Thesis advisor: Gabrielle Oliveira / While the current refugee crisis is the result of various factors, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) remains a significant issue for refugee women. This particular thesis is an applied perspective on the socioecological approach and feminist constructivist theoretical orientation to mental health and psychosocial service provision for refugee women survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. The findings are an analytical stand based upon four interviews conducted with mental healthcare providers working among Maine’s population of recent-arrival refugees from Central/Eastern Africa, as well as a comprehensive literature review on refugee mental health and sexual and genderbased violence theory. It argues that, vis-a-vis these frameworks, care providers can best account for the intersectional identities of the immigrant woman, as well as the collective identity of the culture in which she is situated, both ethnographically via the country of origin, and physically within the resettlement society. The interviews were each individually coded and aggregated into three thematic concentrations spanning a descriptive discussion of cultural differences in perceptions of mental health, a reflection from practitioners regarding the needs for furthering the field, and an inquiry into the macro-level barriers to care. The resulting qualitative evidence from the interviews supports the aforementioned orientations to care and, therefore, illustrates a strong case for culturally-competent applied psychology as a means for both individual and communal healing. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: International Studies.

Magister Artium (Social Work) - MA(SW) / Divorce is a world-wide phenomenon. Divorce means the ending of a marriage after a period of unity and bonding; and thus it can take a long time to recover emotionally, particularly for children. Concerningly, half of marriages ends in divorce. Studies found that divorce has an effect on the well-being, behaviour and actions of both adults and children. Children’s lives change irrevocably and it can be contributed to the parents’ separation or divorce. The manner in which children respond emotionally and psychologically to divorce is dependent on their age, and this event could be both confusing and traumatising. The adolescent stage is viewed as the most vulnerable stage of development, where identity is the primary focus; and thus these children are most severely impacted by their parents’ divorce. There was a dearth of studies on the effects of divorce on adolescents after the divorce finalisation, known as post-divorce phase, and thus no clear interventions.

Aims: To explore the auxiliary psychosocial effects of a monetary reinforcement intervention targeting self-monitoring of blood glucose among young people with Type 1 diabetes. Methods: Sixty young people with Type 1 diabetes, HbA1c concentrations between 58 and 119 mmol/mol (7.5–13.0%), and average self-monitoring of blood glucose <4 times per day were randomized to either enhanced usual care or a 24-week intervention of monetary rewards for self-monitoring of blood glucose and associated behaviours (e.g. uploading glucose meters). Data were collected from the young people and their parents at baseline, during the intervention (6, 12 and 24 weeks) and after the intervention (36 weeks). Results: Linear mixed models were used to evaluate the intervention effects on psychosocial outcomes, adjusting for corresponding baseline levels and potential moderation by baseline level. The intervention reduced diabetes distress at week 6 among young people who had average and high baseline distress. It also reduced diabetes distress at weeks 12 and 24 among those with low baseline distress. The intervention also reduced young person-reported diabetes-related family conflict and diabetes-related interference among those with high baseline scores in these areas; however, the intervention worsened young person-reported diabetes interference among those with low baseline interference. Effects were medium-sized and time-limited. Conclusions: Findings indicate predominantly positive impacts of monetary reinforcement interventions on psychosocial outcomes, although effects varied by outcome and time point. Whereas early improvements in diabetes distress were observed for all who received the intervention, improvements in other areas varied according to the level of psychosocial challenge at baseline. Incorporating psychosocial interventions may bolster and maintain effects over time.

Introduction:Psychosocial intervetions are the actions taken to offer psychosocial support to cancer patients and their relatives for the improvement of their quality of life. They are aimed at meeting patients' mental, emotional, social, and spiritual needs and those of their families.Various previous studies have explored different forms of psychosocial support offered to different groups of cancer patients and their relatives. However, there are few literature reviews about how spirituality is included in psychosocial support among cancer patients. Aims:The aim of this literature review is to explore the spiritual features within psychosocial interventions in cancer care. Method:Two databases were used in this study: CINAHL and PubMed.Thirteen scientific studies involving various psychosocial interventions were included. Content anlysis with three steps' strategy was done. Results:Various spiritual aspects within psychosocial interventions in cancer care were identified, and the most prevalent among them were finding meaning,spirirual coping,spiritual transecendence,connection with others and the Sacred, life completion tasks and preperation for death.Conclusion:Psychosocial spiritual support is an essential element of psychosocial cancer care.There is need for more awareness of how spiritual health is to be addressed in cancer care. / Inledning: Psykosociala interventioner är de återgärder som vidtagits för att erbjuda psykosocialt stöd till cancerpatienter och deras anhöriga för att förbättra deras livskvalitet.De är inriktade på att möta pateinternas mentala,emotionella,sociala och andliga behöv och deras familjers behov.Tidigare studier har undersökt olika former av psykosocialt stöd som erbjuds olika grupper av cancerpatienter och deras anhöriga.Det finns dock få litteraturöversikter om hur andlighet ingår i psykosocialt stöd bland cancerpatienter. Syfte:Syftet med denna litteraturöversikt är att utförska de andliga asoekter inom psykosociala interventioner i cancervård. Metod:Två databaser användes i denna i denna studie: CINAHL och PubMed. Treton vetenskapliga studier med olika psykosociala interventioner inkluderades. Trestegsstrategi innehållanalys gjordes. Resultat:Olika andliga aspekter inom psykosocialt stöd identifierades, och de vanligaste bland dem var meningsskapande, andlig hantering(spiritual coping), andlig transcedens, förbindelser med andra och det Heliga, och föberedelser inför döden. Slutsats:Psykosocialt andligt stöd är en viktig del av psykosocial cancervård. Det finns behöv av mer medvetenhet om hur andlig hälsa hanteras i cancervården.

