Characterising the resilient officer : the process of adjustment to the police profession

Examined the first indicators of positive and negative adjustment for new police recruits

Adjusting to life ‘on the beat' : investigating adaptation to the police profession

Presentation investigated the intial characteristics of police officers entering recruit training

Characterizing the resilient officer : individual attributes at point of entry to policing

Research investigating the process of adaptation in newly recruited police officers is scarce and has yielded mixed results. Some research highlights the incidence of difficulty in adjusting to the role of police officer such as predictors of elevated stress and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Others have investigated why the majority of officers are resilient to the work and organizational challenges presented. This article examines personality, prior experience, and coping strategies of 94 newly recruited Australian police officers. The data provide a picture of police personnel who are not selected with personality profiling. Results demonstrated that the officers’ personality profiles, as measured by the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, were consistent with U.S. adult norms, except for elevated levels of extraversion. Common coping strategies include positive reinterpretation, acceptance, and planning. Measures of PTSD and positive posttrauma changes were higher in recruits who had endured a traumatic incident prior to joining the service compared to recruits who had endured stressful, rather than traumatic, events. Results provide a foundation for the longitudinal exploration of adjustment processes in police recruits

In vivo strain in the deep and superficial regions of the human patellar tendon

This study investigated strain differences within the patellar tendon (PT) mid-region using an ultrasound-based digital image correlation (DIC) method. Six healthy young participants performed six knee extensions to 60% of maximal voluntary isometric contraction on 2 days. Sagittal ultrasound videos recorded during each contraction were analyzed using the DIC method to determine the strain–torque relationships of the superficial, deep, and whole PT mid-regions. Significantly greater strain was observed in the deep vs superficial layer of the PT mid-region for all contraction intensities, with peak strains of 5.8% (SD 1.7) and 4.5% (SD 1.5), respectively. DIC-based measures of peak tendon strain were repeatable within [intraclass coefficients (ICC) >0.97] and between sessions (ICCs >0.83) and agreed well with the conventional point-to-point method. This study confirmed that significant differences exist between deep and superficial layers of PT mid-region during ramped isometric extensions. These findings support the use of DIC to examine regional strain patterns within the PT mid-region that may be important in the context of tendon injury and adaptation

Why do healthcare professionals fail to escalate as per the early warning system (EWS) protocol? A qualitative evidence synthesis of the barriers and facilitators of escalation.

Background: Early warning systems (EWSs) are used to assist clinical judgment in the detection of acute deterioration to avoid or reduce adverse events including unanticipated cardiopulmonary arrest, admission to the intensive care unit and death. Sometimes healthcare professionals (HCPs) do not trigger the alarm and escalate for help according to the EWS protocol and it is unclear why this is the case. The aim of this qualitative evidence synthesis was to answer the question 'why do HCPs fail to escalate care according to EWS protocols?' The findings will inform the update of the National Clinical Effectiveness Committee (NCEC) National Clinical Guideline No. 1 Irish National Early Warning System (INEWS).Methods: A systematic search of the published and grey literature was conducted (until February 2018). Data extraction and quality appraisal were conducted by two reviewers independently using standardised data extraction forms and quality appraisal tools. A thematic synthesis was conducted by two reviewers of the qualitative studies included and categorised into the barriers and facilitators of escalation. GRADE CERQual was used to assess the certainty of the evidence.Results: Eighteen studies incorporating a variety of HCPs across seven countries were included. The barriers and facilitators to the escalation of care according to EWS protocols were developed into five overarching themes: Governance, Rapid Response Team (RRT) Response, Professional Boundaries, Clinical Experience, and EWS parameters. Barriers to escalation included: Lack of Standardisation, Resources, Lack of accountability, RRT behaviours, Fear, Hierarchy, Increased Conflict, Over confidence, Lack of confidence, and Patient variability. Facilitators included: Accountability, Standardisation, Resources, RRT behaviours, Expertise, Additional support, License to escalate, Bridge across boundaries, Clinical confidence, empowerment, Clinical judgment, and a tool for detecting deterioration. These are all individual yet inter-related barriers and facilitators to escalation.Conclusions: The findings of this qualitative evidence synthesis provide insight into the real world experience of HCPs when using EWSs. This in turn has the potential to inform policy-makers and HCPs as well as hospital management about emergency response system-related issues in practice and the changes needed to address barriers and facilitators and improve patient safety and quality of care.</p

Local summer insolation and greenhouse gas forcing drove warming and glacier retreat in New Zealand during the Holocene

Geological climate archives from the Holocene Epoch provide baseline information concerning natural climate variability. Temperate mountain glacier extent is sensitive to summer air temperature, thus geological records of past glacier length changes are a useful proxy for this climatic variable. Here we present a new cosmogenic 10Be chronology of glacier length changes at Dart Glacier in the Southern Alps, New Zealand. Prominent moraines deposited 321 ± 44 yr ago (n = 11) and 7.8 ± 0.3 ka (n = 5) show glaciers during the Little Ice Age were less extensive than during the early Holocene. This pattern of net Holocene glacier retreat is consistent with emerging data from other catchments in New Zealand and across the southern mid-latitudes. Using the physical framework of a transient global climate model simulation, we suggest that cool summers in the early Holocene were promoted by the local summer insolation minimum, together with low atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, causing an early Holocene austral glacial maximum. An insolation-driven reduction in seasonality at southern mid-latitudes may reconcile differences between early Holocene temperature reconstructions where climate proxies have different seasonal sensitivities. We suggest that rising greenhouse gas concentrations after 7 ka caused regional-scale glacier retreat and appear to be the dominant driver of multi-millennial summer temperature trends in the southern mid-latitudes during the present interglacial

Lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic in selected countries to inform strengthening of public health systems: a qualitative study

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted governments internationally to consider strengthening their public health systems. To support the work of Ireland's Public Health Reform Expert Advisory Group, the Health Information and Quality Authority, an independent governmental agency, was asked to describe the lessons learnt regarding the public health response to COVID-19 internationally and the applicability of this response for future pandemic preparedness. Methods: Semi-structured interviews with key public health representatives from nine countries were conducted. Interviews were conducted in March and April 2022 remotely via Zoom and were recorded. Notes were taken by two researchers, and a thematic analysis undertaken. Results: Lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic related to three main themes: 1) setting policy; 2) delivering public health interventions; and 3) providing effective communication. Real-time surveillance, evidence synthesis, and cross-sectoral collaboration were reported as essential for policy setting; it was noted that having these functions established prior to the pandemic would lead to a more efficient implementation in a health emergency. Delivering public health interventions such as testing, contact tracing, and vaccination were key to limiting and or mitigating the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, a number of challenges were highlighted such as staff capacity and burnout, delays in vaccination procurement, and reduced delivery of regular healthcare services. Clear, consistent, and regular communication of the scientific evidence was key to engaging citizens with mitigation strategies. However, these communication strategies had to compete with an infodemic of information being circulated, particularly through social media. Conclusions: Overall, functions relating to policy setting, public health interventions, and communication are key to pandemic response. Ideally, these should be established in the preparedness phase so that they can be rapidly scaled-up during a pandemic.</p