Identifying & Addressing Barriers to Child Care for Formerly Incarcerated Mothers

As women’s incarceration rates have risen significantly in recent decades, gender-specific programs are needed to meet the needs of formerly incarcerated mothers (FIM). Although child care can be difficult to access for many families, this marginalized population faces unique obstacles to accessing child care. In order for FIM to be employed and reintegrate, they must be able to access child care; however, FIM experience unique barriers to securing child care services. This policy brief aims to identify the special considerations FIM face, as well as to explore why existing programs are not meeting their specific needs. A literature review was completed to identify relevant articles, which were analyzed for themes that give insight into the barriers faced by FIM in accessing child care after release from prison. Lack of child care support from family and friends, inadequate communication from Child Protective Service (CPS) case workers during incarceration, requirements related to criminal justice involvement and CPS custody cases, and lack of access to financial safety nets make it difficult for FIM to access child care for their children. Key informant interviews with selected experts in this field were used to add perspective to existing data in the literature. Findings can be utilized by stakeholders and public health researchers and professionals to make policy changes, develop programs, adjust and expand existing programs, and seek funding to aid FIM with trauma-informed care and intersectional sensitivity

Speech and language difficulties in children with and without a family history of dyslexia

Comorbidity between SLI and dyslexia is well documented. Researchers have variously argued that dyslexia is a separate disorder from SLI, or that children with dyslexia show a subset of the difficulties shown in SLI. This study examines these hypotheses by assessing whether family history of dyslexia and speech and language difficulties are separable risk factors for literacy difficulties. Forty-six children with a family risk of dyslexia (FRD) and 36 children receiving speech therapy (SLT) were compared to 128 typically developing children. A substantial number (41.3%) of the children with FRD had received SLT. The nature of their difficulties did not differ in severity or form from those shown by the other children in SLT. However, both SLT and FRD were independent risk factors in predicting reading difficulties both concurrently and 6 months later. It is argued that the results are best explained in terms of Pennington's (2006) multiple deficits model

Riding the Melanoma Rollercoaster: Understanding the experiences and support needs of patients with melanoma and their carers. Charting changes over time.

Background: Melanoma incidence continues to rise worldwide but mortality rates remain stable, meaning ever more patients require support. However, there is currently little research on the support needs of melanoma patients and their carers. Aim: To explore the experience/support needs of melanoma patients and their carers over time. Methods: Using a Constructivist Grounded Theory 17 melanoma patients, 11 carers and 11 healthcare professionals (HCPS) were recruited. Concurrent data analysis, theoretical sampling and constant comparison informed a longitudinal, emergent research design capturing experiences over time. Data were collected from patients and carers using interviews and diagramming over 2 years and from HCPs on 2 occasions. Results: A substantive theory emerged highlighting four key phases in the melanoma experience: pre-diagnosis, diagnosis and initial treatment, surveillance and advanced disease, and for some, death. The overall experience was captured by the metaphor ‘Riding the Rollercoaster’ reflecting the ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ participants experienced at each stage in their ‘roles’, ‘routines’ and ‘relationships’. Changes were mediated by the ways in which patients and carers ‘recognised’ and ‘responded’ to their situation and the ‘resources’ that they could draw upon. Key processes including ‘sharing’ and ‘hiding’ impacted in particular on the ‘relationships’ between patients, carers and HCPs

“This is pretend. We are just playing.” Exploring young children’s imaginative play with, and educators’ provision of, digital technologies in play-based settings.

