Competent Services Research Articles

Developing a model of physical education teachers’ health service competence in China: based on the grounded theory technical approach

BackgroundIn recent years, public health emergencies have become increasingly frequent, threatening human health. Accordingly, countries worldwide have attached great importance to optimizing their public health service systems. In China, physical education teachers are responsible for conducting health education in schools and improving students’ health; however, China’s health service supply is unbalanced and insufficiently developed. Therefore, this study constructed a health service competence model of Chinese physical education teachers to assess their contribution to the improvement of China’s national public health system.MethodsThe qualitative data were primarily gathered through semi-structured interviews. Physical education teachers and researchers of physical education teachers from diverse regions of China (N = 48) were selected as participants using purposive sampling techniques. Grounded theory technical approach was employed to analyze the data through NVivo 11.0 software.ResultsThe physical education teachers’ health service competence model contained three dimensions: health service beliefs, basic health knowledge, and health service skills. Health service beliefs contained two categories: health service awareness and health service cognition. Basic health knowledge contained two categories: life health knowledge and sports health knowledge. Health service skills contained seven categories: health education skills, management skills, research skills, advocacy skills, emergency skills, organization skills, and alert skills.ConclusionThis study’s model provides a theoretical foundation for Chinese physical education teachers to transition to physical education and health teachers. Utilizing this model in teacher education can contribute to enhancing China’s national public health service system.

Experiences of Acculturation Stress in First-Generation Immigrant Children: Examining the Relationship Among Acculturation Stress, Depression, and Family Dynamics

AbstractThroughout the years, immigration has been a significant movement in the USA and leads to the examination of acculturative stress. By employing the acculturation stress and vulnerability models, the present study aimed to examine the association among acculturation stress, self-esteem, depression, family cohesion, and familism in first-generation immigrant children. Longitudinal data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS) were used. The analytical sample (n = 5262) was predominantly female (51.1%) and between the ages of 12 and 18 (M = 14.23) years old. SPSS 27 and AMOS 27 were utilized to conduct a path analysis to examine the relationships among acculturation stress, self-esteem, depression, family cohesion, and familism. Our results showed good fit (χ2/df ratio = 11.49; CFI = 0.91; RMSEA = 0.05, CI [.04, .05]) for the full path model. Acculturation stress had a significant, negative association with depression (β = − 0.12, p < .001); a significant, negative association with self-esteem (β = − 0.12, p < .001); and a significant, positive association with family cohesion (β = 0.60, p < .01) and the familism index (β = 0.05, p < .05). Acculturation stress was found to be predictive of self-esteem, depression, and family cohesion for first-generation immigrant children between the ages of 12 and 18 years old. This study provides general implications for how mental health providers can understand the struggles and provide culturally competent therapeutic services for children and their families.

The role of digital competence in improving service quality and employee performance

Orientation: Digital acceleration forces all public service organisations to prepare to shift from traditional methods to digital methods. Thus, this phenomenon challenges today’s public service organisations to present new service innovations with technological elements to create superior performance.Research purpose: This study aims to explore and analyse the impact of digital competence, smart digital services, and service quality on the performance of public service employees.Motivation for the study: Human resources in public service organisations face many challenges, namely how to adapt to technology and create effective services to improve service quality and employee performance.Research approach/design and method: This study was conducted in all government organisations in Central Java province, Indonesia. The sampling technique used was proportional random sampling, so that a sample of 262 civil servants was obtained. This study uses a quantitative method with Structural Equation Model (SEM) analysis.Main findings: The study results show that digital competence has a positive impact on intelligent digital services, which significantly improves service quality and ultimately has a positive impact on employee performance.Practical/managerial implications: The results of this study provide important insights for policy makers in the Central Java Provincial Government, Indonesia, to determine the direction of digital competence development and service innovation in achieving positive performance.Contribution/value-add: This study provides a roadmap for public service organisations to develop employees who can adapt to digital competencies and smart digital services to achieve maximum performance.

