Blakelaw and Cowgate Coordination Project evaluation

In 2003, the Blakelaw and Cowgate Coordination Project was established in response to a recognised need to coordinate local community services across two sites in North West Newcastle. The project contributes to Newcastle City Council’s Neighbourhood Strategy, which intends to address residents’ priorities for improvements to local neighbourhoods, strengthened communities and community participation. The Blakelaw and Cowgate Coordination Project supported the development of Montagu CFSS and Blakelaw Neighbourhood Centre. The intention of Montagu CFSS is to address the concerns of pupils, families and the wider community through the development and delivery of rapid response services provided by a multi-disciplinary team. A wide range of organisations deliver services from the school itself as well as Blakelaw Neighbourhood Centre, both of which are part of a management network of community based services. The Coordination Project aims to: Develop and implement support mechanisms, community capacity building measures, and effective partnerships in order to meet community aspirations regarding service delivery and activities. Build upon and apply a committed partnership approach at both area and neighbourhood levels. Enable and empower communities to develop through change in relation to service delivery style and approach, and to give input regarding activities delivered at neighbourhood level. The research team were commissioned to measure and assess the effectiveness of the Montagu CFSS and Blakelaw Neighbourhood Centre Coordination Project. In conducting this research, the findings will feedback to project beneficiaries (the local community), relevant policy makers and strategists, and funding bodies in terms of its impact and the development of a forward plan for the future of the project. This report outlines the findings of the evaluation, which was carried out by Sustainable Cities Research Institute at Northumbria University

An online narrative archive of service user experiences to support the education of undergraduate physiotherapy and social work students in North East England: An evaluation study.

Background: Patient narratives are a viable process for patients to contribute to the education of future health professionals and social workers. Narratives can facilitate a deeper understanding of the self and others through self-reflection and encourage transformative learning among students. Increasingly, accounts of health and care are available online but their use in health and social work education requires evaluation. This study explored the experiences of stakeholders who contributed to, developed and used an online narrative archive, which was developed in collaboration with five universities and healthcare providers in the North East of England (CETL4HealthNE). Methods: Realistic evaluation principles were used to underpin data collection, which consisted of semi-structured interviews, a focus group and observations of educators using narrative resources in teaching sessions with different professional groups in two universities. Participants included educators, storytellers, narrative interviewers, students and a transcriber. Data were analysed thematically by two researchers and verified by a third researcher. Findings: Stakeholders reported that listening to patient narratives was challenging. The process of contributing the story was a positive cathartic experience for patients, and the powerful storyteller voice often evoked empathy. Students commented on the ability of the online audio-visual narratives to enable them to see the patient holistically, and educators reported that narratives provided a means to introduce sensitive topics. Conclusions: The use of a locally generated online narrative archive is beneficial for storytellers, students and educators, providing an opportunity to influence healthcare professional training. Care needs to be taken when exposing individuals to potentially sensitive narratives

Exploring the Education and Employment Aspirations of Young Women in North East England

The position of children and young people (and the concepts of childhood and youth) have become increasingly politicised throughout the twentieth century; dominated by a ‘youth as risk’ discourse, there is increased public concern and political drive to protect children, prevent ‘problem youth’ and create a productive adult citizen for future society. To address this growing concern, recent UK education policy has been refocused to include ‘soft’ outcomes for educational success, in particular youth aspirations and their association with educational attainment and upward social mobility. Young people in the North East of England are said to have low educational and career aspirations which prevent them from fulfilling their potential. This qualitative research, conducted from 2006 to 2009, examines the influence of structural, contextual and individual factors upon the education and employment aspirations of six young women aged 10-14 in North East England. I examine ‘difference’ within the lived experiences these participants, consider its impact upon their aspirations for the future, and evaluate the role of young people as ‘agents of change’ with regards to their own lives. Methods of data collection included semi-structured interview, focus group, participatory diagramming, memory book, and participant-as researcher. The sample size supports a micro-level exploration of the participants’ lives, examining their developing aspirations in context and capturing the complex interrelatedness of agency, locality and social structures. My empirical data illustrates the complicated and multi faceted range of influencers interacting to shape young women’s aspirations. I argue that whilst social structures continue to have a powerful influence upon aspirations for education and employment, the interaction of a range of other factors makes understanding aspirations less predictable and offers a space for young women to shape their own transition from education to employment. In normalising particular classed notion of aspirations through education policy, I illustrate how social constructs of youth affect participants’ transitions through the provision of resources and guidance to realise aspirations. Whilst my data showed participants continued to aspire within traditional discourses of femininity, I argue young women can influence their own trajectory if exposed to an appropriate role model, relevant guidance, and an opportunity to develop reflexive skills within an environment which recognises their individual needs and context

