Practice-based Qualitative Research: Participant Experiences of Walk-in Counselling and Traditional Counselling

Walk-in single session counselling is becoming a more widely used model for delivering mental health services across Ontario. This paper reports findings from the qualitative phase of a mixed method study, exploring the experiences of those attending walk-in counselling (WIC) model compared to the traditional service delivery model employing a wait list. We used a comparative case study design for the qualitative phase. Findings reveal that participant outcomes of the walk-in counselling model is influenced by accessibility, how a participant makes sense of the service, and the degree to which a participant is motivated and able to engage in counselling. WIC supports the mental health system by reducing wait lists associated with traditional service delivery models, and meeting the needs many people identify for immediate consultation. Other participants still perceive themselves as requiring ongoing counselling over time and involving in-depth exploration. This research supports health systems providing access to both models

Using linked data to calculate summary measures of population health: Health-adjusted life expectancy of people with Diabetes Mellitus

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE) from diabetes mellitus (DM) using a population health survey linked to a population-based DM registry. METHODS: The 1996/97 Ontario Health Survey (N = 35,517) was linked to the Ontario Diabetes Database (N = 487,576). The Health Utilities Index (HUI3) was used to estimate health-related quality of life. HALE was estimated using an adapted Sullivan method. RESULTS: Life expectancy at birth of people with DM was 64.7 and 70.7 years for men and women – 12.8 and 12.2 years less than for men and women without DM. The HUI3 was lower for physician-diagnosed DM compared to self-reported DM (0.799 versus 0.872). HALE at birth was 58.3 and 62.8 years for men and women – 11.9 and 10.7 years less than that of men and women without DM. CONCLUSIONS: The linked data approach demonstrates that DM is an important cause of disease burden. This approach reduces assumptions when estimating the prevalence and severity of disability from DM compared to methods that rely on self-reported disease status or indirect assessment of disability severity

The makeup of a teaching and learning repository support network

Removing barriers to the contribution of digital teaching and learning materials to an Institutional Repository (IR) can be viewed as a way of encouraging and rewarding users. One way this can be achieved is by the provision of support to make the process as straightforward as possible. Interviews with academic teaching staff at Loughborough University have given an indication of the processes involved in creating digital teaching and learning materials and of making them available to others via Learn, the university’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Support staff were consulted to provide an indication of the type of assistance that is available for the creation and dissemination of digital teaching and learning material. This network of support will be similar at other institutions but there may be local differences to take into consideration. This short report outlines support available at this institution for the creation of digital teaching materials. From this background information it is possible to suggest what assistance might be required for creating and depositing materials into a teaching and learning repository

Googlepository and the university library

The development of an increasing array of tools for storing, organising, managing, and searching electronic resources poses some interesting questions for those in the Higher Education sector, not least of which are: what role do repositories have in this new information environment? What effect is Google having on the information-seeking strategies of students, researchers and teachers? Where do libraries fit within the information continuum? And ultimately, what services should they look to provide for their users? The concept of Google as a repository was introduced at a recent JISC conference. Hitherto, it has been speculated that Google might be considered to be a digital library. This viewpoint provided a catalyst for the process of considering the differences between Google and repositories. We have evaluated this in terms of an exploration of their features and the services they provide. This leads on to a discussion of the potential value of these services to content contributors and consumers. In the long term, this will be expressed by users' engagement with the services and tools available to them

Designing a rewards and support scheme for a repository of teaching and learning materials

This report outlines the factors taken into consideration when designing a scheme to reward and support staff for depositing materials into a repository for teaching and learning materials at Loughborough. It details preferences for rewarding staff identified by the Rights and Rewards project survey (Bates et al., 2005) and the options considered for the scheme. These are set against the practicalities for possible institutional adoption. It is important to bear in mind that financial rewards represent a small part of the scheme and there are funding and sustainability implications to consider. Also, this is a research and development project and there may be a danger of raising expectations for the repository service that may not be met. Elements of the scheme may be phased in over time as the repository service is developed

