Promoting Adolescent Girls’ Well-Being in Pakistan: a Mixed-Methods Study of Change Over Time, Feasibility, and Acceptability, of the COMPASS Program

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 1030-1042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khudejha Asghar ◽  
Yana Mayevskaya ◽  
Marni Sommer ◽  
Ayesha Razzaque ◽  
Betsy Laird ◽  
...  
BMC Nursing ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Brook ◽  
Leanne M. Aitken ◽  
Julie-Ann MacLaren ◽  
Debra Salmon

Abstract Aims To understand the experiences of nursing students and academic staff of an intervention to decrease burnout and increase retention of early career nurses, in order to identify acceptability and feasibility in a single centre. Background Internationally, retention of nurses is a persistent challenge but there is a dearth of knowledge about the perspectives of stakeholders regarding the acceptability and feasibility of interventions to resolve the issue. This study reports an intervention comprising of mindfulness, psychological skills training and cognitive realignment to prepare participants for early careers as nurses. Methods This is an explanatory sequential mixed methods study, conducted by a UK university and healthcare organisation. Participants were final year pre-registration nursing students (n = 74) and academics (n = 7) involved in the implementation of the intervention. Pre and post measures of acceptability were taken using a questionnaire adapted from the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test was used to assess change in acceptability over time. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews, focus groups and field notes were thematically analysed, adhering to COREQ guidelines. Data were collected February to December 2019. Results One hundred and five questionnaires, 12 interviews with students and 2 focus groups engaging 7 academic staff were completed. The intervention was perceived as generally acceptable with significant positive increases in acceptability scores over time. Student nurses perceived the intervention equipped them with skills and experience that offered enduring personal benefit. Challenges related to the practice environment and academic assessment pressures. Reported benefits align with known protective factors against burnout and leaving the profession. Conclusion Planning is needed to embed the intervention into curricula and maximise relationships with placement partners. Evaluating acceptability and feasibility offers new knowledge about the value of the intervention for increasing retention and decreasing burnout for early career nurses. Wider implementation is both feasible and recommended by participants.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2349
Author(s):  
Heather Clements ◽  
Stephanie Valentin ◽  
Nicholas Jenkins ◽  
Jean Rankin ◽  
Nancy R. Gee ◽  
...  

To reduce the spread of COVID-19, countries worldwide placed limitations on social interaction, which is anticipated to have severe psychological consequences. Although findings are inconsistent, prior research has suggested that companion animals may positively influence human well-being and reduce loneliness. In the context of COVID-19, this has important implications, as companion animal guardians may be less negatively affected by the pandemic. The primary aim of this research was to investigate the influence of companion animals on mental well-being and loneliness during the pandemic, with specific interest in the role of ornamental fishes. A mixed-methods study was conducted, using an international sample. Quantitative data were collected via an online survey (n = 1199) and analysed using robust hierarchical multiple regression analyses; the influence of level of engagement with companion animals was examined for dogs, cats and ornamental fishes. There was no evidence that companion animal guardianship was associated with loneliness and mental well-being during the pandemic but spending more time engaging physically or socially with dogs (and to a lesser extent cats) was generally associated with poorer outcomes. Qualitative data were collected through open-ended survey responses (n = 757) and semi-structured interviews (n = 25) and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Two themes were developed—one related to companion animals as providers of social and emotional support, and the other to companion animals as providers of purpose and perspective. Concerns regarding the impact of the pandemic on animal welfare were also identified. Compared to other animal types, more participants expressed indifference regarding the impact of their fishes on their well-being during the pandemic, possibly because fishes cannot provide comfort via physical touch. The findings of this study reflect the wider field of human–animal interaction; although qualitative data suggest guardians believe their companion animals are a positive influence in their lives, there is little convincing quantitative data to support these beliefs. This highlights the need to refine theories regarding which aspects of companion animal guardianship may influence human well-being; the findings from this research may be useful in the refinement of such theories.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 160940692096381
Author(s):  
Judith Eckert

Failure is a typical experience in research, but it is largely taboo in published studies. In recent years, however, we can observe a small yet growing body of literature on failure in qualitative research to address this gap. In this article, I contribute my experiences of failed interviews in a mixed-methods study in Germany to this body of literature and highlight some aspects of failure that have not yet received enough attention. First, in my example, it was not only one interview or a few interviews that failed; rather, it seemed that the whole study failed in design due to particular methodical decisions. Second, failed research presents an intellectual challenge, but it also produces emotional and social trouble because failed research might be attributed to a failed researcher. This may be one reason failure is so damaging for one’s well-being and so difficult to share. Nevertheless, practicing some form of “uncomfortable reflexivity” (Pillow, 2003) via qualitative, close analysis helped me navigate the research process, gain methodical insights and substantive results. Third, I share lessons that might be useful for other researchers: reading literature on failure, the search for a safe and supportive space, and analyzing failure as closely and early as possible.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. e028336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Jackson ◽  
Delphine S Courvoisier ◽  
Aline Duvoisin ◽  
Giovanni Ferro-Luzzi ◽  
Patrick Bodenmann ◽  
...  

