The Wages of Crying Life: What States Must Do to Protect Children After the Fall of Roe

In the post-Roe world, can a state rationally claim that the value of human life justifies the imposition of abortion bans but does not demand that a state protect the vulnerable young who are “born human beings”—commonly called “minors” or “children”—and are entitled to protection under a state’s laws? This essay advances the claim that it cannot. This essay asks that those who say they are “Pro-life” in politics and law demonstrate that they protect vulnerable life beyond the abortion context, and that they do so in the most minimal fashion: through a demonstrated commitment to protecting the basic welfare of the most vulnerable children. The proposed “wage for crying life” (a play on John Hart Ely’s famous phrase) is a set of remedies for the sake of rationality and for other obvious public ends to be paid by multiple stakeholders. These stakeholders, both public and private, must participate in measuring and meeting basic standards for ensuring the protection of children from child abuse and neglect in a jurisdiction before that jurisdiction may rationally ban abortion. Using the authors’ home state of New Hampshire as a case study, this essay offers an initial application of the proposed broad framework to show how one state’s record of permitting massive child abuse prevents it from rationally claiming the “Pro-Life” status it claims its abortion ban achieves

Metacognition of First Year Occupational Therapy Students: A Comparison of Entry-Level Degrees

The purpose of this study was to compare the metacognitive awareness among first year students in entry-level occupational therapy programs. The study investigated the similarities and differences in awareness of cognition and strategies used to regulate cognition in occupational therapy assistant (OTA), Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT), and Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) programs to inform teaching practices for the different educational demands and expected outcomes of each program. Thirty occupational therapy students (11 OTA, 10 MOT, and 9 OTD) completed the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) during their first semester of occupational therapy courses at two universities. Overall, the results indicated the student reported use of metacognitive strategies was more similar than dissimilar among the three entry-level programs. Additionally, MAI responses were not predictive of course grades. Instructors can design educational experiences to tap into the metacognition of the student, promoting effective and efficient learning to meet the high educational standards required for our profession. Students who are effective and efficient learners will be more prepared to meet the demands of a complex healthcare environment in their respective practitioner roles

Searching for a Good Grief? Meaning Making Through an ESRD Illness Narrative

This study is an autoethnograhic, Arts Based exploration of the grief of illness. Making use of 'I' perspective, subjective methodologies, I have explored my experiences of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), kidney transplant loss and the self-administering of my hemodialysis treatments in my home. I present the psychological ESRD-dialysis experience as akin one of grief. I have made use of Neimeyer's Meaning Reconstruction Model, a narrative meaning- centered model typically used in bereavement circles. At the heart of this model is the concept that it is necessary to apply a coherent perceived meaning to loss experience in order to process grief well. This study applies the MRM to the psychology of transplant loss and dialysis, stating that the psychology of transplant loss and dialysis is, for me, akin to complex grief. Therefore, it will not likely be fully assimilated as is the case with anticipated loss. Rather, illness like ESRD, for me, is likelier to be accommodated, where complex loss requires locating coherence, points of change and new plots within lived experience in order to provide new and helpful perceptions of meaning. I have disseminated outcomes from my own narratives, interviews with family, friends and other patients who’ve experienced this illness, into two forms; the first, a written dissertation that presents theory and arts based narratives commenting on that theory. The second, Arts Based outcome, is in the form of a short film, entitled Good Grief

Implications for Occupational Therapy Student Stress, Well-Being, and Coping: A Scoping Review

