Informal Resources Research Articles

An evaluation of a mental health literacy program for community sport leaders

Community sports coaches and leaders can have an important role to play as informal resources for sporting adolescents and adults at risk of mental ill-health. Supporting coach mental health literacy using programs has potential to enhance opportunities for coach-player support. This study aimed to evaluate a community sport mental health literacy program and its capacity to improve club leader confidence to support and refer (primary outcome), awareness of resources, beliefs about mental health and stigmatizing attitudes (social distance). A cluster-randomized controlled evaluation was conducted with measures taken at baseline (around 2 weeks prior to intervention), immediately post-program and at a nine-month follow up. Twenty-five community Australian Rules Football clubs from metropolitan and regional centres were sampled and matched by size and location. Coaches or sport leaders (n = 265) were randomized by club to either the intervention group or a waitlist control group. A multivariate analysis of variance (pre-test scores as covariates) revealed participants in the ‘Tackle Your Feelings’ (TYF) program reported improved outcomes compared to controls on measures tied to leader confidence to support and refer, knowledge of resources to support mental health, general help-seeking and stigmatizing attitudes tied to social distance. A fifth measure of beliefs about mental illness was not impacted by the program. A nine-month comparison group follow-up indicated some decay in scores over time. The results suggest that TYF programs can be effective at improving coach mental health literacy in community sporting club contexts.

What factors are associated with posttraumatic growth among mothers of children with developmental disabilities in South Korea?

BackgroundThe identification of PTG and its correlates in the aftermath of a traumatic event would assist professionals in recognizing and amplifying individual’s potential strengths. However, there are few studies on PTG and its correlates in mothers who have birthed or raised children with developmental disabilities in South Korea. AimThis study examined the predictive role of caregiving strain and social support on the subdimensions of PTG among South Korean mothers of children with developmental disabilities. Methods and proceduresThe participants were 344 mothers of children with intellectual disabilities or autism. PTG was divided into four sub-dimensions (change in self-perception, increase in interpersonal depth, finding new possibilities, and increase in spiritual interest), and the predictive roles of caregiving strain and social support on each sub-dimension were identified using hierarchical multiple regression. Outcomes and resultsSubjective caregiving strain; family support services; and support from family, friends, or significant others were significantly related to the subdimensions of PTG. Interestingly, support from significant others was positively associated with PTG. Conclusions and implicationsSocial support was more likely to influence all subdimensions of PTG, except for changes in self-perception while only subject caregiving strain was associated with PTG. Thus, policymakers and practitioners should prioritize expanding family support services and strengthening various informal supportive resources for mothers with higher PTG.

Work-Family Conflict and Employee Wellbeing: Examining the Buffering Effects of Workplace Provided Family-Friendly Resources

This study examines the moderating effect of two family-friendly resources available in the workplace such as family friendly practices (FFP) and family supportive supervisor (FSS) on the relationship between work-family conflict and employee wellbeing. The data was collected from 297 frontline sales employees working for four major insurance companies in Pakistan. Each employee received a hard copy of the questionnaire with a cover letter outlining the goals and voluntary nature of the study. Hierarchical regression analysis was performed to analyze the collected data and test the proposed hypotheses. Findings suggest that FFP and FSS were linked to lower levels of depression and anxiety, and higher levels of job satisfaction and organization commitment. FFP buffer the impact of WIF and FIW on depression. FSS buffer the impact of WIF and FIW on depression, anxiety, job satisfaction, and organization commitment. It is important to focus on both formal (i.e. FFP) and informal (i.e. FSS) family-friendly resources when designing an intervention program for enhancing employee wellbeing.

