Children's body image concerns and eating disturbance: a review of the literature

In recent years a large number of studies have examined body image concerns, and early symptoms of eating disturbance among children. However, to date there has been no synthesis or evaluation of these studies. The purpose of the present article is to review and evaluate the research that has examined body image concerns, and eating attitudes and behaviors among children 6 to 11 years of age. The instruments used to assess body image concerns and eating disturbance in children closely resemble those used with adolescents and adults. Overall, the psychometric data for these instruments are very good and there is sufficient evidence indicating that they can be used reliably and validly. In addition, similar variables to those studied in adolescent and adult samples have been found to be associated with children's body image concerns and early eating disturbance. These include gender, age, body mass index, race, sociocultural pressures, and self-concept. Our understanding of the development of body image concerns and eating disturbance in children is limited, however, by the fact that most of the research in this field has been based on cross-sectional data, and the studies have focused almost exclusively on weight-loss cognitions and behaviors.

Motivation for behavior change among sex offenders: a review of the literature

Motivation for behavior change is considered a crucial issue in the treatment of sex offenders. However, there has been no systematic investigation of this issue. The first aim of this review is to draw together the literature related to motivation for behavior change among sex offenders. The second aim is to highlight issues that need to be addressed to facilitate an empirical investigation of motivation for change among sex offenders. It is argued that a better understanding of motivation for change among sex offenders will contribute to enhancing the efficacy of treatment programs for these offenders.

The impact of caring on caregivers' mental health : a review of the literature

This paper provides a brief overview of the literature on the impact of caring on the mental health of informal caregivers in the areas of aged care, disability and mental health. Factors discussed that may impact on caregivers' mental health include the relationship between the caregiver and care recipient, the nature of the care recipient's disability and the stage of the caregiving process. Several moderators of the impact of caring on mental health are described, including socio-economic factors, social support and coping strategies. This information provides a context within which to examine the type of interventions appropriate to assist caregivers in various situations.

Does successful treatment of constipation or faecal impaction resolve lower urinary tract symptoms? A structured review of the literature

Consensus guidelines advocate the treatment of constipation and faecal impaction in order to improve symptoms of urinary frequency, urgency and urinary incontinence and to promote bladder emptying in the absence of urinary tract obstruction. This structured review of the literature was undertaken to search for and appraise evidence to support or negate the hypothesis of this relationship. The search strategy was comprehensive and identified six relevant studies. Two of these had been conducted on an adult population and four studies involved children with constipation. These studies were appraised for methodological quality. It was found that sample sizes were small and evidence was inconsistent. Variable methods of reporting meant that data were not able to be pooled for meta-analysis.
Based on the limited and conflicting evidence, it is recommended that further research be undertaken to identify any correlation between bowel and bladder function.

Reflexivity, its meanings and relevance for social work: a critical review of the literature

The concept of "reflexivity" has become increasingly significant in social work literature in relation to social work education, theory and practice. However, our reading of the literature indicates that there is a lack of clarity about the concept in terms of who is being exhorted to be "reflexive," when and how. This article addresses these questions through a critical review of social work literature since the 1990s that discusses the concept of "reflexivity." Given that many authors seem to use the concepts of "reflexivity" and "(critical) reflection" interchangeably, we also apply this analysis to "reflection" and "critical reflection." This article raises important questions about how the concepts of "reflexivity," "critical reflection" and "reflectivity" are defined and the different consequences such definitions might have for social work education, theory and practice.

Assessment methods in social work education: a review of the literature

Student assessment is an important component of social work education, and consumes considerable effort on behalf of both students and staff members. Social work educators in higher education face the challenge of constructing assessment methods, which encourage the development of reflective and critical learning, as well as enabling students to demonstrate acquisition of required knowledge and/or skills. While there is now a substantial literature on field education, the assessment of classroom-based units has warranted less attention. This paper examines the range of assessment methods reported in the social work education literature, the evidence which supports the use of these methods and issues associated with the identified assessment methods.

Conceptualising the requirements of CRM from an organisational perspective : a review of the literature

For an organisation to undertake a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) implementation program it needs to consider a multitude of requirements. Some authors have hinted at viewing CRM within a wider perspective than just  customer centric perspectives. The aim of this paper is to discuss the domain and conceptualise some of the requirements of CRM from an organisation’s point of view. However, CRM needs to be identified as the whole organisation, including its internal and external environments. Undertaking CRM in any organisation needs to be preceded by a sequence of stages. An organization needs to develop a roadmap outlining the path to become CRM centric. Therefore an organisation should address, or at least consider, a list of those factors at every stage of a CRM implementation program, for an implementation program to be effective. The main focus of literature in CRM has been customer centric. This paper, being the first stage of much wider research, will focus on the organisation and the internal environment. This paper will identify three information systems (IS) and information technology (IT) requirements in organisations that are integral parts of CRM. These need to achieve a level of synergy for successful CRM. To understand these three requirements (front-end systems, back-end systems, and datahandling technologies) in a CRM project is too great in magnitude at this early stage of the research. This paper begins to draw together the tenuous links between the three requirements of information systems (IS) and information technology (IT) systems. Writing this paper and shifting its focus towards requirements engineering, the author has realised that a whole area of literature has to be explored, because CRM is another IS implementation.