Artificial intelligence ethical awareness according to the core competency level among dental hygiene students

Objectives: This study investigated the ethical awareness regarding artificial intelligence (AI) among dental hygiene students based on core competency levels and proposed a competency-based educational approach to improve AI ethical awareness. Methods: Eighty-six dental hygiene students participated in the study and provided informed consent. The core competency survey tool included innovation, communication, relations, and services. The AI ​​ethical awareness survey tool was divided into eight categories, each with 24 questions: responsibility, stability and reliability, non-discrimination, transparency and explainability, people-centered service, employment, tolerance and limits, and robot rights. Results: The group with high core competency had higher levels of AI ethical awareness (p<0.05), particularly in terms of responsibility, transparency, and peoplecentered service. The level of AI ethical awareness was significantly correlated with the relationship competency and service competency (p<0.05). Conclusions: These results highlight the association between AI ethical awareness and core competencies. These results suggest that competency-based education in universities is critical for improving AI ethical awareness. Furthermore, we intend to use the findings as preliminary data to suggest a direction for competency-centered education to improve AI ethical awareness.

The ACA Medicaid expansions and the supply of substance use disorder treatment services in Spanish

BackgroundGiven persistent disparities in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment for Spanish speakers, it is important to understand whether major health policy changes may improve access to linguistically competent services. We estimate changes in the supply of SUD treatment facilities that both accept Medicaid as payment and offer services in Spanish after the Medicaid expansions under the Affordable Care Act. MethodsWe use data from the Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Tracking Repository for years 2010–2020 to calculate the number of facilities per 100 that offered both services in Spanish and accepted Medicaid as payment, facilities per 100 that accepted Medicaid as a form of payment overall, and facilities per 100 that offered Spanish language services overall. We use a difference-in-differences strategy exploiting variation in the timing of the Medicaid expansions across states, and county-level variation in the share of Spanish speaking Latinos across and within states. ResultsWe find that treatment facilities that both accepted Medicaid as a form of payment and offered Spanish language services increased by roughly 2–3 per 100, on average, in counties with the highest shares of Spanish speakers compared to counties with low to medium shares. This increase may be explained by more facilities accepting Medicaid as a form of payment. ConclusionThe Medicaid expansions under the ACA produced a modest increase in the supply of SUD treatment facilities that both accepted Medicaid as payment and provided services in Spanish in areas with highest shares of Spanish speakers.

Parenting a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Jordanian's perspectives.

Raising your child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Jordan is a challenge due to the prevailing behavioral concerns, low availability of specialized care, and generalized feelings of social stigma. This phenomenological study involved twelve Jordanian parents of children aged 4-14years, all diagnosed with ADHD according to DSM-IV-TR criteria. Participants were recruited through purposive sampling, and semi-structured interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis revealed three key themes: "The Journey through ADHD," in which parents recognized the abnormalities of their children, reported suffering during the diagnosis, and described a wide range of uncertainty regarding the diagnosis and treatments. The second theme was "Disease as part of life," where parents reported the impact on family dynamics and social life. The third theme was "Caregiving burden," reflecting physical and emotional exhaustion and financial burden. Jordanian parents caring for children with ADHD face several challenges, including physical, emotional, economic, and social challenges and limited access to specialized services. Identifying their unique needs and challenges is essential in supporting them, providing appropriate services and resources, and developing policies and guidelines for culturally competent quality services.

Health inequities in cardiac care and cardiovascular guideline concordance in Australian migrant populations: data correlation for culturally and linguistically diverse populations (DatCALD) project

Abstract Background Evidence of inequities in acute cardiac care and concordance with cardiovascular guidelines in migrant populations have not been well documented in Australia. Additionally, knowledge of correlations between clinical data and population health data of these marginalised groups is seriously lacking. Purpose To establish an interactive population health atlas and perform data correlations to determine health inequities in cardiac care provision in emergency departments (EDs) and examine guideline concordance in migrant populations. Methods This study correlated population health data derived from public health surveillance systems with the clinical data of migrant populations in Australia. The interactive atlas has been established and data correlations between relevant variables have been produced. Degree of correlations were presented as a correlation coefficient (r). Results The evidence revealed a strong relationship between migrant status and poor cardiac care provision. Migrant populations who were born overseas in non-English-speaking (NES) countries were less likely to access universal health coverage in Australia (Medicare) and were more likely to live with socioeconomic disadvantage (r= 0.24). Birthplaces of migrants were associated with longer processing time for cardiac care in ED, including time to meet an ED doctor and total ED stay time (Figure 1). Migrant populations were less likely to receive cardiac care at triage within the recommended timeframe of 10 minutes (r= -0.35), whereas the Australian-born group were more likely to reach ED treatment within 10 minutes (r= -0.52). Interestingly, migrants who were born in English speaking countries had the strongest relationship with an ED stay longer than the recommended time of four hours (r= -0.42). An association between migrant populations and non-concordance with guidelines for management of chest pain was evident (Figure 2). The population born overseas in NES countries, resident in Australia ≥ 5 years had the strongest correlation with non-concordance (r= 0.50); whereas the Australian-born population were the most likely to meet the concordance guideline. The evidence suggested that permanent migrants entering Australia between 2000-2006 under family and skill stream visas have a higher likelihood of non-concordance with guidelines for chest pain management (r= 0.50) compared to those of this group who arrived in Australia after 2006. Conclusions Health inequities in cardiac care in ED and concordance with cardiovascular guidelines have been found to be associated with migrant status at varying degrees, related to their birthplace and duration of residency. Universal health coverage and sociocultural factors are related to those health inequities. Addressing these determinants of health, normalizing cultural competence and increase health service accessibility are recommended to promote and sustain health equities and wellbeing in these disadvantaged populations.Birthplace and ED provisionBirthplace and non-concordance

