarkable. In 1900 the total expenditure was some £30,000,000, while at the present time it was over £400,000,000, of which three‐quarters was met from rates and taxes. It was natural to ask ourselves whether we were getting the fullest possible value for the financial sacrifices we were making. Remarkable as were the statistics of health improvement, it was idle to suggest that a great deal more could not be done. The campaign was being conducted to ensure that everyone should know the facilities available, where and when and how they could be obtained, and that they were open to all who would take advantage of them. We were endeavouring to overcome any inertia and lack of interest which still existed, and, if possible, to eradicate the fear which, in many cases, kept people from obtaining early advice and treatment. He felt sure that these objects could be attained if we could get the full co‐operation of the ordinary citizen, and particularly of the wife and mother. We were already assured of the active co‐operation of all those concerned in the provision of the various facilities including doctors, nurses, teachers and others who were so closely in touch with the homes of the people. Though the present campaign was being waged to encourage the greater use of existing health services, it must not be supposed that plans were not also being actively pursued for their further expansion. His first task, for instance, in the new session would be to assist Sir Kingsley Wood in the passage of yet another National Insurance Bill which would fill up the gap in medical attendance and supervision which at present existed between the time when a boy or girl left school at 14 and entered at 16 into insurable employment. These were two critical years of development and that they should be brought within the framework of health insurance was an urgent reform. Another line of progress that was being actively pursued was the possibilities of improved nutrition, the greater knowledge of the right type of food. The Government were most carefully examining the recently published report of the Mixed Committee on Nutrition presided over at Geneva by Lord Astor. As the spokesman of H.M. Government at this year's Assembly on the League Committee that discussed nutrition, Mr. Bernays was able to state with the full authority of the Government that we regarded that report at once as a challenge and an opportunity. That these were not just words was demonstrated by our Milk in Schools Scheme, instituted in 1934. Under that scheme more than 2¾ million children in public elementary school, or more than half the number of children on the register of these schools, were receiving a daily ration of milk at a reduced rate or in necessitous cases free. One of the objects of this campaign was to induce yet more parents and children to take advantage of that scheme. Following on the report of the National Advisory Committee on Nutrition some months ago, maternity and child welfare authorities had been urged to review their arrangements for the supply of milk and food to expectant mothers and young children so as to ensure that those in need of additional nourishment were able to secure it. In the present session of Parliament the Government hoped also to bring forward proposals for securing, in co‐operation with the industry, a reduction in the price of milk to local authorities who would thus be in a position to extend their present schemes and so secure increased consumption among this class. Thus it could be seen that this health campaign was no standstill arrangement. In the phraseology of the motor trade, we were commending to the nation the 1937 model of our health services, but we were not slackening an instant in our efforts to ensure that the 1938 model and that of subsequent years was an increasing improvement on what we were able to offer now.
C. Malik Boykin, N. Derek Brown, James T. Carter, Kristin Dukes, Dorainne J. Green, Timothy Harrison, Mikki Hebl, Asia McCleary-Gaddy, Ashley Membere, Cordy A. McJunkins, Cortney Simmons, Sarah Singletary Walker, Alexis Nicole Smith and Amber D. Williams
The current piece summarizes five critical points about racism from the point of view of Black scholars and allies: (1) Black people are experiencing exhaustion from and…
Abstract
Purpose
The current piece summarizes five critical points about racism from the point of view of Black scholars and allies: (1) Black people are experiencing exhaustion from and physiological effects of racism, (2) racism extends far beyond police brutality and into most societal structures, (3) despite being the targets of racism, Black people are often blamed for their oppression and retaliated against for their response to it, (4) everyone must improve their awareness and knowledge (through both formal education and individual motivation) to fight racism and (5) anti-racist policies and accountability are key to enact structural reformation.
Findings
The first three of these points detail the depths of the problem from the perspectives of the authors and the final two lay out a call to action.
Practical implications
This viewpoint is the joint effort of 14 authors who provided a unified perspective.
Originality/value
This was one of the most original experiences the authors have had – working with 13 former/current students on joint perspectives about police brutality and racism more generally. The authors thank for the opportunity.
