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Published By Sage Publications

1552-6968, 1054-1373

2021 ◽  
pp. 105413732110704
Author(s):  
Laura Josephine Hendrikx ◽  
Charlotte Williamson ◽  
Julia Baumann ◽  
Dominic Murphy

Women are often underrepresented or entirely missing from veteran research, and there remains limited understanding of their mental health needs. The present study investigated the mental health needs of a community sample of UK women veterans. A total of 750/1680 (44.6%) participants completed an online survey. Data was collected on sociodemographic and military factors, mental health and wellbeing, and childhood adversity. Findings revealed a high prevalence and comorbidity of mental health difficulties, including common mental health difficulties (28.6%) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (10.8%). Women veterans who were older, not working, held a lower rank during service, perceived less social support and experienced greater loneliness were more likely to report such difficulties. Results further revealed high childhood and military adversity, and wellbeing difficulties. Such findings provide insight into the needs of women veterans and have implications for providing appropriate support. Considerations of the generalizability of findings are discussed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105413732110676
Author(s):  
Dr. Colleen Swinden

Despite increased interest in the impact of external events on counsellors, surprisingly little has been written on counsellor bereavement. To address the research question: How do bereavement counsellors experience therapeutic work after the death of their parent? Interviews were conducted with four bereaved counsellors who reflected on its impact on their work. Data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Three major themes emerged; how decisions about returning to work were informed by colleagues and supervision; the benefits of returning to work and the use of ‘bracketing’; long-term implications for practice including heightened empathy with clients’ and disclosure of loss. In addition, participants felt they had insufficient guidance regarding fitness to practice. The possible limitations of the study were that self-selection may have introduced an element of bias to the results. These findings support existing literature and also revealed potential gaps in grief and loss training for counsellors and supervisors. A particular training issue for supervisors might be identifying and discussing fitness to practice issues with supervisees. There are also implications for counsellors in terms of the use of self-disclosure in therapy. Suggested further research to explore the use of self-disclosure in greater depth.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105413732110544
Author(s):  
Maysam Rezapour ◽  
Hadis Amiri ◽  
Nouzar Nakhaee ◽  
Mahmoud Nekoei-Moghadam ◽  
Yunes Jahani ◽  
...  

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most important issues after earthquakes. Following the Bam earthquake, much of the literature has documented the prevalence and correlates of PTSD, but no study has evaluated predominant typologies of PTSD in this population. The present study aims to investigate PTSD typologies among adults exposed to the Bam earthquake after 17 years. The data were collected 17 years after the 2003 Bam earthquake using multistage cluster sampling, in a historical cohort study. In total, 917 people participated in the study. Latent class analyses (LCA) were conducted to identify predominant typologies of PTSD symptoms and associated correlates. The LCA identified four meaningfully different classes that were characterized based on the PTSD items. The common profile was class 1 with 36.1% of the study population, which reported medium on “Re-experiencing” and “avoidance” items and high for “dysphoria” item. Also, the results showed significant differences for marital status, death relative, and age across the four classes of PTSD. The results indicated after 17 years of the Bam earthquake, people who were exposed to this earthquake were divided into subgroups based on the severity and prevalence of PTSD symptoms. These findings highlighted the existence of experimental subgroups of PTSD symptoms following an earthquake, which can help us find those who are most in need of mental health services and also which can find specific interventions for any subgroups.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105413732110473
Author(s):  
Delaney Schoenbine ◽  
James Gerhart ◽  
Katherine A. McLean ◽  
Joseph deBettencourt ◽  
Farnaz Dadrass ◽  
...  

This study assessed pediatric oncology professionals’ attitudes and attendance at patient funerals. Many professionals endorsed some level of agreement that funeral attendance respects professional boundaries. Nearly all pediatric oncology professionals (89.2%) reported attending a patient funeral at least once, a rate significantly higher than estimates in other specialties ( p <.001). Attitudes and rates of attendance were slightly higher in older physicians. While periodic funeral attendance may have been somewhat normative in this sample, further reflection and research is needed to ensure the risks and benefits of involvement in funerals and other family rituals and practices are better understood.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105413732110652
Author(s):  
Swati Sharma

