Assessing Mentoring Culture: Faculty and Staff Perceptions, Gaps, and Strengths

The purpose of this non-experimental, cross-sectional, descriptive research was to survey faculty and staff perceptions of mentorship in a postsecondary institution in order to determine gaps and strengths in the current mentorship environment. The anecdotal activities we present reflect our educational practice environment through the work of our Mentorship Team. Data were collected utilizing Zachary’s Mentor Culture Audit tool. The culture building block measured 4.65 on a 7-point Likert scale, suggesting the presence of a weak mentorship culture. However, the infrastructure building block measured only 3.41, showing that organizational resources and supports are below average. We also present eight hallmark category results to further identify strengths and gaps. This is the first assessment of our mentoring culture at an organizational level. Other postsecondary institutions may benefit from formally assessing the gaps in and strengths of their mentorship culture to assist them with acquiring adequate resources to further develop and sustain their mentoring activities.  Le but de cette recherche descriptive, non expérimentale et multidisciplinaire est de sonder le personnel et le corps professoral quant à ses perceptions du mentorat d’un établissement d’enseignement postsecondaire, afin de déterminer les lacunes et les points forts de leur programme. Les activités présentées reflètent le milieu de pratique professionnelle de notre équipe de mentorat. Les données ont été recueillies avec l’outil Zachary’s Mentor Culture Audit. Le résultat de la culture de l’établissement était de 4,65 sur 7 selon l’échelle de Likert, suggérant une faible culture de mentorat. Toutefois, l’infrastructure institutionnelle mesurait à peine 3,41, démontrant que les ressources et le soutien organisationnels se situent au-dessous de la moyenne. On présente également les résultats de huit autres catégories d’importance pour identifier davantage les points forts et les lacunes. Il s’agit de notre première évaluation d’une culture de mentorat dans une organisation. D’autres établissements postsecondaires peuvent bénéficier de l’évaluation formelle de leurs programmes de mentorat afin d’aider à l’acquisition de ressources adéquates pour continuer à développer et à soutenir leurs activités de mentorat

An experimental COVID-19 messaging study in a representative sample of the Scottish population: Increasing physical distancing intentions through self-efficacy

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are grateful to all the participants of the Scottish Health Council (SHC) Public Engagement Group and the NHS Research Scotland Primary Care Patient and Public Involvement. CHARIS was funded via a grant from the Chief Scientist Office, Edinburgh (COV/ABN/20/07).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Development of transmission-reducing behaviour adherence measure (TRAM) for monitoring and predicting transmission-reducing behaviours during the pandemic

Funding Information: We would like to thank the participants, the Scotland-wide consortium of 33 behavioural and health scientists, and our PPI Groups. CHARIS was funded via a grant from the Chief Scientist Office, Edinburgh (COV/ABN/20/07). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Using behavioural theory to understand adherence to behaviours that reduce transmission of COVID‐19; evidence from the CHARIS representative national study

ObjectivesTo examine the ability of four models of behaviour, namely, Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), the Common Sense Self-Regulation Model (CS-SRM), and Social Cognitive Theory and the Reasoned Action Approach (SCT and RAA) to understand adherence to transmission-reducing behaviours (TRBs) advised by national governments for suppression of SARS-CoV2.DesignA series of six cross-sectional telephone surveys of a random representative sample of adults living in Scotland.MethodsSelf-reported adherence to three TRBs (physical distancing, wearing a face covering and handwashing), PMT, CS-SRM, and SCT/RAA constructs, and sociodemographic variables were measured each week for 6 weeks (n = ~500 p/w; third June–15th July) via a 15 min telephone survey.ResultsAdherence was high (‘Always’ or ‘Most times’) throughout for physical distancing and handwashing, and, when mandated, for wearing a face covering. Older people were more adherent to all TRBs. Constructs from all three models predicted all three TRBs. Intention and self-efficacy (SCT/RAA) were the only beliefs to predict to all three TRBs each week and for all groups equally; intention was the strongest predictor. The predictive utility of PMT and CS-SRM varied by TRB and by group. Of note was the observation that several illness beliefs were associated with adherence only for those who believed they had not had COVID-19.ConclusionsThe CHARIS project has identified beliefs about specific behaviours, the illness and the risks associated with lower adherence rates that might be addressed in national interventions. It confirms previous findings that some groups show lower levels of adherence and might be specially targeted

