Intervention research

Although the body of evidence showing the effects of psychosocial risks on employees’ health is substantial, effective and sustainable stress prevention remains a thorny and complex issue. Most studies have focused on evaluating the effects of organizational interventions, and the results are mixed. Researchers find the evaluation of such actions methodologically challenging whereas practitioners often find the development and implementation of such actions a complicated matter. One of the reasons for this mixed impact is the lack of attention to contextual and process issues. This paper aims to (1) help researchers to improve the development, implementation, and evaluation of organizational initiatives designed to reduce exposure to stress, and to promote well-being, healthy organizations, and healthy workers, (2) share existing practices and frameworks on intervention process evaluation, and (3) offer some reflections on the relationships between theory, research and practice in organizational interventions for stress and well-being. We present elements that appear to be essential contextual and process issues from a substantive body of research and practice in the area.

A long‐standing challenge in community‐based participatory research (CBPR) has been to anchor practice and evaluation in a relevant and comprehensive theoretical framework of community change. This study describes the development of a multidimensional conceptual framework that builds on social movement theories to identify key components of CBPR processes. Framework synthesis was used as a general literature search and analysis strategy. An initial conceptual framework was developed from the theoretical literature on social movement. A literature search performed to identify illustrative CBPR projects yielded 635 potentially relevant documents, from which eight projects (corresponding to 58 publications) were retained after record and full‐text screening. Framework synthesis was used to code and organize data from these projects, ultimately providing a refined framework. The final conceptual framework maps key concepts of CBPR mobilization processes, such as the pivotal role of the partnership; resources and opportunities as necessary components feeding the partnership's development; the importance of framing processes; and a tight alignment between the cause (partnership's goal), the collective action strategy, and the system changes targeted. The revised framework provides a context‐specific model to generate a new, innovative understanding of CBPR mobilization processes, drawing on existing theoretical foundations.

Although there have been several calls for incorporating multiple levels of analysis in employee health and well-being research, studies examining the interplay between individual, workgroup, organizational and broader societal factors in relation to employee mental health outcomes remain an exception rather than the norm. At the same time, organizational intervention research and practice also tends to be limited by a single-level focus, omitting potentially important influences at multiple levels of analysis. The aims of this conceptual paper are to help progress our understanding of work-related determinants of employee mental health by the following: (1) providing a rationale for routine multilevel assessment of the psychosocial work environment; (2) discussing how a multilevel perspective can improve related organizational interventions; and (3) highlighting key theoretical and methodological considerations relevant to these aims. We present five recommendations for future research, relating to using appropriate multilevel research designs, justifying group-level constructs, developing group-level measures, expanding investigations to the organizational level and developing multilevel approaches to intervention design, implementation and evaluation.

Di Nunzio D., 2022, Ricerca-intervento e azione sindacale: teoria, metodo e esperienze per un modello adattivo, Working Paper Fondazione Di Vittorio, n.2.
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L’articolo presenta alcune riflessioni teoriche e metodologiche sul rapporto tra ricerca-intervento e azione sindacale, sulla base di alcune esperienze, considerando: a) gli obiettivi (conoscenza scientifica, azione collettiva, coinvolgimento individuale); b) il senso dell’azione (intervento programmato, esplicitazione dei valori); c) il modello organizzativo (co-gestione e partecipazione). Infine, sono presentate alcune criticità e prospettive della ricerca-intervento, evidenziando la rilevanza di una ricerca-intervento adattiva.
Parole chiave: ricerca-intervento, ricerca-azione, sindacato, metodologia
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Research-intervention and trade union action: theory, method and experiences for an adaptive model
The article presents some theoretical and methodological analysis about the relations between research-intervention and trade union action, based on some experiences, considering: a) objectives (scientific knowledge, collective action and individual engagement); b) meaning of action (planned intervention, explicit values); c) organizational model (co-management and participation). Finally, the article presents some critical points and perspectives, highlighting the relevance of an adaptive research-intervention.
Keywords: intervention-research, action-research, trade unions, methodology

