A study of the role concept of the young graduate professional staff nurse in relation to her actual nursing activities as performed in two selected hospital situations

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

First-Generation College Students: Examining The Perceived Impact Of Roommate Pairings

This qualitative phenomenological study was conducted to examine the perceived impact of roommate pairings within university housing, specifically the first-generation college students’ residential experience and its influence on their first-year experience. Conducted at a faith-based, liberal arts university in the southeast, this study captured and shared the stories of its participants and their lived experiences as first-generation college students living with randomly assigned continuing-generation roommates. The research question for the study addressed what effect first-generation college students perceive being paired with continuing-generation students in university housing has on their overall first-year experience. The conceptual framework for this study was guided by Alexander Astin’s input-environment-outcome (I-E-O) model. Participants’ generational status defined the input, their residential experience and roommate pairing defined the environment, and an examination of their overall first-year experience defined the outcome. This study used a survey and follow-up semi-structured structured interviewss to capture the impact of roommate pairings as perceived by participants. The participants’ responses were organized and analyzed using the predetermined categories of academic success, social integration, retention, and student development. The primary finding of this study revealed a mixed opinion concerning the perceived impact of pairing roommates of different generational statuses during the first year of college. The results demonstrated: 1) an indirect influence of intergenerational roommate pairings on academic success, 2) a direct influence of intergenerational roommate pairings on social integration, 3) some influence of intergenerational roommate pairings on retention, and 4) inconsistencies concerning the influence of intergenerational roommate pairings on student development. These results are significant for residence life and housing professionals as they provide insight on student perceptions and inform practitioners as they aim to meet the needs retain? Provide a more developmentally appropriate housing experience? of first-generation college students. First-generation college students benefit from a roommate experience that is supportive and from a thriving connection to the university and its community. It is important for practitioners to examine the overall student experience when implementing and designing new initiatives. Recommendations for action include a review of institutional roommate pairing processes and proposed increased collaboration in educational programming

Assessing the unintended health impacts of road transport policies and interventions: translating research evidence for use in policy and practice

Background: Transport and its links to health and health inequalities suggest that it is important to assess both the direct and unintended indirect health and related impacts of transport initiatives and policies. Health Impact Assessment (HIA) provides a framework to assess the possible health impacts of interventions such as transport. Policymakers and practitioners need access to well conducted research syntheses if research evidence is to be used to inform these assessments. The predictive validity of HIA depends heavily on the use and careful interpretation of supporting empirical evidence. Reviewing and digesting the vast volume and diversity of evidence in a field such as transport is likely to be beyond the scope of most HIAs. Collaborations between HIA practitioners and specialist reviewers to develop syntheses of best available evidence applied specifically to HIA could promote the use of evidence in practice. Methods: Best available research evidence was synthesised using the principles of systematic review. The synthesis was developed to reflect the needs of HIA practitioners and policymakers. Results: Aside from injury reduction measures, there is very little empirical data on the impact of road transport interventions. The possibility of impacts on a diverse range of outcomes and differential impacts across groups, make it difficult to assess overall benefit and harm. In addition, multiple mediating factors in the pathways between transport and hypothesised health impacts further complicate prospective assessment of impacts. Informed by the synthesis, a framework of questions was developed to help HIA practitioners identify the key questions which need to be considered in transport HIA. Conclusion: Principles of systematic review are valuable in producing syntheses of best available evidence for use in HIA practice. Assessment of the health impacts of transport interventions is characterised by much uncertainty, competing values, and differential or conflicting impacts for different population groups at a local or wider level. These are issues pertinent to the value of HIA generally. While uncertainty needs explicit acknowledgement in HIA, there is still scope for best available evidence to inform the development of healthy public policy

The social support and service needs of Australia’s ageing Greek migrants: a pilot project