RESOURCES AND EXPERIENCES AMONG DIVERSE DEMENTIA CAREGIVERS BY GEOGRAPHIC CONTEXT

Abstract Rural caregivers are often underserved by caregiving services, yet little is known about how the intersectionality of geographic context and race/ethnicity relates to caregiving resources among dementia caregivers. We examined whether 1) caregiving resources and experiences differ across metro and non-metro areas; and 2) the use of caregiving resources is associated with geographic context by race/ethnicity, controlling for age, gender, and education. We analyzed a sample of caregivers of care recipients aged 65 years or older with ‘probable’ dementia (n= 808) in the 2017 National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) and the associated National Study of Caregiving (NSOC). We defined geographic context by the recipient’s residence in metro (urban) or non-metro (rural) counties and grouped formal (respite care, support groups, caregiving training) and informal (family or friend help) resources. Among minority caregivers, 47% of those living in metro and 36% in non-metro areas used a formal service, and 83% and 72%, respectively, used informal resources. Among White caregivers, estimates were 44%, 48%, 76%, and 66%, respectively. Multivariate regression analyses revealed that non-metro White dementia caregivers had 2.04 times higher odds (95% CI=1.10-3.78) of using formal resources than metro White dementia caregivers. This pattern was not observed among minority dementia caregivers. The use of informal resources did not differ across geographic contexts by race/ethnicity. Findings suggest the influence of geographic context on the use of formal caregiving resources varies by race/ethnicity. With higher rates of dementia in non-metro areas, formal caregiving resources among non-metro minority dementia caregivers need more attention.

Leadership, Change and Conflict: An Examination of Informal Human Resources Theory for Policy Capacity

In recent times, academics and practitioners have focused on the optimal processes and capabilities required to increase an organization’s policy capacity, but there is little research on the human resource theory adopted by practitioners to improve public policy and its development. This article presents the results of a 2018 case study of policy capacity involving thirty-one interviews with civil servants in a small provincial government in Canada. An informal theory of policy capacity and human resources centering on leadership, conflict management, change management, and analytical capabilities is articulated using the language of practitioners. For practitioners, the findings of this article provide guidance and context for human resource strategies for policy capacity. The article concludes that there is an opportunity for academics to expand the paradigmatic boundaries of human resources research in public administration for the purposes of improving policy capacity.

Turning to 'Trusted Others': A Narrative Review of Providing Social Support to First Responders.

First responders, such as paramedics and firefighters, encounter duty-related traumatic exposures, which can lead to post-traumatic stress (PTS). Although social support protects against PTS, we know little about how first responders' families, spouses/partners, friends, and care-partners (i.e., 'trusted others') provide social support. This narrative review explores support behaviors, coping strategies, and resources trusted others use to support first responders. A structured literature search yielded 24 articles. We used House's (1981) conceptual framework to inform our analysis. We identified three main themes: providing support, finding support, and support needs. Additionally, we describe trusted others' self-reported preparedness, coping strategies, and barriers to providing social support. We found that trusted others provided different types of support: (a) emotional (fostering a safe space, giving autonomy over recovery, facilitating coping mechanisms, prioritizing first responders' emotional needs); (b) instrumental (prioritizing first responders' practical needs, handling household tasks, supporting recovery); (c) appraisal (active monitoring, verbal reassurance, positive reframing), and (d) informational (seeking informal learning). In their role, trusted others sought formal (organizational) and informal (peer and personal) support and resources, alongside intrapersonal and interpersonal coping strategies. Identified barriers include inadequate communication skills, maladaptive coping, and disempowering beliefs. Thus, we offer practical, treatment, and social support recommendations.

Development of B.R.A.K.E. the Cycle: A Culturally Responsive Bystander Intervention for South Asian Immigrants in the United States

South Asian (SA) immigrants are one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the United States. Due to the stigma associated with domestic violence among SAs, disclosing victimization experiences may be challenging. In circumstances where experiences are disclosed, informal help-seeking through family/friends is utilized more often than formal help-seeking. Therefore, it is essential for friends/family to be empowered to effectively intervene. B.R.A.K.E. the Cycle has been developed as an innovative online intervention for SA community members (informal resources) to provide support to those experiencing abuse. The goal of this intervention is to enhance responsibility and knowledge among bystanders. Utilizing a culturally responsive intervention is an integral step in enriching services provided by practitioners serving immigrants, which we highlight in this practice note.

By Internal Network or by External Network?-Study on the Social Network Mechanism of Reducing the Perception of Old-Age Support Risks of Rural Elders in China.

