Understanding child mental health consultation from the perspective of primary health care professionals

Published version made available with permission from publisher. Version of record available here: im To explore the understanding of mental health consultation and its utilisation from the perspective of primary care workers working with children and young people who experience mental health issues. Background Recognition of mental health consultation is respected and advocated as a way forward to support those professionals who may not necessarily have the training or understanding of child mental health issues, yet come across them frequently as part of their daily practice. Little is known, however, about how primary care professionals understand or utilise mental health consultation. Design A qualitative research design informed by phenomenology. Methods: School nurses (n=6) were purposively sampled. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken, facilitated by the use of open-ended questions. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed, followed by vigorous thematic analysis. Results Five overarching themes were identified from the data. These included: communication; crisis identification; hindrances; resources; and expectations. Each main theme consisted of several sub-themes relating to issues of professional identity; blurring of professional boundaries; constraints such as time management and workload; and the participant’s own needs, including self-confidence and educational needs. Conclusions and implications for clinical practice When utilised, mental health consultation proved effective in supporting the participants to address the mental health needs of children and young people; however, there are several factors such as lack of resources, differing perceptions of mental health consultation and personal challenges that prevent full engagement. This research contributes to existing knowledge by advocating that all individuals participating in mental health consultation should be encouraged to embrace the practice and understand what it actually means within the context of their own discipline

Consumer and carer consultants in mental health: The formation of their role identity

Following the introduction of the first National Mental Health Plan in 1992 consumer participation was and continues to be identified as a key component of the reform of Australia's mental health services. One strategy to achieve participation has been the creation of the role of consumer and carer consultants (CCCs) who have been employed in public mental health services since the early 1990s. Despite over two decades of service by CCCs there seems to be little consensus between the CCCs and mental health professionals regarding the roles and function of these positions. This qualitative study sought to explore the question of 'what is the role of consultants?' from the perspective of CCCs, focusing in particular on the formation of CCCs' role identity. Four themes were identified, namely: role motivation; role preparation; role practice/focus; and role ambiguity/conflict. This paper explores these themes and their implications, and finally makes recommendations regarding clinical practice

Flux-rope-mediated turbulent magnetic reconnection

Funding: AJBR gratefully acknowledges funding from STFC Consolidated Grant ST/W001195/1.We present a new model of magnetic reconnection in the presence of turbulence. The new model differs from the Lazarian–Vishniac turbulent reconnection theory by emphasizing the role of locally coherent magnetic structures, whose existence is shown to be permitted by the properties of magnetic field line separation in turbulent plasma. Local coherence allows storage of magnetic helicity inside the reconnection layer in the form of locally coherent twisted flux ropes. We then introduce the "Alfvén horizon" to explain why the global reconnection rate can be governed by locally coherent magnetic field structure instead of by field line wandering, formally extending to 3D the principle that reconnection can be made fast by fragmentation of the global current layer. Coherence is shown to dominate over field line dispersion if the anisotropy of the turbulence at the perpendicular scale matching the thickness of a marginally stable current layer exceeds the aspect ratio of the current layer. Finally, we conjecture that turbulence generated within the reconnection layer may produce a critically balanced state that maintains the system in the flux-rope-mediated regime. The new model successfully accounts for the major features of 3D numerical simulations of self-generated turbulent reconnection, including reconnection rates of 0.01 in resistive MHD and 0.1 with collisionless physics.Peer reviewe

A Qualitative Study of the Mandatory Transition to Benefits Card Technology for Welfare Recipients in Toronto, Canada

In Canada, and in many other countries, consumers are increasingly reliant on online payment systems, such as credit and debit cards (Osler, 2018). As these payment technologies become the financial norm, governments and corporations are grappling with how to include people who do not have bank accounts and continue to rely on cash. Several countries have adopted card payment systems to distribute government benefits to recipients; these systems have included a variety of restrictions on how these cards can be used. In 2012, Toronto became the first city in Canada to require social assistance recipients without bank accounts to access their funds via the City’s newly implemented benefits cards. Using this moment of mandated transition that changed how recipients thought about and engaged with money and payment technologies, this dissertation shows that the implementation of card technology is not simply a new form of economic exchange; rather, it is an intervention with social implications. This study is based on qualitative interviews conducted with 47 recipients who used the benefits cards to access their social assistance payments. As part of this study, I also analyzed publicly available City Council documents outlining the adoption and implementation of this technology and interviewed two municipal government employees. I use literature on neoliberalism and governmentality to contextualize the City of Toronto’s justifications for adopting this technology within the social assistance system, and the involvement of RBC in the distribution of social assistance funds. Drawing on the work of Zelizer (1994; 2011; 2012) and other economic sociologists (e.g. Bandelj et al., 2017; Dodd, 1994; 2014; Gilbert, 2005; Guseva and Rona-Tas, 2017), I frame recipients’ responses to the benefits cards as both reactions and forms of resistance to this new social intervention that reflect their economic marginalization and context within the social assistance system. Findings demonstrate the introduction of card technology disrupted respondents’ lives in three key areas. First, the introduction of virtual money disrupted how respondents thought about, accessed, and saved money. Second, the benefits cards disrupted respondents’ relationships and sense of identity. Third, the benefits cards disrupted respondents’ perceptions of surveillance and monitoring. Cumulatively, this pattern of disruption highlights the social implications of this new technology. I found that the benefits cards were both creatures and creators of social inequality and marginalization. They changed the way respondents related to themselves and one another. The cards enabled new forms of social control and surveillance over beneficiaries, and engendered new forms of resistance to this perceived control. This research suggests that providing access to a new payment technology does not ensure users will engage with it in expected or normative ways. Moreover, in systems of control, such as the social assistance system, those with limited power are thoughtful about how they engage with technologies with surveillance potential and how their data might be used against them. This research also has implications for social policy, highlighting unanticipated consequences of how people responded to a new technology intended to encourage normative financial behaviour. Finally, as scholars such as Eubanks (2006; 2018) and Magnet (2011) have shown, new technologies are often first piloted on marginalized individuals. As consumers continue to move away from cash it is increasingly important to consider the implications for all consumers

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assays for the species-specific detection of Eimeria that infect chickens

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Eimeria </it>parasites can cause the disease coccidiosis in poultry and even subclinical infection can incur economic loss. Diagnosis of infection predominantly relies on traditional techniques including lesion scoring and faecal microscopy despite the availability of sensitive molecular assays, largely due to cost and the requirement for specialist equipment. Despite longstanding proven efficacy these traditional techniques demand time and expertise, can be highly subjective and may under-diagnose subclinical disease. Recognition of the tight economic margins prevailing in modern poultry production and the impact of avian coccidiosis on poverty in many parts of the world has highlighted a requirement for a panel of straightforward and sensitive, but cost-effective, <it>Eimeria </it>species-specific diagnostic assays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is an uncomplicated, quick and relatively inexpensive diagnostic tool. In this study we have developed a panel of species-specific LAMP assays targeting the seven <it>Eimeria </it>species that infect the chicken. Each assay has been shown to be genuinely species-specific with the capacity to detect between one and ten eimerian genomes, equivalent to less than a single mature schizont. Development of a simple protocol for template DNA preparation from tissue collected post mortem with no requirement for specialist laboratory equipment supports the use of these assays in routine diagnosis of eimerian infection. Preliminary field testing supports this hypothesis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Development of a panel of sensitive species-specific LAMP assays introduces a valuable new cost-effective tool for use in poultry husbandry.</p