Sizeism Among Fat and Big Men: A Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to capture the lived experiences of sizeism, or size discrimination, for fat and big men. The intention of this study was to identify the essence of fat and big men’s experience of sizeism to more adequately understand how sizeism may impact the lives of these men to assist with the creation of more culturally competent psychological services and interventions for this population. A total of 10 participants were included in this study. Participants self-identified as fat or big, cisgender, and varied in race/ethnic identity and age (from 25 to 44 years). Data analysis of their experiences revealed five emergent themes: (a) accessing masculinity, (b) navigating thin privilege, (c) psychological consequences of living in fat male bodies, (d) sexual capital, (e) and fat/big as identity.

Increasing customer service competencies of airports: virtual integration competence, warmth and intimacy of artificial intelligence services

Increasing customer service competencies of airports: virtual integration competence, warmth and intimacy of artificial intelligence services

‘Where is the diversity in this facility?’ Experiences of emergency care among visible minority individuals in Kingston, Ontario

ABSTRACT Introduction Visible minorities, a growing segment of Canada's population, have voiced concerns about experiencing racism while receiving care in the emergency department (ED). Understanding the ED care experiences of visible minorities is crucial to improving care and reducing health disparities. Methods From June to August 2021, we collected data from participants in Kingston, Ontario using a sensemaking approach. Individuals who had accessed emergency care or accompanied someone else to the ED in the prior 24 months were eligible to participate. After sharing a brief narrative about their care experience, participants interpreted the experience by plotting their perspectives on a variety of pre-determined questions. Here, we conducted a thematic analysis of narratives involving patients who identified as visible minorities and complemented it with quantitative analysis of the participants’ interpretative responses. This mixed-methods approach highlighted the distinct experiences of visible minority participants in relation to a comparison group. Results Of the 1973 unique participants, 117 identified as a visible minority and 949 participants did not identify with an equity-deserving group (comparison group). Visible minority participants were more likely to report that too little attention was paid to their identity and more likely to express a desire for a balance between receiving the best medical care and being treated with kindness and respect. Visible minorities’ ED experiences were also more likely to be impacted by how emergency staff behaved. Qualitative analysis revealed negative experiences of feeling uninformed and disempowered, facing judgement and discrimination, and experiencing language barriers. Positive experiences of receiving compassionate care from staff also emerged. Conclusion Visible minority perceptions of ED care were often negative and mainly focused on staff treatment. Cultural competency and language translation services are key areas for improvement to make ED care more accessible and equitable.

Intersecting structural and psychosocial conditions: investigating injection drug use and HIV among transgender women.

Transgender women continue to face a significant burden of health disparities with HIV infection as a critical public health concern. Substance use is higher among transgender women compared to cisgender women. However, little is known about transgender women who inject drugs and risk for HIV in the United States. The objectives were to explore HIV prevalence, injection-related behaviors, and HIV prevention and care outcomes among transgender women who inject drugs and to compare transgender women to a general sample of people who inject drugs (PWID). Participants from National HIV Behavioral Surveillance were recruited via respondent-driven sampling, interviewed, and tested for HIV infection in 2019-2020. Log-linked Poisson regression models were used to test for associations between injection drug use and selected characteristics. Among 1,561 transgender women, 7% injected drugs in the past 12 months. HIV prevalence was higher among transgender women who inject (aPR=1.5, 95%CI=1.2-1.8) than those who do not. Multiple psychosocial conditions were associated with injection drug use. Among transgender women with HIV, those who inject were less likely to take antiretroviral therapy (aPR=0.8, 95%CI=0.7-1.0) than those who do not. Methamphetamine was the most commonly injected drug (67%); most accessed a syringe services program (66%). Transgender women who inject have substantial challenges related to health outcomes including high HIV prevalence and exposure to psychosocial conditions, such as homelessness, incarceration, and exchange sex, that may exacerbate risks associated with injection drug use. This population may benefit from increased access to non-judgmental and culturally competent harm reduction services.