There are centres in Lagos State, Nigeria specifically devoted to the care of children with autism. Such centres have developed various practices, methods, and interventions that over the years have become a standard. To curb the spread of Covid-19 in the year 2020, Lagos State Government imposed a lockdown and various social restrictions. One of the attendant consequences of the lockdown was that these centres, where autistic children were being cared for, had to be closed, made to offer skeletal services, or change the delivery of care to an online version. This research is a qualitative research that aims to show that the model of care offered pre-Covid was not resilient to withstand the sudden change brought by the pandemic and to proffer modification to the present model of care. The study was done through in-depth interviews of expert and snowballed sampled professionals involved in the care of autistic children. The study found that it was impossible to continue some interven...

This research aims to explore how the concept of Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) approach can be adopted by SJOG services, in order to improve awareness of trauma as experienced by survivors 1 of Modern Slavery & Trafficking (MST), and to provide effective support. Notably, in this paper, we will also elaborate how the complex needs of MST survivors are related to their traumatic experiences, and the necessary steps and resources for implementing a MST TIC model.

Introduction: According to UNAIDS, the world currently has an adequate collection of proven HIV prevention, treatment and diagnostic tools, which, if scaled up, can lay the foundation for ending the AIDS epidemic. HIV operations research (OR) tests and promotes the use of interventions that can increase the demand for and supply of these tools. However, current publications of OR mainly focus on outcomes, leaving gaps in reporting of intervention characteristics, which are essential to address for the utilization of OR findings. This has prompted WHO and other international public health agencies to issue reporting requirements for OR studies. The objective of this commentary is to review experiences in HIV OR intervention design, implementation, process data collection and publication in order to identify gaps, contribute to the body of knowledge and propose a way forward to improve the focus on ''implementation'' in implementation research. Discussion: Interventions in OR, like ordinary service delivery programmes, are subject to the programme cycle, which continually uses insights from implementation and the local context to modify service delivery modalities. Given that some of these modifications in the intervention may influence study outcomes, the documentation of process data becomes vital in OR. However, a key challenge is that study resources tend to be skewed towards documentation and the reporting of study outcomes to the detriment of process data, even though process data is vital for understanding factors influencing the outcomes. Conclusions: Interventions in OR should be viewed using the lens of programme evaluation, which includes formative assessment (to determine concept and design), followed by process evaluation (to monitor inputs and outputs) and effectiveness evaluation (to assess outcomes and effectiveness). Study resources should be equitably used between process evaluation and outcome measurement to facilitate inclusion of data about fidelity and dose in publications in order to enable explanation of the relationship between dosing and study outcomes for purposes of scaling up and further refinement through research.

To see the official version: Markham, A. (2020). The limits of the imaginary: Challenges of intervening in future speculations of memory, data, and algorithmic archiving. New Media & Society, https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444820929322

Over a three-year period, researchers, artists, and activists collaborated on eight public engagement experiments in five countries. All focused on building critical consciousness about digital futures. The interventions worked: Once participants broke through the seamlessness of interface surfaces, they immediately thought more critically about how digital platforms actually operate. Yet even as participants reached into these black boxes, they didn't imagine alternatives. This article offers a critical theory reading of the emerging theme of inevitability among the public. It draws on the concept of discursive closure, whereby particular values and (infra)structures are naturalized, neutralized, and legitimated, closing off discussion of alternatives that might counter current hegemonic power. This article highlights the importance of confronting the limits of the imagination in speculative interventions, as well as the need, in ongoing interventions focused on imagining different digital futures, to iteratively focus on creative ways to identify and then overcome the current trend in the public sphere for people to resign themselves to ‘the inevitable’ in technology designs that significantly impact their everyday lives.

Many intervention studies focus on resultant outcomes without empirically exploring the causal pathways to the effect or the enabling and disabling characteristics that result in different effects among subgroups of the target population. This paper argues for the need of more intervention researchers to leverage their designs to conduct mediator and moderator analysis to empirically test theories of how interventions work and for whom.

