Background Elements of the built environment can impact on an occupant's frame of mind, their interaction with other occupants and their physiological state. It is anticipated that counselling spaces will have some influence on clients’ thoughts, feelings and behaviours and potentially affect the therapeutic process. Aim To examine clients’ experiences and perspectives of counselling room design, with the aim of identifying what they considered to be an “ideal” counselling room. Method A descriptive qualitative design was employed to examine 15 clients’ perspectives of counselling spaces. Semi‐structured interviews and a previously unused method of model design, in which participants created and recreated models of counselling rooms, were used to encourage participants to express their views of these spaces. Findings Thematic analysis revealed an interaction between physical–spatial features and clients’ thoughts and feelings. The driving force behind clients’ design preferences was the desire for a sense of physical and emotional comfort, which was achieved by creating a welcoming, relaxed and homely environment that promoted a sense of safety and security. Moreover, an association between clients’ opinions of the counsellor and the space in which they were counselled was revealed. Implications The design and layout of counselling rooms affect clients, particularly women who are feeling vulnerable. While we cannot create a space that fulfils every client's needs, we believe that clients should be included in the decision‐making process to promote their sense of safety and comfort because this impacts on the therapeutic practice.
Objective The purpose of this paper is to report on enablers and barriers during the first 2 years of the health systems integration project that included the implementation of a health navigator role. The project aims to improve health outcomes for children and young people residing in out of home care in rural Australia with a health navigator co‐located between child protection practitioners and community health services clinicians. Setting Rural Northwest Victoria. Participants Sunraysia Community Health Services and the Department of Health and Human Services. Design The qualitative design of the project evaluation involved semi‐structured interviews and documentary evidence analysis. Analyses of interviews and documentary data demonstrate the challenging nature of siloed service delivery in rural Australia, particularly during a time that comprised multiple interruptions due to COVID‐19. Results A limited synergy between organisational priorities and reporting systems hindered project progress. The lack of a shared definition of ‘health’ challenged the effective collaboration between health clinicians and child protection practitioners and the role of the health navigator. The health navigator raising health awareness through project involvement, training and sector‐wide stakeholder engagement resulted in a slow but steady process of increased prioritisation of health care, increased health literacy among the child protection workforce, and broadening participation of area‐based stakeholders, but did not translate to increased access to health plans for children. Conclusion Integrating health systems across multiple sites with support of a health navigator revealed difficulties, particularly during COVID‐19. The first phase of the project demonstrated the value of shared governance and partnerships as an imperative foundation for fundamental change. Relationships strengthened throughout the project, leading to a better understanding of area‐based strengths, which in turn supports improved pathways to health care for children and young people in OOHC within rural communities and driving the subsequent phases of the 10‐year project.
As a way of restricting the spread of COVID-19, methods of social distancing were instituted in most places that people gather, including workplaces. As such, human service agencies have implemented novel ways of delivering services to clients, with a common method being telehealth. For some practitioners this was unchartered waters and required rapid adaption to their everyday practice. I was interested to hear about their experiences and what useful learning came from it. I spoke, informally, with 13 people across four settings in a regional city in Victoria, asking them about the problems, positive changes and innovations that emerged. There were reports of challenges to overcome as well as benefits that may well become long-lasting. Practitioners adapted quickly and successfully to telehealth, with only minor problems that they managed to iron out quite quickly. They were mindful of people’s differing levels of capacity and access to technology and learned to be gentle and kind to themselves and others as they adapted. Some people came to realise that they like to work from home because it improves their work-life balance. Others, however, are keen to return to the workplace; highlighting the importance for flexibility based on individual circumstances. There was a strong sense of improved communication between agencies as they were better able to connect via telehealth compared with former in-person practices.
Parents are instrumental in the healthy development of their children, and consequently future generations, and should therefore be supported in their parental role. Using a Grounded Theory framework, 24 parents of 0- to 10-year-olds were interviewed about their experiences and preparation for parenthood. Despite their overall satisfaction, many felt underprepared, unsure, alone and inadequate during their transition to parenthood. Most of them felt like they struggled unnecessarily during the first year of parenthood, commenting on changes that would help support new parents. This paper reports the preliminary findings of the study.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.