Sociodemographic and Psychological Risk Factors for Anxiety and Depression: Findings from the Covid-19 Health and Adherence Research in Scotland on Mental Health (CHARIS-MH) Cross-sectional Survey

BackgroundInvestigations about mental health report prevalence rates with fewer studies investigating psychological and social factors influencing mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic. Study aims: (1) identify sociodemographic groups of the adult population at risk of anxiety and depression and (2) determine if the following social and psychological risk factors for poor mental health moderated these direct sociodemographic effects: loneliness, social support, threat perception, illness representations.MethodsCross-sectional nationally representative telephone survey in Scotland in June 2020. If available, validated instruments were used, for example, Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4) to measure anxiety and depression. Simple linear regressions followed by examination of moderation effect.ResultsA total of 1006 participants; median age 53 years, 61.4% female, from all levels of area deprivation (i.e., 3.8% in the most deprived decile and 15.6% in the most affluent decile). Analyses show associations of anxiety and depression with sociodemographic (age, gender, deprivation), social (social support, loneliness) and psychological factors (perceived threat and illness representations). Mental health was poorer in younger adults, women and people living in the most deprived areas. Age effects were exacerbated by loneliness and illness representations, gender effects by loneliness and illness representations and deprivation effects by loneliness, social support, illness representations and perceived threat. In each case, the moderating variables amplified the detrimental effects of the sociodemographic factors.ConclusionsThese findings confirm the results of pre-Covid-19 pandemic studies about associations between sociodemographics and mental health. Loneliness, lack of social support and thoughts about Covid-19 exacerbated these effects and offer pointers for pre-emptive action

Sociodemographic and Psychological Risk Factors for Anxiety and Depression: Findings from the Covid-19 Health and Adherence Research in Scotland on Mental Health (CHARIS-MH) Cross-sectional Survey

BackgroundInvestigations about mental health report prevalence rates with fewer studies investigating psychological and social factors influencing mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic. Study aims: (1) identify sociodemographic groups of the adult population at risk of anxiety and depression and (2) determine if the following social and psychological risk factors for poor mental health moderated these direct sociodemographic effects: loneliness, social support, threat perception, illness representations.MethodsCross-sectional nationally representative telephone survey in Scotland in June 2020. If available, validated instruments were used, for example, Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4) to measure anxiety and depression. Simple linear regressions followed by examination of moderation effect.ResultsA total of 1006 participants; median age 53 years, 61.4% female, from all levels of area deprivation (i.e., 3.8% in the most deprived decile and 15.6% in the most affluent decile). Analyses show associations of anxiety and depression with sociodemographic (age, gender, deprivation), social (social support, loneliness) and psychological factors (perceived threat and illness representations). Mental health was poorer in younger adults, women and people living in the most deprived areas. Age effects were exacerbated by loneliness and illness representations, gender effects by loneliness and illness representations and deprivation effects by loneliness, social support, illness representations and perceived threat. In each case, the moderating variables amplified the detrimental effects of the sociodemographic factors.ConclusionsThese findings confirm the results of pre-Covid-19 pandemic studies about associations between sociodemographics and mental health. Loneliness, lack of social support and thoughts about Covid-19 exacerbated these effects and offer pointers for pre-emptive action

Using behavioural theory to understand adherence to behaviours that reduce transmission of COVID‐19; evidence from the CHARIS representative national study

