Description:
Fictional medical programs are often used for more than just their recreational enjoyment; they can also influence career decision making. Very little research has examined the pedagogical value of fictional medical programs in terms of their motivational value in the choice of a nursing career. As such, the aim of this study was to examine what motivated nursing students to choose nursing careers, if fictional medical programs were motivators, and if they are used by students as a learning tool. The cross-sectional study collected data using a questionnaire and occurred between April and June 2018. The findings were generated from students' short answers and extended responses within the questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative data were analysed thematically. A total of 291 students participated (82.6% response rate), with motivations for entering nursing being similar to other international studies; however, as motivators, fictional medical television programs were rated higher than job security. Overall, students engage with medical television programs along a television-learning continuum, ranging from limited watching time, recognising inaccuracies, understanding dialogue, through to using fictional medical television programs as tools for learning. However, this is dependent on time, interest, current level of understanding, and a program's perceived value.
Description:
Fictional medical programs are often used for more than just their recreational enjoyment; they can also influence career decision making. Very little research has examined the pedagogical value of fictional medical programs in terms of their motivational value in the choice of a nursing career. As such, the aim of this study was to examine what motivated nursing students to choose nursing careers, if fictional medical programs were motivators, and if they are used by students as a learning tool. The cross-sectional study collected data using a questionnaire and occurred between April and June 2018. The findings were generated from students' short answers and extended responses within the questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative data were analysed thematically. A total of 291 students participated (82.6% response rate), with motivations for entering nursing being similar to other international studies; however, as motivators, fictional medical television programs were rated higher than job security. Overall, students engage with medical television programs along a television-learning continuum, ranging from limited watching time, recognising inaccuracies, understanding dialogue, through to using fictional medical television programs as tools for learning. However, this is dependent on time, interest, current level of understanding, and a program's perceived value.
Description:
Murat Yucel has received funding from Monash University , and Australian Government funding bodies such as the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC; including Fellowship #APP1117188 ), the Australian Research Council (ARC), and the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. He has also received philanthropic donations from the David Winston Turner Endowment Fund, Wilson Foundation, as well as payment from law firms in relation to court and/or expert witness reports. The funding sources had no role in the design, management, data analysis, presentation, or interpretation and write-up of the data.
Description:
Background Though rare, rugby union carries a risk for serious injuries such as acute spinal cord injuries (ASCI), which may result in permanent disability. Various studies have investigated injury mechanisms, prevention programmes and immediate medical management of these injuries. However, relatively scant attention has been placed on the player's experience of such an injury and the importance of context. Aim The aim of this study was to explore the injury experience and its related context, as perceived by the catastrophically injured player. Methods A qualitative approach was followed to explore the immediate, postevent injury experience. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 48 (n=48) players who had sustained a rugby-related ASCI. Results Four themes were derived from the data. Participants described the context around the injury incident, which may be valuable to help understand the mechanism of injury and potentially minimise risk. Participants also described certain contributing factors to their injury, which included descriptions of foul play and aggression, unaccustomed playing positions, pressure to perform and unpreparedness. The physical experience included signs and symptoms of ASCI that is important to recognise by first aiders, fellow teammates, coaches and referees. Lastly, participants described the emotional experience which has implications for all ASCI first responders. Significance All rugby stakeholders, including players, first responders, coaches and referees, may gain valuable information from the experiences of players who have sustained these injuries. This information is also relevant for rugby safety initiatives in shaping education and awareness interventions.