Digital technologies have become commonplace in nearly all areas of the modern life in Western society. Mobile phone users now have the ability to watch movies, surf the internet and perform all the functionalities of a computer on increasingly smaller devices. Children are capable of not only taking photos and movies, but they can successfully upload them to social media. They now have an online presence from a very early age, sometimes even before they are born. What does this mean for early childhood educational settings, where play is valued as the way children learn? Children are arriving at these services with a wide range of prior experiences including more technical knowledge than ever before, and sometimes, more than their educators. The early childhood field began by debating the appropriateness of using technologies with young children, but current literature has moved on to now focus on exploring their engagement with technologies, and on the positive benefits of building children’s knowledge of technologies, prior to formal schooling. What is not clearly defined is how children engage with these devices when they are provided in play-based, learning settings. Educators often struggle to integrate these technologies into their play-based pedagogies, and to support children’s meaning making when their play involves these devices. While some targeted professional development for educators aims to build their knowledge around how to provide technologies for young children, these efforts have not been very effective when integrating them into play-based pedagogy. What is needed is greater understanding of how to provide technologies in meaningful ways, and how to implement child-focused pedagogies incorporating technologies that support children’s play and learning. This thesis aims to explore the integration between children’s imaginative play with digital technologies, and the influences on educators’ provision of these devices in play-based settings. The research was conducted in two kindergarten settings, in suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. The children were aged four to six years and were attending kindergarten in the year prior to school entry. An ethnographic study was conducted over a 12-week period, with data being collected via video recordings, photographs, observations, conversations with children, interviews with educators and a researcher journal. The first contribution to knowledge that this thesis makes is the introduction of the Imaginative Affordance Framework, which combines Vygotsky’s (1966) concepts of mediation and imagination with Gibson’s (1979) concept of affordance. The framework was used to analyse the data collected and establish the findings related to the children’s imaginative play with digital technologies and to understand the educators’ provision of these devices. The findings were presented and discussed as six paradoxes: working technologies versus non-working technologies; solitary individuals working with devices versus groups of children on devices; play-based, child centred programmes versus adult controlled programmes; nature discourse versus technologies as not natural; traditional kindergarten activities versus newer technological activities; and, children learning to navigate the rules pertaining to working technologies versus their desire to play according to their own volition. Based on the findings three recommendations were presented. These related to the children, the educators and the wider community and policy makers. The second contribution to knowledge filled the gap in current understanding, established in the literature review, around how children engage with digital technologies in their imaginative play, influenced by what and how the devices are provided by their educators. The reasons behind the educators’ provision are discussed and their position as neoliberal subjects is recognised and explored. A diagram of provision is presented and suggestions for professional learning to address the intervention points within the diagram are made. The thesis concludes with recommendations of potential research that would further extend the knowledge base of this topic

Utilising Interview Methodology to Inform the Development of New Clinical Assessment Tools for Anxiety in Autistic Individuals Who Speak Few or no Words

Autistic individuals with intellectual disability who speak few or no words are at high risk of anxiety but are underrepresented in research. This study aimed to describe the presentation of anxiety in this population and discuss implications for the development of assessments. Interviews were conducted with 21 parents/carers of autistic individuals and nine clinicians. Data were analysed using content analysis and interpretative phenomenological analysis. Anxiety behaviours described by parents/carers included increased vocalisation, avoidance and behaviours that challenge. Changes to routine were highlighted as triggering anxiety. Clinicians discussed the importance of identifying an individual’s baseline of behaviour, knowing an individual well and ruling out other forms of distress. This study raises considerations for early identification of anxiety and for subsequent support

A dataset of nectar sugar production for flowering plants found in urban green spaces

Nectar and pollen are floral resources that provide food for insect pollinators, so quantifying their supplies can help us to understand and mitigate pollinator declines. However, most existing datasets of floral resource measurements focus on native plants found in rural landscapes, so cannot be used effectively for estimating supplies in urban green spaces, where non-native ornamental plants often predominate. We sampled floral nectar sugar in 225 plant taxa found in UK residential gardens and other urban green spaces, focussing on the most common species. The vast majority (94%) of our sampled taxa are non-native, filling an important research gap and ensuring these data are also relevant outside of the United Kingdom. Our dataset includes values of daily nectar sugar production for all 225 taxa and nectar sugar concentration for around half (102) of those sampled. Nectar extraction was conducted according to published methods, ensuring our values can be combined with other datasets. We anticipate that the two main uses of these data are (1) to estimate the nectar production of habitats and landscapes and (2) to identify high-nectar plants of conservation importance. To increase the utility of our data, we provide guidance for scaling nectar values up from single flowers to floral units, as is commonly done in field studies

Development and psychometric properties of the Clinical Anxiety Scale for People with Intellectual Disabilities (ClASP-ID)

