The Paradoxical Impacts of the Minimum Wage Implementation on Ready-made Garment (RMG) Workers: A Qualitative Study

There is no regular mandated increase in minimum wages for workers employed in the Bangladesh ready-made garment (RMG) industry. Workers in the past have relied on optional bonuses added to their monthly incomes to supplement their wages. However, a new minimum wage implemented in January 2019 in the Bangladesh RMG sector increased wages for many workers who are known to work under poor and exploitative working conditions. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with fifteen currently employed RMG workers (female: 13, male: 2), which led to data saturation. The participants were purposively recruited from both export processing zone (EPZ) and non-EPZ factories located in Dhaka and Chattogram, the two largest cities of Bangladesh where the majority of RMG factories are situated. Transcribed interviews were analysed thematically. The findings revealed that working hours, production targets, work pressure, and workplace abuse have an impact on workers’ health and well-being. In line with the Marxist notion of the “accumulation of capital”, we argue that due to the profit maximization mindset of RMG owners and international brands, workers have not received the potential benefit of the newly implemented minimum wage as their conditions have been changed in other ways to offset the increase in salary. The article contributes to understanding how factory owners’ profit maximization mindset dispossessed workers from receiving the real benefits of the newly implemented minimum wage and forced them to continue working within exploitative working environments. The study shows that the impact of minimum wages on poverty reduction is unlikely and outline the need for RMG labour market reform.

"Rural mothers' feelings of isolation when caring for a child chronic health condition: A phenomenological study"

Evidence indicates that people in rural settings may experience difficulties in accessing health services, mainly specialist services. Caring for a child with a chronic health condition in a rural environment can present these mothers' challenges. This article reports one of four finding themes from a more extensive qualitative study on rural mothers' experiences of providing care for a child with a chronic health condition. Using hermeneutic phenomenological methods, narrative accounts were collected from 17 rural mothers of children with a chronic health condition in 2018. Analysis revealed that these mothers experienced emotional and physical isolation resulting in an overall theme reported within this article: "Alone in the Outback": isolation, capturing rural mother's feelings of isolation; comprising three subthemes: On the fringe; There is no shelter; and Choosing their own direction. Their experiences of caring highlighted a need for additional local carer support services and resources. Nurses can assist in supporting rural mothers through facilitating local social support networks enabling women to connect with others in similar caregiving situations. This study reports following the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research guidelines (Tong et al., 2007).

Models and frameworks of mental health recovery: a scoping review of the available literature

BACKGROUND

The recovery approach involves providing a holistic and integrated service that is centered on and adapts to the aspirations and needs of consumers, who are seen as the expert on their health and well-being. Evidence is needed to address the current ambiguities related to the concept of recovery and its application.

AIM

A scoping review was conducted to identify papers describing theories, models, and frameworks of recovery to delineate the central domains of recovery.

METHODS

Three literature search strategies were used: electronic database searching; hand-searching of key journals; and a reference list review of included papers. Inclusion criteria outlined theories, models and frameworks developed to support consumers' recovery and those supporting mental health professionals (MHPs) to deliver recovery-oriented services.

RESULTS

Twelve studies (eleven articles and one book) were included in the review. The dimensions of recovery were synthesized into a framework named the Consolidated Framework for Recovery-oriented Services (CFRS). There are three domains within the framework: mechanisms/strategies; recovery as an internal process; and recovery as an external process. Each of these domains, as well as their relationships, are discussed.

CONCLUSIONS

The CFRS can be used by practitioners, researchers, funders, and collaborative members to conceptualize, implement, and evaluate recovery-oriented services.

De-problematising Aboriginal young peoples' health and well-being through their voice: An Indigenous scoping review

BACKGROUND

The continued use of a deficit discourse when researching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of Australia is problematic. Understanding and challenging the researchers position and the power of the words they use is important. It will ensure we do not persist in framing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People as a problem to be solved.

DESIGN

Indigenist review of the evidence of Aboriginal young people's health and well-being.

METHODS

This review was conducted using an Indigenist approach to identify texts which amplified the voices of Aboriginal young people of Australia and presents a narrative summary of their accounts. This review is reported in line with the PRISMA-ScR reporting guidelines.

RESULTS

Culture and connection are critical components of Aboriginal young people's health and well-being. Aboriginal young people describe feeling of powerlessness to influence health and well-being of their community, and they understood the risks they and their communities faced. Young people identified the importance of connection to culture, community and Elders as crucial to their social and emotional well-being.

CONCLUSION

By harnessing an Indigenous analysis, we were able to reveal a strong counter narrative of strength and resilience within their historical, social, and political contexts through the storied accounts of Aboriginal young people.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Most of the currently available evidence about Aboriginal health and well-being is immersed in deficit discourse. Literature reviews being the foundation of research and informing nursing practice, we call for a purposeful shift towards the adoption of an Indigenist strength-based approach which emphasises the strength and resilience of Aboriginal young people.