To address increasing climatic variability and extremes, cities are gradually forced to develop climate change adaptation strategies that can ensure a continuous and transformative adaptation process. There is widespread consensus that the sustainable establishment of such strategies requires transdisciplinary approaches, that is, the involvement of internal and external stakeholders (state, civil society and market actors) to become part of the change and find innovative ways to unite their efforts and capacities. However, there is little research and hardly any empirical evidence on the process of stakeholder involvement and co-production in the development of municipal adaptation strategies. Against this background, this paper examines the factors that influence how and why different stakeholders are involved (or excluded) during the processes of developing adaptation strategies, and how this gets reflected in process outcomes. Based on applied participatory analysis of two pioneering municipalities in Germany and Sweden, the paper identifies and contrasts existing patterns to feed back into both theory and practice. Synergies, mismatches, barriers and driving forces for adaptation co-production are identified and contrasted with current adaptation discourses. The results highlight how the level of internal and external stakeholder involvement is conditional on (changes in) the broader governance context, and the associated power constellations in which stakeholders act (e.g., standing of departments, proximity to the decision-making body, changes in [or constellations of] political parties, contractual arrangements for staff, individual champions, progress in mainstreaming). On this basis, conclusions are drawn regarding how to foster sustainable and transformative adaptation through increased stakeholder involvement. The results and conclusions are crucial to advance theory on adaptation co-production, providing a basis for further analyses, research and action. They inform how existing theory, policies and/or guidelines for strategic adaptation planning need to be revisited to support change across current risk governance.

We conducted a meta-analysis which included 16 sibling-mediated intervention studies that aims to utilize siblings to teach their brothers and sisters with autism spectrum disorder play skills, functional skills, or to decrease unwanted behaviors. In general, results across the studies show that sibling-mediated intervention has medium effect size and can be used as a method to improve many skills which include social and communication skills. Sibling-mediated intervention also facilitated maintenance and generalization of the targeted skills. The researchers discuss the findings and make suggestions for future investigations.

Plain-English Summary: This paper looks at what is known as the 'humanitarian alibi' in international politics, and attempts to launch a paradigm shift away from considering neglect to considering harm by international (i.e. Western) actors as the root cause of problems. In a word, the real issue is not that we don't do enough good, it's that we do too much wrong. It also considers the role and responsibility of the international humanitarian sector in this equation.

Full abstract: "This paper explores and illustrates the diverse manifestations of the phenomenon of the ‘humanitarian alibi’, drawing upon historical and contemporary cases of violent conflict in order to identify substitutionary phenomena by governments and international actors. It affirms the existence of substitution process where humanitarian aid intervention substitutes for the prevention and resolution of violent conflict and the protection of civilian populations. The paper argues for expanding the humanitarian alibi, however, to take into account how international aid intervention compensates for both the systemic neglect of conflict related crises and for the systemic harm that exacerbates and perpetuates these crises. It also challenges the suggestion that the humanitarian alibi phenomenon is the product of a bygone era, and finds that the use of aid as a substitute for peacemaking can co-exist alongside the use of aid as a direct component of international intervention."

motional Textual Analysis (ETA) is a psychoanalytically informed method of text and discourse analysis that was developed in the 1980s as a tool for psychological research and intervention with social groups, institutions, and organizations. ETA hypothesizes that emotions expressed in language are a fundamental organizer of relationships. By detecting clusters of emotionally dense words within a text (through a procedure that combines quantitative—software supported—and qualitative data analysis), this method enables the exploration of the unconscious emotional dynamics underpinning processes of sense-making within social groups and organizations. This chapter aims to discuss the contribution that the ETA methodology can offer today to mental health studies. We will present two case studies. (a) In the first one, ETA served to shed light on a new issue that has arisen in the mental health field: an unprecedented increase over the last few decades in psychiatric diagnosis related to children’s difficulties at school. (b) In the second one, ETA was used within the framework of a 3-year intervention-research with a healthcare organization providing services for adult disability. The organization was stuck in a growing conflict with the family members of the service users. Our results corroborate the hypothesis that contemporary mental health risks—as well as demands and developmental trajectories—cannot be understood by looking solely at the individual; it is crucial to bring them back into the current dynamics of social coexistence, by means of methodologies that allow us to study the relationship between individuals and changing social contexts.