Description:
When athletes fail to perform at an expected level during an important moment, it is implied the athletes have experienced “choking“ (sudden decline in performance) under pressure.”. Researchers have reported that persistent left-hemispheric activation patterns occur when an athlete experiences considerable performance deteriorations under pressure. Researchers have also observed differences in brain activation patterns between left- and right-handed people on a variety of physical and cognitive tests, with the left-hemispheric activation more pronounced in right-handed participants. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether athletes’ handedness may be linked to choking susceptibility (i.e., likelihood to experience performance decline under pressure). Method: Twenty right-handed and 13 left-handed experienced Australian football players completed 15 shot attempts, in both a low-pressure and a high-pressure condition. Both groups displayed equal state anxiety increases due to the pressure manipulation, indicating similar increases in anxiety in both handedness groups. Results: Differences were indicated in performance between the left- and right-handed groups during the high-pressure condition, with the left-handed group maintaining, and the right-handed participants declining, performance. Conclusion: Future electroencephalogram (EEG) research investigating this link may clarify the effect between handedness and choking.
Description:
When athletes fail to perform at an expected level during an important moment, it is implied the athletes have experienced “choking“ (sudden decline in performance) under pressure.”. Researchers have reported that persistent left-hemispheric activation patterns occur when an athlete experiences considerable performance deteriorations under pressure. Researchers have also observed differences in brain activation patterns between left- and right-handed people on a variety of physical and cognitive tests, with the left-hemispheric activation more pronounced in right-handed participants. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether athletes’ handedness may be linked to choking susceptibility (i.e., likelihood to experience performance decline under pressure). Method: Twenty right-handed and 13 left-handed experienced Australian football players completed 15 shot attempts, in both a low-pressure and a high-pressure condition. Both groups displayed equal state anxiety increases due to the pressure manipulation, indicating similar increases in anxiety in both handedness groups. Results: Differences were indicated in performance between the left- and right-handed groups during the high-pressure condition, with the left-handed group maintaining, and the right-handed participants declining, performance. Conclusion: Future electroencephalogram (EEG) research investigating this link may clarify the effect between handedness and choking.
Description:
Time judgement and time experience are distinct elements of time perception. It is known that time experience tends to be slow, or dilated, when depressed, but there is less certainty or clarity concerning how depression affects time judgement. Here, we use a Bayesian Prediction Error Minimisation (PEM) framework called 'distrusting the present' as an explanatory and predictive model of both aspects of time perception. An interval production task was designed to probe and modulate the relationship between time perception and depression. Results showed that hopelessness, a symptom of severe depression, was associated with the ordering of interval lengths, reduced overall error, and dilated time experience. We propose that 'distrusting the future' is accompanied by 'trusting the present', leading to the experiences of time dilation when depressed or hopeless. Evidence was also found to support a relative difference model of how hopelessness dilates, and arousal accelerates, the rate of experienced time.
Description:
Time judgement and time experience are distinct elements of time perception. It is known that time experience tends to be slow, or dilated, when depressed, but there is less certainty or clarity concerning how depression affects time judgement. Here, we use a Bayesian Prediction Error Minimisation (PEM) framework called 'distrusting the present' as an explanatory and predictive model of both aspects of time perception. An interval production task was designed to probe and modulate the relationship between time perception and depression. Results showed that hopelessness, a symptom of severe depression, was associated with the ordering of interval lengths, reduced overall error, and dilated time experience. We propose that 'distrusting the future' is accompanied by 'trusting the present', leading to the experiences of time dilation when depressed or hopeless. Evidence was also found to support a relative difference model of how hopelessness dilates, and arousal accelerates, the rate of experienced time.
Description:
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM; 5th ed.) reassignment of gambling disorder as an addictive disorder alongside the substance-related addictive disorders encourages research into their shared etiologies. The aims of this study were to examine: (a) the associations of Big Five personality dimensions with alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, and gambling disorders, (b) the comorbidity between these disorders, (c) the extent to which common personality underpinnings explain comorbidity, (d) whether results differed for men and women, and (e) the magnitude of personality differences corresponding to the 4 disorders. Participants were 3,785 twins and siblings (1.365 men, 2,420 women; M-age = 32 years, range = 21-46 years) from the Australian Twin Registry who completed psychiatric interviews and Big Five personality inventories. The personality profile of high neuroticism, low agreeableness, and low conscientiousness was associated with all 4 addictive disorders. All but 1 of the pairwise associations between the disorders were significant. After accounting for Big Five traits, the associations were attenuated to varying degrees but remained significant. The results were generally similar for men and women. The results suggest that the Big Five traits of neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness are associated with the general propensity to develop an addictive disorder and may in part explain their co-occurrence; however, they may be more broadly associated with the propensity for any psychiatric disorder. The effect sizes of the personality associations suggest that the diagnosis of gambling disorder as operationalized by the DSM may be more severe than the other addictive disorders. Calibration of the diagnosis of gambling disorder to the other addictive disorders may be warranted.
