Hannah Carver

Physical activity in pregnant women with Class III obesity: A qualitative exploration of attitudes and behaviours

OBJECTIVE To explore the barriers and facilitators to physical activity and lifestyle interventions in pregnant women with Class III obesity (body mass index >40 kg/m(2)). DESIGN Qualitative study using in-depth, semi-structure interviews framed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted using a topic guide. Data analysis was undertaken using a Framework Approach and was informed by the theory of planned behaviour. Recruitment and analysis continued until data saturation was reached. SETTING Participants were recruited from an antenatal clinic for women with Class III obesity. PARTICIPANTS Pregnant women (n=13) with Class III obesity. MEASUREMENTS AND OUTCOMES Three major themes emerged from the data analysis: having a healthy lifestyle awareness, complex barriers to lifestyle changes and having personalised solutions to promote healthy lifestyle. Women were aware of the benefits of physical activity during pregnancy but had complex barriers to engaging with activity. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE future lifestyle interventions for women with Class III in pregnancy should take into account individual, societal and support barriers towards weight management and lifestyle choices in pregnancy. Programs that provide personalised support which are sensitive to the specific physical and psychological needs of women with Class III obesity which focus on the benefits and safety of physical activity for both mother and baby may be more likely to be successful. Further research is needed to explore the feasibility and acceptability of tailored programs.

Do emotional intelligence and previous caring experience influence student nurse performance? A comparative analysis

BACKGROUND Reports of poor nursing care have focused attention on values based selection of candidates onto nursing programmes. Values based selection lacks clarity and valid measures. Previous caring experience might lead to better care. Emotional intelligence (EI) might be associated with performance, is conceptualised and measurable. OBJECTIVES To examine the impact of 1) previous caring experience, 2) emotional intelligence 3) social connection scores on performance and retention in a cohort of first year nursing and midwifery students in Scotland. DESIGN A longitudinal, quasi experimental design. SETTING Adult and mental health nursing, and midwifery programmes in a Scottish University. METHODS Adult, mental health and midwifery students (n=598) completed the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-short form and Schuttes Emotional Intelligence Scale on entry to their programmes at a Scottish University, alongside demographic and previous caring experience data. Social connection was calculated from a subset of questions identified within the TEIQue-SF in a prior factor and Rasch analysis. Student performance was calculated as the mean mark across the year. Withdrawal data were gathered. RESULTS 598 students completed baseline measures. 315 students declared previous caring experience, 277 not. An independent-samples t-test identified that those without previous caring experience scored higher on performance (57.33±11.38) than those with previous caring experience (54.87±11.19), a statistically significant difference of 2.47 (95% CI, 0.54 to 4.38), t(533)=2.52, p=.012. Emotional intelligence scores were not associated with performance. Social connection scores for those withdrawing (mean rank=249) and those remaining (mean rank=304.75) were statistically significantly different, U=15,300, z=-2.61, p

Parent–child connectedness and communication in relation to alcohol, tobacco and drug use in adolescence: An integrative review of the literature

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‘It’s just a way of approaching things now’: staff perspectives of an anticipatory care programme in Edinburgh

lt;0.009. CONCLUSIONS Previous caring experience led to worse performance in this cohort. Emotional intelligence was not a useful indicator of performance. Lower scores on the social connection factor were associated with withdrawal from the course.

The relationship between emotional intelligence, previous caring experience and mindfulness in student nurses and midwives: A cross sectional analysis

Abstract Previous reviews have highlighted parent–child connectedness and communication as important protective factors against adolescent substance use. However, these reviews focus on single substances such as alcohol. An integrative review of the literature was conducted to examine which elements of parent–child connectedness and substance-use specific communication are effective across adolescent alcohol, tobacco and drug use. Forty-two English language, peer reviewed articles were reviewed. Open communication occurs within the context of high connectedness between parents and their children. Conversations about health risks are associated with lower levels of substance use while more frequent conversations, those about parents’ own use, permissive messages and consequences of use are associated with higher levels of use. There are disparities regarding conversations about use of each substance: alcohol and tobacco are easier topics of conversation while drug use is rarely discussed. Parental alcohol and tobacco use can influence the credibility of their communication with their child. Parents should be encouraged to have open, constructive, credible, two-sided conversations with their adolescents about substance use. Interventions to improve parents’ communication skills around substance use, particularly drug use, should include the types of approaches and messages highlighted in this review, and, where possible, these interventions should include all family members.

How well do strategic environmental assessments in Scotland consider human health

Background. Keep Well, an anticipatory care programme aimed at reducing health inequalities in Scotland, commenced in 2006. There is currently little evidence exploring how frontline staff respond to the delivery of anticipatory care. Aim. To understand how staff view changes in practice resulting from the implementation of Keep Well. Methods. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a purposively selected sample of 12 Keep Well staff. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Results. Keep Well was viewed positively, especially in terms of increased knowledge and skills for staff and the benefits of a holistic health check to patients. Staff believed that Keep Well has improved their practice beyond the project. Concerns were raised, relating to potential inconveniences for patients, staff turnover, increased workload and procedures. There was a view that anticipatory care should continue to be delivered to deprived communities, provided that there are adequate resources, such as staff and funding, to do so. Conclusion. Keep Well staff believe that the project should continue to be offered as a 40-minute holistic health check targeted at patients in deprived areas.