Nowadays, it is a general trend for China to enter a deep aging society, and the aging situation of the rural population is particularly severe. As informal endogenous resources in rural areas, social networks play an essential role in ensuring elders' later life. Data were drawn from a questionnaire survey of 1126 rural elders in 11 provinces of China. Descriptive statistics and an ordinary least square regression model were conducted to explore the impact of social networks on the perception of old-age support risks of rural elders. There was a significant positive association between the social network size and the reduction in perception of old-age support risks of rural elders. The reduction effect was mainly reflected in the internal network size, whereas it was not evident in the external network size. There was a significant positive association between the heterogeneity of the network and the perceived level of old-age support risks of rural elders. There was a significant positive association between the communication frequency of external network relationships and the perceived level of old-age support risks of rural elders. We found a significant negative association between the ratio of communication frequency between the internal and external network relationships and the perception of old-age support risks of rural elders. Compared with the external network, the internal network had a more evident reduction effect on the social network mechanism of perception of old-age support risks of rural elders.

Preventing Alcohol-Related Harm in East Africa: Stakeholder Perceptions of Readiness across Five Countries.

While alcohol-related harm is a recognized public health priority, the capacity to address and mitigate its harm is lacking, primarily in low-income countries. Recent developments including new tools that can assess readiness for preventing alcohol-related harm, specifically in low-resource settings, can be used to determine strengths and opportunities for supporting, planning, and resource allocation. In this study, we determined the perceptions of readiness and capacity for the prevention of alcohol-related harm across East Africa among stakeholders engaged in such work. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in 2020, distributed by the East Africa Alcohol Policy Alliance to their member alliances and stakeholders across five countries in East Africa (i.e., Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda). The survey included modified measures from the Readiness Assessment for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment (RAP-CM) short form, organizational size and funding, research capacity and priorities, and perceptions related to alcohol prevention and harm both locally and in the region. Analyses were computed based on 142 persons/organizations completing the survey. In terms of general readiness, the overall adjusted aggregate score for East Africa was 39.70% (ranging from 30.5% in Burundi to 47.0% in Kenya). Of the 10 domains assessed (on a 0-10 scale), across all countries, knowledge of alcohol prevention (8.43), institutional links and resources (6.15) and legislation, mandates and policies (5.46) received the highest scores. In contrast, measures pertaining to resources (i.e., material, human, technical, and informal) received the lowest score. Our results demonstrate substantial variability in the readiness to address alcohol-related harm across East Africa. The highest capacity was noted for knowledge towards alcohol prevention, institutional links, and legislative mandates and policies. However, important gaps were noted in terms of attitudes towards alcohol prevention, the will to address the problem, as well as material, human, and informal resources, which need to be urgently addressed to strengthen capacity for addressing and mitigating the significant toll of alcohol-related harm in the region.

Factors associated with formal and informal resource utilization in nursing home patients with and without dementia: cross-sectional analyses from the COSMOS trial

ObjectivesTo investigate the association between clinical, demographic, and organizational factors and formal (health professionals) and informal (relatives) resource utilization in nursing home patients with and without dementia.MethodsBaseline data from the multicomponent cluster randomized control COSMOS trial including 33 Norwegian nursing homes and 723 residents with and without dementia. Nursing home staff (n = 117) participated as proxy raters to approximate formal and informal resource use in daily care.MeasurementsThe primary outcome was the Resource Utilization in Dementia - Formal Care scale to assess formal and informal care time in hours/month regarding basic activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental ADL, and supervision. Secondary outcomes were hours/week spent on formal and informal leisure activities. Behavioral and psychological symptoms in dementia (BPSD) were assessed by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Nursing Home version, physical function by the Physical Self-Maintenance Scale, and psychotropic drug use by the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification system. Organizational factors were ward size and staff ratio.ResultsGeneralized linear mixed-effect models and two-part modelling revealed an association between increased formal care time and poorer physical function, higher agitation and psychotropic drug use and lower cognitive function (all p < .05). Enhanced formal leisure time was related to better ADL function (p < .05) and smaller wards (p < .05). The family related leisure time was associated with agitation, decline in ADL function, smaller wards, and better staffing ratio (all p < .05). Married patients received more informal direct care (p < .05) and leisure time (p < .05) compared to unmarried/widowed.ConclusionFor nursing home staff, higher agitation and psychotropic drug use, and lower cognitive function, is associated with more direct care time, whereas leisure time activities are less prioritized in people with lower physical function. Informal caregivers’ engagement is encouraged by smaller nursing homes and better staff ratio. Therefore, we recommend stakeholders and healthcare professionals to consider these clinical and organizational factors to optimize treatment and leisure time activities in nursing home patients with various needs.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov; NCT02238652.

