Understanding the needs of vulnerable prisoners: the role of social and emotional wellbeing

Purpose: Social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) is a term used to refer to the state of an individual's overall wellbeing. This review aims to consider the importance of understanding and assessing SEWB in prisoner populations, and identify potentially important differences between groups of prisoners, including those who identify as from minority cultural backgrounds (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in Australia), protective custody prisoners, remand prisoners, prisoners identified with an intellectual disability, and prisoners with an acquired brain injury. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is a general review of the published literature, with a specific focus on work conducted with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia. Findings: Eight domains of SEWB are identified across which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners, along with those in protection units, remandees, and prisoners with intellectual disabilities or acquired brain injuries are likely to experience particularly low levels of functioning. Few programs have been developed to address these needs, although attending to low levels of SEWB has the potential to make a positive contribution to prisoner health, prison management, and offender rehabilitation. Originality/value: Relatively little literature has considered this topic previously and, as a result, the paper is necessarily descriptive. Nonetheless, issues of SEWB appear to warrant further consideration, particularly in relation to those prisoners who identify with minority cultural groups

The role of the practice educator in supporting nursing and midwifery students’ clinical practice learning: An appreciative inquiry

High quality, supportive practice learning experiences are crucial for ensuring that student nurses and midwives develop into competent practitioners who are fit for practice. The practice educator role is one model of practice learning support but the role is relatively new and has been little investigated. This paper reports on an appreciative inquiry that explored the current practice educator role at one university in England, with the aim of reaching a consensus for how the role could be enhanced. The first phase involved in-depth interviews with 18 participants: practice educators (n = 10); student nurse representatives (n= 5) and practice based education leads (n = 3). The interviews were analysed thematically. Three themes related to social processes involved in the role: being a bridge, being there, and social identity. The other themes described contributions to the practice learning environment: safeguarding, support, critical thinking. The second phase used a modified Delphi technique. Participants ranked trigger statements, related to the themes, in order of importance. Two consensus workshops were held where the statements were reviewed by practice educators, students and learning environment leads, following which principles and practices of the practice educator role were agreed. In conclusion, the strength of the practice educator role is that it bridges the worlds of university and practice. This bridging resulted from social processes that required a sustained presence in practice to engage in the reality of everyday practice and gain the shared social identity of a practitioner

Increased Incidence of Asthma in Children with Prenatal Opioid Exposure

Prenatal opioid exposure (POE) has increased dramatically in the last 10 years, with nearly 100 babies born daily in the United States with Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS). The impact on long-term outcomes continues to be investigated. Given the proinflammatory state that results from POE, we hypothesized that infants with POE or NOWS diagnoses during the newborn hospitalization would have an altered immune reactivity that persisted into childhood, defined by asthma diagnosis within the first 8 years. A retrospective cohort design utilizing a comprehensive CERNER HealthFacts U.S. national database was completed, which accesses clinical data from 800 hospitals across the country. ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes were used to identify infants born at term with known POE or NOWS and were compared to healthy control infants with no diagnoses at birth other than normal newborn codes. The incidence of asthma during the first 8 years of life was determined. Descriptive statistics of frequencies and percentages were calculated for all variables. A Chi-Square test was used to examine the association between asthma diagnosis and POE. A total of 3128 infants were included in the analysis. Approximately 41% were identified as male and 38% identified as female; the remainder were not specified with coding. Almost 52% of subjects were identified as Caucasian. Asthma diagnosis differed significantly by group, X2 (3, n = 3,128) = 12.93 with a p \u3c 0.001. These emerging results suggest infants with POE may have altered immune reactivity that not only impacts the newborn period but persists into childhood. Those with POE were more likely to be diagnosed with asthma by 8 years of age than infants in the healthy control group. Additional investigations are needed to further characterize the impact POE has on the immune system, so that potential follow up strategies and/or interventions can be established

Reading Assignments and Assessments: Are Your Students Reading Math Texts Before Class, After Class, Both, or Neither?

