Life after a loss to suicide: understanding social network interactions and their impact

Conservative estimates suggest that globally, 5 million people are impacted by suicide each year, making it a prevalent stressful life event, and one that has the potential to impact considerably on wellbeing. In England, professional support specifically focused on the needs of people bereaved by suicide is limited and so informal social support, the help available from family and friends, is particularly important. Little is known about the mechanisms of social support after a suicide loss, particularly its reciprocal aspect. The aim of this thesis is to explore how the social networks of friends and family bereaved by suicide informally support one another after their loss. The first project in this thesis is a systematic review and narrative synthesis of 16 studies, which showed that higher levels of social support are at least partially associated with improved wellbeing after sudden or traumatic deaths. Social support is therefore worth working to improve. A qualitative study followed this, in which 26 participants from 13 different social networks were interviewed about their experiences of support and social interactions after their loss. A novel method of analysis (based on dyadic analysis) was used to examine the similarities and differences in perspectives of participants from within the same social networks. Results showed that social networks tend to naturally adapt to cope with a loss, but can face barriers to communication which hinder supportive efforts, and relationships can be negatively impacted by mismatches of narratives of the loss and support style. Finally, a public resource aimed at social networks bereaved by suicide underwent initial development. Using findings from the qualitative study, draft material for a text-based resource intended to inform and normalise experiences, and a plan for its further development was created

A realist interview study of a participatory public mental health project “#KindnessByPost”

Background: #KindnessByPost (KbP) is a participatory public health initiative in which people anonymously send and receive cards containing messages of goodwill with others also taking part in the programme. Quantitative evaluations of KbP consistently find evidence of improvements to people’s mental wellbeing and feelings of loneliness after participation and three months later. Our aim in the present study is to develop a programme theory of KbP, which describes for whom the KbP intervention improves mental wellbeing, other reported impacts, in which contexts it has these effects, and the mechanisms by which it works. Methods: We use a realist interviewing methodology to develop the programme theory. We conducted a focus group with the KbP executive team, and 20 one-to-one interviews with KbP participants. During analysis, a co-production working group iteratively developed a Theory of Change model comprising context-mechanism-outcome statements [CMOs] to map out the mechanisms present in KbP. Results: We developed 145 CMO statements, which we condensed and categorized into 32 overarching CMOs across nine thematic topics: access to scheme; pathways to involvement; resources; culture; giving post; receiving post; content of received post; community; long term impact. These CMOs set out pathways through which KbP benefited participants, including from doing something kind for someone else, of receiving post and appreciating the effort that went into it, and from the creative process of creating post and writing the messages inside them. Effects were sustained in part through people keeping the cards and through the social media communities that emerged around KbP. Discussion: Both giving and receiving post and the sense of community benefited participants and improved their mood and feelings of connectedness with others. Connection with a stranger, rather than friends or family, was also an important feature of the initiative for participants. Our wide range of CMO pathways by which KbP produced positive outcomes may mean that the intervention is applicable or adaptable across many communities and settings. Taken together with evidence from the quantitative evaluations, KbP is potentially an effective, low-cost, and highly scalable public health intervention for reducing loneliness and improving wellbeing.</p

Building Volunteer Engagement in the Tennessee Extension Master Gardener Program from the Ground Up

This study was designed to assess key volunteer attitudes and perceptions about local and state Extension Master Gardener (EMG) volunteer programs. EMG volunteers in Tennessee completed a total of 759 surveys between January 22 and March 10, 2020. Survey responses showed there was a strong positive perception of local EMG groups and the connection with the University of Tennessee system overall. When respondents were segmented, answers to key questions showed illuminating differences between volunteers with positive and neutral or negative views of the program. The variations in answers show areas of potential emphasis to support healthy local group culture and broader efficacy of the EMG program

Living Under Coronavirus and Injecting Drugs in Bristol (LUCID-B): a qualitative study of experiences of COVID-19 among people who inject drugs

BACKGROUND: : People who inject drugs (PWID) are a high-risk group for COVID-19 transmission and serious health consequences. Restrictions imposed in the UK in response to the pandemic led to rapid health and housing service alterations. We aimed to examine PWID experiences of: 1) challenges relating to the COVID-19 public health measures; 2) changes to opioid substitution therapy (OST) and harm reduction services; and 3) perceived effects of COVID-19 on drug use patterns and risk behaviour. METHODS: : Telephone semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 PWID in Bristol, Southwest of England. Analysis followed a reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: : Concern about COVID-19 and adherence to public health guidance varied. Efforts made by services to continue providing support during the pandemic were appreciated and some changes were preferred, such as less frequent OST collection, relaxation of supervised consumption and needle and syringe programmes (NSP) home delivery. However, remote forms of contact were highlighted as less beneficial and more difficult to engage with than in-person contact. Public health guidance advising people to ‘stay home’ led to increased isolation, boredom, and time to ruminate which impacted negatively on mental health. Lockdown restrictions directly impacted on sources of income and routine. Changes in drug use were explained as a consequence of isolation and fewer interactions with peers, problems accessing drugs, reduced drug purity and reduced financial resources. CONCLUSION: : This study captures the significant impacts and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of PWID. While rapid adaptations to service delivery to help mitigate the risks of COVID-19 were appreciated and some changes such as relaxation of supervised daily OST consumption were viewed positively, barriers to access need further attention. Going forwards there may be opportunities to harness the positive aspects of some changes to services

A Mammalian Target of Rapamycin-Perilipin 3 (mTORC1-Plin3) Pathway is essential to Activate Lipophagy and Protects Against Hepatosteatosis

