Emotional intelligence, reflective abilities and wellbeing in social workers

Research reportIn order to inform the curriculum and the development of supportive structures to support the work-related wellbeing of trainee social workers, this research project had several aims. It examined the key motivators to enter social work, together with the sources of social support and the coping strategies that students draw on to help them manage the demands of study and placement experiences Several emotional and social competencies (i.e. emotional intelligence, reflective ability, empathy and social competence) are also investigated as potential predictors of resilience. Also examined was whether resilience predicted psychological distress, and the role played by resilience in the relationship between emotional intelligence and distress was assessed

Embracing an emerging structure: The employment of psychiatric survivors in Ontario community mental health organizations

This dissertation discusses a mixed methods research project exploring the patterns of participation in Ontario community mental health services of those who have utilized the mental health system and exploring the characteristics of two Ontario organizations that have high levels of psychiatric survivor participation, particularly in employment. Framed by structuration theory (Giddens, 1984, 1993) and Foucault\u27s (1969/2002, 1980a, 1980b, 1994d) formulations of power/knowledge, this study occurred in two phases. Starting with a survey of community mental health organizations in Ontario, I explored the extent to which psychiatric survivors participate in organizations. Participation was found in this order of prevalence: planning, membership on Boards of Directors, attending staff training, policy creation, staff hiring, teaching at staff training, and being invited to teach at staff training. This survey was followed by in-depth ethnographic studies (Bi-perspectual Focused Institutional Ethnography) of two organizations with high levels of participation of psychiatric survivors, and especially in employment (prosumers), to explore the culture, characteristics, and relationships within these organizations. Many recommendations have arisen from this analysis, including a focus on relationships as a strategy for negotiating the dominant and emerging structures, the importance of relational autonomy to organize relationships between distinct prosumer programs and other services, and the necessity of critical reflectivity in interactions so that we may challenge a dominant structure. In addition, the two organizations in this study have provided concrete strategies for supporting and encouraging prosumer employment. Strategies focused on hiring practices, working conditions, and attitudes. As this study suggests, there are some exciting examples of survivor voices influencing organizations in Ontario. At the same time, there are challenges to the extent to which psychiatric survivors meaningfully participate in organizations. In part, as this study suggests, these challenges represent a negotiation of the identity of the dominant structure constituting community mental health services in Ontario

Building resilience in early-career social workers: evaluating a multi-modal intervention

It is widely recognised that social workers need to increase their emotional resilience to protect their wellbeing and enhance the quality of their professional practice, but there is little evidence-based guidance on how this might be achieved. This study evaluated a multi-modal intervention that aimed to improve emotional resilience and wellbeing in newly-qualified social workers from children’s services in England. More specifically, it examined whether the intervention enhanced several personal resources associated with resilience (emotional self-efficacy, reflective ability, self-compassion and compassion satisfaction/fatigue) together with the overall level of mental health. A repeated measures wait-list controlled design was utilised. Twenty-five social workers in their first year of qualified practice in children’s statutory services received training over a two-month period. The control group comprised 31 early career social workers also working in statutory children’s services. An online survey obtained data before the intervention and two months afterwards. Evidence was found that the intervention was effective in enhancing some personal resources, as well as psychological wellbeing more generally. The finding that psychological distress and compassion fatigue increased during the study period for the control group raises some concerns. The potential of the findings to inform sustainable, evidence-based interventions to protect and promote wellbeing in early career social workers is discussed

Emotional demands, compassion and mental health in social workers

Background: Compassion, described as the act of providing care based on empathy, dignity and respect, is intrinsic to effective health and social care.  Although delivering compassionate care has wide-ranging benefits for service users, more insight is needed into its effects on health and social care professionals. The emotional demands of ‘helping’ work can engender compassion fatigue that may impair wellbeing, whereas compassion satisfaction and feelings of compassion towards the self could be protective.  Aims: To examine the effects (direct and indirect) of compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue and self-compassion on mental health in a cohort of social workers. Methods: We used validated scales to measure emotional demands, compassion satisfaction and fatigue, and self-compassion and the General Health Questionnaire-12 to assess mental health. We tested the main and moderating effects of emotional demands and the three facets of compassion using hierarchical regression analysis. Results: The study sample comprised 306 social workers (79% female). Participants who reported higher levels of compassion satisfaction and self-compassion tended to report better mental health, whereas compassion fatigue was a significant risk factor for wellbeing. The models explained 44% - 53% of the variance in mental health symptoms.  We found some evidence that compassion satisfaction and self-compassion buffer the negative effects of emotional demand on mental health, contributing 2% and 3% respectively to the incremental variance. Conclusions:  Our findings suggest that evidence-based interventions are needed to reduce compassion fatigue and enhance compassion satisfaction and self-compassion in social care work. We consider ways to accomplish this using targeted interventions.