Analysis of the Current Situation of Service Capacity of Medical Social Workers in Shanxi Province and the Conception of Cultivation Pathway

Objective: This study aims to analyze the current status of service competence of medical social workers in Shanxi Province and to conceptualize the cultivation path. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted among 88 staff members and 120 residents of eight community health service centers in Shanxi Province to understand the population’s knowledge of the connotation of medical social workers and their needs. Results: Currently, the staff and residents of the community health service centers in Shanxi Province have a low level of knowledge and a high demand for medical social workers. It is recommended to expand the scope of practice of medical school students and design a series of training programs for medical social workers to better meet the needs of community healthcare and promote the implementation of the Healthy China Strategy.

Abstract C007: Building capacity in health clinics and community organizations serving LGBTQ+ communities on tobacco prevention

Abstract Background. Tobacco use remains a significant public health issue, particularly among the LGBTQ+ community. Los Angeles County, which is home to the second-largest LGBTQ+ population in the US, has notably higher prevalence of tobacco use compared to the general population, partly due to targeted marketing by the tobacco industry, social stressors, and discrimination. These factors contribute to higher rates of smoking and tobacco-related health disparities; however, little is known about the capacity of community-based organizations, clinical providers, support staff, and other personnel that work closely with the LGBTQ+ community to provide smoking cessation services. Methods. Cedars Sinai Cancer Center Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) assisted in the facilitation of conducting a needs assessment, Clinical Provider and Staff Survey, to assess the opinions of clinical providers and community leaders about tobacco cessation-related topics related to 1) Building culturally competent tobacco cessation services; 2) Reducing health disparities in tobacco cessation services; 3) Improving access to care (Medicaid/Medi-Cal access and uptake) for diverse populations that are affected by tobacco-related disparities; 4) Improving the utilization of tobacco cessation services. The survey was administered online from December 2022 to April 2023 with providers throughout Los Angeles County. Results. A total of 261 surveys were collected which revealed several key issues at the organization level: they do not prioritize tobacco screening, treatment, or referrals; there is no standardized process for client management; staff have limited knowledge on tobacco prevention and patient navigation; and there is limited staff capacity and funding. To address organizational-focused barriers, COE trained 147 clinical providers and staff from 4 local health clinics and organizations and on capacity building, including the basics of tobacco, evidence-based interventions like "Ask, Advice, Refer," and lung cancer screening. Additionally, to address Client/Patient-Focused Barriers for Organizations, such as: lack of motivation to quit, low perception of the severity of smoking, and a lack of culturally competent or targeted cessation resources, COE staff assisted in navigating resources, ensuring both providers and clients were aware of and could access relevant support services. This involved sharing LGBTQ+ affirming resources, including medical care, behavioral health, and housing, and referred smokers to gender-affirming cessation support groups. Conclusion. The survey highlighted the need to enhance service delivery and support for the LGBTQ+ community. With these findings, our COE staff were able to increase organizational capacity through training and education for clinical providers and staff to enhance their knowledge and skills in tobacco cessation and share gender-affirming resources and navigation, which are crucial towards improving the overall effectiveness of tobacco cessation services for LGBTQ+ populations. Citation Format: Victor Cristanto, Alexandra Caro, Reener Balingit, Zul Surani. Building capacity in health clinics and community organizations serving LGBTQ+ communities on tobacco prevention [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 17th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2024 Sep 21-24; Los Angeles, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2024;33(9 Suppl):Abstract nr C007.

A competency model for basic public health professionals in public health emergencies.

To develop and validate a comprehensive competency model for basic public health professionals to enhance their response to public health emergencies. Staff working in basic public health institutions such as the Centre for Disease Control, community health services and township health centres were selected as the study population. Through an integrative literature review, structured questionnaire survey (n = 1310), exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, we developed and validated a competency model. Exploratory factor analysis was utilized to extract common factors, and confirmatory factor analysis was employed to establish the model and ensure its robustness. Identified competencies by exploratory factor analysis encompass professional and technical skills, medical professionalism, specialized medical knowledge, cognitive and managerial aptitude, public health service competence, emergency response proficiency and physical and mental quality. The model displayed high validity, with a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin score of 0.933, the χ2 value of Bartlett's test of sphericity was 4169.238 at 889 degrees of freedom (df) (p < 0.001) and the cumulative contribution rate was 60.7%. The confirmatory analysis yielded a final model fit (χ2/df = 2.461) with satisfactory adjusted fit indicators. This validated competency model provides a robust framework for selecting, training and evaluating basic public health professionals, potentially enhancing overall emergency response capabilities.