Scholarly literature and non-scholarly news sources have highlighted stressors in higher education. The rigor of occupational therapy education can compound student stress. Although the profession recognizes these stressors, insufficient literature exists regarding strategies to cope with and manage these sources of stress. This scoping review explored the literature examining stress and the implications for occupational therapy student well-being and coping, and also identified strategies for faculty to support student well-being. Using PRISMA Scoping Review guidelines, a systematic, multi-phase process was used to identify relevant literature. Databases searched included PubMed, CINAHL, PsycInfo, MEDLINE Complete, Web of Science, ERIC, and Education Database. Key search terms included components of well-being and coping. We discuss our scoping review approach to the literature search, data extraction, charting, and analysis. A sample of 15 articles met the inclusion criteria, with 1 article retracted during the analysis phase. The final sample of articles provided information about various components of stress, well-being, and coping. Analysis of these articles revealed the following themes: (1) well-being, (2) personal traits and skills, (3) stress, and (4) supportive pedagogy. Occupational therapy education is rigorous and demanding to ensure students are prepared to provide evidence-based care to their future clients. Although this demanding education may add to student stress, the profession must maintain high standards for patient safety. Results suggest there is an opportunity to support student wellness and learning within content delivery methods. By adjusting pedagogical approaches, instructors can support student wellness and impact learning

Prospectus, January 19, 2005

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2005/1001/thumbnail.jp

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Family Caregivers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose: Caring for a family member with dementia is associated with chronic stress, which can have significant deleterious effects on caregivers. The purpose of the Balance Study was to compare a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention to a community caregiver education and support (CCES) intervention for family caregivers of people with dementia. Design and Methods: We randomly assigned 78 family caregivers to an MBSR or a CCES intervention, matched for time and attention. Study participants attended 8 weekly intervention sessions and participated in home-based practice. Surveys were completed at baseline, postintervention, and at 6 months. Participants were 32- to 82-year-old predominately non-Hispanic White women caring for a parent with dementia. Results: MBSR was more effective at improving overall mental health, reducing stress, and decreasing depression than CCES. Both interventions improved caregiver mental health and were similarly effective at improving anxiety, social support, and burden. Implications: MBSR could reduce stress and improve mental health in caregivers of family members with dementia residing in the community

Prospectus, February 23, 2005

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2005/1005/thumbnail.jp

Recruiting and Retaining Family Caregivers to a Randomized Controlled Trial on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

Caregivers for a family member with dementia experience chronic long-term stress that may benefit from new complementary therapies such as mindfulness-based stress reduction. Little is known however, about the challenges of recruiting and retaining family caregivers to research on mind–body based complementary therapies. Our pilot study is the first of its kind to successfully recruit caregivers for a family member with dementia to a randomized controlled pilot study of mindfulness-based stress reduction. The study used an array of recruitment strategies and techniques that were tailored to fit the unique features of our recruitment sources and employed retention strategies that placed high value on establishing early and ongoing communication with potential participants. Innovative recruitment methods including conducting outreach to health plan members and generating press coverage were combined with standard methods of community outreach and paid advertising. We were successful in exceeding our recruitment goal and retained 92% of the study participants at post-intervention (2 months) and 90% at 6 months. Recruitment and retention for family caregiver interventions employing mind–body based complementary therapies can be successful despite many challenges. Barriers include cultural perceptions about the use and benefit of complementary therapies, cultural differences with how the role of family caregiver is perceived, the use of group-based designs requiring significant time commitment by participants, and travel and respite care needs for busy family caregivers

Acceptability of internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (i-CBT) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): a systematic review

Background: Internet-delivered Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (i-CBT) offers potential as an alternative, accessible, clinically and cost-effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but little is known about its acceptability. Objective: To review the available evidence to understand the acceptability of i-CBT for PTSD. Method: We undertook a mixed-methods systematic review according to Cochrane Collaboration Guidelines, of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of i-CBT for adults with PTSD. We examined included studies for measures of acceptability, and possible proxy indicators of acceptability, including dropout rates, which were meta-analysed as risk ratios (RRs). Results: Ten studies with 720 participants were included. We found i-CBT to be acceptable according to specific acceptability measures, and suggestions for acceptability according to some proxy measures of i-CBT programme usage. There was, however, evidence of greater dropout from i-CBT than waitlist (RR 1.39, CI 1.03–1.88; 8 studies; participants = 585) and no evidence of a difference in dropout between i-CBT and i-non-CBT (RR 2.14, CI 0.97–4.73; participants = 132; 2 studies). Conclusion: i-CBT appears a potentially acceptable intervention for adults with PTSD. We identified clinical and research questions, including the status of proxy indicators, and call for standardised, consistent treatment acceptability measurement