Description:
Children live in different contexts of protection and vulnerability when exposed to domestic violence. The negative impacts for many children are consistent and widely acknowledged. However, the implication that this requires men who use violence to address their fathering has been slower to emerge. This article draws from 69 in-depth qualitative interviews with men, women, and workers across four men's behaviour change programmes in rural Victoria, Australia. Particular attention is given to men's attitudes to their fathering and the formal and informal consequences they experienced as a result of their violence and its impact on their fathering. Although most men came to recognize that their violence impacted their children, they failed to make the connection that the involvement of statutory child protection services in their lives was a direct consequence of their abusive behaviour. This article explores this disconnection by fathers who use violence, their attitude to the involvement of statutory child protection services, and identifies the implications for social work practitioners in addressing this issue.
Description:
Choking under pressure describes suboptimal sport performance in stressful situations, which has led to two fundamental ‘choking’ models: distraction and self-focus. The purpose of this review was to provide an overview of empirical studies that have tested interventions used to alleviate choking. The systematic review includes 47 empirical studies published up to April 2017, including experimental, quasi-experimental, and single-case studies with athletes. These studies encompassed a variety of interventions (n = 13) that were either distraction based or self-focus based. In addition, a third group–acclimatisation interventions–was identified. The results indicate that, in general, choking interventions based on both choking models and on acclimatisation provide a benefit to performance under pressure. The most reported effective interventions were pre-performance routines, quiet eye training, left-hand contractions, and acclimatisation training. The use of dual task was beneficial for performance under pressure but harmful when used in training. Mixed evidence was found for analogy learning, and null effects were reported for goal setting, neurofeedback training, and reappraisal cues. These results may help athletes and coaches select and implement effective strategies and methods to improve performance under pressure.
Description:
Choking under pressure describes suboptimal sport performance in stressful situations, which has led to two fundamental ‘choking’ models: distraction and self-focus. The purpose of this review was to provide an overview of empirical studies that have tested interventions used to alleviate choking. The systematic review includes 47 empirical studies published up to April 2017, including experimental, quasi-experimental, and single-case studies with athletes. These studies encompassed a variety of interventions (n = 13) that were either distraction based or self-focus based. In addition, a third group–acclimatisation interventions–was identified. The results indicate that, in general, choking interventions based on both choking models and on acclimatisation provide a benefit to performance under pressure. The most reported effective interventions were pre-performance routines, quiet eye training, left-hand contractions, and acclimatisation training. The use of dual task was beneficial for performance under pressure but harmful when used in training. Mixed evidence was found for analogy learning, and null effects were reported for goal setting, neurofeedback training, and reappraisal cues. These results may help athletes and coaches select and implement effective strategies and methods to improve performance under pressure.
