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1 – 10 of 40This article examines the issues involved in the treatment with antipsychotic medication of forensic patients with schizophrenia. Poor compliance with medication may lead to a…
Abstract
This article examines the issues involved in the treatment with antipsychotic medication of forensic patients with schizophrenia. Poor compliance with medication may lead to a worsening of positive psychotic symptoms and increase the risk of re‐offending. Nurses and other members of the forensic multidisciplinary team spend long periods of time with patients and may form close therapeutic alliances with them. These staff have an important role in helping patients with medication‐related issues, thereby improving treatment outcome.
Camilla M. Haw, Jean H. Stubbs and Geoffrey L. Dickens
Use of off-license medicines in forensic mental health settings is common and unlicensed drugs are sometimes prescribed. Despite their responsibility for administering medicines…
Abstract
Purpose
Use of off-license medicines in forensic mental health settings is common and unlicensed drugs are sometimes prescribed. Despite their responsibility for administering medicines little is known about how mental health nurses view these practices. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 50 mental health nurses working in low and medium secure adolescent and adult mental health wards were presented with a clinical vignette about administration of unlicensed and off-license medicines. Semi-structured interviews about their likely clinical response to, and feelings about, this practice were conducted. Interview data were subject to a thematic analysis.
Findings
Analysis revealed six themes: status of unlicensed/off-label medicines; legality of administering unlicensed medicines; professional standards around administering unlicensed medicines; finding out more about unlicensed medicines; trusting medical colleagues; and decision making in uncertain cases.
Practical implications
Forensic mental health nurses take a pragmatic approach to the practice of administering unlicensed medicines and most are aware of their professional responsibilities.
Originality/value
This study provides the first evidence to inform the development of training for forensic mental health nurses about an issue that is common in forensic mental health practice.
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Patients in secure units are at high risk of obesity because of antipsychotic medication, restrictions on freedom, and poor motivation to eat healthily and exercise. The aim of…
Abstract
Purpose
Patients in secure units are at high risk of obesity because of antipsychotic medication, restrictions on freedom, and poor motivation to eat healthily and exercise. The aim of this paper is to investigate how consultant forensic psychiatrists address weight management, particularly with respect to inpatients.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a review of the literature, a structured questionnaire was developed and piloted locally. After revising the questionnaire, it was sent to all 442 consultant psychiatrists listed by the Royal College of Psychiatrists as having a special interest in forensic psychiatry.
Findings
A total of 183 usable questionnaires were returned (response rate 45.9 per cent). Most respondents monitored patients' weight and had some access to a dietitian. Respondents rated a median of 40 per cent of their inpatients as obese. A total of 68.9 per cent said their patients did not have unrestricted access to food. Use of weight loss drugs such as orlistat was infrequent. A few patients had been referred for bariatric surgery but most had been judged unsuitable.
Research limitations/implications
The responses reported in this paper are based on participants' self‐report and have not been confirmed by independent observation. Further research is needed to determine which weight loss measures are effective for psychiatric patients in real‐life situations.
Practical implications
Obesity appears to be common among forensic inpatients despite weight monitoring, dietetic interventions and exercise programmes. Comprehensive and continuing efforts are needed to help patients lose weight and lead healthier lifestyles.
Originality/value
This survey reports on clinicians' views and clinical practice.
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Anthropology was a late‐comer to the Caribbean and only after World War II did the study of Caribbean culture and societies become less exceptional. Early in this century when…
Abstract
Anthropology was a late‐comer to the Caribbean and only after World War II did the study of Caribbean culture and societies become less exceptional. Early in this century when anthropology was first making itself over as an ethnographic science, anthropologists concentrated on tribal peoples. For most of the post‐Columbian era, the Caribbean region, with a few minor exceptions, was without indigenous tribal societies. Even after anthropology turned its attention to the study of peasantries, Caribbean peasantries were ignored in favor of more stable and tradition‐oriented peasant societies in other parts of Latin America. When anthropologists began to study Caribbean peoples in a more serious and systematic fashion, they found that they had to develop new concepts to explain the variation, flexibility, and heterogeneity that characterized regional culture. These concepts have had a significant impact on social and cultural theory and on the broader contemporary dialogue about cultural diversity and multiculturalism.