[Background and Aims] NAFLD is the most common hepatic pathology in western countries and no treatment is currently available. NAFLD is characterized by the aberrant hepatocellular accumulation of fatty acids in the form of lipid droplets (LDs). Recently, it was shown that liver LD degradation occurs through a process termed lipophagy, a form of autophagy. However, the molecular mechanisms governing liver lipophagy are elusive. Here, we aimed to ascertain the key molecular players that regulate hepatic lipophagy and their importance in NAFLD.[Approach and Results] We analyzed the formation and degradation of LD in vitro (fibroblasts and primary mouse hepatocytes), in vivo and ex vivo (mouse and human liver slices) and focused on the role of the autophagy master regulator mammalian target of rapamycin complex (mTORC) 1 and the LD coating protein perilipin (Plin) 3 in these processes. We show that the autophagy machinery is recruited to the LD on hepatic overload of oleic acid in all experimental settings. This led to activation of lipophagy, a process that was abolished by Plin3 knockdown using RNA interference. Furthermore, Plin3 directly interacted with the autophagy proteins focal adhesion interaction protein 200 KDa and autophagy-related 16L, suggesting that Plin3 functions as a docking protein or is involved in autophagosome formation to activate lipophagy. Finally, we show that mTORC1 phosphorylated Plin3 to promote LD degradation.[Conclusions] These results reveal that mTORC1 regulates liver lipophagy through a mechanism dependent on Plin3 phosphorylation. We propose that stimulating this pathway can enhance lipophagy in hepatocytes to help protect the liver from lipid-mediated toxicity, thus offering a therapeutic strategy in NAFLD.Supported by C0120R3166, C0245R4032, and BH182173 from Newcastle University. M. G.-M. is a Sara Borrell Postdoctoral fellow (CD18/00203) from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (Spain). J. P. B. is funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación, grants PID2019-105699RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and RED2018-102576-T, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CB16/10/00282), Junta de Castilla y León (Escalera de Excelencia CLU-2017-03), Ayudas Equipos Investigación Biomedicina 2017 Fundación BBVA, and Fundación Ramón Areces. V. I. K. acknowledges support from Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/M023389/1, BB/R008167/1, BBPeer reviewe

Rapid carbon accumulation at a saltmarsh restored by managed realignment exceeded carbon emitted in direct site construction

Increasing attention is being paid to the carbon sequestration and storage services provided by coastal blue carbon ecosystems such as saltmarshes. Sites restored by managed realignment, where existing sea walls are breached to reinstate tidal inundation to the land behind, have considerable potential to accumulate carbon through deposition of sediment brought in by the tide and burial of vegetation in the site. While this potential has been recognised, it is not yet a common motivating factor for saltmarsh restoration, partly due to uncertainties about the rate of carbon accumulation and how this balances against the greenhouse gases emitted during site construction. We use a combination of field measurements over four years and remote sensing to quantify carbon accumulation at a large managed realignment site, Steart Marshes, UK. Sediment accumulated rapidly at Steart Marshes (mean of 75 mm yr-1) and had a high carbon content (4.4% total carbon, 2.2% total organic carbon), resulting in carbon accumulation of 36.6 t ha-1 yr-1 total carbon (19.4 t ha-1 yr-1 total organic carbon). This rate of carbon accumulation is an order of magnitude higher than reported in many other restored saltmarshes, and is somewhat higher than values previously reported from another hypertidal system (Bay of Fundy, Canada). The estimated carbon emissions associated with the construction of the site were ~2–4% of the observed carbon accumulation during the study period, supporting the view that managed realignment projects in such settings may have significant carbon accumulation benefits. However, uncertainties such as the origin of carbon (allochthonous or autochthonous) and changes in gas fluxes need to be resolved to move towards a full carbon budget for saltmarsh restoration

'If You Desire to Enjoy Life, Avoid Unpunctual People': Women, Timetabling and Domestic Advice, 1850–1910

In the second half of the nineteenth century domestic advice manuals applied the language of modern, public time management to the private sphere. This article uses domestic advice and cookery books, including Isabella Beeton's Book of Household Management, to argue that women in the home operated within multiple, overlapping temporalities that incorporated daily, annual, linear and cyclical scales. I examine how seasonal and annual timescales coexisted with the ticking clock of daily time as a framework within which women were instructed to organize their lives in order to conclude that the increasing concern of advice writers with matters of timekeeping and punctuality towards the end of the nineteenth century indicates not the triumph of 'clock time' but rather its failure to overturn other ways of thinking about and using time

Impact on mental health care and on mental health service users of the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed methods survey of UK mental health care staff

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic has potential to disrupt and burden the mental health care system, and to magnify inequalities experienced by mental health service users. METHODS: We investigated staff reports regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in its early weeks on mental health care and mental health service users in the UK using a mixed methods online survey. Recruitment channels included professional associations and networks, charities, and social media. Quantitative findings were reported with descriptive statistics, and content analysis conducted for qualitative data. RESULTS: 2,180 staff from a range of sectors, professions, and specialties participated. Immediate infection control concerns were highly salient for inpatient staff, new ways of working for community staff. Multiple rapid adaptations and innovations in response to the crisis were described, especially remote working. This was cautiously welcomed but found successful in only some clinical situations. Staff had specific concerns about many groups of service users, including people whose conditions are exacerbated by pandemic anxieties and social disruptions; people experiencing loneliness, domestic abuse and family conflict; those unable to understand and follow social distancing requirements; and those who cannot engage with remote care. CONCLUSION: This overview of staff concerns and experiences in the early COVID-19 pandemic suggests directions for further research and service development: we suggest that how to combine infection control and a therapeutic environment in hospital, and how to achieve effective and targeted tele-health implementation in the community, should be priorities. The limitations of our convenience sample must be noted

Student Composers Concert

Kennesaw State University School of Music presents the 2013 Student Composers Concert featuring Premieres of Newly Composed Works.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1348/thumbnail.jp