This paper reports on the findings in the first phase of a design-based research project as part of a large-scale intervention study in Dutch kindergartens. The project aims at enhancing differentiated instruction and evaluating its effects on children’s development, in particular high-ability children. This study  investigates  relevant  intervention  fidelity  factors  based  on  Fullan  (2007). A one-year intervention in 18 K-6 schools was conducted to implement the screening of children’s entry characteristics, differentiation of (preparatory) mathematics and language curricula, and a policy for the differentiation and teaching high-ability children. The intervention fidelity and implementation process were scored for each school using data from observations, field notes and log books. Self-report questionnaires measured participants’ perceptions of the intervention (n=35 teachers, 18 principals). Quantitative  results showed that intervention fidelity differed between schools. Qualitative analyses of perceptions and cross-case analyses of three kindergartens showed that a strong need, pressure from parents, an involved principal, and teacher time and motivation contributed  to successful implementation. Implementation barriers were the innovation’s complexity, teacher beliefs, an absent principal and low teacher motivation (which was partly due to communication problems). Implications for interventions in general and differentiated instruction for high-ability children in particular are discussed.

La investigación de la intervención es un campo transdisciplinar en el que partici- pan ciencias sociales, humanas y de la salud. Estos estudios construyen evidencia acerca de las prácticas de intervención para tomar decisiones sobre su implemen- tación. Los enfoques y métodos utilizados varían de acuerdo con el paradigma científico en el que se inscriben los investigadores. Por ello, en este artículo pre- sentamos una revisión crítica de publicaciones científicas que asumen la interven- ción social como objeto de reflexión. Analizamos 70 documentos publicados en re- vistas científicas entre 2007 y 2016, rastreando temas emergentes, identificando re- gularidades, rupturas, conclusiones y asuntos por discutir. Entre los resultados se destaca que la intervención social ha sido una estrategia para abordar los proble- mas sociales desde finales del siglo XIX hasta hoy, en su desarrollo, las prácticas de intervención social configuran escenarios de relación en los que confluyen dife- rentes discursos, que inciden en formas de gubernamentalidad y subjetivación.

Since the early 1990s, there has been a growing literature on organizational-level interventions for work-related stress, and associated calls for such interventions to be evaluated. At the same time, doubts have been expressed about the adequacy of traditional scientific research methods in applied psychology (the natural science paradigm) in providing an effective framework for such evaluations. This paper considers some of the philosophical and methodological issues raised by evaluation research in relation to organizational-level interventions for work-related stress. Four key issues are discussed: the concept of a study being “fit for purpose” in relation to research designs and the nature of acceptable evidence; the issue of control of research conditions in real-world studies; the need to evaluate process as well as outcome, including the interrelated nature of process and outcome; and the interpretation of imperfect evidence sets. The starting point of this paper is the reality of organizational life, which is complex and continually changing. Its main objective is not to offer an alternative to a scientific approach but to argue for a more broadly conceived and eclectic framework for evaluation that acknowledges the limitations of the traditional approach. It espouses an approach that is reflective of the reality of organizational life and in which the methods used for evaluating an intervention are fit for purpose. The paper concludes by offering an outline framework for this broader approach to the evaluation of interventions.

