Understanding the utility of “Talk-to-Me” an online suicide prevention program for Australian university students

Background: Australian university students are at risk of experiencing poor mental health, being vulnerable to self-harm and suicidal ideation. Aim: “Talk-to-Me” is a suicide ideation prevention Massive open online course (MOOC) previously showing it can support Western Australian university students' knowledge of identifying and responding to suicide ideation in themselves and others. Methods: A multi-site one-group pre-test/post-test design with a 12-week follow-up explored the efficacy of “Talk-to-Me” for university students Australia-wide, evaluating the influence of COVID-19 and location. Overall, 217 students (55% female; mage = 24.93 years [18, 60]) enrolled in this study from 2020 to 2021. Participants' responses to suicidal statements, mental health literacy, generalized self-efficacy, help-seeking behavior, and overall utility of the program were collected at baseline, post-MOOC (10 weeks from baseline) and 12-week follow-up. The effect of time and location interaction was explored using a random-effects regression model. Results: Findings indicated significant improvement in participants' knowledge of positive mental health support strategies (ES = 0.42, p &lt; 0.001) and recognizing appropriate responses to suicidal statements (ES = 0.37, p &lt; 0.001) at 10-weeks, with further improvement at 12 weeks follow-up (ES = 0.47 and 0.46, p &lt; 0.001). Students reported higher generalized self-efficacy at the 12-week follow-up compared to baseline (ES = 0.19, p = 0.03) and an increased tendency to seek professional help for mental health issues (ES = 0.22, p = 0.02). Conclusion: These findings provide preliminary evidence of the efficacy of the “Talk-to-Me” program in supporting ‎university students across Australia to increase their suicide-related knowledge and skills, ‎general self-efficacy, and overall mental fitness.</p

Exploring the implementation of the restraint and seclusion school policy with students with disability in Australian schools

Policies exist to regulate the use of restraint and seclusion so that they are only implemented when necessary and following appropriate standards and procedures. These policies often focus on students with disability. This qualitative study explored school leaders’ understanding, use and perspectives of the Restraint and Seclusion Policy mandated for Victorian government schools, in relation to primary school-aged children with disability. Reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken on interviews conducted with eight leaders from six Victorian government schools. Five themes were developed: (i) Perceptions about behaviours of concern; (ii) Complex policy complicates implementation; (iii) Many factors determine policy implementation; (iv) Reporting is required but stressful; and (v) Support is important and includes, but is not limited to, professional development. Results indicate the Policy was valued but complex. School ethos, educator ideologies and understanding of behaviour, and the physical environment impacted policy implementation. Leaders felt the most effective approach to reducing restraint and seclusion use was preventing challenging behaviour through proactive and holistic approaches. Reporting was necessary but the process often felt arduous and judgmental for educators. The Restraint and Seclusion Policy was valued but needs to be user friendly and supported with professional development about understanding the policy, behaviour and disability

Adequacy of the regular early education classroom environment for students with visual impairment

This study describes the classroom environment that students with visual impairment typically experience in regular Australian early education. Adequacy of the classroom environment (teacher training and experience, teacher support, parent involvement, adult involvement, inclusive attitude, individualization of the curriculum, physical environment, and vision aids) for students with visual impairment in early regular education was assessed at the start and the end of one year. A total of 20 students with visual impairment (age M = 5.4 years) attending regular early education participated. In general, teacher-reported curriculum individualization and the physical environment were adequate. However, support provided for staff, teacher training, adult involvement, access to visual aids, and inclusive attitudes were less than adequate. More than 40% of students experienced fewer than four out of nine adequate environmental features. These results indicate that strategies to improve teacher training, support, attitudes, and access to vision aids are needed

Measurement of quality of life for people with diabetic retinopathy impairment

Vision impairment associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR) impacts on an individual's functioning, psychosocial, physical and financial wellbeing. However, clinical measures of visual functioning are not able to capture the broad effects of vision impairment as experienced by the individual. For this reason, self-reported health-related quality of life (QoL) has become an important outcome measure in ophthalmic practice. While many health-related QoL questionnaires have been developed to measure this concept, few have adequate psychometric properties. This paper discusses the assessment of vision-specific QoL for patients with DR and the associations between DR and QoL. The impact of ophthalmic interventions and low-vision rehabilitation for people with DR are explored. To fully capture the effectiveness of such interventions, a valid, reliable, culturally appropriate, vision-specific instrument should be used