Provides a bibliography of materials about Cuba and the Cuban Revolution published in the UK, Australia, Cuba, and the USA. Lists solidarity organizations, publishers and works by…
Abstract
Provides a bibliography of materials about Cuba and the Cuban Revolution published in the UK, Australia, Cuba, and the USA. Lists solidarity organizations, publishers and works by and about people who lived in Cuba before and after the Revolution. Aims to be of use to students of modern history, Latin America, and revolutionary politics.
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Federica Doni, Silvio Bianchi Martini, Antonio Corvino and Michela Mazzoni
The recent European Union Directive 95/2014 enforced a radical shift from voluntary to mandatory disclosure of non-financial information. Given radical changes in reporting…
Abstract
Purpose
The recent European Union Directive 95/2014 enforced a radical shift from voluntary to mandatory disclosure of non-financial information. Given radical changes in reporting practices, there is an urgent need to assess the firms’ attitude to disclose non-financial information regarding the new requirement. This paper aims to investigate whether the quantity and quality of non-financial information, voluntarily disclosed in the years before the directive came into force, were linked to the level of compliance.
Design/methodology/approach
Selecting a sample of 60 Italian companies from the obliged entities, the authors carried out a manual content analysis on corporate reports and developed some research hypotheses to explore if their sustainability practices can affect non-financial disclosures required by the Italian adoption of the European directive (i.e. Legislative Decree 254/2016).
Findings
Evidence showed that prior skills and competencies in non-financial reporting made a significant contribution especially regarding to the presence of business model, but further efforts are expected to improve the quality of non-financial reports.
Practical implications
This study yields an initial assessment of the implementation of the European directive in Italy. It may, therefore, help policymakers to identify ways to improve the harmonization of reporting practices. Preparers can also be supported in choosing different positioning of reporting on non-financial information.
Originality/value
This research provides interesting insights into the ex ante and ex post adoption of the European directive by investigating how Italian companies are reacting to regulatory and institutional requirements. One of the main problems remains the lack of a shared understanding of the term “non-financial”, which can make the communication process difficult and unclear.
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Eleanor Sprake, Jacquie Lavin, Peter Grabowski, Jean Russell, Megan Featherstone and Margo Barker
The purpose of this paper is to explore factors associated with body weight gain among British university students who were members of a slimming club.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore factors associated with body weight gain among British university students who were members of a slimming club.
Design/methodology/approach
Student members of a national commercial slimming programme completed an online survey about cooking ability, weight gain, eating habits and physical activity levels. Non-parametric statistical tests and regression analysis were employed to examine factors associated with weight gain.
Findings
The data set comprised 272 current students. The majority of students (67 per cent) reported weight gain between 3.2 and 12.7 kg during studying in university: 20.4 per cent reported to have gained >12.7 kg. Students commonly attributed their weight gain to academic stress and nearly all identified with needing support to learn to cook on a budget. Students reporting greatest weight gain had most frequent consumption of ready meals & convenience foods, take-away & fast foods and least frequent consumption of fruits & vegetables. Weight-stable students reported lowest consumption of alcohol and were most able to cook complex meals. Students who reported greatest weight gain reported lower physical activity levels. There were inter-correlations between cooking ability and lifestyle factors. In a multivariate model, low physical activity and frequent consumption of ready meals and convenience food independently predicted weight gain.
Weight gain was inversely associated with diet quality, cooking ability and physical activity with reliance on ready meals & convenience food and low physical activity particularly important. Prospective studies are needed to confirm these cross-sectional associations and to explore how the university setting may contribute to the effect.
Originality/value
The study adds additional perspective to understanding student weight gain at university in that it focuses on a body weight-conscious sub-group of the student population, as opposed to the general population of students.
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