Evaluation of the Lancashire Safer Together Transition Project

The transition project sought to support survivors of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) and their children in the transfer from one service provider to another in Lancashire. The Safer Together consortium was set up in 2014 consisting of 11 local DVA specialist organisations that had previously operated independently. These providers were encouraged by the local authority to form a consortium following a move to commissioned services leading to the formation of Safer Together1. Following the first 2014 tender process, Lancashire County Council awarded a three-year contract to two main providers: Let Go in North Lancashire and Safer Together in East and Central Lancashire. The outcome was not without controversy2. Services were then put out to tender again in 2016. Safer Together provided DVA services for adult victims and an early support service for children and young people3 until 2017 when the new tender was awarded elsewhere (see appendix 1). Subsequently, at least three domestic DVA charities have closed, including one that had delivered services for almost 20 years (Cooney, 2017)4. Consequently, there is generally an absence of funding and capacity to support service users to transition from one provider to another. The Safer Together consortium was understandably disappointed at this outcome – many partners in the consortium had a long history of providing DVA services in Lancashire and not all of their staff were able to benefit from Transfer of Understanding (TUPE) opportunities. However, led by HARV5, members of the Safer Together consortium were pleased to be granted funding by Comic Relief in 2017 for six months to support and assist adult survivors and their children in the transition to the newly commissioned Service. Researchers from the Connect Centre based at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) were commissioned to undertake the evaluation of this transition

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on characteristics, extent and trends in child maltreatment in 34 Euro-CAN COST Action countries: a scoping review protocol.

Introduction While the factors commonly associated with an increased risk of child maltreatment (CM) were found to be increased during COVID-19, reports of actual maltreatment showed varying trends. Similarly, evidence regarding the impact of COVID-19 on CM within the European Cooperation on Science and Technology and Network Collaborative (COST) Action countries remains inconsistent. This scoping review aims to explore the extent and nature of evidence pertaining to CM within the countries affiliated with the Child Abuse and Neglect in Europe Action Network (Euro-CAN), funded by the COST. Methods and analysis Key electronic databases were searched to identify eligible papers, reports and other material published between January 2020 and April 2023: PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Social Policy and Practice, Scopus and Web of Science. To cover the breadth of evidence, a systematic and broad search strategy was applied using a combination of keywords and controlled vocabulary for four concepts: children, maltreatment, COVID-19 and Euro-CAN countries, without restrictions on study design or language. Grey literature was searched in OpenGrey and Google Scholar. Two reviewers will independently screen full-text publications for eligibility and undertake data extraction, using a customised grid. The screening criteria and data charting will be piloted by the research team.The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension for scoping reviews will be followed to present the results. Results will be summarised in a tabular form and narratively. Ethics and dissemination This review will identify and summarise publicly available data, without requiring ethical approval. The findings will be disseminated to the Euro-CAN Network and reported to the COST Association. They will also be published in a peer-reviewed journal. This protocol is registered on Open Science Framework

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on characteristics, extent and trends in child maltreatment in 34 Euro-CAN COST Action countries: a scoping review protocol

Introduction While the factors commonly associated with an increased risk of child maltreatment (CM) were found to be increased during COVID-19, reports of actual maltreatment showed varying trends. Similarly, evidence regarding the impact of COVID-19 on CM within the European Cooperation on Science and Technology and Network Collaborative (COST) Action countries remains inconsistent. This scoping review aims to explore the extent and nature of evidence pertaining to CM within the countries affiliated with the Child Abuse and Neglect in Europe Action Network (Euro-CAN), funded by the COST. Methods and analysis Key electronic databases were searched to identify eligible papers, reports and other material published between January 2020 and April 2023: PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Social Policy and Practice, Scopus and Web of Science. To cover the breadth of evidence, a systematic and broad search strategy was applied using a combination of keywords and controlled vocabulary for four concepts: children, maltreatment, COVID-19 and Euro-CAN countries, without restrictions on study design or language. Grey literature was searched in OpenGrey and Google Scholar. Two reviewers will independently screen full-text publications for eligibility and undertake data extraction, using a customised grid. The screening criteria and data charting will be piloted by the research team. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension for scoping reviews will be followed to present the results. Results will be summarised in a tabular form and narratively. Ethics and dissemination This review will identify and summarise publicly available data, without requiring ethical approval. The findings will be disseminated to the Euro-CAN Network and reported to the COST Association. They will also be published in a peer-reviewed journal. This protocol is registered on Open Science Framework

Factors Affecting Condom Use in Young People in the Frame of Health Belief Model

WOS: 000381067000003In this study, the effect of university students' health beliefs on their condom usage during sexual intercourse was explored. For this purpose, AIDS Health Belief Scale and Self-Efficacy Scale for AIDS Prevention was applied to total of 299 students. Data was collected from voluntarily-participated students who had sexual intercourse experience. The study was conducted in seven universities in Izmir and Istanbul. Logistic regression analysis was used between predictor and predicted variables. Results indicated that only condom use self-efficacy of individuals was predictive of their condom use behaviour. In addition, self-efficacy of AIDS prevention and AIDS health belief was significantly different between males and females. Perceived benefit of condom use and self-efficacy of AIDS prevention was higher for females compared to males. On the other hand, self-efficacy of males about talking on sexual issues in family setting was higher than females

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Their Predictors in Earthquake or Fire Survivors

Abstract Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder and previous knowledge of emergency management, sense of control over the stressor, perceived threat, and somatic symptoms in earthquake and fire survivors.. Method: The data were obtained from the 2009-database of the Izmir Province Fire Department to include the people who had experienced domestic fire (n=92), from the people who had applied to the Health Group Directory after the 2005 earthquake in Seferihisar (n=38) and from the staff of a third step hospital who experienced a fire in public building in 2010 (n=34). The Impact of Events Scale-revised version (IES-R) was used to determine the traumatic stress levels of the participants; and the Behavior, Security, and Culture - Survivor (BeSeCu- S) questionnaire was used to acquire information on factors before and after the traumatic events. Results: Compared to the fire survivors, the earthquake survivors perceived higher levels of threat and lower levels of control during the event gender, perceived threat, somatic symptoms experienced during the event and perceived control over the event were found to predict the post-traumatic stress disorder. Conclusion: Results of the research suggested that control-focused treatment methods could be effective in treatment of people who had experienced earthquake and fire. It is observed that informing the public about emergency management would be protective for mental health by increasing the sense of control of the individuals at the time of the incident. On the other hand, the positive relationship between PTSD and previous knowledge on emergency suggests that the ringing alarms and practice errors during the fire and earthquake drills could traumatize people. Future research is recommended on the relationship between information processing, somatic symptoms and emotional processes in individuals during earthquake, fire and their drills. © 2018, Turkish Association of Nervous and Mental Health