Research has indicated that perfectionism is prevalent among adolescents and may be harmful in terms of its association with mental health problems. This letter aims to create a paradigm for future studies of the perfectionism. Specifically, we suggest gaps and implications that must be considered at perfectionism future research in terms of assessments, interventions, settings, potential treatments, gender, and social media

This paper studies the application of the Qualimetrics© approach to management and the incumbent SEAM© methodology in the regional subsidiary of an international inspection and certification body. An intervention research to improve the general performance of the organization, the objective of the paper is to cast prescriptive practice based on the socio-economic theory to management endorsed by measurable outcomes, and to generate a theoretical knowledge.
The approach proves to be a solid participative intervention research method capable of bridging the gap between knowledge creation and practical advancement. The originality of the paper stems from the application of SEAM© for the first time to the organizational setting of a quality control company consulting mainly for the construction and public works business in multiple Middle East and African countries.

There are centres in Lagos State, Nigeria specifically devoted to the care of children with autism. Such centres have developed various practices, methods, and interventions that over the years have become a standard. To curb the spread of Covid-19 in the year 2020, Lagos State Government imposed a lockdown and various social restrictions. One of the attendant consequences of the lockdown was that these centres, where autistic children were being cared for, had to be closed, made to offer skeletal services, or change the delivery of care to an online version. This research is a qualitative research that aims to show that the model of care offered pre-Covid was not resilient to withstand the sudden change brought by the pandemic and to proffer modification to the present model of care. The study was done through in-depth interviews of expert and snowballed sampled professionals involved in the care of autistic children. The study found that it was impossible to continue some interventions during the lockdown; while it was possible to continue some interventions online, it was difficult to deliver; for other interventions, the delivery was inadequate. This led to deterioration in the clinical, psychological, or social status of these autistic children. The researcher concludes that there is a need to redesign the model of care for autistic children in Lagos to make it resilient to all forms of future disruptions. It was recommended that home-based care and software applications and animations fit for local needs be developed for assessment and interventions.

The first step in breaking the vicious cycle of disadvantage and empowering young indigenous Australians is to look at our communities' circumstances through a different lens. Research by Muru Marri reported in The Social and Emotional Wellbeing of Indigenous Youth: Reviewing and Extending the Evidence and Examining its Implications for Policy and Practice captures the elements that led to the success programs that seek to promote the social and emotional wellbeing of Indigenous young people. This report was launched at UNSW’s symposium on Indigenous health research: Dreaming up the Future of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Public Health, which was held on Friday, 11 October. The research was funded by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Commonwealth Government of Australia, Canberra, ACT. In kind support from the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW.

Although there have been several calls for incorporating multiple levels of analysis in employee health and well-being research, studies examining the interplay between individual, workgroup, organizational and broader societal factors in relation to employee mental health outcomes remain an exception rather than the norm. At the same time, organizational intervention research and practice also tends to be limited by a single-level focus, omitting potentially important influences at multiple levels of analysis. The aims of this conceptual paper are to help progress our understanding of work-related determinants of employee mental health by the following: (1) providing a rationale for routine multilevel assessment of the psychosocial work environment; (2) discussing how a multilevel perspective can improve related organizational interventions; and (3) highlighting key theoretical and methodological considerations relevant to these aims. We present five recommendations for future rese...

A long-standing challenge in community-based participatory research (CBPR) has been to anchor practice and evaluation in a relevant and comprehensive theoretical framework of community change. This study describes the development of a multidimensional conceptual framework that builds on social movement theories to identify key components of CBPR processes. Framework synthesis was used as a general literature search and analysis strategy. An initial conceptual framework was developed from the theoretical literature on social movement. A literature search performed to identify illustrative CBPR projects yielded 635 potentially relevant documents, from which eight projects (corresponding to 58 publications) were retained after record and full-text screening. Framework synthesis was used to code and organize data from these projects, ultimately providing a refined framework. The final conceptual framework maps key concepts of CBPR mobilization processes, such as the pivotal role of the ...

