The difficulties assessing spiritual distress in palliative care patients: a qualitative study

This paper reports on a focus group study aimed at exploring the difficulties that palliative care healthcare professionals encounter while assessing the spiritual distress of their patients. Three focus groups were conducted in a hospice (n = 15). Participants were all healthcare professionals working in the hospice in-patient unit. Interviews were taped and later transcribed. The data was analysed through content analysis. Emergent themes included: lack of vocabulary around spiritual issues, personal issues surrounding death and dying, training issues, fear of being unable to resolve spiritual problems, time constraints and difficulty separating spiritual and religious needs. Participants provided a number of recommendations for improving care. This pilot study has generated useful data in relation to how spiritual care of patients might be improved. Despite the abundance of academic publications and policies on spirituality, this area is not integrated well into palliative care.     

Religious support and psychosocial well-being among a religious Jewish population

The three subscales of the Religious Support Scale assess perceived support from a person’s religious community, religious leaders, and God. This three-factor structure was replicated in the current study with a sample of 277 religious Jewish persons residing in Israel. Hierarchical canonical analysis showed that, even after controlling for general social support, Religious Leader and God Support were related to lower emotional distress, Religious Leader and Religious Community Support contributed to a higher level of life satisfaction, and Religious Community and God Support contributed to the prediction of perceived health. Findings are discussed in terms of religious support’s generalizability as a psychosocial resource for persons of various faiths.     

Effects of Mediated Learning Experience,Tutor Support and Peer Collaborative Learning on Academic Achievement and Intellectual Functioning among College Students

If the practice of psychology is to be relevant to environmental realities and context sensitive then conscious consideration must be given to the psychology training programme. Training programmes should give due recognition to the historical, political, social, economic and cultural contexts of human behaviours so as to understand how these interacting contexts may contribute to placing people at risk for ill-health. The main aim of this article is to present an analysis of African environmental realities to which training programmes in psychology must respond. In view of the under-utilization of psychological services within healthcare systems in many parts of Africa, this article also provides some suggestions for the development of appropriate training and practice modalities that may be geared towards effective healthcare service delivery in Africa.     

Exploring the bullying behaviours experienced by South African domestic workers

This article phenomenologically explores the nature of bullying behaviours as experienced by domestic workers in South Africa. Participants were a convenience sample of 10 black female domestic workers (age range = 27 to 53 years, work experience = 3 to 26 years). The domestic workers responded to an unstructured interview on their experience of work place bullying. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings suggest that bullying is prevalent in domestic work and is perpetrated by both sexes and all races. Bullying behaviours were categorised into verbal bullying (belittlement, deception and false accusations) and non-verbal bullying (intimidation and excessive control, disregard for basic needs and wellbeing, disregard for employment legislation). Bullying behaviours towards domestic workers are explained by the historical socioeconomic disempowerment of domestic workers and a socio-legal system inaccessible to those with disadvantages.     

La satisfaction au travail des adultes handicapés mentaux : Adaptation du Questionnaire de Satisfaction du Minnesota

The purpose of the study was to present an adaptation of the Minnesota Satisfaction questionnaire (MSQ) for workers with mental disorders. Based on a sample of 181 respondents, the alpha coefficients indicated high reliability for all scores. The average scores of satisfaction are high for these workers. The original and theoretical two-factor model demonstrated inadequate model fit. A four-factor 17-item model provided an acceptable fit to the data. The results are discussed in the light of previous studies; suggestions for professional use and for future research are proposed.     

Employee age and health

One particularly persistent and prevalent negative age stereotype is that older workers experience more health problems. This study examines whether this negative age stereotype is evidence-based or not. In a meta-analysis of previous studies on the relationship between age and health, we found that older employees suffered no declines in either mental health or self-reported physical health problems, but did experience modest declines on clinical indices of physical health (e.g., blood pressure, cholesterol level, and body mass index). The article concludes with directions for future research on the role of health in the age–performance relationship and its implications for management practice.     

Public Option Versus the Market: Perceived Value Violations Drive Opposition to Healthcare Reform

The debate over healthcare reform in the United States has been divisive. Research demonstrates that beliefs that policy beneficiaries violate values strongly predict opposition to these policies. Similar dynamics may be happening regarding opposition to healthcare reform. Specifically, this study tested the hypothesis that opposition to a public option in healthcare reform results from stereotypes that public‐option beneficiaries violate values. In two studies utilizing three samples, beliefs about beneficiaries violating values of hard work consistently predicted opposition to a public option and an alternative market‐based healthcare reform plan, often proposed by public‐option opponents. Results also suggest that assertions that a public option would lead to bigger government increases opposition to a public option by indirectly masking underlying stereotypes about value violations.     

Should inter-collegiate football be eliminated? Assessing the arguments philosophically

Recently, there have been discussions about whether or not inter-collegiate football should be eliminated in the US. This article philosophically assesses the arguments for its elimination as well as the arguments proffered against its elimination. While a variety of arguments are discussed, a new one is brought into the foray of philosophical investigation, one that combines the unfairness and economic arguments: the health care and medical costs to others argument. It is believed that this argument is sufficient to justify the elimination of inter-collegiate football.     

Interrogations éthiques relatives au don d’ovocytes dans le contexte français

Having described the context of oocyte donation in France, we analyze the ethical questions raised by these practices in light of the four major principles of Anglo-Saxon origin, non-maleficence, beneficence, autonomy and justice, considering the interest of the donor, the recipient and the child to be born.     

Travailler en petite enfance,une profession stressante ? Différences et similitudes selon le milieu de travail et l’expérience

Early child care workers’ stress was assessed with Boyle, Borg, Falzon and Baglioni’s (1995) Stress Inventory. A total of 1535 Canadian workers took part in the survey, providing data on five factors: workload, children’s characteristics, professional recognition, lack of resources, and relationships with adults. Compared to those who worked in a family setting, center-based subjects reported higher stress, mainly on the children’s characteristics and professional recognition factors. As for the experience variable, subjects between 5 and 20 years of experience were the ones experiencing the higher stress. Future directions leading to a deeper knowledge and understanding of early child care workers’ experience of stress are discussed.