IntroductionMigrants without residency permit, known as undocumented, tend to live in precarious conditions and be exposed to an accumulation of adverse determinants of health. Only scarce evidence exists on the social, economic and living conditions-related factors influencing their health status and well-being. No study has assessed the impact of legal status regularisation. The Parchemins study is the first prospective, mixed-methods study aiming at measuring the impact on health and well-being of a regularisation policy on undocumented migrants in Europe.Methods and analysisThe Parchemins study will compare self-rated health and satisfaction with life in a group of adult undocumented migrants who qualify for applying for a residency permit (intervention group) with a group of undocumented migrants who lack one or more eligibility criteria for regularisation (control group) in Geneva Canton, Switzerland. Asylum seekers are not included in this study. The total sample will include 400 participants. Data collection will consist of standardised questionnaires complemented by semidirected interviews in a subsample (n=38) of migrants qualifying for regularisation. The baseline data will be collected just before or during the regularisation, and participants will subsequently be followed up yearly for 3 years. The quantitative part will explore variables about health (ie, health status, occupational health, health-seeking behaviours, access to care, healthcare utilisation), well-being (measured by satisfaction with different dimensions of life), living conditions (ie, employment, accommodation, social support) and economic situation (income, expenditures). Several confounders including sociodemographic characteristics and migration history will be collected. The qualitative part will explore longitudinally the experience of change in legal status at individual and family levels.Ethics and disseminationThis study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Geneva, Switzerland. All participants provided informed consent. Results will be shared with undocumented migrants and disseminated in scientific journals and conferences. Fully anonymised data will be available to researchers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 36-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caleb Warren ◽  
Rajeev Batra ◽  
Sandra Maria Correia Loureiro ◽  
Richard P. Bagozzi

Marketers strive to create cool brands, but the literature does not offer a blueprint for what “brand coolness” means or what features characterize cool brands. This research uses a mixed-methods approach to conceptualize brand coolness and identify a set of characteristics typically associated with cool brands. Focus groups, depth interviews, and an essay study indicate that cool brands are perceived to be extraordinary, aesthetically appealing, energetic, high status, rebellious, original, authentic, subcultural, iconic, and popular. In nine quantitative studies (surveys and experiments), the authors develop scale items to reliably measure the component characteristics of brand coolness; show that brand coolness influences important outcome variables, including consumers’ attitudes toward, satisfaction with, intentions to talk about, and willingness to pay for the brand; and demonstrate how cool brands change over time. At first, most brands become cool to a small niche, at which point they are perceived to be more subcultural, rebellious, authentic, and original. Over time, some cool brands become adopted by the masses, at which point they are perceived to be more popular and iconic.


1997 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 797-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann M. Major ◽  
L. Erwin Atwood

This study examines public response to and perceived believability of information disseminated in the news media about a real-time earthquake prediction, and extends the body of media credibility research by examining these responses within the context of Taylor's (1983) cognitive adaptation theory. The theory focuses on people's illusions of well-being that under certain circumstances of threat can lead to adaptive behaviors and provides insights into why some people increased their assessments of message credibility while others lowered their evaluations; still others made no change over time in their assessments of message believability.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 570-570
Author(s):  
David Wai Lim ◽  
Helene Retrouvey ◽  
Isabel Kerrebijn ◽  
Kate Butler ◽  
Anne C O'Neill ◽  
...  

570 Background: Rates of bilateral mastectomy continue to rise in average-risk women with unilateral breast cancer. We aim to characterize psychosocial predictors of surgical procedure and how psychosocial outcomes change over time after surgery for breast cancer. Methods: A prospective cohort of women with unilateral, nonhereditary breast cancer were recruited at University Health Network in Toronto, Canada between 2014-2017. Women completed validated psychosocial questionnaires (BREAST-Q) pre-operatively, and 6 and 12 months after surgery. Outcomes were assessed between three surgical groups (unilateral lumpectomy, unilateral mastectomy, bilateral mastectomy). Predictors of surgical procedure were identified using a multinomial logistic regression model. Change in psychosocial scores over time according to procedure was assessed using linear mixed models. All models control for age, stage, reconstruction and treatment. P values < .05 were considered statistically significant. Results: 506 women underwent surgery as follows: 216 unilateral lumpectomy (43%), 181 unilateral mastectomy (36%) and 109 bilateral mastectomy (22%). In the multinomial regression model, younger age (p < .01), and lower chest physical (p = .03) and sexual well-being (p = .02) predicted having bilateral mastectomy over unilateral lumpectomy while younger age (p < .01) and lower disease stage (p = .02) predicted bilateral mastectomy over unilateral mastectomy. The mixed model demonstrates that breast satisfaction follows a non-linear pattern of change over time, with 6- but not 12-month scores being significantly different from baseline (p = .015). Procedure predicts baseline satisfaction (p = .016), with bilateral mastectomy having worse satisfaction than unilateral lumpectomy. Procedure also predicts change in satisfaction, with unilateral and bilateral mastectomy having lower scores across time than lumpectomy. While a significant improvement in psychological well-being is detected by 12 months (p = .02), those with unilateral and bilateral mastectomy have worse psychological well-being over time compared to lumpectomy. Women having mastectomy start with worse physical well-being than those in the lumpectomy group, but their physical well-being does not decline as much as the lumpectomy group over time (p < .01). Conclusions: Definitive surgical procedure affects the trajectory of psychosocial functioning over time. This emerging data may be used to further facilitate surgical decision-making in women considering contralateral prophylactic mastectomy.


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