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Shulamit Ramon, Helen Brooks, Sarah Rae and Mary-Jane O’Sullivan
This review paper will look at internationally existing publications in the English language on mental health shared decision making (SDM) implementation of a variety of…
Abstract
Purpose
This review paper will look at internationally existing publications in the English language on mental health shared decision making (SDM) implementation of a variety of interventions, including different methodologies and research methods, age groups and countries. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of: process, degree and outcomes of implementation; barriers and facilitators; perspectives on implementation by different stakeholders; analysis of the process of implementation in mental health services through the lenses of the normalisation process theory (NPT).
Design/methodology/approach
Following a targeted literature search the data were analysed in order to provide an overview of methodologies and methods applied in the articles, as well as of the variables listed above. Three different types of information were included: a content analysis of key issues, reflective understanding coming out of participating in implementation of an SDM project in the form of two narratives written by two key participants in an SDM pilot project and an NPT analysis of the process of implementation.
Findings
Only a minority of mental health SDM research focuses on implementation in everyday practice. It is possible and often desirable to achieve SDM in mental health services; it requires a low level of technology, it can save time once routinized, and it is based on enhancing therapeutic alliance, as well as service users’ motivation. Implementation requires an explicit policy decision, a clear procedure, and regular adherence to the aims and methods of implementation by all participants. These necessary and sufficient conditions are rarely met, due to the different levels of commitment to SDM and its process by the different key stakeholders, as well as due to competing providers’ objectives and the time allocated to achieving them.
Originality/value
The review indicates both the need to take into account the complexity of SDM, as well as future strategies for enhancing its implementation in everyday mental health practice. Perhaps because applying SDM reflects a major cultural change in mental health practice, current value attached to SDM among clinicians and service managers would need to be more positive, prominent and enduring to enable a greater degree of implementation.
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Sarah T. Ryan, Katharina Elisabeth Kariippanon, Anthony D. Okely, Rebecca M. Stanley, Gade Waqa and Melanie Randle
Social marketing has been widely used to effectively and voluntarily change behaviours worldwide. The social marketing benchmark criteria offer a framework to apply this approach…
Abstract
Purpose
Social marketing has been widely used to effectively and voluntarily change behaviours worldwide. The social marketing benchmark criteria offer a framework to apply this approach. This paper aims to examine the extent of use and predictors of success of social marketing benchmark criteria in changing the health behaviours of Pacific Islands populations.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic review of studies designed to change health behaviours among Pacific Islands populations. Studies were assessed against the social marketing benchmark criteria to determine the extent to which the reported intervention used a social marketing approach; and whether the use of the social marketing benchmark criteria led to more effective interventions.
Findings
In total, 22 studies were included. In total, 13 were conducted within the Pacific Islands and 9 were aimed at Pacific Islands populations living in America, New Zealand or Hawaii. The most common criteria used were behaviour change, insight and customer orientation. Theory criterion was least commonly used. There was no clear indication of which criterion or combination of criteria, resulted in more effective interventions.
Research limitations/implications
Further empirical evaluations of social marketing interventions within the Pacific Islands context are required to appropriately assess effective predictors of success for this population group. Studies of social marketing interventions targeting non-Pacific Islands populations in non-Pacific Island countries and territories may have limited applicability to Pacific Islanders living in Pacific Island countries and territories.
Originality/value
While similar studies have been conducted, this is the first study to review all behaviour change interventions by applying a social marketing lens in the Pacific Islands. While globally this may have been reviewed, the Pacific Islands has a unique context that needs to be considered, rather than assuming a one size fits all approach. This study offers a comprehensive overview of existing health behaviour change interventions in the Pacific Islands and a call to action to move social marketing forward within the Pacific Islands.
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This paper aims to extend the workplace learning literature by conceptualising the relationship between college-based and workplace learning, through critically examining how…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to extend the workplace learning literature by conceptualising the relationship between college-based and workplace learning, through critically examining how trainee teachers learn when they enter an initial teacher training programme.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws on the findings of a completed research study which explores how individuals learn to become a vocational and technical teacher (VTE) in Brunei. The research comprises a qualitative study of a group of student teachers enrolled on a one-year teacher training programme that consists of a combination of college-based and workplace learning. This approach argues that it is necessary to look beyond demarcating what is formal and informal learning.