Description:
Aims and objectives To review communication interventions that aim to improve regular care interactions between people with dementia and their carers in various settings; and to examine the impact of such interventions on both carer and care-receiver outcomes. Background Effective communication is imperative to ensure quality of care for people living with dementia. Due to neurodegenerative changes, people with dementia encounter ongoing and progressive difficulties in both understanding and expressing themselves. This in turn creates challenges for carers, which highlights the need for equipping them with necessary communication skills to respond to the specific communication needs of people with dementia. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Method Medline, Embase, CINAHL, ProQuest and PsycINFO databases were searched for eligible interventions with any date of the publication. Hand searching was also conducted through reviewing the reference lists of relevant articles. The screening and selection of studies were based on the inclusion/exclusion criteria for eligibility and the methodological quality assessment checklist. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted on comparable quantitative data. The review is reported following the PRISMA reporting guidelines. Results Seventeen studies were included in the final review, including 12 randomised controlled trials (RCTs), three nonrandomised controlled trials (NRCTs) and two controlled before-after interventions. The intervention designs, settings and outcome measures were varied. The findings suggest that the communication training had a positive impact on both carer and care-receiver outcomes, albeit to different degrees. The intervention effects were found to be strongest on carer communication skills and knowledge. Conclusion There is solid evidence for the positive impact of communication training on the skills and knowledge of carers. More research is needed regarding the effects of such educational interventions on carer physio-psychological outcomes and care-receiver neuropsychiatric symptoms. It is important to establish best practices in training design, develop validated outcome measures and adopt consistent reporting approaches. Relevance to clinical practice The increasing global prevalence of people with dementia manifests across clinical and community contexts. The profound impact of dementia on communication and associated care raises the imperative for enhanced health worker and carer communication skills to meet the needs of this particular client group. The findings of this review indicate that educational interventions incorporating face-to-face and diverse instructional delivery methods in dementia communication showed positive outcomes for communication skills in all carer groups and warrant inclusion as strategies in dementia training.
Description:
Aims and objectives To review communication interventions that aim to improve regular care interactions between people with dementia and their carers in various settings; and to examine the impact of such interventions on both carer and care-receiver outcomes. Background Effective communication is imperative to ensure quality of care for people living with dementia. Due to neurodegenerative changes, people with dementia encounter ongoing and progressive difficulties in both understanding and expressing themselves. This in turn creates challenges for carers, which highlights the need for equipping them with necessary communication skills to respond to the specific communication needs of people with dementia. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Method Medline, Embase, CINAHL, ProQuest and PsycINFO databases were searched for eligible interventions with any date of the publication. Hand searching was also conducted through reviewing the reference lists of relevant articles. The screening and selection of studies were based on the inclusion/exclusion criteria for eligibility and the methodological quality assessment checklist. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted on comparable quantitative data. The review is reported following the PRISMA reporting guidelines. Results Seventeen studies were included in the final review, including 12 randomised controlled trials (RCTs), three nonrandomised controlled trials (NRCTs) and two controlled before-after interventions. The intervention designs, settings and outcome measures were varied. The findings suggest that the communication training had a positive impact on both carer and care-receiver outcomes, albeit to different degrees. The intervention effects were found to be strongest on carer communication skills and knowledge. Conclusion There is solid evidence for the positive impact of communication training on the skills and knowledge of carers. More research is needed regarding the effects of such educational interventions on carer physio-psychological outcomes and care-receiver neuropsychiatric symptoms. It is important to establish best practices in training design, develop validated outcome measures and adopt consistent reporting approaches. Relevance to clinical practice The increasing global prevalence of people with dementia manifests across clinical and community contexts. The profound impact of dementia on communication and associated care raises the imperative for enhanced health worker and carer communication skills to meet the needs of this particular client group. The findings of this review indicate that educational interventions incorporating face-to-face and diverse instructional delivery methods in dementia communication showed positive outcomes for communication skills in all carer groups and warrant inclusion as strategies in dementia training.
