Sustainability Strategies of Digital Media Start-ups in Zimbabwe: Prospects and Challenges

Factors associated with professional mental health service use among adults with suicidal ideation

The relationship between national culture and the use of professional services: Evidence from two cross-country studies

BackgroundMental health concerns are a significant issue among community college students, who often have less access to resources than traditional university college students. Mobile apps have the potential to increase access to mental health care, but there has been little research investigating factors associated with mental health app use within the community college population.ObjectiveThis study aimed to understand facilitators of and barriers to mental health app use among community college students.MethodsA web-based survey was administered to a randomly selected sample of 500 community college students from April 16 to June 30, 2020. Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationships between the use of mental health apps, perceived stress, perceived need to seek help for mental health concerns, perceived stigma, past use of professional mental health services, privacy concerns, and social influence of other people in using mental health apps.ResultsOf the 500 participants, 106 (21.2%) reported use of mental health apps. Perceived stress, perceived need to seek help, past use of professional services, and social influence were positively associated with mental health app use. Furthermore, the effect of stress was mediated by a perceived need to seek help. Privacy concerns were negatively associated with mental health app use. Stigma, age, and gender did not have a statistically significant effect.ConclusionsThese findings can inform development of new digital interventions and appropriate outreach strategies to engage community college students in using mental health apps.

This study examines the effects of economic need and self-esteem on the attitudes toward and use of professional (instrumental and psychotherapeutic) services by Arab women living in the mixed Arab-Jewish town of Jaffa, Israel. Findings show that self-esteem was associated with the women's help-seeking behavior but not their attitudes only when economic need was not taken into account. When economic need was included in the analyses, the effect of self-esteem disappeared altogether. These findings point to the importance of economic need in actual help seeking and cast doubt on the adequacy of the "threat to self-esteem" model to explain underutilization of professional services.

This study uses a national probability sample of older adults to examine racial and ethnic differences in the use of professional services and informal support for a stressful personal problem. Using data from the National Survey of American Life, this study focuses on African Americans, Black Caribbean immigrants, and Whites aged 55 years and older who experienced a personal problem that caused them significant distress (n=862). Multinomial logistic regression is used to estimate the association of race with the use of professional services only, informal support only, both professional services and informal support, or no help at all, while controlling for demographic and socioeconomic variables, characteristics of the informal support network, the type of problem experienced, and experiences of racial discrimination. Examining the use of professional services and informal support provides a more complete picture of racial and ethnic differences of help-seeking behaviors among older adults, and the factors associated with the sources from which these adults request help. Most respondents use informal support alone or in combination with professional services. Black Caribbeans are more likely than African Americans to rely on informal support only, whereas African Americans are more likely than Whites to not receive help. However, these findings are accounted for by differences in social support and experiences of discrimination.

This study used data from the National Survey of American Life to investigate the use of professional services and informal support among African Americans, black Caribbeans, and non-Hispanic whites. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the association of race and perceived discrimination with the use of professional services only, informal support only, both professional services and informal support, or no help at all. Fifty-one percent of the sample used both professional services and informal support, 16% relied on professional services only, 20% used informal support only, and 13% did not seek help. Before controlling for other factors, African Americans and black Caribbeans were significantly less likely to receive either professional or informal help compared with whites. When everyday racial discrimination was included, racial differences in not seeking help were no longer significant. Household income also influenced the relationship between race and help-seeking. Other factors significantly associated with help-seeking include age, gender, education, employment status, insurance coverage, type and severity of disorder, and subjective closeness to family and friends. The association of these factors and implication of the findings for future research and mental health service delivery will be discussed.

Utilisation des services d’aide et de soins à domicile pour les personnes âgées en situations complexes : comparaison entre trois types de coordination gérontologique

ObjectiveThis study investigated prevalence, types and predictors of professional service use in families of children identified with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the community.DesignSetting: children with ADHD were identified...

