The Forgotten Foundations of Feminist Legal Scholarship: Introduction

Introduction to the special section on the Forgotten Foundations of Feminist Legal Scholarship

Key factors that influence allied health professional therapists to remain working within a stroke unit.

The National Health Service is experiencing significant workforce shortages due to lack of adequate workforce planning. Stroke units (SUs) needs to retain highly skilled staff to deliver specialised services. Currently in the Southeast of England, workforce retention issues pose a high operational risk within stroke services. This case study completed semi-structured interviews of occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and speech and language therapists, termed Allied Health Professional Therapists (AHPTs), with the aim to provide up-to-date insights into key retention factors. Recruitment was via purposive selection and ethical approval was gained from the Research Ethics Advisory Group of [University]. Thematic analysis and verification techniques of member checking and inter-rater reliability were completed. Four key factors arose: 1) multi-faceted development system; 2) driving change; 3) intrinsic value; and 4) extrinsic motivators, overarched by personal evolution. Interconnection of the factors anchored AHPTs within SU retention and each factor’s importance was unique to individuals and fluid in nature

Nutritional Education in Medical Curricula and Clinical Practice: A Scoping Review on the Knowledge Deficit amongst Medical Students and Doctors (MSADs)

Background: This scoping review critically synthesises the literature on nutrition education to understand why there is a gap in nutrition knowledge and skills among medical students and doctors (MSADs) in English-speaking countries, and the solutions which have been proposed in the literature to close this gap. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), accounting for 74% of deaths worldwide (World Health Organization, 2022), are a major health concern and are often the result of poor dietary habits. To reduce the prevalence of chronicdiseases health-care professionals must encourage healthy eating, and therefore require the appropriate nutritional knowledge and skills. Methods: To collect the literature this scoping review used four databases (PubMed, WebOfScience, Embase and ERIC) and grey literature sources (Google, Bing and Perplexity AI). Papers which fit the eligibility criteria were included in the analysis. Papers which did not fit the eligibility criteria were removed from the data pool. The 28 selected peer-reviewed papers were then critically appraised and relevant data was extracted. Then, they were thematically analysed using qualitative a coding software analysis tool, Delve, to help identify two principal themes and 20 sub-themes. Results: The results identified four reasons for the gap in nutrition knowledge, including insufficient curriculum time dedicated to nutrition education, perceptions and confidence, stigmas and health habits, and challenges in clinical practice. The review also identified four potential solutions to minimise this gap,including curriculum changes, enforcement of standardised nutrition education guidelines, integration ofnutrition in clinical practice and promotion of a multidisciplinary approach to nutrition education. Conclusions: This scoping review shows that the principal and underlying reason for why there exists a gap in nutrition knowledge among MSADs is their perception of nutrition. In summary, understanding why there is a gap in nutrition knowledge among MSADs, and identifying potential solutions to close this gap, can help toincrease the nutrition education received by MSADs. This would improve patient care and likely contribute to better eating habits worldwide, thereby reducing the burden of NCDs to both patients and healthcare professionals

Won’t You Be My (Allotment) Neighbor? Mapping Cherokee Homelands in Diaspora

Contributing to work collected in Allotment Stories (2021), this article highlights the continuities of Cherokee relations that the US federal Indian policy of allotment has left fragmented and attenuated. The article brings the author's personal journal entries and critical reflections on encounters with allotment lands into collective conversation with other family, community, and oral history narratives that "re-member" allotment's legacy of fragmentation, separation, and division. By bringing together these diverse engagements with allotment, the article traces an enduring Cherokee relationality that has developed in multiple places and that remains grounded in Cherokee values and relations to Cherokee mountains, waterways, and cemetery places.&nbsp

To what extent are the mental health services available to asylum seekers and refugees being utilised and what barriers prevent access to these services? A systematic review.

Background: The number of refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom is increasing. With NHS resources already under strain, the effective management of these patients is essential. Asylum seekers and refugees are at increased risk of mental health issues due to their experiences endured in their country of origin and whilst travelling to the UK, as well as stressors associated with settling in the UK. Despite this, ASR patients are less likely to receive mental health support. This systematic review aims to identify the barriers preventing effective mental health support for asylum seekers and refugees in the UK, in order to improve engagement with services and mental health outcomes in this population. Methods: The researcher followed the PRISMA guidelines to produce this systematic review. 15 papers were identified from searching the databases PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library of systematic reviews, PsycINFO, British Nursing Index. Critical appraisal was then carried out on the papers, all of which were deemed high quality and valuable for the study. The researcher used thematic analysis to produce overarching themes presented by the included papers. Results: The overarching themes identified were: exclusion, healthcare professional factors, culturally sensitive care and practical barriers. 11 identified sub themes were amalgamated to produce these. These wider themes spoke to the significant barriers that prevent access to mental health care for this population. All 15 papers included point to multiple barriers for asylum seekers and refugees. Conclusions: There are multiple complex barriers for asylum seekers and refugees when accessing mental health support. These complex barriers are evidenced by the wide range of sub themes and the overarching themes identified. The researcher concludes that asylum seeker and refugee engagement with mental health services is low due to significant barriers that prevent access. Mental health services need to build relationships with the asylum seeker and refugee communities in the United Kingdom to enhance engagement in the service. Policy makers need to consider ways to reduce exclusion of this population and consider the impact of current policies on engagement in the service and attitudes towards this patient population

Spacer Prescription for Asthma Patients using pMDI at a Primary Care Practice

Clinical guidelines and the best practice for asthma management recommend all patients and require some sub-groups to use a spacer with pressurised metered-dose inhalers (pMDI). However, little data is available on the rate of spacer prescriptions for asthma patients using pMDI. Therefore, a quality improvement project was conducted to evaluate the practice of spacer prescription in one primary care centre. It was found that spacers were markedly under-prescribed; the prescription rates for regular replacement spacers were especially inadequate. Measures can be implemented in primary care settings to bring the spacer prescription practice closer to guidelines and best practice, and several suggestions were made

Can sarcopenia inform postoperative outcomes in orthogeriatric patients? A systematic review

Background: Sarcopenia is an age-related musculoskeletal disorder in which there is a progressive loss of muscle function and mass. Despite its association with adverse health outcomes, there is little evidence on the extent of the possible harmful effects of sarcopenia in relation to orthopaedic outcomes in patients with a hip fracture. This systematic review evaluates the effects of sarcopenia on postoperative outcomes in orthogeriatric patients with a hip fracture. Methods: A search strategy was conducted. The qualifying papers were then classified based on predefined themes: mortality, length of hospital stay, mobility/gait performance, readmission, quality of life and functional status/activities of daily living. Results: The literature search generated 450 papers, 17 of which were included in this research project, and then categorised based on their theme. Nine papers fulfilled the criteria for the mortality theme, four for length of hospital stay, four for mobility/gait performance, two for readmission, three quality of life and nine for functional status/activities of daily living. It was found that sarcopenia informs mortality rates in patients post-hip fracture, but evidence does not support its effect on the other pre-defined outcomes. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the association between sarcopenia and mortality in orthogeriatric patients with hip fractures when compared to patients without sarcopenia. The lack of conclusive and homogenous data in the remaining outcomes meant that the correlation between sarcopenia and post-operative outcomes in patients with a hip fracture could not be demonstrated