Community- and hospital-based nurses' implementation of evidence-based practice: are there any differences?

The aim of this paper is to discuss the impact of nurses’ beliefs, knowledge and skills on the implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP) in hospital and community settings. EBP refers to the implementation of the most up-to-date robust research into clinical practice. Barriers have been well-documented and traditionally include negative beliefs of nurses as well as a lack of time, knowledge and skills. However, with degree entry nursing and a focus on community health care provision, what has changed? A comprehensive search of contemporary literature (2010-2015) was completed. The findings of this review show that the traditionally acknowledged barriers of a lack of time, knowledge and skills remained, however, nurses’ beliefs towards EBP however were more positive, but positive beliefs did not affect the intentions to implement EBP or knowledge and skills of EBP. Nurses in hospital and community settings reported similar barriers and facilitators

Mentors' attitudes, beliefs and implementation of evidence based practice when mentoring student nurses in the community: a qualitative study

Background: Nursing practice based on evidence improves patient care. Mentors supporting student nurses are in clinical placements are in a unique position to demonstrate evidence based practice (EBP). The NMC (2008) suggest mentors must be able to identify and apply research and EBP, increase or review the evidence-base used to support practice and support student nurses in applying an evidence base to their own practice. However, there is limited literature on nurse mentor’s attitudes, beliefs and implementation of EBP when mentoring student nurses in the community. Methods Data were collected via 7 focus groups in 2015 with 33 community nurse mentors from one NHS Foundation Trust. Community settings of the mentors included: community hospital inpatients and outpatients, minor injury units, and district nurse teams including specialist teams such as long term conditions, tissue viability, respiratory and cardiac rehabilitation. The interview schedule was based on information from a pilot group and previous literature. Data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results Emergent super-ordinate themes from community nurse mentors included: 1) implementation of EBP 2) community nursing versus acute hospital nursing 3) implications of degree entry nursing 4) bidirectional learning 5) being part of the students’ journey a role model 6) EBP versus practice based evidence 7) barriers: IT, time, student attitudes, agency staff, mentorship course, paperwork 8) facilitators: IT, time, student attitudes, resources. Discussion All nurse mentors believed their clinical practice to be informed from evidence, specifically the structure provided from guidelines and policies both nationally and locally. Reviewing guidelines occurred in job descriptions of more senior roles. Mentors invested time and energy in supporting students to implement EBP as recognised the importance of educating the next generation of nurses. Issues regarding the mentorship course arose including; accessibility, length of the course and content

“The pandemic is just happening on top of a pandemic for us”. Unpaid carers’ experiences of lockdown in the UK: a thematic analysis

Context: With reduced access to medical and social support during the COVID-19 pandemic, the level of support provided by unpaid carers over the lockdown period in the UK was higher than ever. However, the experience of unpaid carers during this period is often overlooked. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the question ‘what has been the experience of unpaid carers during lockdown?’. Method: Eighteen unpaid carers, caring for a family member(s) with physical, learning, mental health, or behavioral disabilities, were interviewed about their experience of lockdown in the UK. Thematic analysis was utilized. Findings: Three overarching themes created: (a) The value of support, (b) Non-stop care, and (c) Risk to health. A central theme of mental health was also created and discussed across the three overarching themes, rather than individually, due to its extensivity. Support for unpaid carers during the lockdown became more important than ever due to the higher risk to physical and mental health (of both the carer and dependent) and the lack of respite available. Limitations: Due to volunteer sampling, the evidence in this report is largely based on the perspectives of female carers’, with all but two participants being female. Implications: Findings raise implications for prioritizing the return of in-person medical appointments post-pandemic and ensuring the continuation of support services for unpaid carers during a pandemic