Teachers face increased workplace challenges in South Africa. Through a process of intervention research, this study aimed to develop and evaluate the efficacy of a work-based support programme for teachers. Maslow's hierarchy of needs was adopted as the theoretical framework informing both programme design and evaluation. Teachers (n = 10) were recruited through simple random sampling in the North West Province, South Africa. Qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions before and after exposure to the programme. Data were thematically analysed. Pre-exposure findings supported existing literature that states that teachers face numerous malleable workplace challenges such as learner indiscipline, parental disengagement, overcrowded classrooms, considerable administrative work and burnout. Post-exposure findings indicated that the programme mitigated teachers' perceived weaknesses and seems to have enabled them to cope with and manage their workplace challenges. It is concluded that the programme facilitated a process to enable participants to navigate towards self-actualisation and reaching their full potential in the work environment. Recommendations are offered for the further implementation of the programme and in addressing work-based challenges experienced by South African teachers.

Childhood routine immunization (RI) is a highly effective public health intervention for the prevention of infectious diseases. Despite high immunization rates, a 2018 Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) study by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) noted a growing practice of vaccine refusal among parents and primary caregivers as well as clusters of significantly lower immunization coverage in some provinces. Moreover, a 2018 Joint Appraisal report by GAVI (Global Vaccine Alliance) has highlighted a decrease in immunization rates among children under 1 year of age from 96.1% to 92% for some vaccines. As a result, UNICEF is spearheading a national communication initiative to increase the rates of RI in Kyrgyzstan. This initiative includes strengthening interpersonal communication skills of local healthcare workers, improving the quality and accuracy of media coverage via a tailored outreach to the Kyrgyz media, as well as fostering community engagement to give voice to...

The constructs of stress and coping have held an important role in theories about the development of problems of childhood and adolescents and in intervention models about how to prevent the occurrence of such problems (Haggerty, Sherrod, Garmezy, & Rutter, 1994; Rolf, Masten, Cicchetti, Nuechterlein, & Weintraub, 1990; Cowen, 1980; Mrazek & Haggerty, 1994; Hetherington & Blechman, 1996). Stress has been implicated in the development of a wide range of problems, and a rich literature has developed on factors that enable children to be resilient against the negative effects of stress (Gore & Eckenrode, 1994). In a parallel fashion, improving child and adolescent adaptation to stress has been identified as one of the most promising approaches to preventing the development of problems of childhood and adolescence (Compas, Phares, & Ledoux, 1989; Cowen, 1985; Bloom, 1990). For example, in their comprehensive annotated bibliography of primary prevention programs between 1983 and 1991, Trickett, Dahiyal, and Selby (1994) identified 169 citations concerning prevention programs under the headings of stressful life events, social support, and crisis intervention. Many of these stress-based preventive interventions have been empirically evaluated and found to have beneficial effects (Mrazek & Haggerty, 1994; Price, Cowen, Lorion, & Ramos-McKay, 1988). Unfortunately, however, the links between the theoretical and intervention research literatures are not strong.

Kidney diseases are silent killers, which largely affect the quality of life. As the kidney function slows the symptoms of uremia are experienced includes feeling of tired or weak, shortness of breath, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, etc. Fatigue is a debilitating symptom experienced by CRF patients. Fatigue has a considerable effect on patients health related quality of life. A study is conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of warm footbath on fatigue among patient with chronic renal failure. A one-group pretest posttest design is used for the present study. The study is conducted at the Pradyumna Bal Memorial Hospital (KIMS) in Nephrology unit (both male and female) ward. Sample size consists of 30 hospitalized CRF patients who met the inclusion criteria by using the purposive Sampling technique. Structured interview schedule of Piper fatigue Scale is used to assess the fatigue. The study started with pre assessment and followed by warm footbath given. Footbath procedure is held for 30 minutes upto 7 days. The mean posttest score (y=2.76) is lower than the mean pretest score (x=7.19). The paired t test is found to be highly significant and the P less than 0.001. Based on the chi-square values and the P values obtained in the following demographic variables has the significance such as age, sex, education, occupation and years of suffering with CRF. The study concluded that the warm footbath is effective in reducing the fatigue of patients with CRF.