Findings
From a theoretical point-of-view, Bourdieu's theoretical tools can be used to extend Lave and Wenger's notion of legitimate peripheral participation in understanding how individuals learn in a learning context. This approach provides us with a way to think of learning as relational to the individuals. That is, learning is influenced by the roles and practices of each individual, even within the same learning context. Thus, to label the college-based learning as formal and workplace learning as informal is unhelpful in understanding this relationship.
Practical implications
Understanding that roles and practices in different learning sites such as college and workplace influence learning has practical significance for teacher training organisations wanting to focus on learning issues and opportunities for the development of trainee teachers. More specifically, such an understanding also acts as a reminder to teacher training organisations of the importance of considering learning within a teacher training programme as a whole, rather than focusing only on the practices within each of the learning sites.
Originality/value
This paper highlights the importance of roles and practices in relation to particular situations which are often overlooked in the learning literature. In addition, the paper focuses on both college-based and workplace learning in order to understand learning within a vocational and technical teacher training programme.
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Purpose: This chapter examines how healthcare technologies (electronic medical records, personal cell phones, and pagers) help manage patient care work to accelerate processes of…
Abstract
Purpose: This chapter examines how healthcare technologies (electronic medical records, personal cell phones, and pagers) help manage patient care work to accelerate processes of communication and blur boundaries between work time and non-work time, thereby revealing dynamics of power as indicated through temporal capital, or the amount of time under an individual’s control.
Method: The data were collected from 35 in-depth semistructured interviews of health practitioners, which included 26 physicians, 7 nurses, and 2 administrators.
Findings: Communication technologies fulfill promises of temporal autonomy and efficiency, but not without cost, particularly as it intersects with organizational/institutional power structures and non-work-related social factors such as pre-existing technological literacy and proficiency. The blurring of work and non-work time gives practitioners perceived higher quality of life while also increasing temporal flexibility and autonomy. The higher up one is in the relevant hierarchy, the more control one has over one’s own time, resulting in higher levels of temporal capital. The power hierarchies serve to complicate the potential recuperation of temporal capital by communication technologies.
Implications: This study uses a critical cultural perspective that takes into consideration structures of institutional power hierarches impact temporal organization through the use of communication technologies by health practitioners. Practitioner-facing research is particularly crucial given the high rates of burnout within the profession and concerns around the well-being of health practitioners, and autonomy and control over one’s time is a factor in work and life satisfaction.
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The family justice center (FJC) model centralizes social and legal services available to intimate partner abuse (IPA) victims in order to facilitate their help-seeking and improve…
Abstract
Purpose
The family justice center (FJC) model centralizes social and legal services available to intimate partner abuse (IPA) victims in order to facilitate their help-seeking and improve their experiences and the response to IPA. Little, yet promising, research has highlighted the effectiveness of this model. The purpose of this paper is to explore experiences of victims of IPA at one FJC.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 24 respondents who utilized a FJC in a western county in the USA were interviewed using a survey that included both descriptive quantitative and qualitative questions. Descriptive analysis was performed on the quantitative portion and content analysis on the qualitative portion.
Findings
Most of the respondents used the FJC multiple times and for multiple services. Most were referred by a shelter or a hotline. The most common services used were housing services, followed by counseling. Overall, these respondents felt supported by FJC staff and were satisfied. However, some of the respondents who did indicate satisfaction in the quantitative portion of the survey expressed concerns in the qualitative portion.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited by a small sample size; however, it has implications for recruitment, outreach and training as well as methodological implications for how FJCs should be evaluated.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the scant literature on FJCs and the FJC model.
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This chapter relates the story of the author’s career from student library assistant to professional librarian in academic libraries.
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter relates the story of the author’s career from student library assistant to professional librarian in academic libraries.
Methodology/approach
The author’s experiences as told in this chapter connect the turbulence of the 1960s and 1970s with her career choices and her perspective on librarianship.
Findings
The chapter emphasizes the importance of the civil rights movement in the mid-20th century on shaping personal and professional world views. It also addresses the role of mentors and the importance of facing challenges.