Search

The aim of this project was to better understand nurse navigators work with children and families who are living with severe autism spectrum disorder to achieve improved health and wellbeing outcomes. Nurse navigators were introduced into the public health sector in Queensland in 2016, with 400 navigators currently working across 16 health services in diverse geographic and demographic settings. Narrative inquiry was used to explore one nurse navigator's journey working with children and families living with severe Autism. The challenges of rigid health systems to adapt to the requirements of children with special needs, particularly in relation to care in the emergency department and where interventional procedures are necessary were apparent. Nurse navigators can effectively co-ordinate the care of an extremely vulnerable patient cohort and provide essential advocacy in a health system that is rigid and lacking the flexibility to deal with individual needs.

There has been concerns about the increasing incidence of youth depression and anxiety, with school teachers seeking out ways to better equip youth with skills to help them deal with daily life. A resilience training programme for youth was implemented in one region of New Zealand. It aimed to enhance resilience through the instruction of problem-focused cognitive strategies, managing stressful situations, and making difficult conversations easier. This study was then evaluated to find out what was important in implementing such a training programme. A composite questionnaire consisting of resilience measure questions taken from the State Trait Assessment of Resilience Scale (STARS) and Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM)-12 questionnaires, along with resilience knowledge recall questions, was administered at the commencement and completion of the programme. Seven schools completed the survey. The implementation of the training programme improved the overall resilience and knowledge scores of the students. There was a significant increase in both the STARS Trait and CYRM-12 resilience scores and the resilience knowledge recall scores. However, an overall decrease in the mean STARS State (right now) resilience score could reflect increasing stress as the school year progresses. By empowering children to be more resilient, the incidence of clinically identified mental health maladaptation in adulthood may be minimised, and therefore supports better utilisation of health care resources.