BackgroundPrior research endorsed the establishment of sexual assault centres in the Netherlands because of the potential benefit for victims’ mental recovery. In 2012, the first Dutch sexual assault centre was founded at the University Medical Center Utrecht. The aim of the centre is to provide 24/7 coordinated and integrated services (i.e., medical, forensic, and psychological) in one location.ObjectiveThe purpose of the present study was to describe demographic, background, and assault characteristics of victims seen at the centre within one week post-assault, and their use of post-assault services in order to improve current services.MethodFrom January 2012 to September 2013, prospective data of 108 patients were collected. To describe the population included, frequency counts and proportions were generated for categorical variables.ResultsThe mean age was 21.3 years (SD=9.8). Most victims were female (91.7%). A large proportion of victims reported background characteristics known to increase the risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and revictimisation such as prior sexual abuse (32.4%), pre-existing use of mental health services (45.4%), and not living with both biological parents (61.7%). Most patients (88.9%) consulted the centre within 72 hours post-assault. The uptake of services was high: 82.4% received emergency medical care, 61.7% underwent a forensic–medical exam, 34% reported to the police, and 82.4% utilised psychological services.ConclusionTo prevent revictimisation and PTSD, current psychological services could be improved with immediate trauma-focused treatments. Current forensic services may be improved with the use of standard top to toe forensic–medical examinations for both children and adults.

Objectives The gap between mental health needs and service use in racial/ethnic minorities continues to be a major public health concern. Focusing on older Korean immigrants, the present study examined linkages among mental distress, self-rated mental health (SRMH), and the use of professional mental health services. We hypothesized that SRMH would play a mediating role in the relationship between mental distress and the use of professional mental health services. Method Using data from the Study of Older Korean Americans (SOKA; N = 2,150, Mean age = 73.4), the direct and indirect effect models were tested. Results Nearly 30% of the sample fell within the category of experiencing mental distress, but only a small proportion (5.7%) had used professional mental health services. Supporting our hypothesis, the pathway from mental distress to the use of professional mental health services was influenced by an individual’s subjective perception of mental health status: the indirect effect of mental distress on service use through SRMH (.04 [.01]) was significant (bias-corrected 95% confidence interval for the indirect effect = .02, .06). Conclusion The findings of this study not only contribute to our understanding of help-seeking processes in a group at high mental health risk but also suggest avenues to promote their use of mental health services.

BackgroundCommunity-based screening for mental health problems may increase service use through feedback to individuals about their severity of symptoms and provision of contacts for appropriate services.AimsThe effect of symptom feedback on service use was assessed. Secondary outcomes included symptom change and study attrition.MethodUsing online recruitment, 2773 participants completed a comprehensive survey including screening for depression (n=1366) or social anxiety (n=1407). Across these two versions, approximately half (n=1342) of the participants were then randomly allocated to receive tailored feedback. Participants were reassessed after 3 months (Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ANZCTR12614000324617).ResultsA negative effect of providing social anxiety feedback to individuals was observed, with significant reductions in professional service use. Greater attrition and lower intentions to seek help were also observed after feedback.ConclusionsOnline mental health screening with feedback is not effective for promoting professional service use. Alternative models of online screening require further investigation.Declaration of interestNone.Copyright and usage© The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) licence.

The extent of information use by farmers for farm management is tracked in terms of computer adoption and usefulness, and the use of professional providers of information services. The study is based on a survey conducted in 1991, on North Carolina, as part of a regional project involving about fourteen states. The results revealed a low rate of computer adoption by the farmers surveyed. However, computer adoption and usefulness were explained by farm size, educational attainment and farm income. Also farmers' use of professional services, such as that provided by tax preparers and extension agents were positively influenced by farm size, age and education level.