PEPFAR Public Health Evaluation-Care and Support -Phase I Kenya

Phase 1, a survey of 120 care facilities in Kenya and Uganda, found that over 90% of facilities provided some level of clinical, psychological,and preventive care. Pain control was very limited with paracetamol often the only analgesic. In focus group discussions, patients appreciated free care and positive attitudes from staff, but said that services would be improved by more staff, shorter queues, and reliable drug supplies

Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Attitudes Toward Mental Health Nursing

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to describe undergraduate nursing students’ attitudes toward mental health nursing and how these attitudes influenced their professional career choices in mental health nursing. Design: A descriptive, online survey was utilized to examine students’ perceptions of mental health nursing. A total of 229 junior and senior nursing students were recruited from eight nursing colleges in Midwestern United States to participate in this survey. Results: Students of different ages, genders, ethnicities, and nursing programs did not report significantly different perceptions of: (a) knowledge of mental illness; (b) negative stereotypes; (c) interest in mental health nursing as a future career; and (d), and beliefs that psychiatric nurses provide a valuable contribution to consumers and the community. Negative stereotypes were significantly different between students who had mental health nursing preparation either in class (p = 0.0147) or in clinical practice (p = 0.0018) and students who had not. There were significant differences in anxiety about mental illness between students who had classes on mental health nursing (p = .0005), clinical experience (p = 0.0035), and work experience in the mental health field (p = 0.0012). Significant differences in an interest in a future career in mental health nursing emerged between students with and without prior mental health experience and between students with and without an interest in an externship program with p-values of 0.0012 and \u3c 0.0001, respectively. Conclusions: The more exposure that students have to mental health nursing through clinical experiences, theory classes, and previous work in the field, the more prepared they feel about caring for persons with mental health issues

Social learning through participatory integrated catchment risk assessment in the Solomon Islands

In developed countries a social learning approach has been shown to support Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) by fostering stakeholders' understanding of system complexity, recognition of mutual dependence, appreciation of others' perspectives, and development of the capacity to work together and to create mutual trust. Much less is known about social learning's potential in less developed small island states, particularly postconflict island states, where integration must navigate prescriptive management, limited resources, widely differing world views, a history of adversarial relationships, and unsuccessful attempts at government-community collaboration. This paper analyzes the transformative aspects of a social learning experience that occurred during research facilitating participatory integrated catchment management in the Pacific. The study elicited community and expert knowledge to create systems understanding to generate and analyze complex scenarios for integrated catchment risk assessment in the Kongulai catchment, Solomon Islands. Separate sequenced and then combined discussions led to facilitated exploration of others' subjective assessment of catchment risks and management options. Issues of transparency, trust, accountability, and mutual responsibility were explored in carefully created discursive spaces, assisted by the immediacy of personal contact and the absence of complex bureaucratic structures. Despite historical difficulties, through the use of bridging individuals, participants were generally able to transcend the constraints of their individual knowledge cultures, expand awareness and appreciation of the complexity of human-environment systems for IWRM, and envisage new opportunities for productively working together in integrated catchment management

PEPFAR Public Health Evaluation -Care and Support -Phase I Uganda

Phase 1, a survey of 120 care facilities in Kenya and Uganda, found that over 90% of facilities provided some level of clinical, psychological,and preventive care. Pain control was very limited with paracetamol often the only analgesic. In focus group discussions, patients appreciated free care and positive attitudes from staff, but said that services would be improved by more staff, shorter queues, and reliable drug supplies

EXAMINING THE RELABILITY AND VALIDITY OF THE FITBIT CHARGE 2™ TECHNOLOGY ON HEART RATE DURING TREADMILL EXERCISE

The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of the Fitbit® Charge 2™ compared to a 4-lead ECG to monitor heart rate during exercise. All participants completed a VO2Max test to determine the participants’ cardiorespiratory fitness and appropriate work loads for the intensity protocol. Participants wore a Fitbit® Charge 2™ on the wrist and a 4-lead ECG. 16 participants were assigned to testing conditions: GPS stride length/manual stride length and hold/no-hold on the handrails of the treadmill. The participants completed a walking protocol including light (60% of HRR) intensities while wearing both devices. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was used to analyze the results. The ECG is a reliable and valid means to monitor heart rate. The Fitbit® Charge 2™ demonstrated poor reliability and validity to monitor heart rate