Background: Tobacco use exacerbates diseases, including tuberculosis (TB) and interferes with recovery from such outcomes. However, there is sparse research on the integration of tobacco cessation into TB programs. Moreover, there is limited evidence on how mHealth solutions for tobacco can enhance cessation among TB patients. This study aimed to assess the impact of a training program to integrate tobacco cessation in TB program on the knowledge of health workers. Methods: In June 2017, a 5-day training about tobacco use and control and the use of mHealth solutions to improve tobacco cessation and enhance adherence to TB treatment was conducted in Uganda. A comparison of percent of participants reporting knowledge on selected health outcomes of tobacco use and secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) exposure was conducted. Knowledge was assessed on a 21-outcome-item before and after training. A non-parametric test, signrank for comparison of paired observations was conducted. The changes were considered statistically significant if the p-value was less than 5%. Results: Twenty three trainees from across the country attended (13 females, 10 males), with median age of the trainees was 39 years. Pre-training knowledge about tobacco use (66.6%) was higher than SHS exposure (45%). Following the training, both sets of knowledge significantly improved (median 100%). Pre-training knowledge about health effects of tobacco use was particularly low for diabetes (27%), meningitis (9.5%), ear infection (43%), impotence (47.6%), and fibrosis (30%). Except heart attack (76%), lung illness among children (91%), lung cancer (81%), and chronic lung disease (81%), pre-training knowledge about SHS was low for all other disease outcomes. Conclusions: Healthcare providers play critical role in preventing and reducing tobacco use. The low pre-training knowledge of the TB health workers suggests the critical need for training health providers in Uganda and elsewhere in Africa in order to curtail the increasing trend in usage.

The purpose of the study is to contribute to the development of a tool that can support the rehabilitation care worker towards intervention planning and the monitoring of their clients. The National Health Insurance and the Framework and Strategy for Disability and Rehabilitation of the South African Department of Health are strategies to work towards accessible, affordable, equitable and quality health care, which includes health promotion, disease prevention, curative, rehabilitation and palliative services for all South Africans. Both strategies emphasise the use of community health workers and mid-level workers as a key component of primary health care. In the Western Cape provincial Department of Health a new cadre, namely the rehabilitation care worker has been introduced as a member of the rehabilitation team. The introduction of the rehabilitation care worker is still in the pilot phase. The rehabilitation care workers face many barriers to providing effective care. One such challenge is the lack of a contextually relevant resource tool to collect information on the rehabilitation and health needs of persons with disabilities. The aim of the study was to develop a contextually relevant resource tool that would support the rehabilitation care worker in understanding and documenting how the rehabilitation and related health needs of persons with disabilities are met in home- and community-based settings. Three specific objectives were defined: i) to develop the content and domains of the rehabilitation and health information tool; ii) to establish the validity (face and content) of the rehabilitation and health information tool; and, iii) to test the application of the rehabilitation and health information tool on a sample of persons with disabilities. This study was an exploratory descriptive study adopting a sequential mixed methods design. There were two phases in this study. Phase 1 involved qualitative research methods in the development of the rehabilitation and health information tool through the use of document review and a focus group discussion with experts. Phase 2 of the study involved quantitative research methods in the field testing of the rehabilitation and health information tool by the rehabilitation care workers on a sample of persons with disabilities. The results of phase 1 included the development of the rehabilitation and health information tool, which was deemed by the experts to be a comprehensive, contextually relevant tool with face and content validity and could be easily administered by the rehabilitation care worker. The conceptual framework of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health provided domains that could comprehensively document the multidimensional needs of persons with disabilities. The result was a draft rehabilitation and health information tool with 17 questions ranging across the domains of activities of daily living, sexual health, health behaviours, barriers and facilitators to good health, finance and understanding of disability. Changes were proposed to the wording, layout and flow of the tool and the persons with disabilities’ goals were included as an element . The inclusion of the end users as experts in the development resulted in a richer understanding needed for the shaping of this tool. The results of phase 2 highlighted that the rehabilitation and health information tool was able to describe the rehabilitation and health needs of persons with disabilities. Additionally the tool was able to document the specific goals of the persons with disabilities which is useful to plan and monitor intervention. The rehabilitation care workers reported the tool to be useful, easy to use, and provided a structured manner to collect information. They also reported that it was useful in stimulating conversations on sensitive topics. However, it was indicated that it took too long to complete and there were components that were incomplete. The rehabilitation and health information tool requires further refinement, validation and further follow-up testing before it can be formally adopted and implemented as part of the rehabilitation care worker’s standard practice.

