Deconstructing supermarket interventions as a mechanism for improving diet: lessons from the Seacroft Intervention Study

YesSupermarkets, with vast product ranges and relatively low prices, are an established solution to problems of availability of healthy foodstuffs in areas of limited retail access. However, where they may indeed raise consumption of desirable goods they also open up new opportunities to buy less healthful items for less, a situation which potentially undermines their ability to improve diet. Using under-reported diary data from the Seacroft Intervention Study in the United Kingdom takes this paper beyond the extant fruit and vegetable focus, giving it scope to explore the full effect of supermarkets. Quantile regressions show existing behaviours are reinforced, and intervention stores may do little to improve diet. Switching to Tesco Seacroft is shown to increase the portions of unhealthy food consumed by almost 1 portion per day for the least healthy. Managing demand through promoting balanced diets and restricting offers on unhealthy items will be more effective than intervention, and is an essential accompaniment to new large format retailers if they are not to entrench dietary inequality further. Policymakers and practitioners alike should avoided being distracted by aggregate conclusions if food deserts are to be truly tackled

Self-Starvation as Performance

A review of Patrick Anderson, So Much Wasted: Hunger, Performance, and the Morbidity of Resistance (Duke, 2010)

Deconstructing supermarket interventions as a mechanism for improving diet: lessons from the Seacroft Intervention Study

YesSupermarkets, with vast product ranges and relatively low prices, are an established solution to problems of availability of healthy foodstuffs in areas of limited retail access. However, where they may indeed raise consumption of desirable goods they also open up new opportunities to buy less healthful items for less, a situation which potentially undermines their ability to improve diet. Using under-reported diary data from the Seacroft Intervention Study in the United Kingdom takes this paper beyond the extant fruit and vegetable focus, giving it scope to explore the full effect of supermarkets. Quantile regressions show existing behaviours are reinforced, and intervention stores may do little to improve diet. Switching to Tesco Seacroft is shown to increase the portions of unhealthy food consumed by almost 1 portion per day for the least healthy. Managing demand through promoting balanced diets and restricting offers on unhealthy items will be more effective than intervention, and is an essential accompaniment to new large format retailers if they are not to entrench dietary inequality further. Policymakers and practitioners alike should avoided being distracted by aggregate conclusions if food deserts are to be truly tackled

An exploration of therapist and patient factors and their relationship to outcome in "2+1" brief therapy

Introduction: the area of process research has identified differences in the process of CB and PI therapy and has highlighted factors which contribute to outcome. The present research aimed to explore three factors, therapist focus, client experiencing and client cognitive change, in very brief 2+1 therapy, and explore their relation to immediate outcome as measured by the assimilation scale. Method: intensive quantitative analyses of eight cases receiving 2+1 therapy was carried out. Four cases received CB therapy, four received PI therapy. Two of each showed 'good' and 'poor' outcome. Ten excerpts, rated in a previous project as significant, were used as items of analysis. Results: PI therapists focused more than CB therapists on 'Constructing Meaning' (CM). Good outcome PI therapy showed a greater emphasis than poor outcome PI therapy on CM. PI therapy clients had higher levels of experiencing, which increased over therapy. Good outcome PI therapy was associated with higher EXP levels, good outcome CB therapy with lower levels of EXP. Good outcome CB clients had fewer negative selfstatements. Movement on the assimilation model was associated with increased EXP levels in PI and fewer negative self-statements in CB therapy. Discussion: results supported previous findings of differences in the process of CB and PI therapy. The mechanism of change in very brief CB and PI therapy are discussed, followed by implications for clinical practice and future research. Overall, findings suggest a picture of the process of therapy which may contribute to the clarification of the complex nature of change in psychotherapy and what is meant by therapeutic change

Exploring how nurses regulate their emotions whilst causing patients’ pain during burns dressing changes

Burns can cause patients significant pain at the time of the initial injury and during consequent treatment. The personal coping strategies used by nurses when inflicting pain during treatment can be a barrier to effective pain management. This thesis therefore investigates how nurses manage their own emotions and distress whilst causing patients’ pain. Part 1 is a conceptual introduction exploring how nurses provide empathic and effective treatment to patients in pain, without becoming too distressed themselves. Research shows that witnessing other people in pain leads to an empathic response in the observer. However, for empathy to lead to prosocial behaviour (the definition of which is influenced by the wider context of nursing culture), rather than personal distress, nurses must effectively regulate their emotions. Part 2 presents a qualitative study of the emotion regulation strategies used by nurses whilst causing patients’ pain during burns dressing changes. Eight adult burns nurses completed semi-structured interviews and an empathy questionnaire. A thematic analysis yielded five themes: Emotions get in the way of being a good nurse; Pain’s an inevitable and justifiable part of treatment and healing; If I’m not made aware of the pain, maybe there is no pain; The pain’s due to other factors, not my actions; and Sometimes it’s too much. Further research is indicated, investigating the effectiveness of the identified emotion regulation strategies for nurses and patients. Part 3 is a critical appraisal reflecting on the process of designing, executing and writing up the research, focusing on how the researcher’s views, beliefs and assumptions about the subject matter changed over time