Repository thrills and spills

Much can be learned from looking back and reflecting on events in the repository arena over the past few years. Repository systems, institutional managers, repository managers, advisory organisations and repository users have all come a long way in this short time. Looking back acts as a way of grounding prior activity in the present context. It can also provide invaluable insights into where repositories are headed. The activity of deliberating on past events may be of value to a range of individuals engaged in repository activities. This might include funding bodies, professional organisations, publishers, institutions with an existing repository; or those in the process of considering the deployment of one, repository managers, repository project workers, and repository contributors and content consumers. Some possible areas for consideration are technical and non-technical factors that encompass the whole range of the repository spectrum, from development through deployment, to advocacy and use. This article introduces this reflective process from the perspective of a repository project funded under the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) Digital Repositories Programme (JISC DRP) over the period 2005-2007. The Rights and Rewards Project's focus for the last two years has primarily been directed towards repositories with teaching and learning content. Although we consider repositories from the perspective of our local focus, i.e. an Institutional Repository, we also address issues from a wider sphere of influence. It is also worth bearing in mind that in the development of a repository of teaching resources we have benefited from prior studies by those setting up and maintaining research repositories. This invaluable background information has been extended to encompass a teaching perspective by the research undertaken by this and other projects. We present a brief background to repositories, and suggest some areas where shifts in perceptions may be occurring. This overview covers current context, the marketplace for repositories, actors and their roles, managing expectations, and service requirements. We also offer a light-hearted metaphorical view of the Rights and Rewards Project's "repository adventure". Areas for additional research activity are also discussed

Designing a rewards and support scheme for use in Higher Education

This report outlines the factors influencing the design of a scheme to reward staff within higher education institutions. It is based on the efforts of the JISC funded Rights and Rewards project to design a scheme to reward and support staff for depositing materials into a teaching resource repository at Loughborough University. The project’s experience may provide a useful starting point for others who are considering creating a similar reward mechanism. The report suggests the need to work within the framework of existing institutional systems. It highlights the role institutional context plays in the design of the scheme and the benefits to be gained by aligning with, or cutting across, any existing reward schemes. The report describes a general model for rewarding staff and illustrates this by reference to our local situation. Local factors will play a part in determining and prioritising the main considerations for success. The general model can be adapted to take into account the factors discussed here

The Walk-in Counselling Model of Service Delivery: Who Benefits Most?

The walk-in counselling (WIC) model of service delivery has been found to reduce psychological distress more quickly than a traditional model of service delivery involving a wait list. A question remains, however, as to the relative benefit of the WIC model for different client groups. The present study uses graphical inspection and multilevel modeling to conduct moderator analyses comparing two agencies, one with a WIC clinic and the other with a traditional wait list approach, and their relative impact on psychological distress. Key findings regarding the differential benefits for different types of presenting problems as well as clients at different stages of change are discussed. La recherche montre qu\u27un service de consultation sans rendez-vous réduit la détresse psychologique plus rapidement qu\u27un modèle traditionnel fonctionnant avec liste d\u27attente. Les bénéfices relatifs du modèle de consultation sans rendez-vous pour différentes clientèles demeurent cependant méconnus. Cette étude utilise l\u27inspection de graphiques et la modélisation multiniveau afin de mener une analyse de modération qui compare deux cliniques: sans rendez-vous ou suivant le modèle traditionnel avec liste d\u27attente. L\u27étude examine les impacts relatifs de ces modèles sur la détresse psychologique. Les principaux résultats portent sur les bénéfices différentiels selon les problématiques de santé mentale présentées et selon les stades de changement des usagers

A reduced set of moves on one-vertex ribbon graphs coming from links

Every link in R^3 can be represented by a one-vertex ribbon graph. We prove a Markov type theorem on this subset of link diagrams.Comment: 14 pages, 15 figure