Nursing and the barriers to sustainable healthcare: an international review of the literature

Objectives: global warming poses a serious threat to human health yet healthcare organisations and staff have been relatively slow to engage with sustainable healthcare practises. This review of the literature seeks to frame what is already known about nurses and their views on global warming and sustainable healthcare. Design: eleven primary research papers were sources from a search of five mainstream databases. These papers were subject to a basic thematic analysis. Results: six themes were identified: Sustainability; Endemic Blindness to Global Issues; Environmental Numbness; Social Norms; Priority Assigned to Sustainability, and; Psychology of Responsibility and Blame. Conclusion: from the literature reviewed it is clear there are a number of social, cultural and psychological barriers which have led to widespread inaction. This article recommends further research to understand the psychological barriers in more depth as this is a poorly understood area

The mass of the black hole in GRS 1915+105: new constraints from IR spectroscopy

GRS 1915+105 has the largest mass function of any Galactic black hole system, although the error is relatively large. Here we present spectroscopic analysis of medium-resolution IR VLT archival data of GRS 1915+105 in the K-band. We find an updated ephemeris, and report on attempts to improve the mass function by a refinement of the radial velocity estimate. We show that the spectra are significantly affected by the presence of phase-dependent CO bandhead emission, possibly originating from the accretion disc: we discuss the impact this has on efforts to better constrain the black hole mass. We report on a possible way to measure the radial velocity utilising apparent H-band atomic absorption features and also discuss the general uncertainty of the system parameters of this well-studied objectComment: 7 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Main Journa

The impact of healthcare on global warming and human health: connecting the dots

The aim of this paper is to explore climate change and the impact that this is having on human health. The paper takes the reader through a brief history of climate change, making links between raising global temperatures and the environmental effects that are being seen across the globe. The environmental effects are then explored in relation to human health and the impact that climate change is having on physical and mental health. The paper concludes by illuminating the carbon footprint of health and care in the UK and the role of the healthcare assistant and assistant practitioner in making a positive contribution to sustainable healthcare

How employers respond to employees who return to the workplace after experiencing the death of a loved one? A review of the literature

In order to provide insight for employers in maintaining a mentally healthy and productive workforce, it is essential to understand how bereaved employees experience workplace support. A global literature search was conducted between February 2018 and April 2018, resulting in 15 papers directly matching stipulated inclusion and exclusion criteria. Three common themes emerged from the data namely; Instrumental Support, Informational Support and Emotional Support. Findings suggest that while various employers endeavoured to show sympathy and flexibility to bereaved employees, others were found to be less responsive with certain areas of workplace support being reported as insufficient

"It's more than milk, it's mental health": a case of online human milk sharing

Background: Milk sharing is not a new concept and occurs today via regulated human milk banks and unregulated online milk sharing groups. Exploring and understanding how, and why, mothers use these peers to peer milk sharing groups, is a vehicle to understanding how breastfeeding mothers can be tangibly supported online, adding to the literature on peer milk sharing, from a recipient's perspective. This research presents a single case example of an online breastfeeding support group use, through one mother's experiencing of seeking human donor milk. Method: This is a qualitative, exploratory study observing the attitudes, thoughts, and feelings of one mother who is seeking human donor milk through online groups. A single key case was identified, and the participant was asked to document thoughts and feelings as she searched for milk online. A telephone interview was conducted after two months, and the online page activity from the Human Milk for Human Babies Facebook group was captured for the week following the interview. The results were presented in a chronological and linear analytical approach adopting pattern matching. Results: 'Abbi' is a mother who has Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and subsequent low milk supply and sought donor breastmilk online. Online support groups introduced her to donor milk sharing, which not only supported her breastfeeding but supported her own mental health. Abbi talks of the need to build a trusting relationship with her donor, due to the lack of regulation, and the positive impact it had for her and 'Lucas', her baby. Conclusion: Considering milk sharing groups simply as tangible online support ignores the complexities around Abbi's decision to use human donor milk. Peer milk sharing online is an option for mothers, but it is surrounded by stigma amongst other mothers, professionals, and even within pro breastfeeding support groups

