Patricia Mannix-McNamara

Workplace bullying and incivility: a systematic review of interventions

Purpose – Workplace mistreatment has a negative impact on the health and well-being of approximately 20 per cent of workers. Despite this, few interventions have been evaluated and published. The purpose of this paper is to address the question “what interventions designed to reduce workplace bullying or incivility are effective and what can be learnt from evaluated interventions for future practice?” Design/methodology/approach – A systematic review was undertaken in which 11 electronic databases were searched, yielding 5,364 records. Following screening on abstract and title, 31 papers were retained for detailed review and quality assessment. Subsequently, 12 interventions to address workplace bullying or incivility were critically appraised. Findings – The papers spanned a wide range of approaches to and assumptions about resolving the problem of bullying and/or incivility. Half the studies focused on changing individual behaviours or knowledge about bullying or incivility, and duration of intervention...

Psychological distress and coping amongst higher education students: a mixed method enquiry.

Background Psychological distress among higher education students is of global concern. Students on programmes with practicum components such as nursing and teacher education are exposed to additional stressors which may further increase their risk for psychological distress. The ways in which these students cope with distress has potential consequences for their health and academic performance. An in-depth understanding of how nursing/midwifery and teacher education students experience psychological distress and coping is necessary to enable higher education providers to adequately support these students. Methods This mixed method study was employed to establish self-reported psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire), coping processes (Ways of Coping Questionnaire) and lifestyle behaviour (Lifestyle Behaviour Questionnaire) of a total sample (n = 1557) of undergraduate nursing/midwifery and teacher education students in one university in Ireland. Individual interviews (n = 59) provided an in-depth understanding of students experiences of psychological distress and coping. Results A significant percentage (41.9%) of respondents was psychologically distressed. The factors which contributed to their distress, included study, financial, living and social pressures. Students used varied coping strategies including seeking social support, problem solving and escape avoidance. The positive relationship between elevated psychological distress and escape avoidance behaviours including substance use (alcohol, tobacco and cannabis) and unhealthy diet is of particular concern. Statistically significant relationships were identified between “escape-avoidance” and gender, age, marital status, place of residence, programme/year of study and lifestyle behaviours such as diet, substance use and physical inactivity. Conclusion The paper adds to existing research by illuminating the psychological distress experienced by undergraduate nursing/midwifery and teacher education students. It also identifies their distress, maladaptive coping and the relationship to their lifestyle behaviours. The findings can inform strategies to minimise student distress and maladaptive coping during college and in future professional years.

Overview of harm reduction in prisons in seven European countries

While the last decade has seen a growth of support for harm reduction around the world, the availability and accessibility of quality harm reduction services in prison settings is uneven and continues to be inadequate compared to the progress achieved in the broader community. This article provides a brief overview of harm reduction in prisons in Catalonia (Spain), Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Poland, and Portugal. While each country provides a wide range of harm reduction services in the broader community, the majority fail to provide these same services or the same quality of these services, in prison settings, in clear violation of international human rights law and minimum standards on the treatment of prisoners. Where harm reduction services have been available and easily accessible in prison settings for some time, better health outcomes have been observed, including significantly reduced rates of HIV and HCV incidence. While the provision of harm reduction in each of these countries’ prisons varies considerably, certain key themes and lessons can be distilled, including around features of an enabling environment for harm reduction, resource allocation, collection of disaggregated data, and accessibility of services.

Teacher Competencies in Health Education : Results of a Delphi Study

Objective The aim of this research study was to identify the core competencies for health education teachers in supporting the development of health literacy among their students. Method/Results A three round Delphi method was employed. Experts in health education were asked to identify core competencies for school health educators. Twenty six participants from the academic field were invited to participate in the study. Twenty participants completed the first round of the Delphi, while eighteen took part in round two and fifteen participated in the final round. Data were collected using an electronic questionnaire. The first round contained an open ended question in which participants were asked to name and define all the competencies they perceived were important. Thematic analysis was undertaken on these data. A list of 36 competencies was created from this round. This list was then returned to the same participants and they were asked to rate each competency on a 7 point semantic differential scale in terms of importance. The resulting data were then analysed. For the final round, participants were presented with a list of 33 competencies and were asked to rank them again, in order of importance. Conclusion Twelve core competencies emerged from the analysis and these competencies comprised of a mixture of knowledge, attitude and skills. The authors suggest that how these competencies are achieved and operationalised in the school context can be quite complex and multi-faceted. While the authors do not seek to generalise from the study they suggest that these competencies are an important input for all stakeholders, in order to question national and international teacher guidelines. In addition the competencies identified may provide a useful starting point for others to undertake deeper analysis of what it means to be an effective health educator in schools.

