Leadership development programme: a multi-method evaluation

This report investigates findings arising from a variety of forms of feedback provided by the first cohort of participants (2012-2013) in Cumbria Partnership Foundation Trust’s “Leadership Development” Programme (LDP). The report summarises both quantitative and qualitative feedback, and synthesises findings to provide a more three-dimensional overview of participant experience and systemic impact. Feedback reflects, throughout, the diversity of the participating cohort in terms of professional roles and levels of seniority

Learning Leaders: a multi-method evaluation, final report

This report investigates findings arising from a variety of forms of feedback on Cumbria Partnership Foundation Trust’s “Learning Leaders” Programme (henceforth LLP) running from 2012-2013

The effectiveness of heat preparation and alleviation strategies for cognitive performance: A systematic review

A range of occupational and performance contexts (e.g. military personnel operations, emergency services, sport) require the critical maintenance of cognitive performance in environmentally challenging environments. Several reviews exist which evaluate the effectiveness of heat preparation strategies to facilitate physical performance. To date, no review has explored the usefulness of heat preparation strategies for cognitive performance. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to evaluate a range of interventions for the maintenance of cognitive performance, during or following active or passive heat exposure. Studies to be included were assessed by two authors reviewing title, abstract, and full-text. Forty articles were identified which met the inclusion criteria. Interventions were categorised into chronic (i.e. acclimation/acclimatisation) and acute strategies (i.e. hydration, cooling, supplementation, psychological). The results indicate that medium-term consecutive heat acclimation may mitigate some cognitive deficits under heat stress, although heat acclimation effectiveness could be influenced by age. Further, pre-cooling appears the most effective cooling method for maintaining cognitive performance under heat stress, although results were somewhat ambiguous. The hydration literature showed that the most effective hydration strategies were those which individualised electrolyte fortified fluid volumes to match for sweat loss. Limited research exploring psychological interventions indicates that motivational self-talk could be facilitative for maintaining cognitive skills following exercise in hot conditions. These findings can be used to help inform strategies for maintaining critical cognitive and decision-making skills in hot environments

Thoughts and perceptions of weight cutting in Olympic Weightlifters

Introduction / purpose Rapid weight loss (RWL) practices are common amongst athletes in order to ‘make weight’ for a chosen bodyweight class. This study’s purpose was to investigate attributed thoughts and perceptions of Olympic weightlifters from Great Britain who engaged in RWL practices. Participants (n = 39, male = 22, female = 17) were recruited from International Weightlifting Federation lifting populations (mandatory two-hour competition weigh-in). Of respondents, 33 of 39 (85%) had purposely acutely reduced body mass to compete. Methods The ‘Pre-competition weight management practices questionnaire’ included open-ended questions regarding thoughts, feeling and mood during RWL and post weigh-in. Qualitative responses were analysed via content analysis principles. Authors enhanced familiarity with data by reading/re-reading each qualitative component. Then, adopting an inductive approach, generated codes by identifying relevant extracts of data. Codes were then combined into categories based on frequency of occurrence of key words capturing the wider meaning of data and illustrating areas of consistency in responses. Subsequently a ‘critical friend’ approach resulted in changes to some codes/categories, which authors critically challenged to reduce potential for error and data misinterpretation. Results In total 32 of 33 weightlifters (16 male, 16 female) engaging in RWL provided responses to open-ended questions. Content analysis revealed 72 raw data extracts resulting in the generation of 16 codes. Codes were aligned to categories; cognitions, reflections, physiological perception, emotional response. A predominance of negative thoughts and perceptions were attributed during RWL, the emergence of codes; low mood, hunger, fatigue, irritation and anxiety accounting for 72% of data extracts. Low mood, hunger and anxiety were more frequently attributed from females than males. However, only 22% of weightlifters indicated that attributed thoughts, feelings and general mood remain post weigh-in. Practical applications / conclusions The prevalence of negative thoughts and perceptions of weight cutting observed in the current study are in accordance to those reported within previous cohorts of strength sport athletes. Olympic weightlifting athletes and coaches should consider whether negative mood and feelings associated by many lifters during weight cutting are an acceptable aspect of pre-competition preparation in order to compete in a desired weight class

A comparison of rapid weight loss practices within international, national and regional powerlifters’

