Irish workplace behaviour study

This study replicated the BWBS in Ireland, employing the same questionnaire and sampling methodology, in order to establish the prevalence of negative acts in the workplace in a nationally representative sample of Irish employees. The focus of the study is workplace ill treatment received at least once over the previous two years. Workplace ill treatment takes many forms. Workplace bullying is perhaps the most well researched aspect of workplace ill treatment, and has become the dominant way of conceptualising trouble at work. Workplace bullying is a problem for practitioners, academics, and most significantly, it is a problem for those who experience or witness it. There is incontrovertible evidence that ill treatment, impacts negatively on worker health. Many studies cumulatively attest to the toxic effects of ill treatment in work on both physical and mental health and well being. Despite this, ill treatment remains prevalent in workplaces in many countries and organisational response is typically poor. I n 20011 and 20072, national surveys on workplace bullying were conducted in Ireland. These studies found prevalence rates of 7% and 7.9% respectively, employing a self labelling method, in which respondents were asked, following the presentation of a definition, to state whether or not they have been bullied in the past six months. A number of contextual factors make a new survey timely. The British Workplace Behaviour Survey (BWBS) was administered by face-to-face structured interview to a representative sample of UK employees between 2007 and 2008, gathering data on demographic factors, job and workplace characteristics, respondents’ views about their levels of control over the pace and nature of their work, and about why people think they are ill-treated in their workplaces. The survey employed a behavioural checklist, amended following cognitive testing, and including eight items on ‘unreasonable management’, 11 items measuring ‘incivility and disrespect’ and two items on ‘physical violence’. The cognitive testing element was critical to improving the validity of the instrument, and minimised the possibility of errors in conceptualisation and interpretation of items. Respondents were also asked if they had witnessed or perpetrated any of the 21 items

The SME paradox? Investigating ill-treatment behaviours in small and medium-sized enterprises in Ireland

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this recordThe dynamics of employment relations in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have attracted academic interest since the 1970s. To date, research debates have converged around two competing perspectives extolling either the opportunities, or the exploitation caused by informal working practices in smaller sized firms. Responding to calls for a more balanced and nuanced view, we analyse n = 1764 responses from a nationally representative study of workplace relations in Ireland, specifically focusing on negative behaviours in SMEs. We contribute to bullying and SME literatures by disaggregating the SME label and showing that certain employee groups in medium-sized firms are likely to report higher incidences of ill-treatment than their counterparts in smaller and larger firms. We conclude by making recommendations on how managers, owners and HRM practitioners can use our study’s findings to improve employee experiences and tackle bullying, harassment and other types of ill-treatment in their respective working environments

Teacher training in the field of health promotion: a proposal for International collaboration and preparation of a symposium for the 20th IUHPE World Conference

Schools are considered to be settings for both health education and health promotion. But the core business of schools is actually focussed on educational outcomes, not reducing health problems. In most countries, schools give low priority to health promotion and school staffs, mainly teachers, are not aware of their role in health promotion. Studies show that teachers who have received health promotion training tend to be involved more frequently in health promotion projects and have a more comprehensive approach to health education. Pre-service and In-service staff training is then a main challenge. That’s the reason why we have launched an initiative to join international forces to strengthen and advocate for teacher training in health promotion. The main goals are: develop research, affirm and reinforce the work done in teacher training in health promotion, support the institutes/colleges/universities in the provision of initial and in-service teacher training and stimulate international partnership work.LIBEC/CIFPEC - unidade de investigação 16/644 da FCT

Promoting mental health through multidisciplinary care: experience of health professionals working in community mental health teams in Ireland

International mental health policy recommends that community-based mental health care is the optimal service provision marking a distinct departure from institutions. In Ireland, it is envisioned that this care be provided by Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs), where multidisciplinary health professionals all play a key role in promoting client mental wellbeing. However, recent reports indicate that implementation of the community-based care approach has been less than optimal. This research explored CMHTs' perspectives and experience of community-based care; it also examined their awareness of specific key performance indicators (KPIs) that can monitor their provision of care. A total of 738 health professionals working in 70 CMHTs across the nation were surveyed. The results indicated little multidisciplinary input from CMHTs in the provision of mental health care. In addition, the findings indicated that having clear KPIs did not represent a priority for a large number of respondents

Promoting mental health through multidisciplinary care: service users' experience in Ireland

Irish mental health policy identifies that mental health services should be provided in local communities by community mental health teams where several health professionals play a key role. In Ireland, recent reports indicate that the number of fully staffed multidisciplinary teams is low with potential negative consequences for the breadth and quality of care provided to service users. Limited research has been conducted from the perspective of service users. This research sought to examine service users' experiences of receiving multidisciplinary care in the community. Ten community mental health services nationally were surveyed comprising a sample of 97 service users. The results indicated that participants did not have access to the multidisciplinarity advocated in European policy and there was overreliance on the medical model of treatment. Furthermore, the results indicated that participants had little involvement in making decisions about their treatment care

Mental health professionals’ experience of providing multidisciplinary care in Community Mental Health Teams in Ireland

In recent decades European mental health policy has specified the need to move from institutional to residential community based mental health care. This care should be provided by Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs) that reflect the collaboration and expertise of multidisciplinary highly skilled health professionals, such as clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, nursing staff and allied health professionals. In Ireland the implementation of these CMHTs has been very limited with potential negative consequences for the quality of care provided to service users. To date little academic enquiry has been made to address this matter. The overall aim of the research was to profile CMHTs across the country and to explore the determinants and barriers of their effectiveness. A total of 738 health professionals from 70 CMHTs across the nation were surveyed. For each CMHT, a questionnaire was administered simultaneously to all team members at their mental health service. The findings indicated that the number of fully staffed, effective CMHTs was very low across the nation. Furthermore, the distribution of health professional categories across teams was uneven, with a high representation of medical and nursing staff comparing to psychologists and allied health professionals. The results also show that, the involvement of team members in assessing and shaping users’ treatment care was also uneven, with psychiatrists being the sole professional category involved in each aspect of the care. In addition, despite the recommendation of the current national policy, many CMHTs were lacking of defined criteria on how to provide integrate treatment care. Moreover participants identified many barriers in providing multidisciplinary care, such as conflicts across professional categories, lack of communication and, at external level, lack of adequate resources. It is hoped that the findings of this study will inform the current national and European mental health policy’s debate