Mixed Methods Study Integration: Nursing student experiences and opinions of intentional rounding

AIMS

To explore pre-registration nursing students' understandings and experience of intentional rounding in education and clinical sectors. Intentional rounding is a patient safety intervention used in clinical settings to regularly check and document patients' welfare and environment throughout the course of a shift.

DESIGN

An explanatory sequential mixed methods design using convenience sampling was used for this study, with an underlying pragmatic paradigm. Integration occurred in the design, methods, implementation and reporting phases of the study.

METHODS

Data were collected between August 2017 and August 2018 using a previously validated Nursing Perceptions of Patient Rounding quantitative online survey followed by individual qualitative interviews using the same cohort.

RESULTS

Using the Pillar Integration Process, this paper displays and discusses the final results. The integration and mixing throughout the study generated insights into the perceived benefits of intentional rounding for nursing students and patients but also indicated a theory-practice gap that affects nursing students' confidence in undertaking this intervention.

CONCLUSION

Students find this patient safety intervention helpful, but further clarity in the education surrounding it is required.

IMPACT

This study addresses pre-registration nursing students' understanding and perceptions of intentional rounding. Intentional rounding benefits nursing students as a patient safety strategy and organization tool. Educational opportunities around the topic could be enhanced, reducing the ongoing theory-practice gap. Clinicians, academics and educators who support pre-registration nursing students in clinical and tertiary education settings can benefit from this work.

Compassionate practice in a hospital setting. Experiences of patients and health professionals: A narrative inquiry

AIM

To explore how compassion is received by patients in a hospital setting and how compassion is expressed by health professionals in a hospital setting.

BACKGROUND

Compassion is important to health professionals and patients. Perceived deficits in compassion in healthcare have led increasing concerns about the quality of care for patients. To better understand compassionate practice in a hospital setting we used narrative inquiry to explore the expression of compassion by health professionals and the experience of receiving compassion by patients.

DESIGN

Narrative Inquiry. Reported in line with Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ).

METHODS

Qualitative interviews were conducted with 24 patients and health professionals in Australia. Data were collected between August 2018 and August 2019. Narrative analysis processes were used to develop a thematic framework.

RESULTS

Compassionate practice is presented as an overarching theme and comprises of three themes: (1) Amalgamation of various knowledges and skills (2) Delivery of meaningful actions which alleviate suffering and (3) Meeting individual needs and prevention of further preventable suffering. The expression of compassion by health professionals involved the fusion of many skills and knowledges. Patients received compassion through the actions of the health professional which alleviated their suffering.

CONCLUSION

Compassionate practice is both important, and complex. Presence, skilled and purposeful action and the alleviation of suffering are essential to the expression and receipt of compassion in the hospital setting.

IMPACT

Findings from this study contribute to the growing body of literature on compassionate practice in health settings, specifically in how it is expressed and received in a hospital setting. The complexity of compassion is explained for health professionals. Compassion was shown to be embedded in the caring moments between health professionals and patients. This paper explains the different elements that comprise compassion which can guide health professional practice. The importance of seemingly small acts has a big impact on patients, families and health professionals. There is a need for greater stakeholder value and recognition of this aspect of practice.

Understanding maternal resilience; Lesson learnt from rural mothers caring for a child with a chronic health condition

AIM

This study aimed to understand the lived experience of rural mothers caring for a child with a chronic health condition and to understand their perspectives on the support, services and resources they identify as necessary to effectively manage caregiving.

BACKGROUND

Maternal caregivers in rural areas experience difficulty accessing specialist health care for their child and can also experience geographical and social isolation. Understanding the factors that enable these maternal caregivers to overcome the challenges and adversities faced is crucial to help nurses identify and facilitate avenues for support and resources.

DESIGN

This study employed a phenomenological design. The study is reported in line with Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research guidelines (COREQ).

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 maternal caregivers in rural New South Wales, Australia, who had at least one child with a chronic health condition aged between 2-18 years. Data were collected from March to June 2018. Thematic analysis was used to develop a thematic framework. This paper reports on one of the major themes identified in this research, specifically maternal resilience.

RESULTS

Participants demonstrated maternal resilience by creating meaningful social connections, cultivating networks, developing problem-solving skills, enhancing their self-efficacy and finding a sense of purpose through hope and optimism. These strategies provide nurses insight into how some rural women overcome adversities associated with their maternal labour required in caring for a child with a chronic health condition.

