Women's Resource Center

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have knowledge and strengths to promote health and wellbeing in their communities. There is a need to understand how multidisciplinary models of care and partnerships between Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations and health service providers can improve outcomes for children with complex needs. The aim of this study is to describe the development, characteristics, and implementation of the Marurra-U Partnership, which is a hybrid (telecare and in-person), multidisciplinary, wraparound model of care for children with complex neurodevelopmental needs and their families in the Fitzroy Valley, Kimberley Region, Western Australia. This study is part of a broader research program that used an Aboriginal Participatory Action Research approach. In-depth interviews were conducted with eleven staff involved in designing and implementing the Marurra-U Partnership. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Five themes were constructed relevant to the aim of the study: 1) responding to the need for multidisciplinary, wraparound services for Aboriginal children with complex needs in the Kimberley; 2) strengths, resilience, and future directions of the partnership; 3) principles and characteristics of the model of care; 4) climate change, environmental factors and geographic remoteness as consistent challenges to implementation of the model of care; and 5) shared recognition of the importance of genuine community partnership and leadership to implement models of care like Marurra-U. The Marurra-U Partnership, between an Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisation and a non-government organisation that provide neurodevelopmental services, has developed a model of care for delivering wraparound, trauma-informed, multi-disciplinary developmental health and capacity-building services. It offers insights for supporting Aboriginal children with complex neurodevelopmental needs and their families in remote Australia.

ABSTRACT Opioid addiction is a widespread problem that social workers will undoubtedly face in practice. Curricular infusion is an approach that has gained recognition in social work education for integrating critical, contemporary topics into courses. This paper details a project that infused opioid addiction in baccalaureate of social work (BSW) courses, including human behavior in the social environment (HBSE), policy, and research. When implemented and evaluated, this effort was found to be beneficial to student learning and has implications for integrating this and other contemporary issues into the curriculum.

Research on intimate partner violence shows that individuals who employ abusive behaviors also often have other psychosocial health problems (e.g., substance use) that may limit their ability to engage in treatment for abuse. Limited information exists regarding the psychosocial health needs of individuals who perpetrate abuse and how those needs play a role in their ability to follow through and complete an intervention program. Administrative data from one batterer intervention program (BIP) (N = 330), the local Department of Human Services, and court records were used to explore the relationship of service involvement to post-BIP recidivism. We found that over half the sample had engagement with DHS prior to starting the BIP, and general welfare, health and medical assistance, and behavioral health services were the most accessed programs. Additionally, recidivism for any crime was significantly higher among those with prior DHS involvement. Individuals who perpetrate abuse and who have a history of contact with DHS may represent the most vulnerable population with regards to both risk for attrition from a BIP and future recidivism. Future studies should seek to understand best practices for referrals and coordinated care for individuals who perpetrate abuse and ensure access to a broad range of services to help assist in reducing violent behaviors.