Description:
Humans frequently create mental models of the future, allowing outcomes to be inferred in advance of their occurrence. Recent evidence suggests that imagining positive future events reduces delay discounting (the devaluation of reward with time until its receipt), while imagining negative future events may increase it. Here, using a sample of 297 participants, we experimentally assess the effects of cued episodic simulation of positive and negative future scenarios on decision-making in the context of both delay discounting (monetary choice questionnaire) and risk-taking (balloon-analogue risk task). Participants discounted the future less when cued to imagine positive and negative future scenarios than they did when cued to engage in control neutral imagery. There were no effects of experimental condition on risk-taking. Thus, although these results replicate previous findings suggesting episodic future simulation can reduce delay discounting, they indicate that this effect is not dependent on the valence of the thoughts, and does not generalise to all other forms of impulsive decision-making. We discuss various interpretations of these results, and suggest avenues for further research on the role of prospection in decision-making.
Description:
Humans frequently create mental models of the future, allowing outcomes to be inferred in advance of their occurrence. Recent evidence suggests that imagining positive future events reduces delay discounting (the devaluation of reward with time until its receipt), while imagining negative future events may increase it. Here, using a sample of 297 participants, we experimentally assess the effects of cued episodic simulation of positive and negative future scenarios on decision-making in the context of both delay discounting (monetary choice questionnaire) and risk-taking (balloon-analogue risk task). Participants discounted the future less when cued to imagine positive and negative future scenarios than they did when cued to engage in control neutral imagery. There were no effects of experimental condition on risk-taking. Thus, although these results replicate previous findings suggesting episodic future simulation can reduce delay discounting, they indicate that this effect is not dependent on the valence of the thoughts, and does not generalise to all other forms of impulsive decision-making. We discuss various interpretations of these results, and suggest avenues for further research on the role of prospection in decision-making.
Description:
Introduction Despite detailed recommendations for sports injury data capture provided since the mid-1990s, international data collection efforts for sport-related death remains limited in scope. The purpose of this paper was to review the data sources available for studying sport-related death and describe their key features, coverage, accessibility and strengths and limitations. Methods The outcomes of interest for this review was death occurring as a result of participation in organised sport-related activity. Data sources used to enumerate death in sport were identified, drawing from the authors’ knowledge/experience and review of key references from international organisations. The general purpose, case identification, structure, strengths and limitations of each source in relation to collection of data for sport-related death were summarised, drawing on examples from the international published literature to illustrate this application. Results Seven types of resources were identified for capturing deaths in sport. Data sources varied considerably in their ability to identify: participant status, sport relatedness of the death, types of sport-related deaths they capture, level of detail provided about the circumstances and medical care received. The most detailed sources were those that were dedicated to sports surveillance. Sport relatedness and type of sport may not be reliably captured by systems not dedicated to sports injury surveillance. Only one source permitted international comparisons and was limited to one sport (soccer). Conclusion Data on sport-related death are currently collected across a wide variety of data sources. This review highlights the need for robust, comprehensive approaches with standardised methodologies enabling linkage between sources and international comparisons.
Description:
Introduction Despite detailed recommendations for sports injury data capture provided since the mid-1990s, international data collection efforts for sport-related death remains limited in scope. The purpose of this paper was to review the data sources available for studying sport-related death and describe their key features, coverage, accessibility and strengths and limitations. Methods The outcomes of interest for this review was death occurring as a result of participation in organised sport-related activity. Data sources used to enumerate death in sport were identified, drawing from the authors’ knowledge/experience and review of key references from international organisations. The general purpose, case identification, structure, strengths and limitations of each source in relation to collection of data for sport-related death were summarised, drawing on examples from the international published literature to illustrate this application. Results Seven types of resources were identified for capturing deaths in sport. Data sources varied considerably in their ability to identify: participant status, sport relatedness of the death, types of sport-related deaths they capture, level of detail provided about the circumstances and medical care received. The most detailed sources were those that were dedicated to sports surveillance. Sport relatedness and type of sport may not be reliably captured by systems not dedicated to sports injury surveillance. Only one source permitted international comparisons and was limited to one sport (soccer). Conclusion Data on sport-related death are currently collected across a wide variety of data sources. This review highlights the need for robust, comprehensive approaches with standardised methodologies enabling linkage between sources and international comparisons.