Effects Of Support Strategies Research Articles

The efficiency assessment of group work at the university

Group work at a university can lead to a noticeable growth of students' progress in studies, the ability to reason and motivate for further language mastering. The achievement of such results is directly dependent on each student contribution. Group support strategies such as role assignments, group contracts, anonymous grades and ratings are designed to encourage active student participation. The study objective is to reveal the students' perception of group work in general and the effectiveness of support strategies in particular. In-depth interviews were carried out in groups using support strategies. Students complained unequal contributions paying tribute to the social support provided by group members in both high- and low-performing groups. The students who scored high on the test results recognized the group work benefits regardless the overall performance of their groups, while students with lower scores perceived the group work as time-consuming «hard work»with little cognitive benefit. Anonymous comments from fellow students differed slightly between the high and low scoring groups. The numerical scores did indeed correlate with the group's overall performance. However, students in groups with the lower academic performance evaluated their classmates more rigorously, while students in higher performing groups were more generous in their ratings for less successful students. Scientific novelty lies in the approach to research group work at the university from the view point of students involving foreign experience and based on ideas, methods and technologies of Russian and foreign scientists. As a study result, it was determined that students of different levels of the subject training perceive group work as a valuable experience that has a positive effect on the learning process. The selected support strategies have shown the effectiveness varying degrees.

Radiographer Perspectives on current occurrence and management of claustrophobia in MRI

IntroductionMagnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is well known to be a source of anxiety for patients, commonly appearing as claustrophobia. One of the main reasons for this is due to the physical nature of the scanner itself. Despite technological improvements, there is lacking evidence on whether these improvements have resulted in a reduction in claustrophobia and anxiety in the clinical setting. Background anxiety associated with the current COVID-19 pandemic may also have shown an increase in prevalence. Therefore, the aim of this study was to survey MRI radiographers on their perspectives on the occurrence and management of claustrophobia in modern day clinical practice. MethodsFollowing ethical approval, an online survey was used to gather the opinions of MRI radiographers. This used closed ranking questions as well as open responses to gain insight into how this issue may be presenting in practice, preferences in management, and barriers to providing support. ResultsResponses provide an up-to-date view on how radiographers perceive both displays of anxiety and associated impacts on patient outcome, the considered sources of anxiety, the use and effectiveness of support strategies, barriers to providing this support, and views on how COVID-19 has impacted on practice. ConclusionThe study provides a current view from radiographers on their experience of claustrophobia in practice. It shows that this remains a regular part of practice within the modality. Therefore, for MRI radiographers managing this is an essential component of their role. Communication and interaction with the patient are recognised as important, although time is a barrier to always being able to provide patient centred care. Implications for practiceOngoing support is needed for both patients and radiographers to improve experience within MRI.

How to improve the quality of life of elderly people with intellectual disability: A systematic literature review of support strategies.

The increased life expectancy of people with intellectual disability intensifies the need for age-specific support. Research on effects of support strategies on quality of life (QoL) of these people remains scattered. A systematic search of peer-reviewed publications since 1995 was performed, with participants having intellectual disability and being aged ≥50years. Studies include experimental, observational and exploratory designs, analysing links between support strategies and QoL outcomes. The present authors adopted a narrative approach. The present authors found 73 articles, assessed their quality, thematically categorized interventions into 12 themes, and listed them with their stated relationships to QoL. The studies indicated the importance of funding, provision and organization of services/personnel, education, and cooperation among different support systems. The provision of good housing or activities, support when these provisions change, provision of (mental) health care, dementia care and end-of-life care, life story work, future planning and support for (I)ADLs are crucial.

The effectiveness of strategies and interventions that aim to assist the transition from student to newly qualified nurse.

Background: The transition period from student to newly qualified nurse where nurses are adjusting to their new role and consolidating their knowledge and skills can be stressful. It is a time when many newly qualified nurses are left feeling inadequately prepared. A variety of strategies to ease the transition process have been reported, which aim to increase confidence, competence, sense of belonging of new graduates, improve recruitment and retention and reduce turnover costs. To synthesise the best available evidence on the effectiveness of support strategies and interventions aimed for newly qualified nurses. A comprehensive search was undertaken on major electronic databases to identify both published and unpublished studies from 2000 to the present date. Reference lists of retrieved papers were searched and authors contacted. Only quantitative studies published in English language were considered.Methodological quality and data extraction: Two reviewers independently assessed methodological quality and extracted data from the included studies. A third reviewer resolved any disagreements through discussion. The review did not identify comparable Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs), and as such meta-analysis of the data was not appropriate. The data extracted from the included studies were synthesized into a narrative summary. Thirty three studies were included in the review: RCT (1), Quasi-experimental (3) and observational/descriptive studies (29). Countries of origin were: USA (25), Australia (4), England (2), New Zealand (1) and Thailand (1). Studies were categorised according to the type of programme or support strategy provided: nurse internship/residency programmes (14) and graduate nurse orientation programmes (7), preceptorship (4), simulation (3) and mentoring (2), final year nursing students transition programs (2) and externship (1).Outcomes were categorised as being important to the employer (recruitment, retention, turnover rates, competence, confidence and costs), or to the new graduate (stress and anxiety reduction, job satisfaction, knowledge/skills acquisition, critical thinking and interpersonal skills, confidence and professional nursing behaviours). The range of outcomes reported across the studies made it difficult to report firm conclusions. A general increase in level of confidence was noted, along with reduction in stress and anxiety. Some success in relation to increases in knowledge, critical thinking and levels of job satisfaction were reported. A number of studies reported a V shaped pattern (initial high levels, dipping at 6 months and then reverting to baseline levels) for autonomy, job satisfaction, and professional transition. Research relating to improvements in retention and reduction in turnover was generally poor. The overall impact of intervention programmes appears positive, irrespective of the intervention. This may suggest that it is the organisation's focus on new graduate nurses with support from colleagues that is important. .Mentors/preceptors need to be adequately prepared for the role. Future research should build on the strengths and limitations of the current studies. A lack of experimental studies means there is commonly little control over other variables that might influence the outcome. There is a need for larger studies using more objective and reliable measures.