Suchergebnisse

Women constitute a growing segment of the incarcerated population across the world, presenting unique issues for social workers in correctional settings. In this article, based on a study conducted in Mandoli Jail, New Delhi, India, we address the need to broaden the scope and quality of social work provided for women inmates, specifically highlighting the potential role of social workers in promoting their mental health. Our study revealed that the mean age of women inmates was 39.43 years, indicating that most of the women were in their reproductive age and therefore prone to specific health issues. On an average, they were overweight, with only 42.22% women inmates being active, while remaining were inactive (15.56%), moderately inactive (22.22%) or moderately active (20.00%). Of greater concern were the mental health findings: 87.8% experienced distress (45.57% moderately elevated, 54.43% strongly elevated), 73.3% depression (34.85% moderately elevated, 65.15% strongly elevated), 77.78% anxiety (41.43% moderately elevated, 58.57% strongly elevated) and 82.22% somatisation (43.24% moderately elevated, 56.76% strongly elevated). Our study, consequently, identified the mental health of women inmates as a strategic priority for social workers. In this article, we explore the mutuality of various social work practice principles at different levels of intervention and the roles that social workers, as human rights-based professionals, may engage in to improve the mental health of incarcerated women.

PURPOSE: The importance of patient-oriented research (POR) has been recognized by the scientific community and governmental agencies, and its development is exponential across most health-related disciplines. The current Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) definition of POR is overly broad and hinders the reliable selection of POR-related publications from bibliographic databases. The present study was aimed to adapt CIHR's definition of POR into an operational definition that can be used by stakeholders for selecting POR publications. METHODS: Eighteen POR experts in Québec, Canada, were invited to participate in a modified e-Delphi study. Two rounds of Delphi surveys were undertaken to reach consensus. Round-1 sought consensus on clarity and indispensability of POR characteristics. Round-2 included modifications planned in POR characteristics and obtained final consensus leading to an adapted POR definition. Finally, POR experts across Canada were consulted to assess generalizability of this adapted POR definition. RESULTS: The item that achieved 75% of consensus was removal of the POR characteristic "POR can be conducted in partnership with relevant stakeholders," because it was considered redundant and confusing. Additionally, participants suggested defining unclear concepts such as "continuum," "direct impact," and "patient." Finally, based on results of Round-1 and Round-2 and the consultation with POR experts across Canada, an operational POR definition was developed. CONCLUSIONS: This study was a novel attempt to adapt an operational POR definition to help patients and POR stakeholders have a common understanding of what POR is, focus on important outcomes that matter to patients, and improve care quality.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the difficulties faced by the pregnant women in seeking appropriate antenatal care due to the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic; assess the difficulties encountered during delivery and postpartum period; the suitability of the teleconsultation services offered; effect of COVID-19 infection on pregnancy outcomes and the effect of restrictions on the nutrition profile of the pregnant women. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: We included 1374 pregnant women from the rural areas of three districts of Punjab, India registered at government health centres before the implementation of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic on 24 March 2020. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the difficulties faced by the women during their pregnancies due to restrictions imposed during the lockdown. The secondary outcomes included the effect of COVID-19 infections on pregnancy outcomes, satisfaction from the telemedicine services and restrictions on the nutrition profile of the pregnant women. RESULTS: One-third of the women (38.4%) considered their last pregnancy unplanned. Women faced difficulties due to the restrictions in getting adequate nutrition (76.5%), accessing transportation facilities (35.4%), consultations from doctors (22.4%) or getting an ultrasonography scan (48.7%). One-fifth (21.9%) of women could not access safe abortion services. Only 3.6% of respondents ever took any teleconsultation services offered by the government. Most of them felt unsatisfied compared with routine visits (77.5%). COVID-19-infected women were primarily asymptomatic (76.1%), but there was a high incidence of preterm birth (42.8%). Frontline workers could visit 64.3% of the women in the postpartum period despite restrictions. CONCLUSIONS: Lockdown compromised the antenatal care in our study area while the frontline workers attempted to minimise the inconvenience. Telemedicine services did not prove to be of many benefits to pregnant women and should ...