Comparison of Emotional Dispositions Between Street Gang and Non-Gang Prisoners

Effectively recognizing, identifying, and utilizing emotional stimuli is essential for successful social interactions, with deficits in these robustly identified as risk factors for offending. Psychological understanding of street gang membership is limited, particularly surrounding emotional dispositions distinguishing street gang from non-gang offenders. This study examined how street gang members compare with non-gang offenders on trait emotional intelligence (TEI), antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), callous–unemotional traits, anger rumination, and aggression. Recruited through volunteer sampling, participants included 73 (44 street gang and 29 non-gang) male offenders incarcerated at a U.K. Category C prison. Participants completed seven questionnaires assessing emotional dispositions, social desirability, and, consistent with the Eurogang definition, street gang membership. To compare participants’ demographics and identify the predictors of street gang membership, chi-square and discriminant function analyses were conducted. With a significant discriminant function, ? = .80, ?2(6) = 14.96, p = .021, high levels of ASPD, anger rumination, and aggression and low levels of TEI predict street gang membership. Compared with non-gang prisoners, street gang prisoners did not differ on callous–unemotional traits, age, or ethnicity. Results suggest that, compared with non-gang prisoners, street gang members were more likely to possess dysfunctional emotional dispositions. Findings from this research have important implications in terms of developing interventions for street gang membership. Specifically, this research supports the need for gang-specific early intervention and prevention programs, with emotion-focused components. Ideas for future research are discussed, including the identification of further sociocognitive, personality, and emotional traits distinguishing street gang from non-gang offenders

Public health messages during a global emergency through an online community: a discourse and sentiment analysis

The growing popularity of social media and its ubiquitous presence in our lives brings associated risks such as the spread of mis- and disinformation, particularly when these may be unregulated in times of global crises. Online communities are able to provide support by enabling connection with others and also provide great potential for dynamic interaction and timely dissemination of information compared with more traditional methods. This study evaluates interactions within the Essex Coronavirus Action/Support Facebook private group, which set out to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection by informing Essex residents of guidance and helping vulnerable individuals. At the outset, 18 community administrators oversaw the group, which attracted approximately 37,900 members. Longitudinal Facebook group interactions across five periods spanning the UK lockdowns 2020–2021 were analysed using psychological discourse analysis and supplementary computed-mediated analysis to further explore sentiment and linguistic features. The findings endorsed that the group provided a protected space for residents to express their feelings in times of crises and an opportunity to address confusion and concern. The effective communication of public health messages was facilitated by promoting desired interaction and the construction of group identities. Administrators worked with group members to achieve a shared understanding of others' perspectives and the COVID-19 evidence base, which led to a mobilisation of the provision of support in the community. This was accomplished through the application of rhetorical and interactional devices. This study demonstrates how online groups can employ discursive strategies to engage audiences, build cohesion, provide support, and encourage health protective behaviours. This has implications for public health teams in terms of designing, implementing, or evaluating such interventions

Does specialized psychological treatment for offending reduce recidivism? a meta-analysis examining staff and program variables as predictors of treatment effectiveness

A meta-analysis was conducted to examine whether specialized psychological offense treatments were associated with reductions in offense specific and non-offense specific recidivism. Staff and treatment program moderators were also explored. The review examined 68 studies and 55,604 individuals who had offended. Three specialized treatments were examined: sexual offense, domestic violence, and general violence programs. Across all programs, offense specific recidivism was 13.4% for treated individuals and 19.4% for untreated comparisons over an average follow up of 66.1 months. Relative reductions in offense specific recidivism were 32.6% for sexual offense programs, 36.0% for domestic violence programs, and 24.3% for general violence programs. All programs were also associated with significant reductions in non-offense specific recidivism. Overall, treatment effectiveness appeared improved when programs received consistent hands-on input from a qualified registered psychologist and facilitating staff were provided with clinical supervision. Numerous program variables appeared important for optimizing the effectiveness of specialized psychological offense programs (e.g., arousal reconditioning for sexual offense programs, treatment approach for domestic violence programs). The findings show that such treatments are associated with robust reductions in offense specific and nonoffense specific recidivism. We urge treatment providers to pay particular attention to staffing and program implementation variables for optimal recidivism reductions

