Mindfulness is becoming more popular as emerging research demonstrates its benefits for self-care, by cultivating calmness and decreasing stress or anxiety. This pilot study aimed to measure the impact of a six-week Mindfulness course, modelled on the manualised treatment program developed by Kabat-Zinn, on the mental well-being, stress and resilience of undergraduate social work students in Northern Ireland. This was a mixed methods study involving two groups: (1) intervention group participants who attended a six week Mindfulness course (April-May 2016) and (2) control group participants. Basic socio-demographic data were collected from all participants and all were invited to complete the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being scale, the Perceived Stress Scale and the Resilience Scale during weeks 1 and 6. Statistical tests were used to compare mean scores from the scales, and qualitative data were manually analysed using thematic content analysis. Findings indicated significant changes in the scores for well-being, stress and resilience for the intervention group, but not for the control group. Mindfulness may not appeal to all students so should not be a mandatory component of training, but may be offered as one of the wider approaches to self-care for undergraduate social work degree students.

Trauma informed care (TIC) is a whole system organisational change process which emerged from the seminal Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study, establishing a strong graded relationship between the number of childhood adversities experienced and a range of negative outcomes across multiple domains over the life course. To date, there has been no systematic review of organisation-wide implementation initiatives in the child welfare system. As part of a wider cross-system rapid evidence review of the trauma-informed implementation literature using systematic search, screening and review procedures, twenty-one papers reporting on trauma-informed implementation in the child welfare system at state/regional and organisational/agency levels were identified. This paper presents a narrative synthesis of the various implementation strategies and components used across child welfare initiatives, with associated evidence of effectiveness. Training was the TIC implementation component most frequently evaluated with all studies reporting positive impact on staff knowledge, skills and/or confidence. The development of trauma-informed screening processes, and evidence-based treatments/trauma focused services, where evaluated, all produced positive results. Whilst weaknesses in study design often limited generalisability, there was preliminary evidence for the efficacy of trauma-informed approaches in improving the mental and emotional well-being of children served by community-based child welfare services, as well as their potential for reducing caregiver stress and improving placement stability.

Purpose -This study explores the similarities and differences of legal responses to older adults who may be at risk of harm or abuse in the UK, Ireland, Australia and the United States (US).Design -The authors draw upon a review of elder abuse and adult protection undertaken on behalf of the Commissioner for Older People in Northern Ireland. This paper focuses on the desk top mapping of the different legal approaches and draws upon wider literature to frame the discussion of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the different legal responses.Findings-Arguments exist both for and against each legal approach. Differences in defining the scope and powers of Adult Protection Legislation in the UK and internationally are highlighted.Limitations-This review was undertaken in late 2013; whilst the authors have updated the mapping to take account of subsequent changes, some statutory guidance is not yet available. Whilst the expertise of a group of experienced professionals in the field of adult safeguarding was utilised, it was not feasible to employ a formal survey or consensus model.Practical implications-Some countries have already introduced APL and others are considering doing so. The potential advantages and challenges of introducing APL are highlighted.Social implications -The introduction of legislation may give professionals increased powers to prevent and reduce abuse of adults, but this would also change the dynamic of relationships within families and between families and professionals.Originality-This paper provides an accessible discussion of APL across the UK and internationally which to date has been lacking from the literature.

This article presents the findings from a qualitative, participatory research project which explored how people with intellectual disabilities and/or mental health problems have, or have not been, supported to make their own decisions. The aim of the research is to help inform how supported decision‐making, as required by Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, can be effectively operationalised. The project provides an overview of experiences of support as well as identifying which supports are valued. It was conducted between July 2017 and July 2018 and was a partnership between disabled people, service providers and a University. It involved peer researchers interviewing 41 people with mental health problems and/or intellectual disabilities, in community settings, about their experiences and views of support. The key findings include that decision‐making is a central aspect of people's lives. Participants discussed the positive role which decision‐making can have but also how it felt when they were not supported to make their own decisions. Participants said that there were three main things that make decision‐making harder: the type of decision; the role of other people; and what the outcome might be. Time was consistently identified as a very important factor. In terms of support, people said that they would like: practical support including more accessible information; emotional support including someone to talk to; and sometimes the options to choose from. There was very little mention of existing, more formal processes of support such as advance decisions or care planning. The peer researcher aspect of the project was valued by participants. The main implications of the research are for how support for decision‐making should be provided including the need for an individualised approach as the support needed varies across decisions, time and people.

We examined the ability of four American screening tests to identify preschool-age Canadian children with language delays. At 54 months, 110 children from five Ontario infant and child development programs completed the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, Battelle Developmental Inventory Screening Test, Brigance Preschool Screen, and Early Screening Profiles. Their results on the language measures were then compared with their performance on the Preschool Language Scales, 4th ed., and the Bracken Basic Concepts Scale-Revised at 5 years. None of the screening tests had adequate sensitivity (SN) and specificity (SP) when identifying receptive language delays; only one screen had adequate SN and SP for expressive language delays. Adjusting cutoffs based on ROC curve analyses improved the ability of some screens to identify language delays, but combining tests did not improve discriminability. Our results indicate that language screening measures are not interchangeable. We recommend the provision of detailed SN and SP information for each scale of screening tests so that early interventionists can evaluate the adequacy of each component of a screening test. When norming tests, appropriate analyses should be conducted to determine whether American norms are appropriate for use with Canadian children, given the differences in the demographics and educational systems of the two countries. We thank the families and children who participated in this research and the consultants who conducted the screening and 5-year testing. We grate-M OST infant and child development programs (ICDPs) do not have the resources to complete preschool assessments on all children. Instead, ICDP consultants rely heavily on screening tests to determine whether children are exhibiting developmental delays, to ascertain the nature of those delays, and to establish the focus of early fully acknowledge Rebecca Bakos and Andrea Robb for their double-scoring of the test protocols, Eunice Lee for data entry, Dr Eric Youngstrom for information regarding ROC curve analysis, Rhonda Amsel for statistical consultation, Craig Steverango for statistical analysis, and Drs Lorna Jakobson and Brenda Miles for their review of this manuscript prior to submission.