Caroline Limbert

Psychological Well-Being and Job Satisfaction Amongst Military Personnel on Unaccompanied Tours: The Impact of Perceived Social Support and Coping Strategies.

The aim of this research was to find out to what extent psychological well-being and job satisfaction amongst British military personnel on unaccompanied tours in the Falkland Islands can be predicted by factors such as perceived social support and coping strategies. A questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of 20% of all military personnel serving in the Falkland Islands at a single point in time. The results showed that the majority of participants appeared to make the best of the situation by engaging in positive thinking and acceptance of the situation. This approach was associated with higher levels of job satisfaction but had no impact on responses to the General Health Questionnaire (Banks et al., 1980). Coping strategies that prevented participants from confronting the situation were associated with the least positive outcomes in terms of psychological well-being. The results also show that perceptions of social support were associated with both psychological well-being and job satisfaction.

Improving child protection: a systematic review of training and procedural interventions

Aim: To synthesise published evidence regarding the effectiveness of training and procedural interventions aimed at improving the identification and management of child abuse and neglect by health professionals. Methods: Systematic review for the period 1994 to 2005 of studies that evaluated child protection training and procedural interventions. Main outcome measures were learning achievement, attitudinal change, and clinical behaviour. Results: Seven papers that examined the effectiveness of procedural interventions and 15 papers that evaluated training programmes met the inclusion criteria. Critical appraisal showed that evaluation of interventions was on the whole poor. It was found that certain procedural interventions (such as the use of checklists and structured forms) can result in improved recording of important clinical information and may also alert clinical staff to the possibility of abuse. While a variety of innovative training programmes were identified, there was an absence of rigorous evaluation of their impact. However a small number of one-group pre- and post-studies suggest improvements in a range of attitudes necessary for successful engagement in the child protection process. Conclusion: Current evidence supports the use of procedural changes that improve the documentation of suspected child maltreatment and that enhance professional awareness. The lack of an evidence based approach to the implementation of child protection training may restrict the ability of all health professionals to fulfil their role in the child protection process. Formal evaluation of a variety of models for the delivery of this training is urgently needed with subsequent dissemination of results that highlight those found to be most effective.

The Eating Disorder Inventory: a test of the factor structure and internal consistency in a nonclinical sample.

My objective was to investigate the factor structure and internal consistency of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) among a nonclinical sample. Previous research has indicated that although the EDI appears to be psychometrically sound when used with a clinical sample, the relevance of the measure for a nonclinical population is uncertain. Six hundred forty-seven female university students, average age of 23.3 years, completed a questionnaire including the EDI. I found that the factor structure was supported when items from just five subscales of the EDI were included in the analysis, but when items pertaining to all eight subscales were analysed the factor structure was not supported. The current results cast doubt on the factor structure and internal consistency of the EDI when used with a nonclinical sample, unless just five subscales (drive for thinness, perfectionism, bulimia, interpersonal distrust, and maturity fears) are included. More research is needed to clarify the implications of these findings.

Perceptions of social support and eating disorder characteristics.

Poor social support is a risk factor for the development of eating disorders (Ghaderi, 2003). We designed this study to investigate the relationship between social support and eating disorder symptomatology among a female, nonclinical population. The work is of international interest because disordered eating behavior is common across many nations. The results of this research should help build a better understanding of the links between social support and participants at risk of developing an eating disorder. In this study, family support was not correlated with disordered eating, but satisfaction with social support was.

Adolescents' perceptions and experiences of family meals.

Benefits of family meals include diet quality, social interaction and wellbeing, yet previous research indicates only one in four adolescents eats a meal with their family every day. This study identified factors relating to the frequency and importance of family meals. A focus group conducted with seven adolescents was analysed thematically. The themes and findings of past research were used to develop a Family Meals Questionnaire (FMQ), completed by 76 adolescents. Regular engagement in healthy family meals eaten around the table was reported, with the majority of participants reporting that their meals included a variety of foods and portions of vegetables. Frequency of family meals was associated with increased family togetherness for both males and females. The nutritional value of meals was found to be most important to females, whereas the impact of family meals on mood was more salient for males. Findings suggest that the views and behaviour of other family members may influence adolescents’ enjoyment and perceptions of the importance of family meals, and therefore impact on their frequency. These findings may inform the development of future interventions aimed at increasing adolescent engagement in family meals by adopting a family systems approach to improve the frequency and experience of family meals.

Telephone helplines as a source of support for eating disorders: Service user, carer, and health professional perspectives

ABSTRACT Access to care for eating disorders can be problematic for numerous reasons including lack of understanding and delays with treatment referrals. Previous research has highlighted the benefits of telephone helplines as an accessible source of support for those who may not wish to access face-to-face support or to fill a gap for those waiting for treatment. This study aimed to gain an insight into the perspectives of those who may use or refer others to a telephone helpline in order to identify the requirements of such a service. Triangulation of service user, carer and health professionals’ perspectives resulted in identification of themes relating to the type of support, delivery and practicalities of a helpline. The findings indicated that telephone helplines may offer numerous benefits for individuals with an eating disorder, whether accessed as a first step, alongside treatment or as an extension of this support when in recovery. Additionally helplines may provide an opportunity for carers to access information and discuss their own experiences, while supporting their loved one. Raising awareness of these services is important to encourage those affected by an eating disorder to access and make the most of this type of support. These findings offer an insight into the key requirements for new and existing service development with regard to both the type of support and the method of communication required by individuals with eating disorders.

Evaluating a communications campaign to reduce blood clots

Purpose – “VTE Assess Prevent” is a unique communications campaign designed to educate and remind all front-line staff to risk assess inpatients for venous thromboembolism (VTE) (blood clots) and to provide those at risk with the recommended preventative treatment. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the VTE communications campaign from the perspective of the front line staff at a UK hospital. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire implementing both qualitative and quantitative methods was made available to all relevant frontline staff at the hospital via online and paper copies (n=319). Findings – Overall positive attitudes towards the design and content of the campaign materials were reported. The campaign had a considerable impact on staff awareness of the importance of risk assessing for VTE and the extent to which risk assessments were carried out. High levels of reported behaviour change were reported as a consequence of the campaign. Recommendations for future communication campaigns in...