Background: Rapid weight loss (RWL) practices are common amongst strength-sport athletes to ‘make weight’ for a chosen weight class. Aim: This study compared the RWL practices of International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) powerlifters from Great Britain. Methods: Participants (n =69, male =36, female =33) were recruited from IPF lifting populations (mandatory <2-hour competition weigh-in). Participants were categorised based on highest level of competition (regional, national and international) and also sex (male and female). The previously validated ‘Rapid Weight Loss Questionnaire’ established RWL practices, however also included an open-ended question regarding thoughts, feeling and mood during RWL. Results: Nearly all participants (97%) had purposely acutely reduced body mass to compete, with an average typical pre-competition loss of 4.2%. Regional competitors reported a higher ‘typical’ body mass loss compared to international competitors (5.5% vs 3.3%, p=0.004). Females reported a greater ‘highest’ body mass loss than males (6.7% vs 5.3%, p=0.028). Fluid restriction (86.5%), water loading (67.2%) and increased exercise (49.2%) were the RWL methods most commonly used ‘always’ or ‘sometimes’. Content analysis revealed a predominance of negative perceptions during RWL with the emergence of codes; fatigue, sensations, anxiety, low mood and irritation, accounting for ∼70% of responses. Conclusion: Prevalence of RWL is high amongst competitive powerlifters, with many competitors attributing negative perceptions during the weight-cutting process. The magnitude of reported acute RWL within regional lifters was beyond where performance decrements are commonly seen (>5%), this should be cautioned against given the IPF’s mandatory <2-hour competition weigh-in

Mouth Rinsing With Carbohydrate Solutions at the Postprandial State Fail to Improve Performance During Simulated Cycling Time Trials.

Mouth-rinsing with carbohydrate solutions during cycling time trials results in performance enhancements, however the majority of studies have utilised ∼6% carbohydrate solutions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of mouth-rinsing with 4%, 6%, and 8% carbohydrate (CHO) solutions on 1-h simulated cycling time trial performance. On four occasions, seven trained male cyclists completed at the postprandial period, a set amount of work as fast as possible in a randomised, counterbalanced order. The subjects mouth rinsed for 5-s, upon completion of each 12.5% of the trial, with 25 mL of a non-CHO placebo, 4%, 6%, and 8% CHO solutions. No additional fluids were consumed during the time trial. Heart rate (HR), ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), thirst (TH) and subjective feelings (SF) were recorded after each rinse. Further, blood samples were drawn every 25% of the trial to measure blood glucose (BG) and blood lactate (BG) concentrations, whilst whole body carbohydrate oxidation was monitored continuously. Time to completion was not significant between conditions with the placebo, 4%, 6%, and 8% conditions completing the trials in 62.0 ± 3.0, 62.8 ± 4.0, 63.4 ± 3.4, and 63 ±4.0 minutes respectively. There were no significant differences between conditions in any of the variables mentioned above however significant time effects were observed for HR, RPE, TH, and SF. Post-hoc analysis showed that TH and SF of subjects in the CHO conditions but not in the placebo were significantly increased by completion of the time trial. In conclusion, mouth-rinsing with CHO solutions did not impact 1-h cycling performance in the postprandial period and in the absence of fluid intake. Our findings suggest that there is scope for further research to explore the activation regions of the brain and whether they are receptive to CHO dose, before specific recommendations for athletic populations are established. Consequently mouth-rinsing as a practical strategy for coaches and athletes is questionable under specific conditions and should be carefully considered before its inclusion. The emphasis should be focused on appropriate dietary and fluid strategies during training and competition

Cumbria PFT: Foundation in Management and Leadership Programme: interim evaluation report

This report investigates findings arising from participant feedback evaluations of the first two days of Cumbria PFT’s “Foundation in Leadership and Management” Programme (henceforth FIM), running 2012-2013, as part of a broader multi-method evaluation. Summarising both quantitative and qualitative feedback, a synthesises of results is finally presented for a more three-dimensional overview

Cumbria PFT: Learning Leaders: interim evaluation report

This report investigates findings arising from participant feedback evaluations of the five taught days, plus in-depth interviews relating to projects, of Cumbria Partnership Foundation Trust’s “Leadership Leaders” Programme (henceforth LLP) running from 2012-2013, as part of a broader multi-method evaluation. The report summarises both quantitative and qualitative feedback, and synthesises results to provide a more three-dimensional overview

Foundation in management and leadership: a multi-method evaluation

This report presents a multi-method evaluation of feedback from the inaugural cohort (2012-2013) of Cumbria PFT’s Foundation in Leadership and Management programme (FIM). The FIM was developed through a preparatory working group, including staff and managers, to identify and target specific needs which were then cross referenced with national accredited tools such as the leadership competency framework and NHS change model. The first participating cohort was large and highly diverse in role and grade, which is an issue reflected in feedback throughout