The Role of Competence and Commitment in Building Sustainable Organizational Performance of Public Sector: A Systematic Literture Review

This research highlights the evolution of employee competence, organizational commitment, and sustainable performance in public sector or public service organizations by analyzing key trends and key concepts. We also analyzed and mapped the knowledge structure of research themes. Furthermore, this paper aims to outline a specific research agenda for the research subject. This research employs a systematic, integrated literature review approach, conducting a systematic review of existing literature on employee competency, organizational commitment, and sustainable performance in public sector organizations or public services. The PRISMA statement guidelines were followed. We obtained a total of 91 inclusion documents from Semantic Scholar. Our results show that there is a relationship between employee competence, organizational commitment, and the sustainable performance of public sector organizations or public services. Understanding the role of employee competence and organizational commitment in improving the sustainable performance of public sector or public service organizations requires the use of robust research models and a thorough conceptualization of how these relationships can emerge. We propose a research model for the future research agenda that explores how organizational commitment mediates the role of employee competence in improving the sustainable performance of public sector organizations.

Exploring health inequalities in Gypsy and Traveller communities in the UK.

Health inequalities between groups of people are often unjust and avoidable and are influenced by social determinants of health, the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. Gypsy and Traveller communities experience significant health inequalities, including barriers to accessing healthcare services and suboptimal health outcomes compared with the general population. This article provides an overview of health inequalities in relation to Gypsy and Traveller communities and examines three social determinants of health - discrimination and racism, accommodation and access to healthcare - that influence these inequalities. The authors propose that accurate data collection as well as delivery of culturally competent health services and care may facilitate access to healthcare for Gypsy and Traveller communities and potentially reduce health inequalities.

Can they or won't they?

Almost all experts agree that the German healthcare system has reached its limits and needs to be comprehensively overhauled. Although insured persons and taxpayers spend a great deal of money on healthcare, they do not always receive top-quality services in return. This is despite the fact that highly competent service providers are active in the healthcare system and efficient facilities and structures are available in many areas. On the other hand, there are brakes on performance that create dysfunctionalities in various areas, sometimes with serious consequences: insufficient ability to compromise between federal and state policy, dysfunctional sectoralisation, discrepancies between supply and demand, competition between quality and economy and, on top of all this, the inadequate participation of patients/insured persons - after all, they finance the healthcare system! This article goes beyond the description of the current situation and attempts to analyse why Germany has not succeeded in translating the very good substantive and structural conditions into a modern, efficient and adaptive healthcare system.

Opinions regarding equine veterinarian attire and attributes: results of a horse owner survey.

To investigate potential equine clients' perceptions of equine veterinarians based on attire. 763 horse owners/lessees. Participants were invited to complete a survey shared mainly via equestrian social media pages between August and October 2022.1-3 Survey participants were shown pictures of a male veterinarian and a female veterinarian in 7 outfits ranging from casual to business attire and were asked to score the veterinarian on 7 traits: easygoing attitude, friendliness, compassion, trustworthiness, professionalism, competence, and cost of services. The survey asked which of the traits were most valued in an equine veterinarian, as well as whether various aspects of appearance including tattoos, piercings, and hair dyed a nonorganic color were acceptable for equine veterinarians. Of the 2,655 individuals who opened the survey, 763 responses were included. Respondents were predominantly female (743/763 [97.4%]) from rural areas (493/763 [64.6%]). Only 37.1% (283/763) of respondents agreed that what a veterinarian wears influences their confidence in them. The highest-ranked traits in an equine veterinarian were knowledge/competency (mean ± SD, 1.46 ± 0.98), followed by trustworthiness (2.34 ± 1.08) and compassion (3.50 ± 1.20), with coveralls and scrubs being the preferred attire clients associated with these attributes (with the exception of compassion, for which polo shirt/jeans was the preferred attire). T-shirt/jeans was consistently ranked lowest by respondents in association with these attributes, except in the area of compassion, where polo shirt/black pants was ranked lowest. Our findings suggested the attire and appearance of equine veterinarians can impact client perceptions, with veterinarians wearing scrubs and coveralls associated with higher competency and trustworthiness.