This research report explores the nature of Muslim belief in phenomena such as ‘jinn’ (spiritual beings), spirit possession and black magic, and investigates whether such beliefs can have harmful consequences for the mental health of Muslim women. The geographic focus of the research is Glasgow. This collaborative research – conducted and enabled by the University of the West of Scotland, the AMINA Muslim Women’s Resource Centre Glasgow, Glasgow City Council, and the UWS-Oxfam Partnership – was conceived after the director of AMINA, in 2013, reported an increase in the number of women calling the Centre’s helpline to talk about jinn, spirit possession and black magic in connection with their health and, in particular, with their mental health. The initial research objectives were therefore: to explore what such beliefs consisted of; to document what Muslim women themselves had to say about this; to investigate whether such beliefs might have an adverse impact on Muslim women’s mental health; and to assess the current level of professional understanding of issues surrounding female Muslim mental health and spiritual belief.<br/><br/>The findings of the project are in this report, but it is important to acknowledge that they are the result of a small-scale qualitative project, conducted in 2013-14, and therefore only provide a ‘snap shot’ of what these particular women thought at that particular time. No claim is made that these views can be generalised to the wider Muslim population.<br/><br/>The central findings are:<br/><br/>• There is a perception of significant stigma surrounding mental illness in the Glasgow Muslim community, and there is an urgent need for services to combat this.<br/><br/>• There is a strong belief amongst Glasgow Muslim women that ‘spirit possession’ can cause illness and that appropriate help is not necessarily delivered through medical services.<br/><br/>• The mental health of some Muslim women may be adversely affected by the ‘lack of fit’ between the language of spirit possession and the Western medical approach to mental illness.<br/><br/>• Most participants believed jinn and black magic are real phenomena that should be taken seriously. However, participants did not appear to see these as the main causes of poor mental health within their community and instead emphasised other psycho-social causes, including the role of marriage, family<br/>and culturally embedded gender roles.<br/><br/>• There was an array of views about whether help for mental ill-health should initially be sourced from a medical practitioner or via a faith-based route, with this decision influenced by factors such as stigma and concerns that receiving a medical diagnosis could be interpreted as a sign of weakening of an individual’s faith. Most participants advocated a ‘mix’ of solutions.<br/><br/>• Participants reported barriers to engaging with medical services, including the worry that they would have to ‘explain’ their beliefs to medical staff due to the general lack of understanding of Muslim culture among health professionals.<br/><br/>• There is a need within the Muslim community in Glasgow for further information about what mental health is and what mental health services are available. However, there was also a suggestion that greater efforts are needed to bridge the divide between faith-based and main stream services to avoid delays in women accessing treatment.<br/><br/>On the basis of the research findings, four recommendations are made:<br/><br/>1. All those having a role in advising, referring and treating people with mental health concerns should have access to training in the cultural beliefs and concerns of Muslims generally, and Muslim women specifically. A greater focus on enhancing the ‘cultural competencies’ of health and social care professionals is necessary for addressing the issues discussed in this report.<br/><br/>2. Policy makers, community leaders (including imams) and representatives of Muslim women should work in partnership to understand the specific mental health needs that Muslim women may have. This would involve identifying barriers to effective and timely treatment and planning appropriate responses and services.<br/><br/>3. There should be initiatives to engage members of the Muslim community with the theme of mental health, the stigma associated with mental ill-health, and the mental health services available.<br/> <br/>4. Mental health services should seek to engage more effectively with Muslim women and, importantly, organisations that support Muslim women in a mental health capacity.<br/><br/>Further research is required to establish whether these conclusions and policy recommendations are applicable across Scotland and the wider UK.

Objective: Previous randomized controlled trials have reported a 6.1–6.9% incidence of clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) following treatment with onabotulinumtoxinA in non-neurogenic overactive bladder (OAB) patients who were inadequately managed by ≥1 anticholinergic. A multi-center retrospective chart review assessed the real-world rate of voiding dysfunction requiring catheterization.Methods: Patients received onabotulinumtoxinA 100 U (approved dose) administered by experienced injectors between January 2013 and June 2015. Patients using CIC or an indwelling catheter for ≥24 hours for voiding dysfunction prior to onabotulinumtoxinA injections were excluded. The primary outcome was post-treatment CIC (lasting >24 hours; per individual physician’s clinical judgment considering patient’s voiding symptoms, post-void residual [PVR] urine volumes and patient bother). Potential baseline predictors of CIC (history of pelvic prolapse, cystocele, diabetes, PVR urine volume and age) were assessed using multivariable logistic regression.Results: Overall, 299 patients received their first treatment with onabotulinumtoxinA 100 U. Mean age was 66.4 years; 98.3% were female. The incidence of CIC was 2.7% in the total study population after the first treatment with onabotulinumtoxinA. The de novo CIC rate in treatments 2 and 3 combined was similarly low (3.2%). None of the evaluated baseline characteristics were significant predictors of CIC initiation due to the low CIC incidence.Conclusions: This real-world study of non-neurogenic OAB patients treated with onabotulinumtoxinA suggests that the CIC rate is lower than the rates reported in previous studies. There were no significant correlations between baseline predictors and CIC initiation, although statistical significance may not have been reached because of the low incidence of CIC.

This chapter describes a first‐year seminar course designed to develop students’ visual literacy skills. After a brief overview of the course and a discussion of the evidence supporting the efficacy of the instructional interventions, a timeline and description of the specific learning activities are presented.

