Comparison of rural and urban attitudes to the conservation of Asian elephants in Sri Lanka: empirical evidence

There has been little study of economic and general attitudes towards the conservation of the Asian elephant. This paper reports and analyses results from surveys conducted in Sri Lanka of attitudes of urban dwellers and farmers towards nature conservation in general and the elephant conservation in particular. The analyses are based on urban and a rural sample. Contingent valuation techniques are used as survey instruments. Multivariate logit regression analysis is used to analyse the respondents' attitudes towards conservation of elephants. It is found that, although some variations occurred between the samples, the majority of the respondents (both rural and urban) have positive attitudes towards nature conservation in general. However, marked differences in attitudes toward elephant conservation are evident between these two samples: the majority of urban respondents were in favour of elephant conservation; rural respondents expressed a mixture of positive and negative attitudes. Overall, considerable unrecorded and as yet unutilised economic support for conservation of wild elephants exists in Sri Lanka. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clinical reporting by occupational therapists and speech pathologists: Therapists' intentions and parental satisfaction

This study employed a qualitative research design to explore therapists' and parents' perspectives of paediatric occupational therapy and speech pathology assessment reports. Aims of the study were to explore the intentions of therapists when writing reports, to expand upon existing literature on parental satisfaction and preferences with respect to paediatric clinical reports, to highlight documentation practices that would serve to maximize parental use of allied health reports, and to develop specific guidelines on how reports can be written to ensure they are useful and beneficial to therapists and parents. Participants were 15 parents of children who had been assessed at 1 of 2 university clinics and subsequently received a written report, and 11 therapists employed at the same university clinics. Questionnaires were used to seek information from therapists concerning the purpose of assessment reports and essential aspects to include when writing reports for parents. In-depth interviews were used to seek information about how understandable and beneficial clinical reports were to parents. The data were subjected to thematic analysis. From comments of therapists' intentions and parents' stated needs, and in accordance with literature reviewed, guidelines were identified for the production of parent-oriented reports. Conclusions drawn from this study can be specifically applied to services producing paediatric occupational therapy or speech pathology assessment reports, but are widely relevant to paediatric allied health services. (author abstract)

Telemedicine for rural and remote child and youth mental health services

The E-Child and Youth Mental Health Service was designed to provide children and adolescents in Queensland with access to specialist mental health consultations using telemedicine. A project officer provided a single point of contact for referral management and clinic coordination, thereby reducing barriers of access to the service. Over a six-month period from November 2004, 42 point-to-point videoconferences were conducted to nine sites in Queensland. Three multipoint conferences were also conducted. Eleven videoconferences (24%) were arranged for administrative purposes, and 34 (76%) were conducted for the delivery of clinical services (30 patients). The referral and consultation activity suggests an improvement in the capacity of rural and remote mental health service providers to deliver specialist services for children and adolescents.

Enhancing employment services for people with severe mental illness: the challenge of the Australian service environment

Objectives: Comparatively few people with severe mental illness are employed despite evidence that many people within this group wish to obtain, can obtain and sustain employment, and that employment can contribute to recovery. This investigation aimed to: (i) describe the current policy and service environment within which people with severe mental illness receive employment services; (ii) identify evidence-based practices that improve employment outcomes for people with severe mental illness; (iii) determine the extent to which the current Australian policy environment is consistent with the implementation of evidence-based employment services for people with severe mental illness; and (iv) identify methods and priorities for enhancing employment services for Australians with severe mental illness through implementation of evidence-based practices. Method: Current Australian practices were identified, having reference to policy and legal documents, funding body requirements and anecdotal reports. Evidence-based employment services for people with severe mental illness were identified through examination of published reviews and the results of recent controlled trials. Results: Current policy settings support the provision of employment services for people with severe mental illness separate from clinical services. Recent studies have identified integration of clinical and employment services as a major factor in the effectiveness of employment services. This is usually achieved through co-location of employment and mental health services. Conclusions: Optimal evidence-based employment services are needed by Australians with severe mental illness. Providing optimal services is a challenge in the current policy environment. Service integration may be achieved through enhanced intersectoral links between employment and mental health service providers as well as by co-locating employment specialists within a mental health care setting.

Victim-perpetrator differences in reports of hurtful events

This research project addressed limitations identified in previous studies of role differences (victim vs. perpetrator) in evaluations of hurtful events. The study employed multiple methods (open-ended and structured retrospective reports and experience-sampling diary records), and involved a community sample of both dating and married couples. Retrospective reports indicated that the extent and direction of role-related differences varied markedly across dependent measures. Further, role differences were moderated by forgiveness, but not relationship status, relationship satisfaction, or event severity. Diary records pointed to the ambiguity inherent in many communication acts as contributing to differing perceptions of hurtful events. Results are discussed in terms of theories of interdependence and self-presentation and in terms of the complex and often ambiguous nature of couples' communication processes.

Public reporting of hospital outcomes based on administrative data: risks and opportunities

In the wake of findings from the Bundaberg Hospital and Forster inquiries in Queensland, periodic public release of hospital performance reports has been recommended. A process for developing and releasing such reports is being established by Queensland Health, overseen by an independent expert panel. This recommendation presupposes that public reports based on routinely collected administrative data are accurate; that the public can access, correctly interpret and act upon report contents; that reports motivate hospital clinicians and managers to improve quality of care; and that there are no unintended adverse effects of public reporting. Available research suggests that primary data sources are often inaccurate and incomplete, that reports have low predictive value in detecting outlier hospitals, and that users experience difficulty in accessing and interpreting reports and tend to distrust their findings.