This article explores the social support and service needs of Greek-speakers in Australia who migrated as young adults mostly in the 1940s and 1950s. The article reports the findings of a pilot research project initiated by the Modern Greek department at Flinders University in conjunction with social, health and ageing researchers. Focus groups and interviews were held in Adelaide and Darwin in 2010 with older Greek-speakers born in Greece and Cyprus; a survey of service organisations was also conducted. All older Greeks chose to be interviewed in Greek. They reported using a range of formal services, although some were confused about how to access services and lacked awareness of services. Interrupted primary education had resulted in low reading proficiency in Greek, while settlement experiences had contributed to low proficiency in reading, writing and speaking English. These were major barriers to accessing services with no Greek-speaking staff. In line with cultural expectations, a key support role was played by adult children, while some Greek-speaking GPs and MPs also mediated information and service access. Many older Greeks appear to be living independently in the community, but this is only possible because of high levels of informal support from close family. Those without children may therefore be more vulnerable to social isolation. The Modern Greek researchers who were integral members of the research team acted as ‘insiders’ who shared the culture and language of interviewees. Since all interviewees chose to be interviewed in Modern Greek, the ability to conduct interviews in Greek clearly enabled their participation, whereas they may have declined to participate had interviews only been available in English. At the same time, the non-Greek researchers provided a critical ‘outsider’ view which strengthened the data analysis and interpretation. We conclude that this project has demonstrated the important role that Modern Greek academics can play in research on social and health issues among the Greek diaspora

The social support and service needs of Australia’s ageing Greek migrants: a literature review.

This paper presents the results of a literature review undertaken to shape an emerging social research program on the service and support needs of Australia’s ageing Greek migrants. In late 2009 a narrative review was conducted of published and ‘grey’ literature to determine the scope of articles, with an emphasis on services and supports which help older people remain independent in the community. The search returned an extensive amount of international literature on ageing populations, but only a very small number of publications on the service use and needs of Australia’s older Greek population. Barriers to service use included low proficiency in English, lack of Greek-speaking service providers, low awareness of services available, and various cultural issues. The review also identified a lack of research carried out in the Greek language by researchers with a Greek background, which suggests that the views of older Greek migrants may be missing from much social research. We conclude that a sustained and culturally appropriate research effort conducted in the first language is needed and is essential if community-based services are to become more appropriate and accessible for the older members of Australia’s Greek communities

The Social Support and Service Needs of Australia’s Ageing Greek Migrants: A Pilot Project

This article explores the social support and service needs of Greek-speakers in Australia who migrated as young adults mostly in the 1940s and 1950s. The article reports the findings of a pilot research project initiated by the Modern Greek department at Flinders University in conjunction with social, health and ageing researchers. Focus groups and interviews were held in Adelaide and Darwin in 2010 with older Greek-speakers born in Greece and Cyprus; a survey of service organisations was also conducted. All older Greeks chose to be inter - viewed in Greek. They reported using a range of formal services, although some were confused about how to access services and lacked awareness of services. Interrupted primary education had resulted in low reading proficiency in Greek, while settlement experiences had contributed to low proficiency in reading, writing and speaking English. These were major barriers to accessing services with no Greek-speaking staff. In line with cultural expectations, a key support role was played by adult children, while some Greek-speaking GPs and MPs also mediated information and service access. Many older  Greeks appear to be living independently in the community, but this is only possible because of high levels of informal support from close family. Those without children may therefore be more vulnerable to social isolation. The Modern Greek researchers who were integral members of the research team acted as “insiders” who shared the culture and language of interviewees. Since all interviewees chose to be interviewed in Modern Greek, the ability to conduct interviews in Greek clearly enabled their participation, whereas they may have declined to participate had interviews only been available in English. At the same time, the non-Greek researchers provided a critical “outsider” view which strengthened the data analysis and interpretation. We conclude that this project has demonstrated the important role that Modern Greek academics can play in research on social and health issues among the Greek diaspora

The Social Support and Service Needs of Australia’s Ageing Greek Migrants: A Literature Review

This paper presents the results of a literature review undertaken to shape an emerging social research program on the service and support needs of Australia’s ageing Greek migrants. In late 2009 a narrative review was conducted of pub - lished and “grey” literature to determine the scope of articles, with an emphasis on services and supports which help older people remain independent in the com - munity. The search returned an extensive amount of international literature on ageing populations, but only a very small number of publications on the service use and needs of Australia’s older Greek population. Barriers to service use included low proficiency in English, lack of Greek-speaking service providers, low awareness of services available, and various cultural issues. The review also iden tified a lack of research carried out in the Greek language by researchers with a Greek background, which suggests that the views of older Greek migrants may be missing from much social research. We conclude that a sustained and cul - turally appropriate research effort conducted in the first language is needed and is essen tial if community-based services are to become more appropriate and acces sible for the older members of Australia’s Greek communities