Study aims at examining socio-cultural factors in the form of personal perception of the respondents towards Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) and the resultant impact of this perception on the CVDs management regimen of the respondents. Social construction of illness is used to investigate these factors. Entire data were collected at Superspeciality Hospital, Jammu (India) and 41 personal interviews were conducted. Field research also consisted of observations which was done by employing purposive sampling method. Results demonstrate that factors like inability to carry out household chores, financial constraints, lethargy etc. have a bearing on the care seeking behavior of the respondents. Women constantly juggle between maintaining family equilibrium and maintaining their health. Socially constructed image of a healthy woman is somewhat difficult to achieve even if technologies of the self and anatomo-politics come into play because gendered nature of healthcare in India makes it difficult for these women to prioritize their health needs.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105413732110634
Author(s):  
Agata Freedle ◽  
Emily Oliveira

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between prosocial behaviors, empathy, and positive psychological change in women who have experienced pregnancy loss. Women who had experienced miscarriage or stillbirth ( n = 291) were recruited via social media and completed an online survey that assessed their engagement in in-person or online prosocial behavior, empathy, and posttraumatic growth (PTG). Loss context factors and demographics were also collected. The results indicated that women who engage in in-person prosocial behavior, such as volunteering, report higher levels of PTG compared to those who do not volunteer at all or only volunteer online. A weak positive relationship was found between PTG and empathy. Findings suggest that encouraging clients to engage in in-person volunteering may foster their experience of growth. Future research is needed to further explore the timing of the volunteering in relation to PTG as well as empathy and PTG.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105413732110616
Author(s):  
Susan Sweeney

First responders and care professionals are often required to convey the deeply distressing news to relatives of the sudden death of a loved one. Witnessing the extreme anguish and grief of those receiving such news can have a detrimental effect on the bearers, leading to peritraumatic distress and feelings of inadequacy and burnout. For the recipients of such news, how it is delivered will impact on their understanding, acceptance, and processing of the sudden loss and may be a precursor for complicated grief or mental health issues such as anxiety or depression. Through writing about her own experience, the author aims to illustrate how interaction with professionals supported or impacted adversely on her grief and is intended to maintain professionals’ awareness of the impact of their delivery on recipients. Ancillary professionals also have an important role in how they interact with the bereaved and in ameliorating their deep distress.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105413732110471
Author(s):  
K. Jones ◽  
Sharon Mallon ◽  
Katy Schnitzler

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many changes to the lives of children and young people. Our aim is to explore the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of children and young people (ages 5–21). Methods The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was used to report the findings of this rapid review. Results Children and young people are potentially very vulnerable to the emotional impact of traumatic events that disrupt their daily lives. Key areas of concern include: Death Anxiety and Fear of Infection; lack of social interaction and loss of routine. Conclusions Despite some early and responsive studies, the evidence base for pandemic impact on children and young people is very limited. Such evidence is urgently needed if adequate and responsive services, that can mitigate the long-term impact of the pandemic for children and young people can be established.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105413732110541
Author(s):  
Nur Atikah Mohamed Hussin ◽  
Taufik Mohammad ◽  
Shariffah Suraya Syed Jamaludin

Gratitude has gained attention among health researchers for its benefits among chronic illness. However, most of the studies were focusing on the positive effects, neglecting the complex dimensions of gratitude that can contribute to both opportunities and challenges for chronic illness patients. This study aims to understand gratitude among cancer patients in Malaysia from a sociocultural perspective. This includes understanding how cancer patients view gratitude and the impacts of gratitude throughout their cancer-battling journey. This qualitative study involved 35 cancer patients. A thematic analysis was done to analyze the collected data. Among the themes discovered were searching for meaning, meaningful experience, gratitude through the enrichment activities, and gratitude as religious cultural expectations. This study suggests that gratitude is an important experience for chronic illness patients. The ability to understand this experience is vital to support and empower the patients throughout their daily lives.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105413732110541
Author(s):  
Lori R. Kogan ◽  
Wendy Packman ◽  
Jennifer Currin-McCulloch ◽  
Cori Bussolari ◽  
Phyllis Erdman

This study was designed to better understand how service dog partners experience the loss of their service dog. An anonymous survey was distributed to service dog partners who had lost a dog within the last five years. One-way ANOVAs were used to assess loss differences (retirement vs. death) on scores for Centrality of Events Scale, Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, Social Constraints Measure, and Self-Compassion Scale. Linear regression was conducted on the total bereavement score to determine the impact of the above assessment measures. We found higher grief scores for those whose service dog died compared to those whose dog retired. Perceptions of social constraints and feelings related to the centrality of the event were predictors of overall grief for those who lost a dog due to retirement; centrality of event feelings predicted grief level for those experiencing a death. Findings suggest a need for grief support for service dog partners.


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