본 연구는 전문서비스 경쟁우위를 확보하기 위한 강력한 충성도 구축을 위해 전문서비스만의 차별화된 특성을 반영한 충성도 구축 모형을 검증하고자 한다. 전문서비스는 서비스의 일반적인 특성 외에도 소비자가 서비스 결과를 쉽게 예측할 수 없고 서비스 제공자와 이용자간의 지식불균형이 커서 서비스를 이용하고 난 이후에도 서비스 만족과 품질을 평가하기 어렵다는 특성을 가지고 있다. 그래서 전문서비스는 이용과정에서 고객이 지각하는 만족과 감정이 충성도 형성에 결정적인 역할을 할 것이다. 이에 따라 본 연구의 모형에서는 전문서비스 이용과정의 만족차원으로 반응적 만족, 상호작용 만족, 기술적 만족차원으로 나누어 검토하고 감정적 몰입과 계산적 몰입과의 관계, 몰입의 차원과 충성도 간의 관계를 구조적으로 살펴보았다. 분석결과 전문서비스 이용과정에서 지각하는 만족의 차원은 감정적 몰입과 계산적 몰입을 모두 높이며, 이러한 몰입은 충성도 형성에 영향을 미치고 있음을 알 수 있다. This study is to examine loyalty building model which reflected differentiated traits of professional service to establish strong loyalty for gaining competitive edge. Professional service is where consumer can not easily predict the result of service as well as other common traits. It also has trait that is difficult to evaluate service satisfaction and quality even after using the service because knowledge imbalance between service provider and user is great. Therefore, in professional service, satisfaction and emotion that consumer perceives in the service use process will play critical role in loyalty formation. As a result, the model of this study divided dimension into responsiveness satisfaction which is satisfaction dimension of professional service use process, interaction satisfaction, technical satisfaction and structurally examined the relationship between emotional commitment and cognitive commitment and the relationship between dimension of commitment and loyalty. The analysis result show that dimension of satisfaction which perceived in professional service use process increases both emotional commitment and cognitive commitment and these commitments effect to loyalty formation.

Sexual violence occurs at alarming rates in children and adults. Survivors experience myriad negative health outcomes and legal problems, which place them in need of professional services. A meta-summary was conducted of 31 published qualitative studies on adults' responses to sexual violence, with a focus on survivors' use of professional services. Combined samples included 46 men, 984 women, and six couples who had experienced sexual violence at any point in their lives. Findings indicated that qualities of professional service providers and outcomes of professional services were perceived either positively or negatively (rather than neutrally) by survivors, regardless of the provider's professional discipline. Professionals who work with sexual violence survivors can use these findings to improve their practices.

Purpose: The aim of the article is to identify the current academic research on the perception of sustainable organizations management and development. Methodology approach: The study uses a systematic literature review (SLR) methodology using the SCOPUS database to identify the framework of sustainable organizations in research. The VOSviewer tool was used to exercise the co-occurrence of keywords to select specific research topics to be included in the analysis. Findings: Organizations have a key role to play in mitigating climate change, so new business models are needed to manage social, regulatory and economic interrelationships. New sustainable models are shaped by shareholders’ business objectives, stakeholder expectations and regulatory frameworks. The aspects that emerged from the bibliometric data analysis of co-occurrences and word clusters were the following: socio-economic framework (with stakeholders analyzed independently), managing for sustainability, innovation, circular business models and supply chain management. In spite of many sustainability studies, there is still a gap in knowledge on how to proceed and build sustainable business models of organizations. Research limitations and implications: Analyzing the spectrum of research on sustainable organizations to date can support future research on sustainable value creation generators and models for sustainable organizations. An important limitation factor for analyses based on the literature is the risk of omitting important aspects of sustainable organizations, as research based on co-occurrence of words has such limitations. Practical implications: The research impacts interrelated and complex relationships among helices in the Triple helix model: academia, business, and regulations. It aims to trigger innovations in the business sphere. It is useful to bring academic research into practice as part of a Triple Helix approach and its more developed forms, clearly addressing regulatory challenges and practical application in business. Originality/value: Identifying the state of research on sustainable organizations aims to recognize the current trends in sustainable organization better and understand the picture of academia approach.