CONCLUSION

This study found that participants overcame the challenges related to their caregiving work, emerging as resilient caregivers. Understanding maternal resilience assists nurses to provide the services rural mothers in Australia need to care for their child with a CHC.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Findings from this study provide insight into the experiences of rural maternal caregivers of children with a chronic health condition and identify the strategies they adopt to overcome caregiver challenges. Understanding these strategies allows nurses to improve care and support for rural mothers using a strength-based approach to build maternal resilience.

Public Sentiment and Discourse on Domestic Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia: Analysis of Social Media Posts

BACKGROUND

Measuring public response during COVID-19 is an important way of ensuring the suitability and effectiveness of epidemic response efforts. An analysis of social media provides an approximation of public sentiment during an emergency like the current pandemic. The measures introduced across the globe to help curtail the spread of the coronavirus have led to the development of a situation labeled as a "perfect storm," triggering a wave of domestic violence. As people use social media to communicate their experiences, analyzing public discourse and sentiment on social platforms offers a way to understand concerns and issues related to domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE

This study was based on an analysis of public discourse and sentiment related to domestic violence during the stay-at-home periods of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia in 2020. It aimed to understand the more personal self-reported experiences, emotions, and reactions toward domestic violence that were not always classified or collected by official public bodies during the pandemic.

METHODS

We searched social media and news posts in Australia using key terms related to domestic violence and COVID-19 during 2020 via digital analytics tools to determine sentiments related to domestic violence during this period.

RESULTS

The study showed that the use of sentiment and discourse analysis to assess social media data is useful in measuring the public expression of feelings and sharing of resources in relation to the otherwise personal experience of domestic violence. There were a total of 63,800 posts across social media and news media. Within these posts, our analysis found that domestic violence was mentioned an average of 179 times a day. There were 30,100 tweets, 31,700 news reports, 1500 blog posts, 548 forum posts, and 7 comments (posted on news and blog websites). Negative or neutral sentiment centered on the sharp rise in domestic violence during different lockdown periods of the 2020 pandemic, and neutral and positive sentiments centered on praise for efforts that raised awareness of domestic violence as well as the positive actions of domestic violence charities and support groups in their campaigns. There were calls for a positive and proactive handling (rather than a mishandling) of the pandemic, and results indicated a high level of public discontent related to the rising rates of domestic violence and the lack of services during the pandemic.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provided a timely understanding of public sentiment related to domestic violence during the COVID-19 lockdown periods in Australia using social media analysis. Social media represents an important avenue for the dissemination of information; posts can be widely dispersed and easily accessed by a range of different communities who are often difficult to reach. An improved understanding of these issues is important for future policy direction. Heightened awareness of this could help agencies tailor and target messaging to maximize impact.

Influence of COVID-19 on the preventive health behaviours of indigenous peoples of Australia residing in New South Wales: a mixed-method study protocol

INTRODUCTION

Chronic conditions impact indigenous peoples of Australia at a much higher rate than non-indigenous Australians. Attendance at the Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS) supported indigenous health checks are crucial to improve prevention and management of chronic health conditions. However, in conjunction with lifestyle and environmental factors, attendance rates at primary healthcare services for screening and treatment have fallen in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to explore the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on preventive health behaviours of indigenous Australians and the associated barriers to, and enablers of, engagement with health services to formulate a targeted intervention strategy.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

A concurrent mixed-methods study (comprising quantitative and qualitative data collection methods) will be employed. Descriptive analysis of MBS data about the characteristics of indigenous peoples of Australia claiming health assessment services will be performed. Generalised estimating equation regression models will be used to examine the use of health assessment services over time. Qualitative interviews informed by indigenous research methods will be conducted. Interviews will investigate barriers to, and enablers of, engagement with health services. Thematic approach guided by the principles of indigenist praxis, storytelling and collaborative research will be used to analyse the interview data. The project commenced in July 2020 and will be completed by July 2022.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The project received ethics approval from the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of New South Wales and the University of New England Human Research Ethics Committee. Findings will be disseminated via peer-reviewed journal articles, conferences, government and relevant stakeholder reports, and infographics.

Physical inactivity and its predictors among adolescents in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional comparison between cities with and without a Healthy Cities Program

Objectives:

To estimate the prevalence of insufficient physical activity and excessive screen time among adolescents living in cities participating in the Healthy Cities Program (HCP) and cities not running the program in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia.

Methods:

We surveyed 1133 adolescents from the Qassim region using systematic random sampling between April and September 2017. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to investigate the predictors of insufficient levels of PA and excessive screen time.