ABSTRACTThis article discusses the results of a study on the psychosocial impact of armed conflict on children and families in the Philippines employing a multi‐method inquiry on the subject. Results showed that fear affected the children and their families' and was central in most of their choices and decisions. The effects discussed focused on how everyday life and social relations were disrupted and how this contributed to the overall atmosphere of fear and mistrust as violence became the norm.The article also stresses that in the midst of continuing conflict the community learned to cope. Some coped in positive ways, others did not. To cope with the socio‐economic impact of the armed conflict, some got involved in criminal activity. To survive in the midst of armed conflict, safe places were identified, some converting to Islam, checkpoints were established and armed vigilante groups were formed, and the people imposed restrictions upon themselves. Lastly, in order to overcome grief and loss, the people continued to observe religious rituals and rites and they did all they could to keep the family and community together.In 2005, UNICEF EAPRO initiated a regional study on “Children Caught in Conflicts: Assessing the impact of armed conflict on children in East Asia and the Pacific.” The objective of the study was three‐fold: to improve the knowledge base on children affected by armed conflict, to devise protection strategies for children in situations of low‐intensity conflict, and to involve participation of children and young people. Three countries participated: Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand. This article focuses on the results of the study conducted in the Philippines. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Blue rubber bleb naevus syndrome (BRBNS) is a rare vascular disorder characterized by rubbery blue-purple cutaneous nodules that are histologically thin-walled dilated vascular spaces. The exact inheritance of the disease in unknown but in cases of familial recurrence, there appears to be a pattern of autosomal dominant inheritance. The vascular lesions may manifest in any organ system but tend to predominate in the gastrointestinal tract (GI). There are only a handful of cases reported in the literature, but reported complications arising from the naevi include sponatenous GI bleeding requiring laparotomy and blood transfusion and the development of large naevi in the cervix thus preventing vaginal delivery. In this case we describe a patient with known BRBNS who developed symptomatic anaemia during her pregnancy which required antenatal admission and blood transfusion. She was managed expectantly in a multidisciplinary setting by obstetricians, gastroenterologists and an obstetric physician with the aim of a vaginal delivery. Nevertheless, she had an elective caesarean section at term for breech presentation. Surgery was complicated by the unexpected finding of venous malformations within the abdominal wall musculature and subcutaneous fat that resulted in a primary haemorrhage and required urgent blood transfusion. The patient made a good postoperative recovery and had a healthy male infant who at birth displayed no external features of BRBNS. This report demonstrates for the first time the appearance of naevi in the abdominal wall and the important considerations that need to be made regarding mode of delivery and future pregnancies.

Mental health services exist in prisons. Participants often abuse psychoactive substances. Substance abuse treatment programs in prison manifest a custodial culture of safety and control. Substance abuse among inmate participants in mental health programming must be dealt with in the context of mental health treatment. Mental health treatment, which is less coercive than substance abuse programming in prisons, shows a promise of effectiveness in reducing the harm of substance abuse to inmates, even when dealt with as part of mental health problems in general. Ways that groups can be used, as a primary treatment influencing substance abusive behavior within prison mental health programs, is discussed.

Risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) is the safest intervention for prevention of ovarian cancer in women at increased risk for hereditary breast-ovarian cancer. Little is known about other effects of RRSO. The objective of this study was to investigate quality of life (QoL) and fatigue in a sample of women who had RRSO for increased cancer risk and to compare the findings with those of age-matched controls from the general population (NORM). In a cross-sectional follow-up mailed questionnaire design, 301 (67%) of 450 invited Norwegian women with RRSO attended. The questionnaire contained measures of QoL, fatigue, anxiety/depression, and body image, and questions about demography, lifestyle, and morbidity. The findings were compared with those of the NORM. For RRSO women, mean age at survey was 53.7 years (SD, 9.2), mean age at RRSO was 48.4 years (SD 8.4), and median follow-up time was 5.0 years (range, 1-15 years). No clinically significant differences were observed between RRSO and NORM for any of the QoL or fatigue dimensions. In subgroup analyses of the RRSO group, no clinically significant differences in QoL and fatigue were observed between those who had surgery before or after age 50 years, or between BRCA1/2 carriers and women with unknown mutation statuses. Women who had cancer (32%), however, showed clinically significant lower levels of QoL and more fatigue than women without cancer. Women who had RRSO showed similar levels of QoL and fatigue as NORM. Women who had cancer before RRSO had lower levels of QoL and more fatigue.