Search results

Reports the findings from a study of young people’s knowledge of and attitudes towards cancer, and their understanding of health and health‐related behaviours, the aim of which is to inform future health promotion work in this area. Finds, from the study of three inner city, suburban and rural schools involving 226 young people aged 15‐16, that young people know most about lung cancer, but there is also some understanding of other cancers, particularly breast and skin cancer and leukaemia. Reveals that smoking, pollution and other environmental factors are seen as the dominant causes of cancer, and the latter are more often mentioned by the inner city samples. Shows that young people appear to be more worried about unemployment than ill health, and that happiness comes before health as a priority in their lives. Finds television and the media to be the most important sources of information. Considers the implications of these findings for traditional approaches to health education and health promotion.

Reports results from a study concerning children’s knowledge of and attitudes towards cancer, and their understanding of health and health‐related behaviours, with the specific aim of informing future health promotion work. Using “draw and write” techniques, the findings indicate that these children possessed considerable health‐related knowledge. Exercise and healthy eating were seen as the most important factors in keeping healthy, whereas smoking and bad diet were cited most often as representing unhealthy behaviour. However, both categories also included more general items, embracing both environmental and “individualistic” factors. Similarly, children appeared to possess considerable knowledge about cancer, particularly about lung cancer, but there was also some understanding of other cancers such as breast and skin cancer and leukaemia. Concerning sources of information, most of the children’s knowledge about cancer appeared to derive from television and other media; in particular, soap operas appeared to exert a considerable influence on these young children. Considers the implications of these findings for traditional approaches to health education and the methodological issues involved in researching children’s health.

Evidence from a study in Middlesborough is presented in favour of the proposition that an adequate analysis of domestic labour in modern society depends on taking into account its content and distribution. In particular, the characteristics of the gender division of domestic labour suggest the need for an integrated theoretical approach which draws on the insights of both Marxists, concerning the development of the capitalist mode of production and feminists concerning the operation and impact of patriarchy.

A housewife is just a housewife, that's all. Low on the totem pole. I can read the paper and find that out….Somebody who goes out and works for a living is more important than somebody who doesn't….Deep down I feel what I'm doing is important. But you just hate to say it, because what are you? Just a housewife….”

The purpose of this paper is to critique the argument that research methodology is gendered and present a post‐essentialist understanding of research methods.

A conceptual paper which engages with the feminist debate over the gendering of methodology.

The paper begins by discussing the feminist critique of positivism that quantitative methodologies embody patriarchal assumptions. Then, drawing on contemporary attempts by feminists to rehabilitate quantitative research, and developments in organizational research methods, it counters the argument that methodologies are gendered. Specifically, it argues the idea that methods embody gendered assumptions is founded on essentialist reasoning and treats them as having immutable characteristics. Moving on, the paper offers a post‐essentialist understanding of “methods as text”. Key advantages of this metaphor are that it acknowledges the interpretative flexibility of research methods and illustrates the rhetorical function descriptions of them perform in particular contexts. Finally, the contributions and limitations of this perspective and its implications for future research are summarised.

Further research is needed to understand how research methods are discursively constructed and the rhetorical functions descriptions of them perform in specific contexts.

The paper critiques the view that research methodology is gendered and offers a novel metaphor for understanding research methods. It is likely to be of most value to social scientists with an interest in research methods and/or feminist epistemologies.

The need for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to support evidence‐based services to improve outcomes for children is increasingly recognised by researchers and policy‐makers. However, this brings a pressing requirement to build research capacity for conducting RCTs and to address the concerns of practitioners who may be suspicious about the method. This article reviews a variety of texts on the subject, ranging from analyses of the historical and political context of RCTs, to concise introductions of the key methodological and practical issues, to more in‐depth discussions of complex designs and statistics. The article seeks to help readers navigate these resources by focusing on seven questions that seem particularly salient for those considering whether and how to commission, undertake, participate in or use results from RCTs.

