Caroline Barratt

Exploring how mindfulness and self-compassion can enhance compassionate care

Research suggests that the development of mindfulness and self-compassion may help to improve the well-being and resilience of professionals and students in the healthcare setting. This is reflected in the growth of mindfulness training for these individuals. Mindfulness is an important aspect of self-compassion, and healthcare professionals should be aware of the need to care for themselves when caring for others. This article explores the concepts of mindfulness and self-compassion and their relationship with, and ability to enhance, compassionate care.

Vulnerable people, vulnerable resources? Exploring the relationship between people's vulnerability and the sustainability of community-managed natural resources

Participatory approaches to the management of common-pool resources (CPRs) are built on the premise that resource-users are dependent on the productivity of the resource and therefore have the incentive to act as resource stewards if empowered to do so. Yet many CPR users have only temporary interest in using the resources. Moreover, they are vulnerable to a range of stressors and risks unrelated to resource access and sustainability concerns. Both of these may undermine such incentives. Furthermore, discounting theory posits that high vulnerability shortens time horizons so that vulnerable CPR users might be expected to heavily discount future benefits from resource conservation. We present an ethnographic study carried out in two communities on Lake Victoria, Uganda, where fisherfolk face a range of elevated risks to health and security. These immediate risks undermine participatory fishery management but this does not necessarily indicate inherently short time-horizons; for many, fishing and fish-trading are not perceived as a life-long occupation but as a means to generate capital for investment in other businesses. Thus, whether they are vulnerable or not, it cannot simply be assumed that current CPR users will have a long-term interest in participating in resource management. Incentivizing participation in CPR management for long-term sustainability may have to address both peoples wider vulnerabilities and aspirations.

Making a livelihood at the fish-landing site: exploring the pursuit of economic independence amongst Ugandan women

Qualitative life history data were used to explore the experiences of women who live at five fish-landing sites on Lake Victoria, Uganda. We explored what economic and social opportunities women have in order to try to understand why some women are more vulnerable to violence and other risks than others and why some women are able to create successful enterprises while others struggle to make a living. The ability of women to create a viable livelihood at the landing sites was influenced by a wide variety of factors. Women who had or were able to access capital when they arrived at the landing site to set up their own enterprise had a significant advantage over those who did not, particularly in avoiding establishing sexual relationships in order to get support. Being able to establish their own business enabled women to avoid lower paid and more risky work such as fish processing and selling or working in bars. The development of landing sites and the leisure industry may be having an impact on how women earn money at the landing sites, with the most desirable economic opportunities not necessarily being connected directly to fishing.

Between town and country: shifting identity and migrant youth in Uganda *

In Uganda, as in many other African countries, increasing numbers of 15-24 year olds are migrating to urban areas to look for work and educational opportunities. We explore the shifting sense of identity amongst youth migrants in Uganda as they struggle to reconcile the differences in social norms between the rural settings in which they are brought up and the urban environment in which they now live. The experience of migration significantly impacts on the transition from youths to adults by influencing their perception of their own identity as well as the expectations of society. Young people often hold conflicting views of their rural and urban experiences, suggesting that understanding rural and urban realities as distinct entities does not reflect the complex relationship, and possible confusion, of the migrant experience. In contrast to existing literature on migrant identities, which has tended to focus on the identity shift experienced by adult transnational migrants, this reveals the particular challenges faced by youth migrants whose adult self is not yet formed.

