University of the South Pacific

Occupational Therapy (OT) is an essential speciality in healthcare system that aims to maximize people's functional abilities and performance. Knowledge about OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY among healthcare professionals is essential for the delivery of quality care services. Since Occupational Therapy is not a well understood profession, this survey represents assessment of awareness of Occupational Therapy among Post Graduate Residents (PG) and Speciality Medical Officer (SMO) in a tertiary health care center in Mumbai. In this survey there were 145 participants from various specialties and who have Occupational Therapy as a part of patient management team in the hospital. All participants completed a questionnaire regarding awareness and knowledge of Occupational Therapy containing 16 questions. The results revealed that 78.55% had distinctive awareness about Occupational Therapy, 18.75% had average & 2.7% had poor awareness of Occupational Therapy. Maximum awareness was found in departments of General Medicine&Psychiatry (79%), while poor awareness was found in department of Obstetrics & Gynecology (51%). The preliminary findings suggest that Most participants perceived that Occupational Therapy domain of practice only includes orthopaedics, mental health, hand rehabilitation and adult and paediatric neurology while overlooking the areas of wellness and gerontology. Such a result reflects lack of communication channels between Occupational Therapists and other healthcare professionals which can restrict interdisciplinary work. Therefore, more interprofessional interactions and collaborative activities needs to be incorporated within the curriculum and placements of all healthcare professionals.

We conducted a Northern New England survey to understand the initial and continued impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security, food access, and home food production (HFP) (i.e. gardening, fishing, harvesting shellfish, foraging, hunting, trapping, raising animals for meat, dairy, or eggs, and food preservation such as canning, drying or freezing). The surveys were conducted in the Spring and Summer of 2021 (March – June). The survey was conducted in Maine (n = 562) and Vermont (n = 426). The cohort of respondents was representative of racial and ethnic identities of Vermont and Maine state populations. The data presented in this research brief were weighted to be representative of income in both states. Here, we summarize our findings related to changes in food security, food sourcing, and HFP before and since the COVID-19 pandemic. When data are referred to as “significant” it indicates a statistical significance at p< 0.05.

Information literacy practice plays a key role in the transitional processes of individuals within new intercultural settings. While this ability to adjust to new cultural contexts is increasingly important within today’s multicultural societies, campuses and workplaces, typical approaches to information literacy education struggle to scaffold the newcomer’s disrupted information landscapes. In focusing on prescriptive skills, information literacy standards position linguistic and cultural difference as a learning deficiency. Yet when alternative information literacy frameworks centre upon personal habits of mind, they fail to account for contextual dynamics. In this conceptual paper, the authors use research into the health practices of resettling refugees as an example to argue that a move away from behaviourist approaches to information literacy refocuses our attention on questions of adjustment and engagement with cultural understandings of information, and forms a more inclusiv...

The shrinking mainstream media plurality in Aotearoa New Zealand provides a context for examining publication of campus-based media where student and faculty editorial staff have successfully established an independent Asia-Pacific digital and print press over the past two decades. New Zealand’s largest city Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) has the largest urban population of Pacific Islanders globally – more than 300,000 people in a total of 1.7 million (Pasifika New Zealand, n.d.), earning the moniker ‘Polynesian capital of the world’. The presenter has had a pioneering role with four university-based journalism publications in the Pacific region as key adviser/publisher in Papua New Guinea (Uni Tavur, 1993-1998); Fiji (Wansolwara, 1998-2002); and Aotearoa/New Zealand (Pacific Scoop, 2009-2015; Asia Pacific Report, 2016 onwards), and also with two journalism school-based publications in Australia (Reportage, 1996, and The Junction, 2018-2020) (Robie, 2018). In early 2021, he was a co-founder of the Asia Pacific Media Network | Te Koakoa Incorporated which has emerged as a collective umbrella for academics, student journalists and independent reporters and writers producing several innovative publications, including the research journal Pacific Journalism Review and a strengthened Asia Pacific Report, which draw on a cross-disciplinary range of media contributors and scholars in other professions. These contributors are mindful of the challenges of reportage about the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This section of the panel explores an independent journalism model drawing on professional outlets especially for Asia-Pacific students and how such an investigative and storytelling model as ‘Talanoa Journalism’ can be an effective bridge to alternative media careers and addressing ‘blind spots’ in legacy news media.