Presenteeism during the COVID-19 pandemic - risk factors and solutions for employers

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruption to how people work and how business is conducted. The UK has entered a major recession, meaning there is considerable uncertainty about future employment and business continuity. As organisations are under considerable pressure to remain productive and profitable, reducing the cost of sickness absence will be a major concern. Nonetheless, there is evidence that continuing to work when unwell (presenteeism) is not only far more common but also more damaging for individuals and organisations. This guide highlights the costs of presenteeism and considers how the challenges of the pandemic have the potential to increase such behaviour. Also included are some suggestions and solutions to reduce the incidence and costs of presenteeism. Some solutions are also provided to help organisations reduce its damaging effects

Patient Perspectives on Acquiring Spectacles: A Cambodian Experience

Purpose: To assess the perspectives of patients who acquired spectacles from an eye unit/vision center in Cambodia. Design: A sample (n = 62) of patients was selected across 4 provinces: Prey Veng, Siem Reap, Battambang, and Takeo. Methods: The Patient Spectacle Satisfaction Survey covering demographic and semistructured questions regarding patient satisfaction, style, and costs incurred was used to collect data. Information was transcribed and translated into English and analyzed by thematic coding using NVivo. Results: Although there were more women seeking eye health care treatment, there was no significant age difference. Patient satisfaction levels were high although the patients had to pay for transportation, registration, and the glasses themselves. A total of 60 patients (96.7%) stated they would recommend the refractive service center to others. Despite a high level of awareness of eye disease such as cataract, only 2 in 10 people could accurately identify cataract as a major cause of poor vision or blindness. Most of the people (52%) blamed bad vision or blindness on dust or other foreign objects getting into the eye, old age (31%), or poor hygiene (16%). Conclusions: Most people will pay eye care costs once barriers to seeking treatment have been broken via education and encouragement. Satisfaction of wearing spectacles was associated with improved vision; style, color, and fit of the spectacles; and protection from sunlight and dust. The proximity of and easy access to health facilities influenced patient desire to seek treatment

Microwave Properties of Ice-Phase Hydrometeors for Radar and Radiometers: Sensitivity to Model Assumptions

A simplied framework is presented for assessing the qualitative sensitivities of computed microwave properties, satellite brightness temperatures, and radar reflectivities to assumptions concerning the physical properties of ice-phase hydrometeors. Properties considered included the shape parameter of a gamma size distribution andthe melted-equivalent mass median diameter D0, the particle density, dielectric mixing formula, and the choice of complex index of refraction for ice. We examine these properties at selected radiometer frequencies of 18.7, 36.5, 89.0, and 150.0 GHz; and radar frequencies at 2.8, 13.4, 35.6, and 94.0 GHz consistent with existing and planned remote sensing instruments. Passive and active microwave observables of ice particles arefound to be extremely sensitive to the melted-equivalent mass median diameter D0 ofthe size distribution. Similar large sensitivities are found for variations in the ice vol-ume fraction whenever the geometric mass median diameter exceeds approximately 1/8th of the wavelength. At 94 GHz the two-way path integrated attenuation is potentially large for dense compact particles. The distribution parameter mu has a relatively weak effect on any observable: less than 1-2 K in brightness temperature and up to 2.7 dB difference in the effective radar reflectivity. Reversal of the roles of ice and air in the MaxwellGarnett dielectric mixing formula leads to a signicant change in both microwave brightness temperature (10 K) and radar reflectivity (2 dB). The choice of Warren (1984) or Warren and Brandt (2008) for the complex index of refraction of ice can produce a 3%-4% change in the brightness temperature depression

Experiences with HPTN 067/ADAPT Study-Provided Open-Label PrEP Among Women in Cape Town: Facilitators and Barriers Within a Mutuality Framework.