In his recent book What the Best College Students Do [Bain, 2012], Ken Bain defines a number of different types of students including “surface learners,” “strategic learners,” “routine experts,” and finally, “deep learners.” In our mathematics courses at Trinity, we have found examples of all of these student types. A major determinant of their preferred approach to learning appears to be the ways and degrees to which mathematical texts and other written materials are read prior to class sessions. Each full-time member of the department both assigns and assesses the reading of mathematical materials prior to class sessions. Assessment methods, as well as the corresponding pedagogical choices, vary significantly. We also discuss the results of a related survey of over 100 Trinity undergraduates enrolled in mathematics courses during fall 2012

Start a Math Teacher Circle: Connect K-12 Teachers with Engaging, Approachable, and Meaningful Mahtematical Problems

Many K-12 math teachers are not ready to teach from a conceptual and inquiry-oriented pe

Start a Math Teacher Circle: Connect K-12 Teachers with Engaging, Approachable, and Meaningful Mathematical Problems

Many K-12 math teachers are not ready to teach from a conceptual and inquiry-oriented perspective because they have an algorithmic understanding of mathematics. One solution is to create a math teacher circle (MTC), which provides conceptual and inquiry-based learning activities and builds professionalism among the teachers. In this paper, we describe the origins of two such MTCs, highlighting the process of identifying leadership team members, submitting the grant proposal for seed money, and hosting launch events, intensive summer workshops, and monthly meetings during the academic year. We also share opportunities for professional development for college and university faculty, including research linked to shifts in in-service teacher attitudes. We finish the paper with several of this year’s best activities used at our MTC meetings, including fair division, extensions and generalizations of numerical and algebraic patterns, and applications in cryptography

"I would have to sell things in order to get the money":A qualitative exploration of willingness to pay for the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine in the Volta region, Ghana

BACKGROUND: Malaria morbidity and mortality remain a challenge in Ghana. A promising childhood vaccine is being piloted in Ghana, however with the loss of its low-income status, Ghana is losing associated donor co-funding. User fees have been considered an alternative financing method, so this study utilised qualitative methods and explored caregivers’ willingness to pay for the malaria vaccine (RTS,S/AS01) to inform future service provision. METHODS: The study design was cross-sectional. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted between February 2020 and March 2020 amongst a purposive sample of caregivers of RTS,S/AS01 eligible children, in the Volta region, Ghana. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed into English Language. Thematic analysis followed, using NVIVO12 to organise this data. RESULTS: Caregivers could distinguish between RTS,S/AS01 and routine vaccines and were willing to pay median GH₵5 (US$0.94), interquartile range GH₵3.75–5 (US$0.71–0.94) per dose of RTS,S/AS01. The maximum amount participants were willing to pay per dose was GH₵10 (US$1.88), interquartile range GH₵6–10 (US$1.13–1.88). Caregivers mentioned that they would work more to cover this cost because they were happy with services rendered to them during the RTS,S/AS01 pilot phase, and preferred vaccines over vector control measures. The results suggest that a willingness to pay was based on beliefs that the vaccine is fully effective. Although no participant declared that they would be unwilling to pay hypothetical user fees, there were still widespread concerns about affordability, with the majority feeling that the government should be responsible to pay for RTS,S/AS01. CONCLUSIONS: Participants expressed a willingness to pay due to an appreciation of vaccines, shaped by personal experiences with immunisations and disease. Participants’ average income was lower than the national average, potentially affecting the perceived affordability of RTS,S/AS01. Because of the belief that RTS,S/AS01 is fully effective, caregivers may pay less attention to other preventative measures, thus unintentionally undermining malaria vector control

Review of the anti-racist standards within anti-oppressive practice

Commissioned by the Practice Learning Business Group; BSc(Hons) Social Work University of Plymouth Research funded by CEPPL. The anti-racist practice standards were originally developed and formalised in conjunction with the Anti-Racist Development Forum, a coalition of programme providers and local practice teachers in the South West region. This forum, now more recently known as FREDA (Forum for Race Equality and Diversity) believed it was timely to review these standards (described below)