Good Lives Model: Importance of Interagency Collaboration in Preventing Violent Recidivism

Violence is a complex and multifaceted problem requiring a holistic and individualized response. The Good Lives Model (GLM) suggests violence occurs when an individual experiences internal and external obstacles in the pursuit of universal human needs (termed primary goods). With a twin focus, GLM-consistent interventions aim to promote attainment of primary goods, whilst simultaneously reducing risk of reoffending. This is achieved by improving an individuals’ internal (i.e., skills and abilities) and external capacities (i.e., opportunities, environments, and resources). This paper proposes that collaborations between different agencies (e.g., psychological services, criminal justice systems, social services, education, community organizations, and healthcare) can support the attainment of primary goods through the provision of specialized skills and resources. Recommendations for ensuring interagency collaborations are effective are outlined, including embedding a project lead, regular interagency meetings and training, establishing information sharing procedures, and defining the role each agency plays in client care

Application of the Good Lives Model to Street Gang Members

Despite being recognized as a global public health emergency, there is a lack of evidence-base supporting the effectiveness of street gang interventions. In particular, street gang interventions suffer from a lack of theoretical foundation, unclear goals/objectives, and have a negative, risk-based focus. This thesis proposes that the Good Lives Model (GLM), a strengths-based framework for offender rehabilitation, can provide an innovative approach to street gang intervention. Utilizing approach-goals, the GLM assumes that improving an individual's internal skills and external opportunities will reduce the need to belong to a street gang. Prior to implementing GLM-consistent interventions with street gang members, it was essential to first establish whether the etiological assumptions of the GLM are upheld in this population. To examine this, qualitative interviews were conducted with 30 incarcerated, adult male offenders (17 street gang, 13 non-gang). Findings support all of the etiological assumptions of the GLM: street gang participants aimed to achieve each of the 11 primary goods (i.e., universal human needs). Furthermore, as suggested in the GLM, street gang participants experienced four obstacles (i.e., problems in capacity, coherence, scope and means), which prevented attainment of primary goods through prosocial means. Critically, street gang participants were more likely to experience a multitude of internal (e.g., emotion regulation difficulties, perfectionism, and poor coping skills) and external obstacles (e.g., poor social support, and exposure to violence) across all five risk domains (individual, peer, school, family and community), than their non-gang offending counterparts. Overall, the research described in this thesis suggests that the etiological assumptions of the GLM can be upheld in a street gang population; supporting the implementation of GLM-consistent interventions with street gang members

Systematic Review of ‘Good Lives’ Assumptions and Interventions

The Good Lives Model (GLM) is an increasingly popular framework of offender rehabilitation used internationally for a variety of offending typologies. However, opponents have suggested the GLM is an ideological and intuition-based model, rather than an empirically supported framework. The current article systematically reviews the literature pertaining to two aspects of the GLM. Firstly, the GLM assumptions (primary goods, obstacles, and pathways to offending), and, secondly, outcomes of GLM-consistent interventions (recidivism, pre-post treatment change, and service user perspectives). Electronic and hand searches were conducted and completed in August, 2019; N = 17 studies met the inclusion criteria, with n = 12 examining the GLM’s assumptions, and n = 5 assessing outcomes of GLM-consistent interventions. Findings were mixed regarding the GLM assumptions, although this may be due to differences in measurements used to assess primary goods across studies. However, GLM-consistent interventions were found to be at least as effective as standard relapse prevention programs, whilst enhancing participants’ motivation to change and engagement in treatment. To fully establish the GLM as an empirically supported model, more high quality, rigorous evaluations of both the GLM assumptions and outcomes of GLM-consistent interventions is needed

Offense Specific Treatment Meta-Analysis

This project describes a meta-analysis examining the effectiveness of offence specific treatments for individuals who have offended