ПОСИЛЕННЯ РОЛІ ПРЕССЛУЖБ У РЕАЛІЗАЦІЇ КОМУНІКАТИВНОЇ ПОЛІТИКИ ОРГАНІВ МІСЦЕВОГО САМОВРЯДУВАННЯ В УКРАЇНІ

The communicative policy of local self-government bodies in Ukraine began to undergo significant transformations during the years of the global COVID-19 pandemic and actively continued to change already in the conditions of a full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war. External challenges led to a transition from one-sided coverage of information in the «government-citizen» format to a two-way process of interaction, which in some territorial communities reached a more or less stable partnership. Among all the factors that had a significant impact on the mentioned changes, it is worth highlighting the active development of strategies for the development of territorial communities in Ukraine and communication strategies, as their components, and the appearance of press services and press secretaries in the structure of local self-government bodies. The latter replaced divisions and individual specialists, for whom the performance of communicative functions was often far from the main area of responsibility. The main task of the press services of local self-government bodies is to create a friendly attitude of the population towards state, socio-political, economic and other institutions of society (informative and representative functions), as well as functions related to processing information and requests from citizens and monitoring functions public sentiments. However, provided that their ability to influence the implementation of the communication policy of local self-government bodies is strengthened, they can become a full-fledged subject of information policy. The activities of press services of local self-government bodies in Ukraine are regulated by a relatively large number of normative legal acts (from the Constitution of Ukraine to the relatively new Law of Ukraine «On Media»), which together form a solid legal basis for their implementation of the communication policy of local self-government bodies. Attention is drawn to the fact that local normative legal acts can expand the competence of press services and, depending on the specifics of the communication policy of one or another community, supplement their functions. And under the condition of forming a communicative strategy in the community in addition to the development strategy, the list of functions of press services can be supplemented with the following: communicative function, organizational function, ideological function, educational function, monitoring function. The performance of such a wide range of functions requires the press services of local self-government bodies to carefully plan their activities, which is a natural task after the adoption of the community's communication strategy. Such planning can be strategic and ongoing. Strengthening the role of the press service in the implementation of the communication policy of local self-government is ensured by the development of the ability to manage crisis communications, which is one of the priority goals of the communication strategies of all territorial communities of Ukraine without exception, regardless of their distance from the front line. Key steps in crisis management are prevention, preparedness and response, and recovery. An equally important factor in strengthening the communication policy of local self-government is the introduction of measurable indicators of the efficiency and effectiveness of communication. These indicators are conditionally divided into quantitative and qualitative. The role of press services is, on the one hand, to assist in the development of these indicators, and on the other hand, to monitor their implementation. It was concluded that the implementation of modern communication policy is impossible without the effective work of press services of local self-government bodies, which very quickly went from a simple communication link between the authorities and citizens to a subject of information policy. Therefore, the ways outlined in the study to strengthen their ability to implement communication policy have important theoretical and practical significance both for individual local self-government bodies and for the entire system of public administration of Ukraine.

The Westerman Aboriginal Symptom Checklist – Youth Version: national data from a clinical sample of Aboriginal youth

ABSTRACT Objectives To produce national clinical norms for WASC-Y, examine the internal consistency of the WASC-Y scales, compare scores from a clinical sample with previously published community sample data, and test the degree to which other scales predict the Suicide Scale. Method We analysed WASC-Y data from 1226 Aboriginal youth who had presented to mental health services between 2007 and 2022 and compared their scores to the original community norms. Results Our sample shows a higher level of mental health risk than does the normative sample that varied according to gender. We found high levels of suicidal behaviour in the clinical sample: 41.5% admitted to thoughts of suicide and 25.0% reported one or more suicide attempts. One in 23 reported a high likelihood that they would attempt suicide again. Knowing someone who has suicided was associated with higher Suicide Risk. Linear modelling showed that Suicide Risk is predicted by a combination of all other WASC-Y scales and gender, with females at higher risk than males. There is emerging evidence that Cultural Resilience provides some mitigation of Suicide Risk. Conclusions Our data provide the first culturally and psychometrically valid national mental health profile of Aboriginal youth accessing mental health services, including separate clinical norms for males and females. Aboriginal youth present with serious levels of suicide and mental health risk that urgently require improved access to clinically and culturally competent services. Our findings provide evidence of construct validity, in that scale scores showed meaningful associations with each other and with other variables in expected ways.