Communications to children about mental illness and their role in stigma development: an integrative review

Background Limited literature on the stigma of mental illness has examined the socio-cultural processes involved in the development of stigma around mental health in children, which emerges in middle childhood (7-11 years). Greater understanding might inform preventative interventions. Aims This review aims to integrate disparate theoretical and empirical research to provide an overview of social communications to children aged 7-11 years about mental illness across four key socio-cultural contexts (the media, school, peers, parents) of relevance to children’s development, and to consider their role in the development of stigmatized views. Method Systematic literature searches were conducted within electronic databases and abstracts were scanned to identify relevant studies. Fifteen papers were selected for the review. Results The review found few studies have directly examined communications about mental illness to children. Available evidence suggests messages across children’s socio-cultural contexts are characterized by silence and stigma, which may shape children’s developing views. Specific theoretical frameworks are lacking; possible mechanisms of transmission are discussed. Conclusions This review suggests overcoming stigma will require efforts targeting young children, explicitly tackling mental illness, and spanning multiple social spheres: further research is warranted

Supervision on the frontline

This review is an update on Botham’s (2013) review of clinical supervision in child protection but with two clear differences: the focus of this paper is primarily on safeguarding supervision and explores the views of frontline nurses only. The aim was to explore what factors contribute to effective safeguarding supervision. A systemised approach was used, collating the findings from eleven papers from January 2000 to January 2019 brought together in a thematic synthesis. This paper analysis suggests that there are factors deemed helpful and unhelpful in the safeguarding supervision process which can also be applied to the supervisory relationship. However, given some of the methodological limitations of the research reviewed one needs to be cautious in drawing conclusions from the current research. This review concludes that there is a need for more evidence in this area to see what makes safeguarding supervision effective. Furthermore, it is also important that research begins to establish whether safeguarding supervision does help in achieving better outcomes for children in keeping them safe

Grieving in the workplace: How do grieving employees perceive their experience of workplace support from management?

To explore what bereaved employees consider as helpful support from their managers. An online questionnaire was completed by 40 participants from various occupations in the United Kingdom who had been bereaved of their spouse. The data were analysed using a qualitative thematic approach. Two key superordinate themes were found: Acknowledgement’ and ‘Response’. This study supports the growing initiative to set informal support for grieving employees thereby enhancing the provision of impactful and timely bereavement support in the workplace. These findings suggest that managers were considered to be supportive when they ‘acknowledged’ the bereaved employees’ situation and their reactions to grief. Additionally, managers were thought to be supportive when they responded in offering specific support depending on the individual’s circumstances and provided sufficient time and space for them to grieve. ‘Acknowledging’ and ‘responding’ appeared to promote understanding and instil a sense of being valued rather than the feeling of being just another number within the organisation. All participants were English speakers and a higher proportion were women, which may influence the generalisability of the findings

Parents’ communication to primary school-aged children about mental health and ill-health: a grounded theory study

Purpose – Stigma around mental health problems is known to emerge in middle childhood and persist into adulthood, yet almost nothing is known about the role of parents in this process. This paper aims to develop a model of parental communication to primary school-aged children around mental health and ill-health, to increase understanding about how stigma develops. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were performed with ten UK-based parents of children aged 7-11 years. Analysis followed an exploratory grounded theory approach, incorporating quality assurance checks. Findings – Parents’ communications are governed by the extent to which they view a particular issue as related to “Them” (mental ill-health) or to “Us” (mental health). In contrast to communication about “Us”, parental communication about mental “illness” is characterized by avoidance and contradiction, and driven by largely unconscious processes of taboo and stigma. Originality/value – This study was the first to explore parents’ communications to their 7-11 year old children about mental health and mental illness, and proposes a preliminary theoretical model that may offer insight into the development of stigma in childhood and the intergenerational transmission of stigmatized attitudes