Background. Recent efforts have focused on improving pediatric palliative care to relieve physical and psychological suffering throughout the course of illness, as well as to improve care at the end-of-life (EOL). One area of attention has been medical training, as healthcare providers have often reported feeling ill-equipped to manage EOL issues. As a pilot study, we developed and evaluated a daylong educational workshop on pediatric palliative care for oncology fellows. Procedure. Fellows (N = 32) from 20 hospitals participated in one of two workshops covering palliative care topics, such as pain/symptom management, communication, ethics, and bereavement. Training, knowledge, behavior, and attitudes regarding pediatric palliative care were assessed before the workshop, and knowledge was re-assessed immediately afterwards. Results. Fellows reported a general lack of training in EOL care, and only 41% rated their education as at least "somewhat" adequate. Colleagues and personal experience were more often sources on EOL care, rather than formal classes or textbooks. Although fellows reported open attitudes toward palliative care, such as involving adolescents in decision-making, only half felt comfortable in the presence of a dying person. Fewer than half felt comfortable providing EOL care, managing families' expectations, or knowledgeable enough to discuss hospice with patients/families. Following the workshop, knowledge of palliative care increased significantly from 75 to 85% correct. Conclusions. Fellows reported open beliefs about palliative care, but acknowledged weaknesses in their training and level of competence. The workshop showed efficacy in improving knowledge, but additional research is needed to evaluate larger educational initiatives and their long-term impact on clinical services and family satisfaction.

Master of Public Health - MPH / Background: Globally there is an urgent requirement for skilled nurses. For this reason, interventions in nursing education need to be carefully assessed and strategically planned and coordinated. In order to establish an effective clinical learning environment at education institutions, it is strongly recommended that one should gain insights from the perceptions of students, regarding their experience of their learning environment. Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the undergraduate nursing students’ perceptions of the psychosocial clinical learning environment in a Higher Education Institution. Methodology: A quantitative descriptive survey design was used for this study in the form of questionnaires. The study utilized the pre-existing Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI) instrument developed by Chan (2001). The study utilised third year and fourth-year undergraduate nursing students. The target population comprised third year undergraduate nursing students (n=250), and fourth year undergraduate nursing students (n=248). The total target population was (n=498) undergraduate nursing students. A random sampling technique was used to select the study sample size of n=218. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to two hundred and eighteen (218) respondents during class time and two hundred and eighteen (218) completed questionnaires were returned. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science version 25. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to generate frequencies, mean values, median and standard deviation of observations. Reliability and validity of the study was ensured as described in the methodology section. Permission to use students for the study was sought from the registrar of the University. Informed written 3 consent was sought from all the participants in this study. The ethical principles were adhered to ensure confidentiality and anonymity of the participants throughout the study and beyond. Results: The fourth year respondents, 64.7% (n=90) agreed that their facilitators often think of interesting activities compared to their third-year counterparts, 35.3% (n=49); whereas, 63.6% (n=77) agreed that the facilitator thinks up innovative activities for students as compared with 36.4% (n=44) third years. This significant difference between the year levels cannot be justified from the study findings. However, it can be attributed to an underestimation of the impact of innovation and its impact on teaching and learning. The perception of fifty percent (50%) each for both year levels reported that the clinician talks more, rather than listening to the students. These findings indicate that communication between students and their clinical facilitator is hindering the clinical learning experience. There was a significant difference found between the groups (t=1.1, p=.027), as the average opportunities for interaction between students and clinical facilitators were lower for third year [2.3(±0.4)], compared with the average participation score for the fourth year 2.4 (±0.4). Most of the respondents, 81.2% (n=177) reported that clinical placement was a waste of time. The findings showed that the degree of satisfaction declined as students progressed from third to fourth year. There was a significant difference between the groups with 91.1% (n=102) fourth years reporting that clinical placement was a waste of time compared to 70.8% (n=75) of their third-year counterparts. A probable explanation for this might be the fact that the learning objectives and activities differed in the academic progression. The extent to which students are allowed to make decisions and are treated fairly was found to be more favourable by fourth years than third years, with mean scores of 2.7±0.4 and 2.6±0.4 respectively; thus highlighting a greater level of independence at the more senior 4 level. Study findings reported that 47% (n=102) agreed that the preceptor/clinician often became side-tracked instead of sticking to the point and only 45.9% (n=100) stated that clinical placements were disorganized. The findings from this study indicated that half of the students did experience a certain level of clarity and organization across their classes, while others did not consistently receive this level of clarity. Conclusion: The findings of the study indicates that there was inadequate supervision, poor student-mentor interaction, a lack of clarity and organization and ineffective teaching methods that impacted negatively on their decision making skills and revealed the need for new strategies to be implemented in the nursing education system, in order to ensure a successful CLE. Recommendations: This study demonstrated that students perceive the CLE as a place to learn and obtain skills for the nursing profession, yet their perceptions of how they were taught did not reflect their enjoyment of learning, and showed room for improvement in how clinical facilitators used different teaching methods, interacted with learners, and allowed them to make decisions, all the while ensuring that the lines of communication were kept open. Clarity and an organizational culture were lacking in the students learning environment which impacted negatively on their perception of learning. It is imperative that clinical facilitators evaluate their behavior with students consistently, be aware of their behavior and be open to suggestions and recommendations on how to improve their teaching.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relative importance of diagnostic and psychosocial factors in the prediction of adolescent suicidal ideation. Previous research has shown both sets of variables to be significantly related to suicidality but has failed to compare their relative efficacy in explaining suicidal ideation. It was hypothesized that diagnostic variables would afford better prediction of suicidal ideation than psychosocial variables, diagnostic variables would predict suicidal ideation above and beyond psychosocial variables, and psychosocial variables would predict suicidality after controlling for the effects of diagnostic variables. This study included valid diagnostic and psychosocial variables, employed independent diagnoses as opposed to diagnostic groupings, and utilized continuous measures of psychiatric symptomatology, in series of regression analyses to test these hypotheses. Results revealed that diagnostic variables, in particular, severity of major depressive disorder symptomatology, afforded the strongest prediction of suicidal ideation, even after controlling for psychosocial variables. The comorbid combination of mood disorder and generalized anxiety disorder was found to be the most strongly linked to suicidal ideation of all diagnostic combinations. However, social support added to the prediction of suicidal ideation above and beyond that offered by all diagnostic variables. Moreover, the interaction of social support and family environment predicted suicidality above and beyond severity of major depressive disorder symptomatology. It was concluded that optimal prediction of suicidality is likely obtained through the utilization of continuous measures of psychiatric symptomatology in suicide research. Moreover, suicide research and clinical practice should include examinations of both diagnostic and psychosocial variables to increase prediction and understanding of suicidal ideation in adolescents. / Ph. D.

