Literature Focus

Literature focus is a feature consisting of short abstracts highlighting recent developments of interest in the literature selected
by postgraduate researchers.

Adherence to oral chemotherapy: a review of the literature

Oncology is rapidly changing. Over the past few years there has been an increase in the number of patients receiving oral chemotherapy, which is often administered as tablets away from the hospital setting and in the absence of direct health professional support. This situation places onus on patients to not only administer their medication, but also to report any deterioration in their health. Medication adherence in oral chemotherapy is therefore a major concern. This article examines medication adherence for people receiving oral chemotherapy and the importance of concordant communication practices.

Supported decision making: a review of the international literature

Supported decision making (SDM) refers to the process of supporting people, whose decision making ability may be impaired, to make decisions and so promote autonomy and prevent the need for substitute decision making. There have been developments in SDM but mainly in the areas of intellectual disabilities and end-of-life care rather than in mental health. The main aim of this review was to provide an overview of the available evidence relevant to SDM and so facilitate discussion of how this aspect of law, policy and practice may be further developed in mental health services. The method used for this review was a Rapid Evidence Assessment which involved: developing appropriate search strategies; searching relevant databases and grey literature; then assessing, including and reviewing relevant studies. Included studies were grouped into four main themes: studies reporting stakeholders’ views on SDM; studies identifying barriers to the implementation of SDM; studies highlighting ways to improve implementation; and studies on the impact of SDM. The available evidence on implementation and impact, identified by this review, is limited but there are important rights-based, effectiveness and pragmatic arguments for further developing and researching SDM for people with mental health problems.

Fabricated or Induced Illness in Children: A Narrative Review of the Literature

Although child maltreatment due to abuse or neglect is pervasive within our society, less
is known about fabricated or induced illness by carers (FII), which is considered to be a
rare form of child abuse. FII occurs when a caregiver (in 93% of cases, the mother)
misrepresents the child as ill either by fabricating, or much more rarely, producing
symptoms and then presenting the child for medical care, disclaiming knowledge of the
cause of the problem. The growing body of literature on FII reflects the lack of clarity
amongst professionals as to what constitutes FII, the difficulties involved in diagnosis,
and the lack of research into psychotherapeutic intervention with perpetrators. This lack
of clarity further complicates the identification, management and treatment of children
suffering from FII and may result in many cases going undetected, with potentially lifethreatening
consequences for children. It has been suggested that there is a national
under-reporting of fabricated or induced illness. In practice these cases are encountered
more frequently due to the chronic nature of the presentations, the large number of
professionals who may be involved and the broad spectrum including milder cases that
may not all require a formal child protection response. Diagnosis of fabricated disease
can be especially difficult, because the reported signs and symptoms cannot be confirmed
(when they are being exaggerated or imagined) or may be inconsistent (when they are
induced or fabricated). This paper highlights and discusses the controversies and
complexities of this condition, the risks to the child and how it affects children; the
paucity of systematic research regarding what motivates mothers to harm their children
by means of illness falsification; how the condition should be managed and treated for
both mother and child; and implications for policy and practice.

Home Is Where the Self Is: Monodrama, Journey-Play Structure, and the Modernist Fairy Tale

The first decade of the twentieth century witnessed the creation of two of the most beloved works of children’s literature ever produced. L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wizard of Oz and Maurice Maeterlinck’s 1908 play each gave rise to many adaptations, including, well beloved film versions, and both have become a deeply ingrained part of the cultural memory and construction of childhood in both Europe and the United States. And while these works are deeply original in content and detail, the structure of these works harkens back to the form of the journey play (traceable, on some level, back to the medieval morality play Everyman), a form that had undergone a considerable revival in the second half of the nineteenth century in the work of writers such as Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg. This article explores the structural and conceptual links between Baum and Maeterlinck’s children’s classics, Ibsen’s Norwegian folk play Peer Gynt, and August Strindberg’s Lucky Per’s Journey and The Road to Damascus, Part I. In these works, the protagonists, disenchanted with their homes or current situations, set out on an epic journey in which they come upon characters and situations that act as commentary upon their situations before the journey. Ultimately, the characters return to where they started, with the journey seeming to have been a dream or merely a pointless excursion. But in these journeys of self-discovery, the protagonist that emerges at the end has undergone a significant transformation, a process at the heart of all of these works.

