The coup de théâtre and the enchanting object of performance

Examining three examples from theatre productions in London and Edinburgh between 1997-2001, this article explores the coup de théâtre as a theatrical phenomenon. It argues for the importance of enchantment in conceptualising the coup de théâtre and that the suspension of the rational in relation to such theatrical moments is central to their impact. This sense of enchantment revolves around the changing status of the object in the coup de théâtre, which, it will be suggested, is linked to the shift between animacy and inanimacy. By destabilising rational modes of understanding, the coup de théâtre enters into the temporality of death and mourning, as objects occupy dual ontologies, both living and inanimate, literal and metaphorical. The coup de théâtre, it will be argued, is a point in performance in which perception and memory, the visible and the conceptual, converge, and in which the permanence of death is troubled by the reanimating effect of theatre

Supporting positive dimensions of health, challenges in mental health care

This paper will explore two contrasting paradigms in mental health care and their relationship to evidence-based practice. The biomedical perspective of pathogenesis and the health perspective of salotogenesis are two major diverse views in mental health care. Positive dimensions of health are traditionally viewed as software not suitable for statistical analysis, while absence of symptoms of disease are regarded as measurable and suitable for statistical analysis and appropriate as a foundation of evidence-based practice. If the main goal of mental health care is to enhance subjectively experienced health among patients, it will not be sufficient to evaluate absence of symptoms of disease as a measure of quality of care. The discussion focuses on the paradox of evidence-based absence of illness and disease versus subjectively experienced health and well-being as criterions of quality of care in mental health care

Lifestyle behaviours of young adult survivors of childhood cancer

This cross-sectional study collected baseline data on the health behaviours of a large population of survivors of childhood cancer in the UK, aged 18–30 years, compared with those of sex- and age-matched controls. Data from 178 young adult survivors of childhood cancer, diagnosed and treated at Bristol Children's Hospital, 184 peers from the survivors' GP practices and 67 siblings were collected by postal questionnaire. Conditional logistic regression analysis showed that, for matched sets of survivors and controls, survivors of a variety of childhood cancers reported lower levels of alcohol consumption (P=0.005), lower levels of cigarette smoking (P=0.027) and lower levels of recreational drug use (P=0.001) than controls. Analysis of matched sets of survivors and siblings showed similar trends but no significant differences. A health behaviour index for each participant was constructed from the data collected on five key health behaviours which influence future health status. Comparison of the means for each case group showed that survivors of childhood cancer were leading healthier lives than controls or siblings. This finding was expressed most clearly as the difference in the means of the health behaviour index for each case group, derived from five health behaviours (one-way ANOVA, P<0.001)

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Oral Prevalence in Scotland (HOPSCOTCH):a feasibility study in dental settings

The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of undertaking a full population investigation into the prevalence, incidence, and persistence of oral Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) in Scotland via dental settings. Male and female patients aged 16-69 years were recruited by Research Nurses in 3 primary care and dental outreach teaching centres and 2 General Dental Practices (GDPs), and by Dental Care Teams in 2 further GDPs. Participants completed a questionnaire (via an online tablet computer or paper) with socioeconomic, lifestyle, and sexual history items; and were followed up at 6-months for further questionnaire through appointment or post/online. Saline oral gargle/rinse samples, collected at baseline and follow-up, were subject to molecular HPV genotyping centrally. 1213 dental patients were approached and 402 individuals consented (participation rate 33.1%). 390 completed the baseline questionnaire and 380 provided a baseline oral specimen. Follow-up rate was 61.6% at 6 months. While recruitment was no different in Research Nurse vs Dental Care Team models the Nurse model ensured more rapid recruitment. There were relatively few missing responses in the questionnaire and high levels of disclosure of risk behaviours (99% answered some of the sexual history questions). Data linkage of participant data to routine health records including HPV vaccination data was successful with 99.1% matching. Oral rinse/gargle sample collection and subsequent HPV testing was feasible. Preliminary analyses found over 95% of samples to be valid for molecular HPV detection prevalence of oral HPV infection of 5.5% (95%CI 3.7, 8.3). It is feasible to recruit and follow-up dental patients largely representative / reflective of the wider population, suggesting it would be possible to undertake a study to investigate the prevalence, incidence, and determinants of oral HPV infection in dental settings

(Re)acting Medicine: applying theatre in order to develop a whole-systems approach to understanding the healing response.

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance on 30/09/2014, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13569783.2014.928007UK health and care provision is in crisis. Dominant practices, ideologies and infrastructure need to change. Our research team is investigating how performance-led research and creative practice is able to positively shape that change. Presently biomedicine holds the power; its reductionist research approach and acute medical model dominate. Neither are well-equipped to engage with increasing non-communicable, long-term, multi-issue, chronic ill-health. We believe that creative practitioners should be using their own well-established approaches to trouble this dominant paradigm to both form and inform the future of healing provision and wellbeing creation. Our transdisciplinary team (drama and medicine) is developing a methodology that is rooted in productive difference; an evolving synergy between two cultural and intellectual traditions with significant divergences in their world-view, perceptions, approaches and training methods. This commonality is underpinned by four assumptions that; (1) human-to-human interactions matter, (2) context matters, (3) the whole person and their community matters and (4) interpretation matters. Initially, we are using this methodology to investigate the fundamental human-to-human interaction of a person seeking healing (a healee) with a healer: we believe that this interaction enables the Healing Response - the intrinsic ability of the human organism to self-heal and regain homeostasis. In this paper we reflect on the project’s early stages