Reducing recurrent care proceedings: initial evidence from new interventions

Abstract The English family justice system faces a crisis of recurrence. As many as one in four birth mothers involved in public law care proceedings in English family courts are likely to reappear in a subsequent set of proceedings within seven years. These mothers are involved in up to one-third of total care applications, as they are – by definition – linked to more than one child . Few birth mothers experiencing the removal of a child to care are offered any follow-up support, despite often facing multiple challenges including poverty, addiction, domestic violence and mental health problems. Since 2011, however, a number of new services have been established to begin to address their unmet needs. This article summarises the findings of the first academic-led evaluation of two of these initiatives. Presenting evidence from a mixed-methods evaluative study, it concludes that the new services were able to foster relationships that ‘worked’ in reducing recurrent proceedings. None of the women engaging with the services went on to experience what could be described as a ‘rapid repeat pregnancy’ within the evaluation window. Just as significantly, a number of clients reported some improvement in their psychological functioning, and the practitioners involved reported positively on their experience of delivering and managing innovative services. The article closes with a discussion of the challenges of evaluating personalised, strengths-based interventions and the possibilities of evidencing empowerment in these cases.

Control and care: landlords and the governance of vulnerable tenants in houses in multiple occupation

Abstract Houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in which tenants share facilities are housing an increasing proportion of vulnerable adults who have limited affordable housing options. However, knowledge about how these types of property are managed is limited. In this paper, we examine the governance function of HMO landlords from the perspective of landlords/landlord agents and the tenants that live within their properties. The landlord exercises control through formal and informal risk assessment of tenants and close surveillance of them. These control mechanisms may also involve direct or indirect provision of support and care to some tenants. This illustrates the complex relationship between care and control and the extent to which both are integral to the housing management of vulnerable tenants living in HMOs. We suggest that this dual function calls for a critical examination of what constitutes a ‘good landlord’.

Mental health and houses in multiple occupation

Purpose – Previous research has established that there is a relationship between housing and mental health, however, understanding about how and why housing affects mental health is still limited. The purpose of this paper is to address this deficit by focusing on the experiences of residents of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs). Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 20 HMO residents who were asked about their housing career and experience of living in a HMO. Participants were recruited with assistance from community organisations and landlords. Findings – The physical properties and social environment of the property, as well as personal circumstances experienced prior to the move into the property, all influenced how mental health was affected. The authors identify and discuss in detail three key meditating factors: safety, control and identity which may affect how living in the property impacts the mental health of tenants. Practical implications – Good prope...

Developing resilience: the role of nurses, healthcare teams and organisations

Discussions about the sustainability of the healthcare workforce have placed considerable emphasis on improving the resilience of healthcare professionals. However, when discussed in relation to individuals, the contextual aspects of resilience are often lost. This means that individuals are burdened with the responsibility of increasing their resilience so that they can better manage the challenges they experience, rather than examining the external and environmental factors that can affect resilience. This article explores the concept of resilience and suggests ways in which resilience can be developed by individuals and in collaboration with others, resulting in resilient healthcare teams and organisations capable of supporting individuals effectively. It aims to assist healthcare professionals to develop their resilience, while also improving their understanding of the complex factors that can affect their coping capacity, as well as how community influences the resilience of everyone.

Making a House in Multiple Occupation a Home: Using Visual Ethnography to Explore Issues of Identity and Well-Being in the Experience of Creating a Home Amongst HMO Tenants:

Housing research and sociological research on ‘home’ has under-explored Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) as a form of specific and relatively marginalised housing tenure. In this paper we utilise data collected through participant photography and interviews with vulnerable HMO residents in a seaside town to explore their experiences of homemaking in HMOs. Drawing on literatures on home, identity and wellbeing we explore how HMO residents create a home in the space in which they live and how where they live simultaneously moulds their sense of identity. Our analysis is based upon interviews with, and photographs taken by, HMO residents. We highlight how home is created and experienced in a setting where basic levels of privacy can be hard to maintain, where space is constrained, and where residents would often prefer to live elsewhere. The meaning of ‘home’ in a HMO is influenced by personal histories and circumstances, by the normative attitudes towards housing in the UK, as well as by the space itself. The impact that living in a HMO might have on a tenants identity and as a consequence their wellbeing is therefore highly contextual – not solely due to the characteristics of the property itself and the stigma some associate with this housing type but as an outcome of how the tenants relate to the property given their own preferences, conditioning and previous housing experience. There was variation in the extent to which respondents wanted their room to reflect, project or build their identity.