Infanticide secrets: Qualitative study on postpartum depression

OBJECTIVE  To explore thoughts of infanticide that did not lead to the act among mothers with postpartum  depression. DESIGN  A phenomenologic hermeneutic study in which women were invited to share their experiences  of having thoughts of infanticide. SETTING  Community setting in a large metropolitan city, Brisbane, Australia. PARTICIPANTS  Fifteen women who had been diagnosed as clinically depressed with postpartum onset  whose babies were 12 months of age or younger. METHOD  Audiotaped, in-depth interviews were transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis commenced  immediately after the first interview, and data collection continued until saturation was achieved. A  questioning approach that reflected hermeneutics was facilitated by use of journals by the researchers. MAIN FINDINGS  Six themes emerged from the data: imagined acts of infanticide, the experience of horror,  distorted sense of responsibility, consuming negativity, keeping secrets, and managing the crisis. CONCLUSION  Women who experienced nonpsychotic depression preferred not to disclose their thoughts  of infanticide to health professionals, including trusted general practitioners or psychiatrists. These  women were more likely to mention their suicidal thoughts than their infanticidal thoughts in order to  obtain health care. General practitioners and other health professionals should directly ask about whether  a woman has been experiencing thoughts of harming herself or her baby, regardless of the reason why  she has presented

Living with "The Wall": The Experiences and Perspectives on Social Relationships of Two Taiwanese People with a Physical Disability

The individual model of disability, as outlined by Oliver and his colleagues (Barnes, Mercer, & Shakespeare, 1999; Oliver, 1996a, 1996b, 1996c; Oliver & Sapey, 2006;\ud Swain, French, & Cameron, 2003; Thomas, 1999) has been the traditional\ud philosophical approach to "train" people with disabilities (referred to as "patients") to be as independent as possible in order to maximize or maintain their functioning. Medical personnel such as doctors, occupational therapists or physical therapists are seen as experts with regard to medical treatment or rehabilitation, and their purpose is to provide programs aimed at improving quality of life of individuals with a disability.\ud However, disability is not a single issue which can be viewed or explained purely by the\ud individual model of disability (Miles, 2002) The cultural understanding of disability\ud within a society is a pervasive influence on the way that disability is understood within a particular culture and on the social values or attitudes towards people with a disability (Miles, 1995, 2002; Oliver & Sapey, 2006). Therefore, disability can be conceptualized as a social issue with different cultural understanding among various cultures, and not just a medical issue. This paper will focus on the understanding of disability within the Taiwanese culture

Mandatory continuing professional development requirements: what does this mean for Australian nurses

Background This paper presents a discussion related to the recent decision in Australia to introduce mandatory Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for nurses. Historically there has been international debate surrounding mandatory CPD requirements; this debate is ongoing as Australian nurses face a diverse range of CPD offerings from a variety of providers. Discussion The purpose of this paper is to examine how mandatory CPD requirements for national nursing registration in Australia have evolved and to present an analysis of what this will mean for Australian nurses. What is yet to be determined is how to measure professional development and the effectiveness of professional development education. This is important to the international community with consensus in the literature that professional development is linked to ongoing education. Contradicting arguments are presented about whether this professional development should be mandatory. Summary Presenting a contemporary discussion about the current and potential impact of mandatory CPD requirements for nurses, this discussion paper utilises the case of Australia’s current national policy and CPD operation to examine the choices that nurses make in order to fulfil their legislative requirements. Additional arguments are presented about the barriers nurses face in undertaking CPD. The quest for effective CPD is complex and should incorporate different situations for nurses and individual learning styles