7 research outputs found
Rolling out a staff survey across organizations, in the context of implementing smoke-free guidance in National Health Services
The feasibility of brief dog assisted therapy on university students stress levels: The PAwS study.
Background: Pet therapy is becoming increasingly popular and is used in a variety of ways from encouraging communication in older adults to improving wellbeing in those with serious mental illness. Increasingly Universities have been offering pet therapy to students in an effort to reduce stress. However, little evidence currently exists to support the effectiveness of reducing measurable stress levels after a standalone drop-in unstructured session. The University of Sheffieldâs Counselling Service works in partnership with Guide Dogs for the Blind to give students access to calm, well-trained animals for informal group stress relief.
Aims: To assess the feasibility of implementing and evaluating unstructured group interventions with a Guide Dog in training within the university student population.
Methods: One hundred and thirty-one students who attended pet therapy at the University Counselling Service were recruited on a voluntary basis to take part in the research. Stress, measured on the state trait anxiety inventory, and blood pressure were taken before and after a 15-min intervention.
Results: All measures showed a statistically significant reduction immediately after the intervention.
Conclusion: Short interactions with a Guide Dog in training appear to reduce stress in University students. A controlled study is required to investigate further
A pragmatic randomised controlled trial assessing the non-inferiority of counselling for depression versus cognitive-behaviour therapy for patients in primary care meeting a diagnosis of moderate or severe depression (PRaCTICED): Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.
BACKGROUND: NICE guidelines state cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a front-line psychological treatment for people presenting with depression in primary care. Counselling for Depression (CfD), a form of Person-Centred Experiential therapy, is also offered within Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services for moderate depression but its effectiveness for severe depression has not been investigated. A full-scale randomised controlled trial to determine the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of CfD is required. METHODS: PRaCTICED is a two-arm, parallel group, non-inferiority randomised controlled trial comparing CfD against CBT. It is embedded within the local IAPT service using a stepped care service delivery model where CBT and CfD are routinely offered at step 3. Trial inclusion criteria comprise patients aged 18Â years or over, wishing to work on their depression, judged to require a step 3 intervention, and meeting an ICD-10 diagnosis of moderate or severe depression. Patients are randomised using a centralised, web-based system to CfD or CBT with each treatment being delivered up to a maximum 20 sessions. Both interventions are manualised with treatment fidelity tested via supervision and random sampling of sessions using adherence/competency scales. The primary outcome measure is the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 collected at baseline, 6 and 12Â months. Secondary outcome measures tap depression, generic psychological distress, anxiety, functioning and quality of life. Cost-effectiveness is determined by a patient service receipt questionnaire. Exit interviews are conducted with patients by research assessors blind to treatment allocation. The trial requires 500 patients (250 per arm) to test the non-inferiority hypothesis of -2 PHQ-9 points at the one-sided, 2.5% significance level with 90% power, assuming no underlying difference and a standard deviation of 6.9. The primary analysis will be undertaken on all patients randomised (intent to treat) alongside per-protocol and complier-average causal effect analyses as recommended by the extension to the CONSORT statement for non-inferiority trials. DISCUSSION: This large-scale trial utilises routinely collected outcome data as well as specific trial data to provide evidence of the comparative efficacy and cost-effectiveness of Counselling for Depression compared with Cognitive Behaviour Therapy as delivered within the UK government's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies initiative. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Controlled Trials ISRCTN Registry, ISRCTN06461651 . Registered on 14 September 2014
Are you ok?â Mental health and wellbeing of international doctoral students in the UK: an investigation of supervisorsâ understanding and existing support provision
This research investigates how well supervisors
understand the mental health and psychological
wellbeing of international doctoral students, and
what support supervisors can provide given the
seemingly poor levels of psychological wellbeing
experienced by this group. Based on the research
teamâs recent engagements with HE stakeholders in
supporting international doctoral students, a focus
on the supervisorâs role was strongly endorsed. This
research explores this timely but less explored area
through in-depth creative interviews with
experienced doctoral supervisors from UK HE
institutions
New Guinea has the worldâs richest island flora
New Guinea is the worldâs largest tropical island and has fascinated naturalists for centuries1,2. Home to some of the best-preserved ecosystems on the planet3 and to intact ecological gradientsâfrom mangroves to tropical alpine grasslandsâthat are unmatched in the Asia-Pacific region4,5, it is a globally recognized centre of biological and cultural diversity6,7. So far, however, there has been no attempt to critically catalogue the entire vascular plant diversity of New Guinea. Here we present the first, to our knowledge, expert-verified checklist of the vascular plants of mainland New Guinea and surrounding islands. Our publicly available checklist includes 13,634 species (68% endemic), 1,742 genera and 264 familiesâsuggesting that New Guinea is the most floristically diverse island in the world. Expert knowledge is essential for building checklists in the digital era: reliance on online taxonomic resources alone would have inflated species counts by 22%. Species discovery shows no sign of levelling off, and we discuss steps to accelerate botanical research in the âLast Unknownâ8