Schools for Health and Sustainability: Insights from the Past, Present and for the Future

The prioritisation of health education and of education for sustainable development in schools, from a common sense perspective, requires little in terms of justification as to its value or necessity. Schools are settings that can have a great impact on the health and emotional wellbeing of children and young people as they influence them at important stages in their lives (Deschesnes et al. 2014). Promoting, and learning about health, wellbeing and sustainability early in childhood so that the related competences are inculcated in children, clearly has long term gain both for the individual and for society through advancing health status, equity and quality of life for all. In building children’s competences, i.e. their knowledge, attitudes and skills related to health and sustainability, they are encouraged to place significant value on their health and wellbeing, and to understand in a meaningful manner the link between sustainability and health issues, as well as the health of the planet. They are also encouraged to appreciate health and sustainability as conditions that they themselves can influence, whether it is to improve, maintain or enhance their health, or to improve the conditions for health and sustainable development in their proximate environments. Health education/promotion and education for sustainable development in schools also encourage students to become critical about their own attitudes and behaviours linked to health and sustainability and contribute significantly to reduction of unsustainable and risk behaviours.

Health Education in the Context of Performance Driven Education: Challenges and Opportunities

The education of the whole person is promoted as the central premise of the Irish education system. However, the practice of schooling at post primary level diverges significantly from the espoused ethos of holistic and personal development, with measurement, accountability and performativity taking centre stage. The significant influence of a consumerist agenda in education has meant that in the drive to educate for exam success, the development of affective education has been severely challenged. This has placed significant pressure on schools to treat the cognitive and affective as mutually exclusive and to teach the cognate discipline alone. In this context, a narrowed edition of the subject becomes prioritised to the detriment of the promotion of students’ health and well-being.

Placing the promotion of health and well being on the Irish prison agenda - The complexity of health promotion in Irish prisons.

The prison population experiences significant health inequality and social exclusion (Department of Health 2002). Once incarcerated, prisoners are at increased risk of mental illness and have higher exposure to communicable diseases (WHO 2008). Prisoners generally have poorer health because imprisonment negatively impacts upon the health of the individual (WHO 2008). However, the prison setting offers a unique opportunity to implement targeted health promotion initiatives with a population that may have had very limited experience of accessing health services prior to incarceration. The World Health Organisation recognises the need for health promotion in prisons. This is evidenced in the Health in Prisons Project (HIPP), the aim of which is to support member states in improving health and health care in prisons, and to facilitate the links between prison health and public health systems at both national and international levels. In practice however, implementation of the HIPP is complex. This paper examines the challenges in promoting health in prisons globally and in Irish prisons specifically, given that the prison setting is omitted from the Irish National Health Promotion Strategy. Based on a qualitative research design that incorporated semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of twelve leading figures in prison policy in Ireland, this paper discusses the need for health promotion interventions in Irish prisons. The paper also discusses the influence of organisational culture on attitudes of prison staff towards engaging in health promotion with prisoners and explores the problems posed by lack of national policy and funding for health promotion initiatives in the prison setting.

Psychological distress and help seeking amongst higher education students: findings from a mixed method study of undergraduate nursing/midwifery and teacher education students in Ireland

Psychological distress as experienced by higher education students is of major concern because of its potential to adversely impact academic performance, retention, mental health and lifestyle. This paper reports a mixed method investigation of student self-reported psychological distress and help-seeking behaviour. The sample comprised all students (n = 1557) registered on undergraduate nursing/midwifery and teacher education programmes at an Irish university. Participants (n = 1112) completed the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) to determine their self-reported psychological distress and the Lifestyle Behaviour Questionnaire to examine sources of distress, lifestyle and demographic variables. Individual interviews (n = 59) explored student experiences of psychological distress and their help-seeking behaviours. Forty two percent of respondents exceeded the GHQ threshold ≥5, which signifies risk of mental or physical health problems. Sources of distress included academic, financial and psychosocial stressors. Regression analysis identified that demographic, programmatic and lifestyle variables predicted GHQ scores. Despite the distress experienced, students were reluctant users of support services. Many actively avoided seeking help. These findings raise serious concerns about the extent of psychological distress among this population. They also alert education providers to be vigilant for student psychological distress and to provide effective interventions, cognisant of the impact of stigma on help seeking.

Tackling social and health inequalities: vulnerability among the young lesbian, gay and bisexual population in Ireland

Background. Vulnerability has a significant impact on health and well-being. Due to external stressors of lack of support, victimisation and minority stress, lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) young people are at risk of adverse health consequences. This research explored experiences of the LGB youth population (aged 13–25 years) in the mid-west region of Ireland. Methods. A mixed method approach was adopted for this research. An anonymous online survey (n = 167) was conducted followed by 3 focus groups (n = 13) and 10 interviews. Results. Results indicate the most vulnerable within this population are those who are isolated from LGB-specific support particularly in rural areas, whose work environment or local community is not LGB friendly and those still unsure of their sexual identity. The most vulnerable are currently not availing of potentially supportive services. Conclusion. In terms of public health, there is need to support the development of healthy and inclusive LGB-friendly environments in communities, school settings and workplaces. The promotion of such from a health promotion perspective would enhance young people’s confidence in their sexual identity. Support and health services need to actively promote that they are inclusive of those who are LGB or who are unsure of their sexual identity.