This article describes the background to the What Works initiative launched by Barnardo's in the early 1990s, with a focus on the What Works for Children series of reports published from 1995 onwards. The author describes the intellectual and social context of the initiative, the approach taken, and some of the barriers to and levers for the adoption of research in practice are identified. The article describes more briefly the ways in which those in the Research and Development (R&D) team at Barnardo's worked towards knowledge transfer, both inside and outside the organisation. The article concludes with reflections on the impact of Barnardo's initiatives, the journey still to be travelled to strengthen the knowledge base of those providing services to children in education, health and social work, and the need for further work both to strengthen the evidence base and to increase synergies between research, policy and practice.

The limited evidence of effectiveness of existing teenage pregnancy strategies which focus on sex education, together with growing evidence that factors such as poor school ethos, disaffection, truancy, poor employment prospects and low expectations are associated with teenage pregnancy, has increased interest in interventions which target these “wider” social determinants. This paper aims to identify promising interventions and priorities for future research and to make recommendations for policy and practice in the UK.

This paper discusses the evidence regarding the potential of interventions which target determinants of teenage pregnancy relating to school disaffection and low expectations, drawing on recent systematic reviews and trials to consider future directions for research, policy and practice.

High‐quality research evidence illustrates the potential of two approaches to address determinants of teenage pregnancy relating to disaffection and low expectations. These are school‐ethos interventions, which aim to facilitate a positive and inclusive school‐ethos, strengthen school relationships and reduce disaffection; and targeted, intensive youth work interventions, which aim to promote positive expectations, vocational readiness and self‐esteem through vocational and life‐skills education, volunteering and work experience.

Two forms of intervention which address key social determinants of teenage pregnancy – school‐ethos interventions and targeted youth work interventions – require more attention from researchers and policy‐makers.

This paper calls for a shift in the research and policy agenda. In addition to interventions that aim to address proximal, individual factors, such as sexual health‐related knowledge, there should be a more complementary focus on socio‐environmental as well as targeted individual‐focused interventions aiming to address the wider social determinants of teenage pregnancy.

Husbands are reluctant to take on housework responsibility even when wives work full‐time and they themselves do not work. A study of 18 breadwinning wives and 14 of their husbands indicates that this is partly bound up with the low value placed on housework and partly with the need for an identity based on some kind of “purposeful” work. Work completed around the house tended to be of a craft (DIY) nature, consistent with the traditional male domain, and no attempts were made to seek reciprocal child‐caring/mutual help arrangements with other people, either male or female.

Evidence from the USA/Australia suggests whole‐school interventions designed to increase social inclusion/engagement can reduce substance use. Completeness of implementation varies but contextual determinants have not been fully explored. Informed by previous interventions, the paper aims to examine these topics in an English pilot of the Healthy School Ethos intervention.

This intervention, like previous interventions, balanced standardization of inputs/process (external facilitator, manual, needs‐survey and staff‐training delivered over one year to enable schools to convene action‐teams) with local flexibility regarding actions to improve social inclusion. Evaluation was via a pilot trial comprising: baseline/follow‐up surveys with year‐7 students in two intervention/comparison schools; semi‐structured interviews with staff, students and facilitators; and observations.

The intervention was delivered as intended with components implemented as in the USA/Australian studies. The external facilitator enabled schools to convene an action‐team involving staff/students. Inputs were feasible and acceptable and enabled similar actions in both schools. Locally determined actions (e.g. peer‐mediators) were generally more feasible/acceptable than pre‐set actions (e.g. modified pastoral care). Implementation was facilitated where it built on aspects of schools' baseline ethos (e.g. a focus on engaging all students, formalized student participation in decisions) and where senior staff led actions. Student awareness of the intervention was high.

Key factors affecting feasibility were: flexibility to allow local innovation, but structure to ensure consistency; intervention aims resonating with at least some aspects of school baseline ethos; and involvement of staff with the capacity to deliver. The intervention should be refined and its health/educational outcomes evaluated.