Practice-Driven Evaluation of a Multi-layered Psychosocial Care Package for Children in Areas of Armed Conflict

Psychosocial and mental health service delivery frameworks for children in low-income countries are scarce. This paper presents a practice-driven evaluation of a multi-layered community-based care package in Burundi, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Sudan, through a set of indicators; (a) perceived treatment gains; (b) treatment satisfaction; (c) therapist burden; (d) access to care; (e) care package costs. Across four settings (n = 29,292 children), beneficiaries reported high levels of client satisfaction and moderate post-treatment problem reductions. Service providers reported significant levels of distress related to service delivery. Cost analyses demonstrated mean cost per service user to vary from 3.46 to 17.32 € depending on country and specification of costs. The results suggest a multi-layered psychosocial care package appears feasible and satisfactory in reaching out to substantial populations of distressed children through different levels of care. Future replication should address therapist burden, cost reductions to increase sustainability and increase evidence for treatment efficacy

The Development and Validation of the Thai-Translated Irrational Performance Beliefs Inventory (T-iPBI)

© 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. One of the most commonly employed cognitive-behavioural approaches to psychotherapy is rational-emotive behaviour therapy, but researchers have been troubled by some of the limitations of irrational beliefs psychometrics. As a result, Turner et al. (Eur J Psychol Assess 34:174–180, 2018a. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000314) developed the Irrational Performance Beliefs Inventory (iPBI), a novel measure of irrational beliefs for use within performance domains. However, the linguistic and cross-cultural adaptation of the iPBI into other languages is necessary for its multinational and multicultural use. The purpose of this paper is to develop the Thai-translated version of the iPBI (T-iPBI) and examine the validity and reliability of the T-iPBI. Data retrieved from 166 participants were analysed using SPSS and AMOS software packages. Thirty-three participants completed two follow-up T-iPBI measurements (1- and 3-week repeat assessment). After the linguistic and cross-cultural adaptation processes, the T-iPBI demonstrated excellent levels of reliability, with internal consistency and test–retest reliability, as well as construct, concurrent, and predictive validity. The current findings indicate that the 20-item T-iPBI can be used as a self-assessment instrument to evaluate individual’s irrational performance beliefs in a Thai population. We also highlight the implications of this study and suggest a variety of future research directions that stem from the results

The beyondblue Schools Research Initiative: conceptual framework and intervention

The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.comOBJECTIVE: To describe the rationale, conceptual framework and content of the intervention for the beyondblue Schools Research Initiative. CONCLUSIONS: The beyondblue Schools Research Initiative aims to prevent the development of depression in young people through increasing individual and environmental protective factors within the school context. The model draws on evidence that demonstrates the important role played by individual and environmental characteristics in buffering the impact of adversity. The school provides a forum in which both individual and environmental change may be produced in order to increase some of these key protective characteristics. The project also draws together health, education and other key services to provide more effective pathways to enable young people to receive professional help when requiredSusan Spence, Jane Burns, Susan Boucher, Sara Glover, Brian Graetz, Debra Kay, George Patton and Michael Sawye

Against all odds: a retrospective case-controlled study of women who experienced extraordinary breastfeeding problems

Aims. The study investigated factors empowering women to continue breastfeeding despite experiencing extraordinary difficulties. The study documented the experiences and characteristics of women who continued to breastfeed (continuing cohort) and those who weaned (non-continuing cohort) despite extraordinary difficulties. Design. Retrospective case control. Methods. The study was undertaken in south-east Queensland, Australia in 2004. Forty women (20 in each cohort) were recruited over six months. Both quantitative (breastfeeding knowledge questionnaire) and qualitative (semi-structured interviews) data were collected. This paper describes the qualitative data. Results. Women from both cohorts expressed idealistic expectations about breastfeeding and experienced psychological distress due to their breastfeeding problems. Those who continued breastfeeding used coping strategies and exhibited personal qualities that assisted them to overcome the difficulties experienced. Women who continued to breastfeed were more likely to report relying on a health professional they could trust for support. This latter cohort were also more likely to report having peers with which they shared their experiences. Non-continuing women expressed feelings of guilt and inadequacy following weaning and were more likely to feel isolated. Conclusions. This study has highlighted the methods women use to deal with breastfeeding problems. It has also revealed modificable factors that can improve breastfeeding duration. Relevance to clinical practice. The findings indicate that clinicians should: Provide information which accurately reflects the breastfeeding experience; Ensure systems are in place so that effective postnatal support for breastfeeding difficulties is available; Consider screening to ascertain levels of psychological distress, sadness and disillusionment among breastfeeding women; Design educational interventions with elements of cognitive skills, problem-solving and self-efficacy training to equip women with the skills to overcome any experienced difficulties