The Spanish version of the Psychiatric/Mental health clinical placement survey and an assessment of Spanish student attitudes towards mental health

Introduction: The encouragement of positive attitudes towards mental health is necessary in order to improve the quality of healthcare assistance. The attitudes of nursing students towards mental health are unknown, and there are no validated scales for their assessment. Aims: To adapt the Psychiatric/Mental Health Clinical Placement Survey (PMHCPS) to Spanish and examine its psychometric properties; to describe the attitudes of nursing students towards the mental health field. Method: Confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA), internal consistency and construct validity were performed. An assessment of the students' attitudes was also conducted. Results: The CFA showed appropriate fit, and total internal consistency was adequate. With regard to construct validity, knowledge was associated with practicum mark. The students achieved above mid‐range scores for all subscales, except negative stereotypes. Gender differences were observed. Discussion: The PMHCPS, translated to Spanish, enables the students' attitude towards the mental health field to be assessed, thus identifying those areas of student attitudes and competencies requiring improvement. Implications for practice: To provide Spanish nursing faculties with access to a scale, with which to assess changes in student attitudes. The assessment results may then be utilized to formulate teaching methods in order to improve the quality of health care the students might provide as future nursing professionals

Obstáculos para la movilidad académica con el programa Erasmus+: Diferencias entre grados universitarios [Barriers to academic mobility with Erasmus+ programme: Differences between bachelor degrees]

Pese al interés creciente que presenta la movilidad académica internacional de los estudiantes universitarios europeos para su inserción profesional posterior, el porcentaje de estudiantes españoles que participan en el programa Erasmus es todavía pequeño. El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar los principales obstáculos para la movilidad Erasmus percibidos por estudiantes de grado que no han participado en este programa, valorando la existencia de diferencias en función del grado (Sanitario vs. Ciencias Sociales). Se utilizó una encuesta auto-administrada elaborada para un estudio europeo previo en el que participó España. Los resultados muestran el impacto, a nivel general, de la falta de información sobre temas relevantes como: la calidad de la educación en el extranjero, o cómo van a ser evaluados, así como, las barreras económicas por becas insuficientes y retrasos en el pago de las mismas. Los obstáculos que mejor diferencian a los estudiantes de ambos grados están relacionados con la ordenación académica del grado, en concreto, bajo nivel de formación en inglés y presencia de asignaturas anuales, además de características personales del estudiante. Para incrementar la participación, se debería incidir en informar más y comunicar mejor además de incluir modificaciones en el programa académico de los grados que faciliten la movilidad internacional. [Despite the growing interest that presents academic international mobility for European University students for their later in life job prospects, the rate of Spanish students participating in the Erasmus programme is still small. The objective of this research was to determine the main barriers perceived by bachelor students who had not participated in the Erasmus programme assessing the differences between two bachelor degrees (Health vs. Social Sciences). A self-administered survey including reasons not to participate was used that had been set up for a previous European study including Spain. Results reveal the overall impact of lack of information on relevant issues such as the quality of university education system abroad and how they will be evaluated as well as financial barriers such as insufficient Erasmus grants or delays in the first grant payment. The barriers that better differentiate both bachelor degrees students are related to the bachelors’ curriculum i.e. insufficient training in English and presence of annual (vs. semester) courses as well as personal features. To increase participation, the focus should be on improving information and communication both on academic and financial issues, and changes in the bachelors’ curricula.

Efectividad de un programa de estiramientos sobre los niveles de ansiedad de los trabajadores de una plataforma logística: un estudio controlado aleatorizado :

Objetivo Evaluar la efectividad de un programa abreviado de estiramientos sobre los niveles de ansiedad de los trabajadores de una empresa logística española. Método Se llevó adelante un ensayo clínico controlado, con un diseño inter-sujetos, aleatorizado mediante conglomerados. Los participantes fueron asignados al grupo experimental (n = 67), tratado con un programa de estiramientos, de 10' de duración tras la jornada laboral, durante 3 meses, o al grupo control (n = 67), no tratado. La variable resultado principal fue la ansiedad estado y las variables secundarias el burnout, la calidad de vida y la flexibilidad. Se llevó a cabo un análisis de covarianza (ANCOVA) por intención de tratar sobre las variables resultado, controlando las puntuaciones basales, la edad y la práctica de actividades introyectivas fuera del programa, calculando el tamaño del efecto mediante eta cuadrado parcial (?2). Resultados Los resultados del ANCOVA señalaron un efecto moderado del programa de estiramientos sobre la ansiedad (?2 = 0,06; p = 0,004). También se encontraron efectos elevados en flexibilidad (?2 = 0,13; p < 0,001), moderadamente altos en dolor corporal (?2 = 0,08; p = 0,001), moderados en vitalidad (?2 = 0,05; p = 0,016), salud mental (?2 = 0,05; p = 0,017), salud general (?2 = 0,04; p = 0,028) y agotamiento (?2 = 0,04; p = 0,025). Conclusiones La implementación de un programa de estiramientos en el lugar de trabajo resultó eficaz para disminuir los niveles de ansiedad, dolor corporal y agotamiento, así como para aumentar la vitalidad, salud mental, salud general y flexibilidad. Este tipo de intervención podría constituir una estrategia de bajo coste para la mejora del bienestar de los trabajadores. Objective To study the influence of a short programme of stretching exercises on anxiety levels of workers in a Spanish logistic company. Method A controlled clinical trial was carried out by means of an inter-subject design of random homogeneous blocks. Participants were assigned to the experimental group (n = 67), treated with a programme of stretching exercises of 10-minute duration after working hours for a period of 3 months, or to the untreated control group (n = 67). The primary result variable was anxiety, and the secondary variables were burnout syndrome, quality of life and flexibility. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) by intention to treat was performed on each of the result variables by controlling the baseline scores, the age and the practice of introjective activities outside the program, with the size effect calculated by means of the partial eta-squared value (?2). Results The results of the ANCOVA showed a moderate effect of the stretching exercise programme on the levels of anxiety (?2 = 0,06; P = .004). Other effects found were substantial for flexibility (?2 = 0,13; P < .001); moderately high for bodily pain (?2 = 0,08; P = .001), and moderate for vitality (?2 = 0,05; P = .016); mental health (?2 = 0,05; P = .017); general health (?2 = 0,04; P = .028) and exhaustion (?2 = 0,04; P = .025). Conclusions The implementation of a short programme of stretching exercises in the work place was effective for reducing levels of anxiety, bodily pain and exhaustion, and for raising levels of vitality, mental health, general health and flexibility. This type of intervention could be seen as a low-cost strategy for improving the well-being of workers