This publication is a result of the doctorate thesis which investigates and discusses the globalization of the samba culture and that of Rio de Janeiro carnival. It reflects upon the connection between its agents in social media both online and offline, from the perspective of Deluzian cartography and the rhizomatic production of knowledge through research-intervention method, as well as through the real life experiences of the author of events he created and his international travel for observational purposes. It analyses: the relationship between samba and carnival; the evolution of samba school parades in the city since they became official; and the dilemma of confronting a new cognitive and global capitalist scenario in contemporary world.Resultado de uma tese de doutorado, esta publicação aborda a mundialização da cultura do samba e a globalização do carnaval do Rio de Janeiro, refletindo sobre as conexões dos seus agentes nas redes sociais online e off-line, na perspectiva deleuziana da Cartografia, da produção rizomática de conhecimento, através do método da pesquisaintervenção e das vivências e experiências do autor na criação de eventos e em viagens internacionais de observação. Analisa a relação entre o samba e o carnaval, sua evolução desde a oficialização dos desfiles das escolas de samba na cidade e seu dilema no mundo contemporâneo, face a um novo cenário de capitalismo global e cognitivo

This paper explores and illustrates the diverse manifestations of the phenomenon of the ‘humanitarian alibi’, drawing upon historical and contemporary cases of violent conflict in order to identify substitutionary phenomena by governments and international actors. It affirms the existence of substitution process where humanitarian aid intervention substitutes for the prevention and resolution of violent conflict and the protection of civilian populations. The paper argues for expanding the humanitarian alibi, however, to take into account how international aid intervention compensates for both the systemic neglect of conflict related crises and for the systemic harm that exacerbates and perpetuates these crises. It also challenges the suggestion that the humanitarian alibi phenomenon is the product of a bygone era, and finds that the use of aid as a substitute for peacemaking can co-exist alongside the use of aid as a direct component of international intervention.

We conducted a meta-analysis which included 16 sibling-mediated intervention studies that aims to utilize siblings to teach their brothers and sisters with autism spectrum disorder play skills, functional skills, or to decrease unwanted behaviors. In general, results across the studies show that sibling-mediated intervention has medium effect size and can be used as a method to improve many skills which include social and communication skills. Sibling-mediated intervention also facilitated maintenance and generalization of the targeted skills. The researchers discuss the findings and make suggestions for future investigations.

A long-standing challenge in community-based participatory research (CBPR) has been to anchor practice and evaluation in a relevant and comprehensive theoretical framework of community change. This study describes the development of a multidimensional conceptual framework that builds on social movement theories to identify key components of CBPR processes. Framework synthesis was used as a general literature search and analysis strategy. An initial conceptual framework was developed from the theoretical literature on social movement. A literature search performed to identify illustrative CBPR projects yielded 635 potentially relevant documents, from which eight projects (corresponding to 58 publications) were retained after record and full-text screening. Framework synthesis was used to code and organize data from these projects, ultimately providing a refined framework. The final conceptual framework maps key concepts of CBPR mobilization processes, such as the pivotal role of the ...

The Kgolo Mmogo study is a randomised controlled intervention trial that examines the effectiveness of a group intervention to enhance resilience in HIV-infected South African mothers (N= 427) and their young children (N= 435). We describe here how the severity of psychological and social problems experienced by some of the study participants required referrals for other services and discuss the barriers encountered in facilitating such referrals.

The rise in mental health issues is a global phenomenon. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has published data that shows the global burden of mental disorders continues to grow and claim that the health systems throughout the world are struggling to respond adequately to the needs of people with mental health disorders.1 Approximately 85% of the world population resides in 153 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Further, more than 80% of people who have mental disorders are located in LMICs.2 However, it is estimated that 90-95% of mental health resources, including human resources for psychological therapies are being delivered in countries that only account for 5% of the population.3 This is a global inequity and it is unjust. This article serves as a desperate call to researchers to urgently engage in evidence-based psychological therapies interventions in LMICs. This is not as an attempt to reallocate existing provision of mental health resources, but to reduce the treatment gap by advocating opportunities for all.