Background: There is a critical need for the development of dependable and valid anxiety assessment tools suitable for people with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities, particularly those who speak few or no words. Distinguishing anxiety from distress caused by physical discomfort (pain) or characteristics associated with autism, prevalent in this population, necessitates specialised assessment tools. This study (a) developed a parent-report anxiety questionnaire tailored for individuals with severe to moderate intellectual disabilities, potentially with a co-diagnosis of autism, and (b) evaluated the psychometric attributes of this novel measure. Methods: A comprehensive approach involving literature reviews, inspection of existing tools, and interviews with clinicians and parents guided the creation of the Clinical Anxiety Scale for People with Intellectual Disabilities. The tool was completed by parents or caregivers (N = 311) reporting on individuals aged 4 or older with intellectual disabilities. Results: Exploratory factor analysis indicated a four-factor structure encompassing anxiety, pain, low energy/withdrawal, and consolability. The anxiety factor explained the most variance in scores (26.3%). The anxiety, pain, low energy/withdrawal subscales demonstrated robust internal consistency (α = 0.81-0.92), and convergent, divergent, and discriminant validity. Robustness of these subscales was further evidenced by test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.79-0.88) and inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.64-0.71). Subgroup analyses consistently demonstrated strong psychometric properties among individuals diagnosed with non-syndromic autism (N = 98), children (N = 135), adults (N = 175), and across diverse communication abilities within the sample. Moreover, individuals diagnosed with both autism and anxiety exhibited significantly higher scores on the anxiety subscale compared to those without an anxiety diagnosis, while showing no difference in autism characteristic scores. Conclusions: The findings indicate that the Clinical Anxiety Scale for People with Intellectual Disabilities is a promising measure for use across diverse diagnostic groups, varying communication abilities, and with people with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities

The number of CD56^dim NK cells in the graft has a major impact on risk of disease relapse following allo-HSCT

Key Points A stem cell graft NK cell dose below 6.3 × 106 cells per kg associates with risk of disease relapse following T-cell–depleted allo-HSCT. Clinical outcomes of patients undergoing allo-HSCT may be improved by setting an NK cell threshold within donor stem cell grafts.</jats:p

Acceptability of prison-based take-home naloxone programmes among a cohort of incarcerated men with a history of regular injecting drug use

Background: Take-home naloxone (THN) programmes are an evidence-based opioid overdose prevention initiative. Elevated opioid overdose risk following prison release means release from custody provides an ideal opportunity for THN initiatives. However, whether Australian prisoners would utilise such programmes is unknown. We examined the acceptability of THN in a cohort of male prisoners with histories of regular injecting drug use (IDU) in Victoria, Australia. Methods: The sample comprised 380 men from the Prison and Transition Health (PATH) Cohort Study; all of whom reported regular IDU in the 6 months prior to incarceration. We asked four questions regarding THN during the pre-release baseline interview, including whether participants would be willing to participate in prison-based THN. We describe responses to these questions along with relationships between before- and during-incarceration factors and willingness to participate in THN training prior to release from prison. Results: Most participants (81%) reported willingness to undertake THN training prior to release. Most were willing to resuscitate a friend using THN if they were trained (94%) and to be revived by a trained peer (91%) using THN. More than 10 years since first injection (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 2.22, 95%CI 1.03-4.77), having witnessed an opioid overdose in the last 5 years (AOR 2.53, 95%CI 1.32-4.82), having ever received alcohol or other drug treatment in prison (AOR 2.41, 95%CI 1.14-5.07) and injecting drugs during the current prison sentence (AOR 4.45, 95%CI 1.73-11.43) were significantly associated with increased odds of willingness to participate in a prison THN programme. Not specifying whether they had injected during their prison sentence (AOR 0.37, 95%CI 0.18-0.77) was associated with decreased odds of willingness to participate in a prison THN training. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that male prisoners in Victoria with a history of regular IDU are overwhelmingly willing to participate in THN training prior to release. Factors associated with willingness to participate in prison THN programmes offer insights to help support the implementation and uptake of THN programmes to reduce opioid-overdose deaths in the post-release period