Placebo-controlled trials of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) have reported challenges with study-product uptake and use, with the greatest challenges reported in studies with young women in sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted a qualitative sub-study to explore experiences with open-label PrEP among young women in Cape Town, South Africa participating in HTPN 067/Alternative Dosing to Augment Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Pill Taking (ADAPT). HPTN 067/ADAPT provided open label oral FTC/TDF PrEP to young women in Cape Town, South Africa who were randomized to daily and non-daily PrEP regimens. Following completion of study participation, women were invited into a qualitative sub-study including focus groups and in-depth interviews. Interviews and groups followed a semi-structured guide, were recorded, transcribed, and translated to English from isiXhosa, and coded using framework analysis. Sixty of the 179 women enrolled in HPTN 067/ADAPT participated in either a focus group (six groups for a total of 42 participants) or an in-depth interview (n = 18). This sample of mostly young, unmarried women identified facilitators of and barriers to PrEP use, as well as factors influencing study participation. Cross-cutting themes characterizing discourse suggested that women placed high value on contributing to the well-being of one's community (Ubuntu), experienced a degree of skepticism towards PrEP and the study more generally, and reported a wide range of approaches towards PrEP (ranging from active avoidance to high levels of persistence and adherence). A Mutuality Framework is proposed that identifies four dynamics (distrust, uncertainty, alignment, and mutuality) that represent distinct interactions between self, community and study and serve to contextualize women's experiences. Implications for better understanding PrEP use, and non-use, and intervention opportunities are discussed. In this sample of women, PrEP use in the context of an open-label research trial was heavily influenced by underlying beliefs about safety, reciprocity of contributions to community, and trust in transparency and integrity of the research. Greater attention to factors positioning women in the different dynamics of the proposed Mutuality Framework could direct intervention approaches in clinical trials, as well as open-label PrEP scale-up

Multisensor Observation and Simulation of Snowfall During the 2003 Wakasa Bay Field Experiment

This research seeks to assess and improve the accuracy of microphysical assumptions used in satellite passive microwave radiative transfer models and retrieval algorithms by exploiting complementary observations from satellite radiometers, such as TRMM/AMSR-E/GPM, and coincident aircraft instruments, such as the next generation precipitation radar (PR-2). We focus in particular on aircraft data obtained during the Wakasa Bay field experiment, Japan 2003, pertaining to surface snowfall events. The observations of vertical profiles of reflectivity and Doppler-derived fall speeds are used in conjunction with the radiometric measurements to identify 1-D profiles of precipitation particle types, sizes, and concentrations that are consistent with the observations

Determinants of the outcome of electrophysiologic study in patients with ventricular tachyarrhythmias

To determine those factors predictive of the ability to both initiate and suppress ventricular tachyarrhythmias during electrophysiologic study, the results of programmed cardiac stimulation were evaluated in 261 patients: 66 presenting with nonsustained ventricular tachycardia, 91 with sustained ventricular tachycardia and 104 with ventricular fibrillation. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the presenting arrhythmia was a potent and independent predictor of the ability to provoke ventricular arrhythmias at electrophysiologic study; a history of myocardial infarction and male sex were also significant independent predictors. Of patients presenting with sustained ventricular tachycardia, 89% (81 of 91) had inducible ventricular arrhythmias compared with 61 (40 of 66) and 66% (69 of 104) of patients with nonsustained ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation, respectively.Complete suppression of inducible arrhythmias could be achieved in only 52% (34 of 66) of patients with sustained ventricular tachycardia, compared with 73 (24 of 33) and 75% (46 of 61) of patients presenting with nonsustained ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that the major independent determinants of the ability to suppress inducible arrhythmias were the number of drug trials performed before electrophysiologic study (inversely correlated) and the nature of the induced arrhythmia.The nature of the presenting clinical arrhythmia is, therefore, a highly significant and independent predictor of the ability to induce ventricular arrhythmias during electrophysiologic testing and an important determinant of the ability to suppress induced arrhythmias in patients with spontaneous ventricular tachyarrhythmias