Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of a 'single session' group, early intervention, multidisciplinary, education programme (entitled the Fun not Fuss with Food group programme) designed to improve children's problem eating and mealtime behaviours. Design A quasi-experimental time-series design incorporating data collection, twice before and twice following the intervention. Setting A health district within the southeast region of Queensland, Australia. Method Data were collected using the Children's Eating and Mealtime Behaviour Inventory - Revised (CEBI-R) and the Family Demographic Questionnaire. Results Parents who attended the Fun not Fuss with Food group programme reported significant improvements in their child's problem eating and mealtime behaviours and reported reductions in parental concerns regarding their child's eating and mealtime behaviours. Conclusion A single session, early intervention, group education programme for families with children with problem eating and mealtime behaviours is appropriate and effective. Therefore, early intervention group education programmes should be considered as a strategy for this client group.
The background to complicated grieving is discussed with particular reference to individuals who were responsible for the death of a loved one. Aspects of management are presented, and a review of criminal statistics demonstrates the likely scale of this type of bereavement reaction on a national basis.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand how patients on a low security personality disorder ward experienced multi-disciplinary team (MDT) meetings, in order to suggest improvements that would benefit the patients and clinical teams. Design/methodology/approach The design was a case study where all patients on a low secure ward that specialised in personality disorders were approached to take part in the research. The study utilised non-participant observations of the MDT meeting ( n =11), followed by individual interviews with the patients ( n =10). Findings The data were subjected to a thematic analysis and this illuminated five themes relating to the patients’ experience of the MDT meetings namely, the importance of leave applications, the formality of the meetings, the opportunity to check on progress, decision-making and the importance of communication. Practical implications The findings suggest that small changes could be made to improve the patients’ experience of the MDT meeting. These included the provision of a less formal setting, ensuring a system where leave can be requested confidentially, greater transparency about the content of progress reports, and clearer communication between the MDT and the patient after the meeting. Originality/value There is limited research that has explored patients’ experiences of MDT meetings within secure forensic settings, and the use of non-participant observations of the MDT meeting followed by semi-structured interviews meant that the researcher and the patient had a shared experience that formed the basis of the later discussion.
Abstract A survey of the drug treatment of all 466 patients in Broadmoor Hospital is presented. Just over one-fifth were not receiving any psychotropic medication on the survey day. Polypharmacy was common, with 56 per cent receiving two or more anti-psychotic drugs, and over four-fifths of patients on anti-psychotics were prescribed regular anticholinergic medication. Treatment with PRN drugs, hypnotics or minor tranquillizers was relatively rare. Comparisons with other published surveys show broadly similar rates of prescribing for mentally ill patients. Average dosages in chlorpromazine equivalents were calculated, and it was shown that patients detained under a civil section of the Mental Health Act 1983 and those being treated in the special care unit were likely to receive higher doses of anti-psychotic drugs