Workplace aggression incidents are increasing and, thus, becoming more difficult to address in the United States. Health care workers in particular are at an increased risk of burnout compared to individuals working in other occupations. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to investigate the propensity for workplace aggression among health care professionals and the association between job satisfaction and the propensity for workplace aggression. The conservation of resources theory was used to frame the study. The Work Environment Scale and the Conditional Reasoning Test of Aggression were used to collect data from 89 mental health clinicians, nurses, and technicians employed at 2 metro Atlanta hospitals. Findings indicated no correlation between workplace aggression and job satisfaction among mental health workers. Findings also indicated no higher propensity for workplace aggression among frontline workers (nurses and technicians) than among other mental health workers. However, findings revealed that employees with more years of service had a higher propensity for workplace aggression. Implications for social change include enhancing the capacity of mental health workers to handle the emotional and physical demands of the job.

Burnout affects mental health workers both personally and professionally. Identifying variables that lead to burnout, such as poor coping skills, may assist organization in preventing burnout among mental health workers. Most researchers studying burnout in the mental health field have focused on human service workers in general. There is a gap in the literature concerning job burnout among counselors of sex offenders. The theory of cognitive appraisal and coping was the theoretical foundation for this study. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping, genders, years of experience, and caseload size predict job burnout in counselors who treat sex offenders. Surveys containing items from the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the COPE Inventory along with demographic questions were distributed to counselors of sex offenders who were members of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. Data from 86 complete questionnaires were analyzed using simple linear regression and analysis of variance. Caseload size was found to be a statistically significant predictor of the depersonalization aspect of burnout. It, however, was not statistically significant predictor of emotional exhaustion and reduced personal accomplishment. In addition, coping, gender, and years of experience were not significant predictors of burnout. The findings have the potential of stimulating positive social change by making treatment providers more aware of the factors that contribute to burnout among counselors of sex offenders. If providers give these counselors a more manageable caseload, they may be able to reduce their burnout, leading to a higher quality of care for offenders and improved well-being for counselors.

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No description available.

Burnout is a construct first proposed by Freudenberger to describe a condition that develops in people who work with people such as teachers, nurses and first responders (Shan, 2005). Professionals who are burned out demonstrate a lack of concern for the people they service and often perform poorly on the job. In recent years, the construct of Burnout has been largely replaced by the construct of Compassion Fatigue. Interestingly, mental health professionals who work with children as their predominant client base have not been extensively studied, although these professionals arguably could be experiencing some of the highest levels of Compassion Fatigue (Eastwood, 2008). Research shows that Burnout and Compassion Fatigue impact the work that an individual performs, but the impact of these on the use of particular therapeutic practices as an area is less studied. The present study sought to determine if there is a relationship between Burnout, Compassion Fatigue, and the use of evidence-based practices in mental health professionals. Using research by Craig and Sprang (2010) as the starting point, this study also investigated whether mental health professionals who work with children experience more or less Burnout and Compassion Fatigue than those who work with adults. Mental health professionals from a variety of mental health facilities in the Philadelphia region served as subjects in this study. Participants were given the Trauma Practices Questionnaire (TPQ), a 22-item treatment practices utilization scale, the Professional Quality of Life Scale-V (PRoQOL-V), a 30-item scale that required respondents to assess their thoughts and feelings in relation to their work, and a questionnaire formulated by this investigator that included demographic information, background information, as well a question that focused on the age of the mental health professional's client base and a question that focused on years of professional experience. The results showed that the mental health professionals who worked with adults were older, more typically white, had higher levels of education and had undergraduate majors that were in psychology or a psychology-related area (e.g., social work) than mental health professionals who worked with children. Burnout and Compassion Fatigue correlated negatively with all practices, evidence based and non-evidence based. Males used more evidence-based and total practices than females. Females had a higher level of Compassion Satisfaction but also a higher level of Burnout. The results showed that the mental health professionals who worked with children had higher levels of Compassion Satisfaction, but also higher levels of Burnout. The data show that the group that works with children used less cognitive and behavioral approaches. The broader implications of the results are discussed in the conclusion. / Educational Psychology

No / Lay involvement in public health programmes occurs through formalised lay health worker (LHW) and other volunteer roles. Whether such participation should be supported, or indeed rewarded, by payment is a critical question. With reference to policy in England, UK, this paper argues how framing citizen involvement in health only as time freely given does not account for the complexities of practice, nor intrinsic motivations. The paper reports results on payment drawn from a study of approaches to support lay people in public health roles, conducted in England, 2007e9. The first phase of the study comprised a scoping review of 224 publications, three public hearings and a register of projects. Findings revealed the diversity of approaches to payment, but also the contested nature of the topic. The second phase investigated programme support matters in five case studies of public health projects, which were selected primarily to reflect role types. All five projects involved volunteers, with two utilising forms of payment to support engagement. Interviews were conducted with a sample of project staff, LHWs (paid and unpaid), external partners and service users. Drawing on both lay and professional perspectives, the paper explores how payment relates to social context as well as various motivations for giving, receiving or declining financial support. The findings show that personal costs are not always absorbed, and that there is a potential conflict between financial support, whether sessional payment or expenses, and welfare benefits. In identifying some of the advantages and disadvantages of payment, the paper highlights the complexity of an issue often addressed only superficially. It concludes that, in order to support citizen involvement, fairness and value should be considered alongside pragmatic matters of programme management; however policy conflicts need to be resolved to ensure that employment and welfare rights are maintained. / National Institute for Health Research Service Delivery and Organisation Programme (project number 08/1716/206).

