Parental Responsibility and the Duty to Consult - the public's view

This article considers the imposition, by the courts, of a parental duty to consult on matters of importance in a child’s life. The results of a survey of 2,300 respondents, who were asked to respond to a number of scenarios, are analysed and discussed. The survey provides some interesting reflections on the views of the general public as to who should be ‘in control’ over decision making for children.

Identifying strategies to maximise recruitment and retention of practices and patients in a multicentre randomised controlled trial of an intervention to optimise secondary prevention for coronary heart disease in primary care.

Background Recruitment and retention of patients and healthcare providers in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) is important in order to determine the effectiveness of interventions. However, failure to achieve recruitment targets is common and reasons why a particular recruitment strategy works for one study and not another remain unclear. We sought to describe a strategy used in a multicentre RCT in primary care, to report researchers’ and participants’ experiences of its implementation and to inform future strategies to maximise recruitment and retention. Methods In total 48 general practices and 903 patients were recruited from three different areas of Ireland to a RCT of an intervention designed to optimise secondary prevention of coronary heart disease. The recruitment process involved telephoning practices, posting information, visiting practices, identifying potential participants, posting invitations and obtaining consent. Retention involved patients attending reviews and responding to questionnaires and practices facilitating data collection. Results We achieved high retention rates for practices (100%) and for patients (85%) over an 18-month intervention period. Pilot work, knowledge of the setting, awareness of change in staff and organisation amongst participant sites, rapid responses to queries and acknowledgement of practitioners’ contributions were identified as being important. Minor variations in protocol and research support helped to meet varied, complex and changing individual needs of practitioners and patients and encouraged retention in the trial. A collaborative relationship between researcher and practice staff which required time to develop was perceived as vital for both recruitment and retention. Conclusions Recruiting and retaining the numbers of practices and patients estimated as required to provide findings with adequate power contributes to increased confidence in the validity and generalisability of RCT results. A continuous dynamic process of monitoring progress within trials and tailoring strategies to particular circumstances, whilst not compromising trial protocols, should allow maximal recruitment and retention.

School Refusal, Parental Control and Wider Systems: Lessons from the management of two cases. Journal of Psychological Medicine, .

Two cases of school refusal are presented. From the experience of these two cases, and support from the literature, early assessment of parental control in cases of school refusal is advocated. When parental control, even with professional therapeutic support, is not sufficient to effect an early return to school, intervention in the wider systems organised around the problem is recommended.

Impure Thinking Practices and Clinical Acts: The Sonorous Becomings of Heidi Fast

This article introduces the recent sound works of Heidi Fast, a Finnish voice and performance artist. Fast’s creative practice operates between art and philosophy, and articulates several ‘zones of becoming’: what Fast designates as ‘the clinical’, ‘the virtual’ and ‘vocal thought-material’. Using a methodology of routing, the article shows how these zones emerge as aesthetic, ethical and political concerns within Fast’s work. Since 2005, Fast’s sound works have variously taken shape as miniature concerts, social sculptures, imaginary soundscapes and environmental music performances. Drawing upon the writings of theorists who have helped shape her practice, this article argues that Fast uses sound and voice to propose an ‘actualising philosophy’. This philosophy actualises virtualities (unrealised potentials), affecting transformative shifts through tiny mutations in perceptions and behaviours.

Prescribing Practices and Polypharmacy in Kitovu Hospital, Uganda.

This audit of prescribing practices explores recent trends at Kitovu Hospital, Uganda. The average number of drugs prescribed per patient was 2.89 ± 0.11, of which 1.79±0.09 were generics and 0.69±0.06 antibiotics. No injections were prescribed. Patient essential drug knowledge was 100% while the adequacy of labelling was 0%. The number of drugs prescribed correlated positively with patient age, was greater for female patients, similar for doctors and clinical officers but greater in medical (3.30±0.15, n=50) than surgical (2.48±0.13, n=50) outpatient clinics. The mean consultation time was 6.56 min and 10.25 min per patient in medical and surgical outpatient clinics respectively. The patient essential knowledge indicators were greatly improved but only modest reduction in polypharmacy was evident compared to the Ugandan Pharmaceutical Sector national survey of 2002. Antibiotic prescription was high and generic prescribing was found to be low. Policy changes are required to enhance rational drug use in the health sector in Uganda.

Parental state and offspring recognition in the biparental cichlid fish Pelvicachromis pulcher

Alloparental care was investigated in the biparental West African cichlid, Pelvicachromis pulcher. Non-breeding adults typically consumed young conspecifics but this trait was inhibited in both sexes during reproductive attempts. Alien conspecific young were accepted into the brood if they were of a similar age/developmental stage to the parents' own young but not if they were much older or much younger. If not accepted they were consumed by whichever adult located them. Parents separated from their brood for up to 4 days accepted their young on reunion but separation for more than 4 days resulted in the young being consumed. This latter response occurred if chemical stimuli from the young were available during the separation but not if visual stimuli were available. In this latter case parental responsiveness was maintained. Both sexes of this externally fertilizing species appeared to have the same information about their young and showed the same changes in responsiveness and the same discriminatory abilities. (C) 1997 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.