Co-designing the environmental land management scheme in England: the why, who, and how of engaging ‘harder to reach’ stakeholders

1. Agriculture around the world needs to become more environmentally sustainable to limit further environmental degradation and impacts of climate change. 2. Many governments try to achieve this through enrolling farmers in agri-environment schemes (AES) that encourage them to undertake conservation activities. 3. Studies show that AES can suffer from low uptake, meaning their environmental objectives remain unattained. To succeed for people and nature, policy-makers are increasingly adopting multi-actor approaches in the “co-design” of AES to make them more attractive and inclusive of a full range of stakeholders, including ‘harder to reach’ farmers. 4. To address why some land managers (principally farmers) may be harder to reach in the context of co-designing England’s new Environmental Land Management (ELM) approach, we undertook a quick scoping review of the literature, conducted 23 first-round and 24 second-round interviews with key informants, and held a workshop with 11 practitioners. 5. We outline why farming stakeholders may be harder to reach and how policy-makers can adjust the engagement process to make co-design more inclusive. 6. Based on the results, we make recommendations that could help policy-makers to design better, more inclusive AES that would attract greater uptake and increase their chances of success

The impact of COVID-19 on farmers’ mental health: a case study of the UK

Objectives In this paper, we use a UK case study to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health (emotional, psychological, social wellbeing) of farmers. We outline the drivers of poor farming mental health, the manifold impacts of the pandemic at a time of policy and environmental change, and identify lessons that can be learned to develop resilience in farming communities against future shocks. Methods We undertook a survey answered by 207 farmers across the UK, focusing on drivers of poor mental health and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also conducted 22 in-depth interviews with individuals in England, Scotland and Wales who provide mental health support to farmers. These explored how and why the COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health of farmers. These interviews were supplemented by 93 survey responses from a similar group of support providers (UK-wide). Results We found that the pandemic exacerbated underlying drivers of poor mental health and wellbeing in farming communities. 67% of farmers surveyed reported feeling more stressed, 63% felt more anxious, 38% felt more depressed, and 12% felt more suicidal. The primary drivers of poor mental health identified by farmers during the pandemic included decreased social contact and loneliness, issues with the general public on private land, and moving online for social events. Support providers also highlighted relationship and financial issues, illness, and government inspections as drivers of poor mental health. Some farmers, conversely, outlined positive impacts of the pandemic. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic is just one of many potential stressors associated with poor farming mental health and its impacts are likely to be long-lasting and delayed. Multiple stressors affecting farmers at the same time can create a tipping point. Therefore, there is a need for long-term support and ongoing evaluation of the drivers of poor mental health in farming families

The impact of COVID-19 on farmers’ mental health: a case study of the UK

Objectives In this paper, we use a UK case study to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health (emotional, psychological, social wellbeing) of farmers. We outline the drivers of poor farming mental health, the manifold impacts of the pandemic at a time of policy and environmental change, and identify lessons that can be learned to develop resilience in farming communities against future shocks. Methods We undertook a survey answered by 207 farmers across the UK, focusing on drivers of poor mental health and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also conducted 22 in-depth interviews with individuals in England, Scotland and Wales who provide mental health support to farmers. These explored how and why the COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health of farmers. These interviews were supplemented by 93 survey responses from a similar group of support providers (UK-wide). Results We found that the pandemic exacerbated underlying drivers of poor mental health and wellbeing in farming communities. 67% of farmers surveyed reported feeling more stressed, 63% felt more anxious, 38% felt more depressed, and 12% felt more suicidal. The primary drivers of poor mental health identified by farmers during the pandemic were decreased social contact, issues with the general public on private land, and moving online for social events. Support providers also highlighted relationship and financial issues, illness, and government inspections as drivers of poor mental health. Some farmers, conversely, outlined positive impacts of the pandemic. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic is just one of many potential stressors associated with poor farming mental health and its impacts are likely to be long lasting and delayed. Multiple stressors affecting farmers at the same time can create a tipping point. Therefore, there is a need for long-term support and ongoing evaluation of the drivers of poor mental health in farming families