Triple Helix interactions in a rural context: The case study of a regional business incubator

This study explores the relationships within university-industry-government interactions, with specific reference to the business incubator of Penela, Portugal. It describes the formal, informal and human resource links between the sample of thirteen firms based in the incubator and universities, as well as the relations between Penela Town Council and the incubator. The impact of all these linkages on the development of the biotechnology and agricultural sectors is considered. The results confirm that the dynamics of the relations between the Triple Helix actors led to the emergence of the Penela Incubator. The latter operates as a mechanism of knowledge/technology transfer and stimulates cooperation between the university and industry, which is characterized by mostly informal links. In addition, the research revealed that these interactions had a positive impact on the development of the region, resulting in the creation of companies and the introduction of innovative products.

The potential for using video games to teach geoscience: learning about the geology and geomorphology of Hokkaido (Japan) from playing Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Abstract. In recent years, video games, as a geoscience communication tool, have gained momentum. Popular commercial video games see millions of people around the world immersed in wondrous landscapes, many filled with real geological features including volcanoes, mineral deposits, and dinosaurs. Even though these features can be overlooked by many players as simple video game tropes, if utilized in educational environments or scientific outreach events, video games have the potential to encourage and stimulate teaching of geoscientific concepts, both in the classroom or in their own time. Here, we focus on the geo-educational potential of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the latest game in the popular Pocket-Monster franchise, Pokémon. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is set in a fictional landscape, Hisui, that is directly based on the real-world island of Hokkaido, northern Japan. Both formal (peer-reviewed literature) and informal (online websites) resources are used to explore in-game and real-world geological feature comparisons and assess the game's educational potential. This paper demonstrates that a single commercial video game can be used to explore a variety of geological and geomorphological concepts including volcanology, economic geology, and hazard mitigation, with direct real-world examples to support the geoscientific understanding. Applications for this study could be extremely useful, not only for increasing interest and facilitating the self-learning of geoscience worldwide, but also for teaching in educational environments. From an educational standpoint, Pokémon Legends: Arceus could be used as a powerful tool to help students engage more in their learning by utilizing their natural affinity to the popular game and showcasing the many geological and geomorphological features found across the landscape of Hisui.

Training cancer caregiver navigators: experiences from implementing the eSNAP and caregiver navigator intervention.

Patient navigation is increasingly common in cancer care. While navigation programs often involve informal family caregivers, few navigation interventions specifically target the family caregiver. We developed the eSNAP and Caregiver Navigator Intervention to help cancer family caregivers identify and capitalize on informal and formal social support resources. While the skill set for patient navigators may be adequate for supporting caregivers, other skills and areas of knowledge expertise are needed. In addition, sparse documentation of navigator training best practices creates further challenges for dissemination and implementation. Our goal is to describe the education and training of cancer caregiver navigators within key competencies used to prepare and support navigators to deliver our manualized intervention. Nationally recognized navigation competencies, related to developing a sensitivity to ethical, cultural, and professional issues, knowledge development, skills development, and practice-based learning, were identified and adapted. Performance goals were identified within each competency. Training activities were selected to support competency development. Based on adult learning theories, we emphasize multiple learning strategies, including experiential learning and critical reflection. Two caregiver navigators engaged in initial training between December, 2019 and February, 2020. Initial training was supervised by study leadership, who coordinated with experts and stakeholders. Navigators completed initial training. We describe lessons learned. To ensure that navigators are well-equipped to provide effective services, evidence-based training programs that include navigation and protocol-specific competencies are needed. Given the lack of detailed training programs in the literature, we created a flexible, multimodal learning approach that other teams may adopt.