ObjectivesTo examine the ability of four models of behaviour, namely, Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), the Common Sense Self-Regulation Model (CS-SRM), and Social Cognitive Theory and the Reasoned Action Approach (SCT and RAA) to understand adherence to transmission-reducing behaviours (TRBs) advised by national governments for suppression of SARS-CoV2.DesignA series of six cross-sectional telephone surveys of a random representative sample of adults living in Scotland.MethodsSelf-reported adherence to three TRBs (physical distancing, wearing a face covering and handwashing), PMT, CS-SRM, and SCT/RAA constructs, and sociodemographic variables were measured each week for 6 weeks (n = ~500 p/w; third June–15th July) via a 15 min telephone survey.ResultsAdherence was high (‘Always’ or ‘Most times’) throughout for physical distancing and handwashing, and, when mandated, for wearing a face covering. Older people were more adherent to all TRBs. Constructs from all three models predicted all three TRBs. Intention and self-efficacy (SCT/RAA) were the only beliefs to predict to all three TRBs each week and for all groups equally; intention was the strongest predictor. The predictive utility of PMT and CS-SRM varied by TRB and by group. Of note was the observation that several illness beliefs were associated with adherence only for those who believed they had not had COVID-19.ConclusionsThe CHARIS project has identified beliefs about specific behaviours, the illness and the risks associated with lower adherence rates that might be addressed in national interventions. It confirms previous findings that some groups show lower levels of adherence and might be specially targeted

The role of ocean and atmospheric dynamics in the marine-based collapse of the last Eurasian Ice Sheet

Information from former ice sheets may provide important context for understanding the response of today’s ice sheets to forcing mechanisms. Here we present a reconstruction of the last deglaciation of marine sectors of the Eurasian Ice Sheet, emphasising how the retreat of the Norwegian Channel and the Barents Sea ice streams led to separation of the British-Irish and Fennoscandian ice sheets at c. 18.700 and of the Kara-Barents Sea-Svalbard and Fennoscandian ice sheets between 16.000 and 15.000 years ago. Combined with ice sheet modelling and palaeoceanographic data, our reconstruction shows that the deglaciation, from a peak volume of 20 m of sea-level rise equivalent, was mainly driven by temperature forced surface mass balance in the south, and by Nordic Seas oceanic conditions in the north. Our results highlight the nonlinearity in the response of an ice sheet to forcing and the significance of ocean-ice-atmosphere dynamics in assessing the fate of contemporary ice sheets

Development of transmission-reducing behaviour adherence measure (TRAM) for monitoring and predicting transmission-reducing behaviours during the pandemic

There is a need for a measure to monitor adherence to transmission-reducing behaviours (TRBs) during pandemics. An adherence measure can monitor current TRBs, assess change over time and, potentially, predict later behaviours. The TRB adherence measure (scale consisting of seven items) includes questions based on government behavioural directives in Scotland that were common internationally, i.e., physical distancing, face covering and hand hygiene. Data were collected weekly for 6 weeks at the beginning of the pandemic, including a later follow-up repeated measure of some participants, in 20-minute structured telephone surveys with a nationally representative random sample of adults in Scotland. A total of 2969 people completed the adherence items and were highly adherent. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a unidimensional scale (CFI = .95; TLI = .93; RMSEA = .08; SRMR = .08), although internal consistency was low (Cronbach’s alpha = .49). The adherence score significantly predicted adherence to a validity test item (ΔR2 = .114, F(1,2964) = 379.76, p < .001). It also predicted adherence to TRBs later over and above personal habitual styles (Creature of Habit Scale: COHS). The adherence score has been developed for routine monitoring of adherence to TRBs during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can be used to predict future similar behaviours and adherence to other behaviours, although it may be necessary to explore adherence to the specific behaviours occasionally. Adherent behaviour for one TRB is likely to be associated with adherence to government directives to other TRBs. Importantly, these TRBs are likely to be crucial in reducing COVID-19 case numbers, as well as protecting against other infectious diseases including influenza and the common cold