Comprehensive sex education is a determinant of sexual health outcomes and healthy sexual/reproductive behaviors. The need for engaging, accessible, inclusive sex education conducted by community health workers is necessary to combat larger national issues such as the rising rates of sexually transmitted infections. After conducting summer research where I interviewed health educators about what makes health education programs successful, I planned, implemented, and created a sex education program at Scripps College. The event covered the topics of female anatomy, sexually transmitted infections, safer sex/barrier methods, and consent/communication in sexual relationships. The presentation mainly consisted of a PowerPoint that was supplemented with an interactive activity, a raffle and giveaway items, demonstrations of various barrier methods, and a question-and-answer session at the end. Through an evaluative survey, I received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback that indicated that many students learned new information and were likely to make concrete changes to their sexual/reproductive choices because of the program. The most common critical feedback requested that this program be repeated in more depth and cover additional topics such as conception and female orgasm.

A Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF) é um dispositivo do Ministério da Saúde de reorientação do modelo assistencial a partir da atenção básica. Ele propõe uma compreensão ampliada do processo saúde-doença e a reflexão sobre o modelo de atenção à saúde segundo os princípios do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) não apenas ao indivíduo, mas também à família de uma forma integral e contínua. O Agente Comunitário de Saúde (ACS) é um dos profissionais que compõem a equipe de referência da ESF e constitui o vínculo entre a comunidade e o SUS e, deste modo, podem atuar como atores fundamentais nas ações de promoção da saúde e prevenção da doença do idoso de sua micro-área, bem como identificar e encaminhar estes idosos de seu território. Tendo em vista a operacionalização da Política Nacional de Saúde da Pessoa Idosa nesta população adscrita pela ESF, o presente estudo objetivou analisar o conhecimento dos ACS, da equipe de referencia de um município do interior paulista, sobre a Saúde do Idoso, com enfoque no envelhecimento normal e suas possíveis alterações. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo exploratório com abordagem quali-quantitativa. De acordo com a análise geral dos dados deste estudo, foi possível constatar que os entrevistados possuem uma visão positiva dos idosos, classificando - os como pessoas experientes e sábias. Constatou-se também uma grande afinidade dos ACS em atuar com esta população, favorecendo o vinculo entre eles. A capacitação permitiu o aumento imediato dos conhecimentos dos ACS ao que se trata do processo normal do envelhecimento. Desta forma, conclui-se que há necessidade de adequação das ações realizadas pelos ACS frente à saúde do idoso, fazendo-se necessária a implantação de políticas de capacitação em saúde, que visem à habilitação específica do ACS frente a essa temática a fim de operacionalizar a Política Nacional de Saúde do Idoso. / The Family Health Strategy ( FHS ) is a Ministry of Healths strategy model reorientation from primary care . He proposes an expanded understanding of the disease process and reflection on the model of health care based on the principles of the Unified Health System ( UHS ) not only the individual but also for the family of an integral and continuous kilter. The Community Health Agents ( CHA ) is one of the professionals who makes up the team\'s reference FHS and constitutes the tie between community and the UHS and thus can act as key players in the actions of health promotion and prevention of elderlys health in their micro area , as well as identify and address these seniors from their territory. In view of the National Health Policy operationalization for Older Person in this population ascribed by FHS. The present study aimed to analyze the Community Health Agents knowledge, the present study aimed to analyze the knowledge of ACS, the reference staff of a municipality in the state of São Paulo about Elderlys Health, focusing in normal aging and their possible changes. This is an exploratory descriptive study with qualitative and quantitative approach . According to the general analysis of the data from this study, it was established that the respondents have a positive view of the elderly by classifying them as wise and experienced people . It was also a great Agents affinity in working with this population , favoring the bond between them. The training allowed the immediate increase in Agents\' knowledge that it is the normal process of aging . Therefore, it is concluded that there is need for adequacy of actions taken by the CHA front to elderly health, making necessary the implementation of training policies in health, aimed at enabling specific CHA front of this issue in order to operationalize the National Health Policy for the Elderly.