Supporting people with sight impairment to participate in group walks

The information in this document covers: Different types of sight impairments and common characteristics, How Walking for Health can benefit people with sight impairments, How group walks can be made safe and welcoming for people with sight impairments, How to set up a walk for people with sight impairments

Social Determinants of Health: Underreported Heterogeneity in Systematic Reviews of Caregiver Interventions.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Although most people have some experience as caregivers, the nature and context of care are highly variable. Caregiving, socioeconomic factors, and health are all interrelated. For these reasons, caregiver interventions must consider these factors. This review examines the degree to which caregiver intervention research has reported and considered social determinants of health. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS:We examined published systematic reviews and meta-analyses of interventions for older adults with age-related chronic conditions using the PRISMA and AMSTAR 2 checklists. From 2,707 papers meeting search criteria, we identified 197 potentially relevant systematic reviews, and selected 33 for the final analysis. RESULTS:We found scant information on the inclusion of social determinants; the papers lacked specificity regarding race/ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, socioeconomic status, and geographic location. The majority of studies focused on dementia, with other conditions common in later life vastly underrepresented. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS:Significant gaps in evidence persist, particularly for interventions targeting diverse conditions and populations. To advance health equity and improve the effectiveness of interventions, research should address caregiver heterogeneity and improve assessment, support, and instruction for diverse populations. Research must identify aspects of heterogeneity that matter in intervention design, while recognizing opportunities for common elements and strategies

CN Bimodality at Low Metallicity: The Globular Cluster M53

We present low resolution UV-blue spectroscopic observations of red giant stars in the globular cluster M53 ([Fe/H]=-1.84), obtained to study primordial abundance variations and deep mixing via the CN and CH absorption bands. The metallicity of M53 makes it an attractive target: a bimodal distribution of 3883 angstrom CN bandstrength is common in moderate- and high-metallicity globular clusters ([Fe/H] > -1.6) but unusual in those of lower metallicity ([Fe/H] < -2.0). We find that M53 is an intermediate case, and has a broad but not strongly bimodal distribution of CN bandstrength, with CN and CH bandstrengths anticorrelated in the less-evolved stars. Like many other globular clusters, M53 also exhibits a general decline in CH bandstrength and [C/Fe] abundance with rising luminosity on the red giant branch.Comment: 8 pages including 11 figures and 1 table, accepted by PAS

Seeking a disability lens within climate change migration discourses, policies and practices

Around 15% of the global population is estimated to live with disability. With the Millennium Development Goals failing to recognise disability issues, the Sustainable Development Goals seek to promote a stronger focus on the alleviation of poverty and inequality amongst disabled people. Since then, the vulnerability of disabled people has been highlighted within international climate change agreements. Yet a critical disability lens is largely lacking from broader aspects of climate change adaptation planning. Focusing primarily on examples from the Asia-Pacific region (a region including low-lying coastal areas and islands that are frequently highlighted as exemplars of communities on the front line of climate change), this article discusses the need to integrate critical insights from disability studies into current understandings of climate change adaptation and mobility if we are to facilitate more inclusive, democratic and equitable adaptation in the face of climate change

A(nother) time for nature? Situating non-human nature experiences within the emotional transitions of sight loss

Sight impairment is experienced by approximately 253 million people worldwide, including people of all generations, at all life course stages. Caught between past and present embodiments of the world, people often express feelings of loss with the onset of sight impairment. This paper examines the role of nonhuman nature encounters as a contingent resource amongst individuals navigating these emotional transitions. It responds to recent calls to attend to the life course in both critical disability studies and the growing body of work linking nonhuman nature relations to human wellbeing. The paper draws on findings from a qualitative study that combined in-depth narrative interviews with in situ go-along interviews to explore how 31 people with sight impairment in England describe and experience a sense of wellbeing (or otherwise) with nature across their everyday lives and life trajectories. The data were analysed using inductive narrative thematic analysis. While nonhuman nature encounters were valued by many participants in promoting a sense of freedom, relatedness, pleasurable sensory immersion, opportunities for exploration and ‘skilling up’, this paper cautions against generalised or overly Romantic tropes of what nonhuman nature can ‘do’ through key sight loss junctures, and for whom. It highlights the value of providing timely and sensitive social scaffolding and nurturing creativity to open up meaningful opportunities to engage with nonhuman nature and to counter feelings of loss exacerbated by identity-limiting life course narratives and disability stereotypes. Informed by the stories shared by participants to chart and situate their experiences of sight loss, we call for a new identity politics within and beyond the growing movement to ‘connect’ people to nonhuman nature for wellbeing; a politics that affirms diverse forms of more-than-human embodiment, recognising how and why such relations may weave into – and indeed out of – people’s varied, interdependent life course trajectories

From therapeutic landscapes to healthy spaces, places and practices: a scoping review

The term 'therapeutic landscapes' was first coined by health geographer, Wilbert Gesler, in 1992 to explore why certain environments seem to contribute to a healing sense of place. Since then, the concept and its applications have evolved and expanded as researchers have examined the dynamic material, affective and socio-cultural roots and routes to experiences of health and wellbeing in specific places. Drawing on a scoping review of studies of these wider therapeutic landscapes published between 2007 and 2016, this paper explores how, where, and to what benefit the 'therapeutic landscapes' concept has been applied to date, and how such applications have contributed to its critical evolution as a relevant and useful concept in health geography. Building on themes included in two earlier (1999, 2007) edited volumes on Therapeutic Landscapes, we summarise the key themes identified in the review, broadly in keeping with the core material, social, spiritual and symbolic dimensions of the concept initially posited by Gesler. Through this process, we identify strengths and limitations of the concept and its applications, as well as knowledge gaps and promising future directions for work in this field, reflecting critically on its value within health geography and its potential contribution to wider interdisciplinary discussions and debates around 'healthy' spaces, places, and related practices. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How can we better prepare new doctors for the tasks and challenges of ward rounds?:An observational study of junior doctors' experiences

Founding: Economic and Social Research Council Open access via T&F agreement Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank participating FY1 doctors and the senior staff who made this study possible. Funding The study was funded by the ESRC via a Doctoral Studentship awarded to CB.Peer reviewedPublisher PD