UK parents' help-seeking for child sleep: A qualitative investigation into parental preferences and reservations about resources.

Child sleep is a common parental concern and there is an array of resources available to parents. However, an exploration of UK parents' help-seeking behaviours around child sleep is lacking. This study sought to identify the resources parents use to seek information and help for child sleep, as well as to explore what factors parents prefer about certain sources and their reservations about using other resources. Parents of 6-36 month old children residing in the United Kingdom (UK) completed an online questionnaire between October 2015 and October 2016 about their use, opinions and experiences regarding resources for child sleep. Quantitative data were descriptively analysed and thematic analysis was conducted on parents' open-ended text responses. Participants were 266 UK parents (97% mothers). Parents' ages ranged from 21 to 45 years (M=33.49 years, SD=4.71) and all resided in the United Kingdom (UK). General Internet searches were the most commonly reported source used by 47% of parents with a range of other informal resources also frequently consulted. Health Visitors (HVs) were the most accessed healthcare professional reportedly consulted by 38% of parents. Seven themes represented parental preferences for their resource use. Most strongly endorsed included a desire for information from other parents, particularly those with practical experience and accessing information that aligned with their parenting values. Parents preferred sources that provided support and reassurance, as well as those that afforded parents the ability to select relevant elements from a range of information. Seven themes represented parents' reservations about resources. Most strongly endorsed were concerns about reliability, being judged and challenges associated with filtering vast amounts of information. Parents reported having reservations towards sources if they had a previous negative experience with the source. Possible implications of the findings and specific suggestions about how existing and future resources could be adapted to better meet parents' needs are highlighted.

Imprinting Interrupted? Examining the Role of Remote Onboarding onNewcomers’ Work Socialization

Socialization of new employees, involving the imprinting of workplace norms and practices, has long been recognized as a driver of organizational performance through mechanisms such as employee-workplace fit. Yet the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a rapid, and potentially long-run, move to remote working practices for organizations that has interrupted the well understood processes of socialization that occur through face-to-face onboarding. Drawing on unique interview data (n= 30) from employees who started a new role during the pandemic, we build an inductive model of the effects of remote onboarding on newcomer socialization experiences. We explore a multi-stage model of how a lack of early physical and social immersion in the workplace triggers processes of individualization and reduced workplace identification for newcomers. Further, we highlight how these processes are driven by the degree of digital mediation, and attenuated by organizational investments in technology, the initial resources provided to the new employee, and the employee’s prior experience of remote work. We find that in contexts of high digital mediation newcomers experience reduced access to both formal and informal resources, such as opportunities to shadow colleagues or to form social connections. The absence of these resources heighten experiences of work intensification and lead to a reduced orientation of the employee to their new workplace. We discuss the implications of these insights for the research on imprinting and socialization, as well as the practice of remote onboarding.

Lessons from a rural ecosystem

Entrepreneurial ecosystem theory can be described as a continuation of traditional cluster theory and regional innovation system theory, the difference being that entrepreneurial ecosystem theory takes the entrepreneur as its focal point. This study explores the extent to which current frameworks can explain the dynamics of a rural ecosystem. We apply a single-case-study research design to a rare, rural and vibrant business ecosystem in western Norway in order to discuss the various elements of entrepreneurial ecosystem theory. Furthermore, we look at the assumption of the bottom-up approach that growth is generated principally by the main entrepreneurial actors. This study makes a clear distinction between formal and informal resources in the ecosystem and shows the key importance of access to informal resources. The study shows how the rural ecosystem is driven from the bottom up and thus offers valuable lessons to practitioners seeking to understand and facilitate the dynamics of rural entrepreneurial business.