The lifetime direct cost of periodontal treatment:A case study from a norwegian specialist practice

Background: Successful periodontal treatment requires a commitment to regular lifelong maintenance and may be perceived by patients to be costly. This study calculates the total lifetime cost of periodontal treatment in the setting of a specialist periodontal practice and investigates the cost implications of choosing not to proceed with such treatment. Methods: Data from patients treated in a specialist practice in Norway were used to calculate the total lifetime cost of periodontal treatment that included baseline periodontal treatment, regular maintenance, retreatment, and replacing teeth lost during maintenance. Incremental costs for alternative strategies based on opting to forego periodontal treatment or maintenance and to replace any teeth lost with either bridgework or implants were calculated. Results: Patients who completed baseline periodontal treatment but did not have any additional maintenance or retreatment could replace only three teeth with bridgework or two teeth with implants before the cost of replacing additional teeth would exceed the cost of lifetime periodontal treatment. Patients who did not have any periodontal treatment could replace ≤4 teeth with bridgework or implants before a replacement strategy became more expensive. Conclusions: Within the limits of the assumptions made, periodontal treatment in a Norwegian specialist periodontal practice is cost-effective when compared to an approach that relies on opting to replace teeth lost as a result of progressive periodontitis with fixed restorations. In particular, patients who have initial comprehensive periodontal treatment but do not subsequently comply with maintenance could, on average, replace ≤3 teeth with bridgework or two teeth with implants before this approach would exceed the direct cost of lifetime periodontal treatment in the setting of the specialist practice studied. © 2012 American Academy of Periodontology.

Parents' experiences of caring for their infant following surgery in the neonatal period: A literature review

Previous research with parents of preterm and low-birth weight infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) has indicated the following: (i) parents are at risk of experiencing stress associated with the NICU environment; (ii) parents are at risk of short- and longer-term psychological distress; and (iii) the family is at risk of longer-term stress and strain. However, parents of infants admitted to the NICU for surgery are an under-researched population. This paper provides an overview of the current literature in relation to this issue. The results highlight the paucity of research conducted with parents of infants admitted to the NICU for surgery. A number of gaps and limitations were also identified in the current literature, including a lack of examination why some parents cope better than others, and a focus solely on parents of preterm and low birth weight infants. To conclude, further research with parents of infants who had surgery in the first few weeks of life is needed. Such information could help inform clinicians caring for these infants and their families, and would enable identification of those parents and families most at risk.

The potential role of fruit and vegetables in aspects of psychological well-being: a review of the literature and future directions

The objective of the present paper was to review the literature investigating the potential relationship between fruit and vegetables (FV) and psychological well-being. The rising prevalence of mental ill health is causing considerable societal burden. Inexpensive and effective strategies are therefore required to improve the psychological well-being of the population, and to reduce the negative impact of mental health problems. A growing body of literature suggests that dietary intake may have the potential to influence psychological well-being. For example, studies have suggested that particular dietary constituents, including vitamins and minerals, might be beneficial to psychological health. However, in order to better reflect normal dietary intake, health-based research has increasingly begun to focus on whole foods and dietary patterns, rather than individual nutrients. One food group that has received increasing attention with regard to psychological health is FV. This is probably a result of the strong evidence base, which exists in relation to their protective association with a number of chronic diseases, as well as the fact that they are a rich source of some of the nutrients which have been linked to psychological health. While some promising findings exist with regards to FV intake and psychological well-being, overall, results are inconsistent. Possible reasons for this, such as methodological issues related to study design and the measurement of psychological well-being and FV intake, are discussed within this review. Based on the predominantly observational nature of existing literature, the present paper concludes that future well-designed randomised controlled trials are required to investigate the relationship further.