Purpose/Objective: The acquisition of a disability impacts one's corporeality and has been found to destabilize one's sense of personal and social identity. The article explores the psychological and behavioral adaptation strategies that are employed in response to resisting, incorporating, and/or integrating disability into one's identity. We refer to a study that considered factors that facilitate and/or impede disability identification, aiming to investigate the trajectory that the process of identity (re)construction takes. Research Method/Design: Seven individual, in person, semistructured interviews were conducted with adults with acquired physical and sensory disabilities. Data underwent thematic analysis. To encapsulate the intrapersonal as well as interpersonal dynamics inherent in identity (re)construction, the analysis was guided by an interpretative phenomenological lens and social identity theory (SIT). Results: Disability identification is a complex and contradictory phenomenon, with strategies of resistance, incorporation, and/or integration fluctuating by setting and circumstance. These findings represent a significant departure from SIT literature—participants rather made use of more collectivist as opposed to individualistic adaptation strategies. Arguably, progress is being made with regard to disability pride, opening up a space for more positive and affirming disabled identities. Furthermore, disability identification is largely facilitated by greater opportunities for political advocacy and social support—online and in the disabled community. However, stigma—internalized and external—is still a major inhibitory factor to disability identification. Conclusions/Implications: Recommendations for rehabilitation programs and psychological professionals working with acquired physical and sensory disability are proposed. Impact and Implications: This article adds to current literature by detailing a qualitative exploration of the lived experiences of disability identification in adults with acquired disabilities. Theoretically, the article provides a point of departure from social identity theory literature because participants made use of more collectivist as opposed to individualistic adaptation strategies. Collectivist strategies that promote disability identification are largely facilitated by greater opportunities for political advocacy and social support—both online and in person. Thus, rehabilitation facilities for persons who acquire disabilities should create greater awareness around online and in-person disability support forums. Additionally, the article argues that it is the situational and pendular conceptualizations of identity (re)construction that will further our understanding of the disabled experience. Disabled identification is found to fluctuate by setting, circumstance, and whether it can be constructed positively or beneficially for the individual. Rehabilitation centers as well as medical and psychological professionals should move away from linear trajectory models and be trained to incorporate more bidirectional and situational understandings of disability identity (re)construction into their work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Nurse Navigators were introduced in Queensland, Australia, in 2016. Nurse Navigators coordinate person‐centred care, create partnerships, improve care coordination and outcomes and facilitate system improvement, independently of hospital or community models. They navigate across all aspects of hospital and social services, liaising, negotiating and connecting care as needed. People stay with Nurse Navigators for as long as required, though the intent is to transition them from high‐care needs to self‐management. Nurse Navigators are a working model in rural and remote areas of Queensland. Objective: To describe where the rural and remote Nurse Navigator position fits within the Rural Remote Nursing Generalist Framework and to define the depth and breadth of the rural and remote Nurse Navigator's scope of practice. Design: Using template analysis, data from focus groups and interviews were analysed against the domains of the recently released National Rural and Remote Nursing Generalist Framework. Navigators working in rural and remote areas across Queensland Health were invited to an interview (n = 4) or focus group (n = 9), conducted between October 2019 and August 2020. Findings: Rural and remote Nurse Navigators are proficient in all domains of the framework and actively champion for their patients, carers and the communities where they live and work. Discussion: This research demonstrates that rural and remote Nurse Navigators are a working model of advanced nursing practice, acting as 'champions' of The Framework. Conclusion: The Nurse Navigator model of care introduced to Queensland exemplifies proficient registered nurse practice to the full extent of their knowledge and skill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global COVID‐19 pandemic challenged the world—how it functions, how people move in the social worlds and how government/government services and people interact. Health services, operating under the principles of new public management, have undertaken rapid changes to service delivery and models of care. What has become apparent is the mechanisms within which contemporary health services operate and how services are not prioritising the person at the centre of care. Person‐centred care (PCC) is the philosophical premise upon which models of health care are developed and implemented. Given the strain that COVID‐19 has placed on the health services and the people who deliver the care, it is essential to explore the tensions that exist in this space. This article suggests that before the pandemic, PCC was largely rhetoric, and rendered invisible during the pandemic. The paper presents an investigation into the role of PCC in these challenging times, adopting a Foucauldian lens, specifically governmentality and biopolitics, to examine the policies, priorities and practical implications as health services pivoted and adapted to changing and acute demands. Specifically, this paper draws on the Australian experience, including shifting nursing workforce priorities and additional challenges resulting from public health directives such as lockdowns and limitations. The findings from this exploration open a space for discussion around the rhetoric of PCC, the status of nurses and that which has been lost to the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Film, a powerful publicising agent of knowledge, can have detrimental ideological and material implications contributing towards the systematic exclusion of disabled people. The paper explores how acquired physical disability is constructed within three contemporary mainstream fiction films. Guided by theoretical disability models and stereotypic representations of disability, identified by seminal authors in the field, the discussion highlights discourses that are perpetuated, challenged, or omitted within cinematic portrayals of disability. The paper also addresses how these discourses contribute to the maintenance or subversion of ableist power. The data underwent a multimodal analysis guided by critical and cinematic discourses. While steps towards more nuanced and diverse representations of acquired physical disability are evident, the films continue to perpetuate hegemonic discourses, emotionally provocative, and caricatured portrayals of disability. Arguably, contemporary disability fiction films are still largely produced for, and consumed by, abled audiences. Recommendations for transforming cinematic representations of the disabled are addressed. Films can communicate accurate knowledge as well as damaging stereotypes to the public. Disability has often been portrayed negatively in films and thus it is important to critically analyse films about disability. The paper discusses three contemporary films in which the main actors have an acquired physical disability. What is said about disability through the films' dialogue, and how disability is shown through camera angles, music, and props was analysed. The research found that films about acquired physical disability continue to produce negative stereotypes about disability. Thus, discrimination against disabled people is continued. Encouragingly, some stereotypes about disability were seen to be challenged in the contemporary films. Future films need to be more inclusive of disability. Characters need to be complex, all-rounded individuals, with disability being only one facet of their personhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To explore levels of Navigator resilience, well‐being, burnout, and turnover intent. Design: A longitudinal, multi‐methods study concurrently collected quantitative and qualitative data over three years. Methods: A survey and Action Learning Groups. Findings: No statistically significant change in resilience, well‐being, burnout, or turnover intent. Supports, self‐care and leaving the position, were used to maintain well‐being. Conclusions: While quantitative measures did not change, qualitative data demonstrated how adaptive coping mechanisms maintain well‐being. Recommendations for nurses working in Navigator, or similar community/public health roles include work‐based programs targeting support, good leadership, governance systems including their impact on turnover intent. Clinical evidence: Job turnover intent can be used as a mechanism to monitor resilience and well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can school students get their science research published? Here, we report on an exciting partnership between The Royal Society and "Young Scientists Journal" ("YSJ"), which is written and edited entirely by students aged 12-20. As background, we explore the history and importance of science publishing and the origin of YSJ. The skills developed by students when they write for publication are discussed. We report some recent and future initiatives associated with the journal, including links with the Royal Society's Partnership Grants scheme.

Biocomposites have emerged as promising alternative materials for the aviation industry. However, there is a limited body of scientific literature addressing the end-of-life management of biocomposites. This article evaluated different end-of-life technologies for biocomposite recycling in a structured, five-step approach applying the innovation funnel principle. First, ten end-of-life (EoL) technologies were compared in terms of their circularity potential and technology readiness levels (TRL). Second, a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) was carried out to find out the top four most promising technologies. Afterwards, experimental tests were conducted at a laboratory scale to evaluate the top three technologies for recycling biocomposites by analysing (1) three types of fibres (basalt, flax, carbon) and (2) two types of resins (bioepoxy and Polyfurfuryl Alcohol (PFA) resins). Subsequently, further experimental tests were performed to identify the top two recycling technologies for the EoL treatment of biocomposite waste from the aviation industry. Finally, the sustainability and economic performance of the top two identified EoL recycling technologies were evaluated through life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA). The experimental results, performed via the LCA and TEA assessments, demonstrated that both solvolysis and pyrolysis are technically, economically, and environmentally viable options for the EoL treatment of biocomposite waste from the aviation industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South East Physics Network (SEPnet) (www.sepnet.ac.uk/gcse.php) is exploring various ways to enhance physics learning and A-level uptake, including a series of interactive GCSE revision events. The first event, which includes talks and various physics exhibits by leading teachers and educators, is on energy and the exhibition--called "Who will keep the lights on?"--is travelling around southern UK venues. Here we describe the demonstration that shows how electricity is generated. (Contains 5 footnotes and 2 figures.)