Issues of reliability and validity in the measurement of challenging behaviour (behavioural difficulties) in learning disability: a discussion of implications for nursing research and practice

• ? The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate on issues related to the reliability and validity of measurement of challenging behaviour (behavioural difficulties) in learning disability. A number of practical, theoretical and methodological issues are discussed that have significance for the nurse both as practitioner and/or researcher in learning disability. These issues are equally important to both provider and purchaser of health care in order that resources can be most effectively targeted.
• ? The term ‘challenging behaviour’ would appear to be used both in literature and research synonymously with behavioural difficulties, this has implications for nurses in both their clinical practice and/or research. The author concludes by identifying a need to replace the term challenging behaviour, with ‘behavioural difficulties’. It is argued that such a term is much more explicit in meaning and amenable to operational definition, thus enabling empirical study. Such a proposal will not be accepted by all as justifiable; this is because some might argue that adopting the term behavioural difficulties may be a retrograde step that perpetuates negative imagery and inappropriate labelling of people with a learning disability.

     

Eternity and clinical translation of speech-language pathology research

The work we do as clinicians and researchers is forever vulnerable to political trends which can cause dramatic and rapid change in higher education. A current example is the funding of universities according to the value of their research outputs. In comparison to some other domains of health care, the discipline of speech-language pathology is particularly vulnerable to such politics. If we have evolved, we can devolve. The thesis here is that this matter concerns clinicians and clinical researchers, and that both parties need to shore up their relationship to ensure that this discipline has a guaranteed passage into eternity. This can be achieved by sharpening the focus of clinical research and driving its translation into clinical practices. The different and complementary contributions that clinicians and clinical researchers can make to that pursuit are discussed. It is argued that clinicians and clinical researchers can best pursue their necessary relationship with models of spatial cohabitation, and four models are presented for how that might be achieved. The paper concludes with some speculations about alternatives to eternity for the discipline of speech-language pathology.     

Employer Demand for Health Services Researchers in the Year 2020

Objective. To describe factors that will shape future demand for doctoral‐trained health services researchers. Study Design/Data Sources. Commentary based on recent trends in funding for health services research (HSR), the number of federally funded HSR projects listed in HSRProj, national expenditures for health, and interviews with a small number of employers. Principal Findings. Despite rapid growth in the overall health care sector, inflation‐adjusted funding for HSR has declined, implying little or no net growth in demand for people to lead HSR studies. Employers report being able to hire researchers to conduct HSR by drawing on people trained in many disciplines. Conclusion. Employers have considerable flexibility in hiring individuals to conduct HSR when demand is relatively stable. They may have much more difficulty hiring well‐qualified researchers when faced with sharp increases in demand for HSR, such as could be generated by recent economic stimulus legislation.     

Nursing in the public sphere: health policy research in a changing world

AIMS OF THE PAPER: To identify recent trends in the academic field of health policy, setting them in the context of wider changes in the socio-political and research environments and considering their implications for nursing research. BACKGROUND: Health policy is a well-established field of academic study and research in the United Kingdom (UK). The 1990s have seen some important intellectual developments in this field, as well as some major changes in the context of health-related research. DESIGN: A selective review of the relevant literature. CONCLUSIONS: The Department of Health's new Research & Development strategy can be understood as part of a wider trend, moving away from the traditional, university-based model of knowledge production towards a new one which involves other groups, such as employers, practitioners and patients. This may increase the opportunities for health care professionals in general - and nurses in particular - to influence the research agenda and to participate as researchers in the critical evaluation of health policy.     

Practice development: ambiguity in research and practice

Practice development activity occupies an ambiguous position in relation to both clinical practice and research. In practice, it is seen at times as an added extra to normal work despite arguably being an inherent part of professional practice. In research, it fails to demonstrate the rigour of being generalisable because of its explicit location in a specific care environment. The study reported in this paper explored the implications of this ambiguity for practitioners who seek to develop health care practice. Ten focus groups were held with health care researchers and practitioners concerning the processes of developing practice in the North East of England. The results demonstrate how people manage themselves and the uncertainty that surrounds the use of research in clinical practice. The paper argues for an appreciation of reflexive forms of research, such as action and practitioner research, which do not disassociate research and practice and in which practitioners have a role in knowledge creation as well as knowledge implementation.     

数字环境下的医学科研信息行为

通过对军队医学科研单位科研人员的信息资源需求、信息获取与利用和信息素养等方面的问卷调查,了解了这 些单位医学科研信息行为的基本状况,探索了医学科研信息服务新模式,从而全面提升军队医学图书馆的信息服务能力。     

图书馆为科研人员提供信息服务的新途径

通过调查分析山东科技大学科研人员利用文献的情况,提出了用H指数评价科研人员、为科研人员提供核心期 刊、建设特色信息资源、参与图书馆联盟等新举措。     

组织工程化软骨修复软骨损伤

背景:目前临床上多采用自体或异体软骨移植、软骨膜或骨膜移植、软骨细胞移植等方法进行软骨损伤修复,但均因取材局限、免疫排斥等导致效果不佳。利用组织工程的方法再造软骨,为软骨缺损的临床修复提供了新的思路与途径。目的:利用SCI数据库文献检索和深度分析功能,对于组织工程软骨的文献资料趋势进行多层次探讨分析,根据检索文献结果分析组织工程软骨的发展趋势。方法:通过计算机检索SCI数据库中2001/2010有关组织工程软骨的文献,检索词为"软骨(cartilage);组织工程(tissueengineering);软骨细胞(chondrocyte/cartilage cell);软骨组织(cartilage tissue);支架材料(scaffold materials);种子细胞(seed cell)",以文字和图表的形式进行统计和结果分析,描述其分布特征。结果与结论:SCI数据库2001-01/2010-12收录组织工程软骨相关文献总计3137篇,中国在该领域的文献产出量逐渐增多,总体呈上升趋势,Biomaterials《生物材料》杂志发表文献量最多。美国在该领域文献产出量多于其他国家,对该领域研究起到重要作用,发表文献较多的机构集中在美国的哈佛大学,莱斯大学,麻省理工学院,哥伦比亚大学,加利福尼亚大学圣地亚哥分校等。     

Community researchers conducting health disparities research: Ethical and other insights from fieldwork journaling

Lay persons who are trained to conduct research in their own communities form an essential part of many research projects. However, the effects of conducting research in their own communities have not been adequately explored. This paper examines the experiences, perceptions, and challenges faced by a group of community researchers during their involvement in a research project that examined if, and how, the relationships between mothers and their adolescent daughters could be harnessed to develop a daughter-initiated cervical cancer intervention. Seven community researchers interviewed 157 mother-daughter pairs in Cape Town, South Africa. We examine the use of journaling as a tool to document the experiences of community researchers, and we consider how journaling may help the community-based researcher grapple with the research process, and, more broadly, what such journal content illustrates with respect to the nature and challenges of community-engaged health research. An analysis of the content of the journals provides a strong indication of how personal and intimate the research process can be for community researchers by virtue of the background that they bring into the process as well as the additional weight of the research process itself. The complexities of navigating dual and somewhat oppositional roles - the role of impartial scientist or researcher and the role of invested community person - has been both underestimated and insufficiently researched.