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts (Counselling Psychology) in the Department of Psychology University of Zululand, 2005. / Programmes addressing psychosocial needs of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS already exist in Sub-Saharan countries (Germann, 2002), yet in South Africa, few if any, of the relief programmes take cognisance of psychological support. Failure to provide psychological support to children orphaned by HIV/AIDS may have negative, long lasting effects like mental illness, crime, street children and these can in turn result in dysfunctional societies. Thus the aims of the present study were to report on findings concerning available psychosocial intervention programmes and to provide information about the effectiveness of these programmes. Using purposive sampling to select research respondents, the researcher collected data personally. A questionnaire was administered to 19 female caregivers at Emoyeni Hospice in Northern Kwa-Zulu Natal to evaluate psychological support intervention in their programmes. The questionnaire was translated to Zulu in order to avoid any misunderstanding. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis was used in order to conclude about the state of psychological interventions for children orphaned by HIV/ AIDS at Emoyeni. Research findings led to the following conclusions: • Care-givers at Emoyeni Hospice do include the component of psychological intervention support in their intervention programme. • The care-givers at Emoyeni Hospice still need to be helped to recognize the importance of letter writing, and facilitating remembrance of the deceased parent/ parents as a technique of psychological intervention. The present study revealed that caregiyers consider spiritual and physical support as important aspects for inclusion in the psychological intervention programme in order to maximize psychological well-being.

This study was undertaken to add to the knowledge of the psychosocial effects of the 4-H program upon its members. The objectives were to determine if 4-H involvement is associated with the psychological and social maturation of adolescent members, and to investigate how several variables such as age, urban/rural residence, and S. E.S . mayhelp explain this relationship or lack of relationship. To accomplish these objectives 165 youths (103 4-H, 62 non 4-H ) and one parent of each youth, responded to mail-out questionnaires, answering questions of biographical content, and items from the Psychosocial t~aturity inventory. Responses were compiled and analyzed by the use of several statistical summary techniques. The author considers the following findings to be of the greatest theoretical significance. Discriminant analysis showed 4-Hers to be different from non 4-Hers in regard to parental reports of their Interpersonal and Social Adequacy . Carrelatianal analyses supported the notion that 4-H involvement may indeed lead to increased Social Adequacy, but showed that although Interpersonal Adequacy was higher in 4-Hers than non 4-Hers, this advantage is apparently not soley due to 4-H program effects.

No description available.