Strategies which aim to positively impact on weight, physical activity, diet and sedentary behaviours in children from zero to five years. A systematic review of the literature

Preventing the development of obesity in children is an international health priority. To assess the effectiveness of interventions designed to prevent obesity, promote healthy eating and/or physical activity and/or to reduce sedentary behaviours in 0–5-year-old children, a systematic review of the literature was performed. Literature searches were limited to articles published between January 1995 and June 2006, printed in English and sampling children aged 0–5-years. Searches excluded literature concerned with breastfeeding, eating disorders, and interventions which were school-based or concerned with obesity treatment. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study strengths and weaknesses. Nine included studies were grouped based on the settings in which they were delivered. Most studies involved multi-approach interventions, were conducted in the USA and varied in study designs and quality. All showed some level of effectiveness on at least one obesity-behaviour in young children. These studies support, at a range of levels, the premise that parents are receptive to and capable of some behavioural changes that may promote healthy weight in their young children. The small quantity of research heralds the need, particularly given the potential for early intervention to have long-lasting impacts on individual and population health, to build in a substantial way upon this evidence base.

Readmission to intensive care : a review of the literature

Acutely ill patients are commonly found on general hospital wards; some of these are patients who have been recently discharged from an intensive care unit (ICU). These patients may require a higher level of care than other ward patients and, due to the acuity of their illness, are at risk of readmission to ICU. Research has indicated that patients readmitted to ICU have mortality rates up to six times higher than those not readmitted and are eleven times more likely to die in hospital. Numerous studies have retrospectively examined these readmissions but, despite this, there is still no clear indication of why ICU readmissions occur or what the common characteristics of readmitted patients are. This literature review examines the published studies on patients who have been readmitted to ICU. Further research is needed to explore why readmissions to ICU occur and the type of patient who is at greatest risk for readmission.

Occupational distress in nursing : a psychoanalytic reading of the literature

Occupational stress in nursing has attracted considerable attention as a focus for research and as a consequence multiple objects of nurses' stress, or 'stressors', have been identified. This paper puts into question the dominant conceptual and methodological approach to occupational stress in nursing research by both foregrounding the notion of anxiety and juxtaposing it with the notion of 'stress'. It is argued that the notion of 'stress' and the domination of the questionnaire have produced a narrow reading of the topic. Some of the literature on occupational stress/anxiety in nursing is reviewed and our analysis illustrates how the identified objects of stress have a tendency to multiply contingent on the number of studies undertaken. Thus definitive objects of nurses' stress remain elusive. We argue that a return to the notion of 'anxiety' and methodological approaches other than empirical ones can bring both depth and breadth to the consideration of occupational distress in nursing. Further, we argue that the object of 'anxiety' is unconscious, thus unknown, and given this, a more informative approach is to map nurses' response to anxiety, the discursive formations arising out of anxiety, rather than attempt to define those objects of anxiety.

Interventions for reducing the use of seclusion in psychiatric facilities : a review of the literature

Background The authors of a recent systematic review concluded that the use of non-pharmacological containment methods, excluding restraint and seclusion, was not supported by evidence. Their focus on randomised, controlled trials, however, does not reflect the research that has been, or could be, conducted.

Aims To find empirically supported interventions that allow reduction in the use of seclusion in psychiatric facilities.

Method We reviewed English-language, peer-reviewed literature on interventions that allow reduction in the use of seclusion.

Results Staff typically used multiple interventions, including state-level support, state policy and regulation changes, leadership, examinations of the practice contexts, staff integration, treatment plan improvement, increased staff to patient ratios, monitoring seclusion episodes, psychiatric emergency response teams, staff education, monitoring of patients, pharmacological interventions, treating patients as active participants in seclusion reduction interventions, changing the therapeutic environment, changing the facility environment, adopting a facility focus, and improving staff safety and welfare.

Conclusions Reducing seclusion rates is challenging andgenerally requires staff to implement several interventions.

Effectiveness of IT-based diabetes management interventions: a review of the literature

Background : Information technology (IT) is increasingly being used in general practice to manage health care including type 2 diabetes. However, there is conflicting evidence about whether IT improves diabetes outcomes. This review of the literature about IT-based diabetes management interventions explores whether methodological issues such as sample characteristics, outcome measures, and mechanisms causing change in the outcome measures could explain some of the inconsistent findings evident in IT-based diabetes management studies.

Methods : Databases were searched using terms related to IT and diabetes management. Articles eligible for review evaluated an IT-based diabetes management intervention in general practice and were published between 1999 and 2009 inclusive in English. Studies that did not include outcome measures were excluded.

Results : Four hundred and twenty-five articles were identified, sixteen met the inclusion criteria: eleven GP focussed and five patient focused interventions were evaluated. Nine were RCTs, five non-randomised control trials, and two single-sample before and after designs. Important sample characteristics such as diabetes type, familiarity with IT, and baseline diabetes knowledge were not addressed in any of the studies reviewed. All studies used HbA1c as a primary outcome measure, and nine reported a significant improvement in mean HbA1c over the study period; only two studies reported the HbA1c assay method. Five studies measured diabetes medications and two measured psychological outcomes. Patient lifestyle variables were not included in any of the studies reviewed. IT was the intervention method considered to effect changes in the outcome measures. Only two studies mentioned alternative possible causal mechanisms.

Conclusion : Several limitations could affect the outcomes of IT-based diabetes management interventions to an unknown degree. These limitations make it difficult to attribute changes solely to such interventions.