Results:

The prevalence of <60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity/day was 82.4% and <3 days of vigorous intensity physical activity/week among adolescents was 59%. There was no significant association between living in healthy cities (HCPs) and insufficient levels of physical activity. The odds of excessive screen time were higher in HCPs than in cities not running the program (NHCPs) (OR: 1.49). The odds of insufficient daily PA (OR: 2.19) are higher among girls than boys. Increasing age is positively associated with insufficient weekly PA (OR: 1.19). The prevalence of excessive recreational screen time is 84.6% with higher odds in HCPs than in NHCPs (OR: 1.51).

Conclusion:

Our findings report a lack of evidence of any impact of the HCP on adolescents’ physical activity behaviors. This outcome warrants a further in-depth evaluation of the process and outcomes of the HCP in Saudi Arabia.

COVID-19 and family violence: Is this a perfect storm?

Disasters including public health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic are known to increase instances of family violence against women, children, and other diverse populations. This paper discusses and provides evidence of disaster-related vulnerability of and violence towards specific groups of people. We argue that the COVID-19 pandemic presents the 'perfect storm' for family violence, where a set of rare circumstances combine, resulting in a significant aggravation of the resulting event. Given the mental health implications of family violence, mental health professionals need to be aware of this issue during the pandemic and ready to assist with the development of strategies to overcome the situation where possible. To provide protection and prevent violence, there is a need to include at-risk groups in disaster response and community planning. Such a plan could involve gender and disaster working groups at the local community, state, and national levels.

A systematic review of measures assessing mental health professionals' perspectives of recovery

Recovery is internationally recognized as a concept to improve the well-being of consumers. Compared with the numerous measures assessing consumer perspectives of recovery, only a few measures have been developed to assess Mental Health Professionals' (MHPs) perspectives of recovery to inform practice. The present study aims to systematically review the literature to identify existing measures designed to assess MHPs' perspectives of recovery and evaluate their psychometric properties, and the methodological considerations of the design and use of these measures. We searched literature across eight electronic databases: MEDLINE, Web of Science, PsycINFO, PsyArticles, CINAHL, Scopus, EMBASE, and Google scholar. We identified 2631 articles across all databases. Of these, 40 articles met the inclusion criteria, which comprised 14 original measures assessing mental health recovery and 26 articles reassessing the psychometric properties of the original 14 measures. Our results suggested that while there are existing measures for assessing MHPs' perspectives of recovery, only a few of these measures met standard evaluation criteria for psychometric properties. Specifically, the validation of the identified measures is still in its infancy. For example, the easiness of applying the measures differs among the studies, and only a few of the measures fully involved consumers in the scale development phase. The implication of the findings for future use and development of recovery measures in mental health practice and research are discussed and recommended.

Feedback as a balancing act: Qualitative insights from an experienced multi-cultural sample of doctoral supervisors in nursing

AIM

To better understand the views and experiences of experienced doctoral supervisors in nursing when providing feedback and critique to nursing doctoral students.

BACKGROUND

Feedback refers to information from a provider, intended to inform a receiver about the quality of their work in order for them to be able to see where improvements might occur and to signpost issues to be carried into future work. Feedback, particularly on student writing is central to successful doctoral supervision and is time consuming and labour-intensive for supervisors.

DESIGN

Qualitative.

METHODS

Following ethics approval and informed consent procedures, we gathered 962 min of interview data over a six-week period from 21 participants in four countries. During conversational-style interviews, participants shared their experiences of supervisionand elucidated on their experiences of providing feedback to doctoral students. Data were thematically analysed.

FINDINGS

Participants had more than 400 combined doctoral completions. As supervisors, participants aimed to strike a balance between helpful and empowering comments that motivated students to approach their work with renewed vigour and enthusiasm; and those that had the opposite effect of crushing and demoralising the student. 'Feedback as a balancing act' comprised four contributing themes with sub-themes. Findings reveal that feedback on student writing can remain a challenge for the duration of candidature. However, writing is an essential aspect of doctoral studies. It is through supervision that new nursing scholars are tutored and coached into the practices essential to creating disciplinary knowledge through writing. Our sample was drawn from multiple countries and included perspectives from various cultures. Despite the variation in countries and cultures, there was little variation in issues around feedback with all participants striving to provide clear, respectful feedback aimed at developing students and enhancing their skills.

CONCLUSIONS

Supervision of doctoral student frequently involves working internationally and what while our sample was drawn from multiple countries and cultural perspectives, there was little variation in issues around provision of feedback to doctoral students. When considering feedback, our findings emphasise the importance of recognising feedback as a crucial educative process and one that is central to the production of a doctoral thesis. We argue that there is a need for nursing to move to developing and articulating meaningful and inclusive pedagogies of writing and doctoral supervision. We recommend universities support the development of such pedagogies and ensure that academic staff engaging in supervision are supported with the appropriate knowledge and skills to be optimally effective.