Designing to heal: post-disaster rebuilding to assist community recovery

The physical destruction accompanying disasters typically creates an urgency to rebuild and help survivors get back on track. There are inspiring examples of how architects and other built environment professionals have contributed to rebuilding. In many cases their efforts have facilitated the re-establishment of eroded communities and created a sense that things were getting better. At times, however, these interventions have overwhelmed the remnants of the pre-disaster community, replacing them with assets and opportunities irrelevant to their needs and values, and setting them down a path not of their choosing. Increasing the chances that such projects will resonate with the communities requires getting the process and the product of design right. This paper is divided into two parts: Part A outlines the relevance and significance of disasters and post-disaster recovery; Part B highlights the need of designers to harness community skills, emphasises survivor participation in the planning and realisation of their post-disaster environment, and suggests some characteristics of design that may smooth the path to recovery

Developing academic persistence in first year tertiary students: a case study

Teachers and researchers of undergraduate university students agree that the first year experience can have a major impact on later study participation and academic performance. Specifically, the transition to university study from school or other contexts requires that first year students demonstrate the characteristics of self-directed learners, as they enter an environment with minimal constraints and an expectation of self-motivation and individual effort. Art Costa (1991) identified several such characteristics that he terms habits of mind, suggesting that demonstration of these habits will enhance the academic success of learners. The aim of this research project was to identify teaching and learning strategies that have the potential to assist first year university students to persist at a task. Persistence is one of Costa’s habits, and is related to one of the Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education, recently adopted by Central Queensland University in the pursuit of enhanced teaching and learning outcomes for staff and students alike. This paper outlines the data gathered from a tutor of first year undergraduate teacher education students enrolled in a Queensland regional campus. The data presented here were gathered through a participant journal and an individual interview at the end of the term. Analysis of the data revealed that student persistence can be developed and enhanced through the use of teaching and learning strategies with a focus on explicit teacher talk, reflection on learning, shared experiences and positive feedback

Rejuvenating Radical Potential Through Transdisciplinarity: Art and Public Health

We begin this paper with a brief overview of disciplinarity and transdisciplinarity. Complex problems like climate change are one area where a disciplinary approach might compromise our ability to enact radical new ways of thinking. The concept of wicked problems has been developed to describe these kinds of complex issues. We discuss the concept of wicked problems and consider how transdisciplinarity might be a way of responding to these problems. We then turn to look at the discipline of public health, interrogating its radical potential and identifying ways in which it currently falls short of this potential. Having introduced these concepts, we discuss how art and public health might meet in a transdisciplinary manner, offering some examples of artists who are already working in a way that moves towards transdisciplinarity. We finish with a caution to avoid the instrumentalisation of art in this context. &nbsp

A systematic review of geographical variation in access to chemotherapy

BACKGROUND: Rising cancer incidence, the cost of cancer pharmaceuticals and the introduction of the Cancer Drugs Fund in England, but not other United Kingdom(UK) countries means evidence of ‘postcode prescribing’ in cancer is important. There have been no systematic reviews considering access to cancer drugs by geographical characteristics in the UK. METHODS: Studies describing receipt of cancer drugs, according to healthcare boundaries (e.g. cancer network [UK]) were identified through a systematic search of electronic databases and grey literature. Due to study heterogeneity a meta-analysis was not possible and a narrative synthesis was performed. RESULTS: 8,780 unique studies were identified and twenty-six included following a systematic search last updated in 2015. The majority of papers demonstrated substantial variability in the likelihood of receiving chemotherapy between hospitals, health authorities, cancer networks and UK countries (England and Wales). After case-mix adjustment, there was up to a 4–5 fold difference in chemotherapy utilisation between the highest and lowest prescribing cancer networks. There was no strong evidence that rurality or distance travelled were associated with the likelihood of receiving chemotherapy and conflicting evidence for an effect of travel time. CONCLUSIONS: Considerable variation in chemotherapy prescribing between healthcare boundaries has been identified. The absence of associations with natural geographical characteristics (e.g. rurality) and receipt of chemotherapy suggests that local treatment habits, capacity and policy are more influential. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-015-2026-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Understanding and Improving Recruitment to Randomised Controlled Trials:Qualitative Research Approaches

Context The importance of evidence from randomised trials is now widely recognised, although recruitment is often difficult. Qualitative research has shown promise in identifying the key barriers to recruitment, and interventions have been developed to reduce organisational difficulties and support clinicians undertaking recruitment. Objective This article provides an introduction to qualitative research techniques and explains how this approach can be used to understand — and subsequently improve — recruitment and informed consent within a range of clinical trials. Evudence acquisition A literature search was performed using Medline, Embase, and CINAHL. All studies with qualitative research methods that focused on the recruitment activity of clinicians were included in the review. Evidence synthesis The majority of studies reported that organisational difficulties and lack of time for clinical staff were key barriers to recruitment. However, a synthesis of qualitative studies highlighted the intellectual and emotional challenges that arise when combining research with clinical roles, particularly in relation to equipoise and patient eligibility. To support recruiters to become more comfortable with the design and principles of randomised controlled trials, interventions have been developed, including the QuinteT Recruitment Intervention, which comprises in-depth investigation of recruitment obstacles in real time, followed by implementation of tailored strategies to address these challenges as the trial proceeds. Conclusions Qualitative research can provide important insights into the complexities of recruitment to trials and inform the development of interventions, and provide support and training initiatives as required. Investigators should consider implementing such methods in trials expected to be challenging or recruiting below target. Patient summary Qualitative research is a term used to describe a range of methods that can be implemented to understand participants’ perspectives and behaviours. Data are gathered from interviews, focus groups, or observations. In this review, we demonstrate how this approach can be used to understand—and improve—recruitment to clinical trials. Taken together, our review suggests that healthcare professionals can find recruiting to trials challenging and require support with this process.</p