Archaeological Science Classroom Activities: A free multi-lingual pedagogical resource in archaeological science

The pedagogical potential of archaeology is widely acknowledged and has led to a multitude of formal and informal resources, either promoting or exploiting this role. Science subjects are an essential part of school curricula. Despite this, archaeological science has not received equal attention, even though it is among the most interdisciplinary fields of archaeology with immense educational potential across both the humanities and sciences. This paper presents an open access guide on ‘Archaeological Science Classroom Activities,’ designed primarily for elementary and junior high school students by the Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center of the Cyprus Institute. The proposed hands-on activities present a range of archaeological scientific approaches adopted in human osteoarchaeology, zooarchaeology, archaeobotany, ceramics, archaeometallurgy and ancient glass analysis. The aim of the current paper is to enhance the guide’s international use and invite comments for further future development.

Gender differences in access to community-based care: a longitudinal analysis of widowhood and living arrangements

Persistent inequalities in access to community-based support limit opportunities for independent living for older people with care needs in Europe. Our study focuses on investigating how gender, widowhood and living arrangement associate with the probability of receiving home and community-based care, while accounting for the shorter-term associations of transitions into widowhood (bereavement) and living alone, as well as the longer–term associations of being widowed and living alone. We use comparative, longitudinal data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (collected between 2004 and 2015 in 15 countries) specifying sex-disaggregated random-effects within-between models, which allow us to examine both cross-sectional and longitudinal associations among widowhood, living arrangements and community-based care use. We find widowhood and living alone are independently associated with care use for both older women and men, while bereavement is associated with higher probability of care use only for women. Socio-economic status was associated with care use for older women, but not for men in our sample. The gender-specific associations we identify have important implications for fairness in European long-term care systems. They can inform improved care targeting towards individuals with limited informal care resources (e.g. bereaved older men) and lower socio-economic status, who are particularly vulnerable to experiencing unmet care needs. Gender differences are attenuated in countries that support formal care provision, suggesting gender equity can be promoted by decoupling access to care from household and family circumstances.

Exploring caregiving stressors and informal resources among Alzheimer's caregivers

BackgroundWe use Pearlin's Stress Process Model to examine the objective stressors and subjective burdens of caregiving among family members who care for people with Alzheimer's disease. We ask how these factors are related, whether and how these factors are related to caregivers’ depressive symptoms, and whether their impact on caregivers’ mental health is reduced by caregivers’ informal resources. MethodsOLS regression analyses were used to examine the processes hypothesized by the stress process model using baseline and screen data from the Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health II (REACH II) study. Analysis was conducted using R. ResultsSocial structural disadvantages have little effect on the stress of caregiving. However, women experience greater subjective burden and greater depressive symptoms. The most important objective stressor is the care recipient's behavior problems, but its effects are mostly explained by subjective burden. Subjective burden tends to deplete caregivers’ informal psychosocial resources, but this does not explain why subjective burden is the most important determinant of depressive symptoms. Informal psychosocial resources do not play an important role in reducing the impact of caregiving stress on depressive symptoms. DiscussionThis study suggests that without a full understanding of the effects of the burden of caregiving, any interventions or preventive actions will be of limited utility. Researchers and policymakers should consider the utility of providing tangible services to offset the negative impact of caregiving.

The next mission: Inequality and service‐to‐civilian career transition outcomes among 50+ military leavers

AbstractWe examine the Service‐to‐Civilian career transition for Military leavers aged 50 and above (50+). The exit age of our sampled group means that it is more likely that they hold senior‐ranked positions across both Officer and Soldier career pathways. Despite both groups having access to similar transition opportunities and resources, we find that their work‐lives are underpinned with economic, social, and structural inequality. This inequality has substantive effects on their employment transition outcomes. Our focus group data suggest that Soldiers have unequal access to formal (e.g., Career Transition Partnership programmes) and informal (e.g., social networks) transition support resources compared to Officers. Employing a structural equation modelling approach to analyse 183 survey responses, we found that Soldiers are more likely to apply for, and subsequently take, civilian work that is below their skills level. In turn, Soldiers are significantly less satisfied with their civilian work than Officers.