Reference:
Robie, D. (2018). Asia Pacific Report: A New Zealand Nonprofit Journalism Model for Campus-based Social Justice Media. Ikat: The Indonesian Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 2(1), 119-146. https://doi.org/10.22146/ikat.v2i1.37395

After a promising start as the place where many of the country’s future leaders were educated, the University of Papua New Guinea is now a shadow of its former self. With minimal international support and destructive government policies ranking tertiary education of little importance for development, UPNG now operates on a budget totally inadequate to run a contemporary university. The minimal coverage of UPNG’s decline in the national media is reflected in a poorly run journalism programme which has had a stop-start history. By comparison, the University of the South Pacific thrives and its management set targets to raise the proportion of people from member countries who attend tertiary education. International support, financial as well as supervisory, continues to make a major contribution to USP’s operations. During major crises in Fiji, where USP’s main campus is located, journalism students at the university have performed exemplary roles. Even the controversies which repeate...

Taro is an ancient nutritional and medicinal crop woven into the fabric of the socio-economic life of those living in the tropics and sub-tropics. However, West Africa (WA), which has been a major producer of the crop for several decades, is experiencing a significant decline in production as a result of taro leaf blight (TLB), a disease caused by Phytophthora colocasiae Raciborski. A lack of research on taro in WA means that available innovative technologies have not been fully utilized to provide solutions to inherent challenges and enhance the status of the crop. Improvement through plant breeding remains the most economically and environmentally sustainable means of increasing the productivity of taro in WA. With this review, we provide insights into the importance of the taro crop in WA, evaluate taro research to date, and suggest how to address research gaps in order to promote taro sustainability in the region.

This study seeks to understand variations in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) risk perception and sexual behaviour among male and female adults in Fiji. The Second-Generation Surveillance Report (2006) indicates the median age of first sex within the youth group as 16 years (range 10 – 23 years). Therefore, this study was purposively targeted at individuals of reproductive age, preferably 10 years and above. We utilized convenience sampling to collect 137 self-administered surveys from individuals working in both public and private sector organizations in two highly populated areas of Fiji. Independent samples t-test analyses revealed that men living in urban areas are more likely to experiment with multiple sexual partners, have a higher tendency of engaging in sexual practices, and are highly likely to have unsafe sex with multiple partners. Gender-sensitive interventions may help facilitate and achieve positive behaviour change among males and influence the sexual health of fem...

BackgroundExisting evidence indicates that reducing nurse staffing and/or skill mix adversely affects care quality. Nursing shortages may lead managers to dilute nursing team skill mix, substituting assistant personnel for registered nurses (RNs). However, no previous studies have described the relationship between nurse staffing and staff–patient interactions.SettingSix wards at two English National Health Service hospitals.MethodsWe observed 238 hours of care (n=270 patients). Staff–patient interactions were rated using the Quality of Interactions Schedule. RN, healthcare assistant (HCA) and patient numbers were used to calculate patient-to-staff ratios. Multilevel regression models explored the association between staffing levels, skill mix and the chance of an interaction being rated as ‘negative’ quality, rate at which patients experienced interactions and total amount of time patients spent interacting with staff per observed hour.Results10% of the 3076 observed interactions w...

Delegation by the registered nurse is a decision making process that includes assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation. Due to an ever-expanding global shortage of nurses, registered nurses are increasingly dependent on unlicensed assistive personnel to assist in the provision of safe patient care. Delegation is recognised as a fundamental nursing skill that can be utilised effectively to improve quality care. To examine and synthesize the best available evidence regarding the impact of delegation interventions used by the registered nurse with the unlicensed assistive personnel and their impact on quality of care, patient satisfaction, and registered nurse staff satisfaction. Registered nurses and unlicensed assistive personnel in patient care settings where delegation occurs.This review considered studies that evaluated the effectiveness of delegation interventions by registered nurses to unlicensed assistive personnel.The outcomes examined were quality of care, patien...

The aim of this study is twofold: a) to investigate the area of least student involvement pertaining to a variety of university activities such as the use of the library, computer and information technology, writing experiences, experiences with the faculty, personal experiences, and student acquaintances, and b) investigate the differences in student involvement between faculties regarding these same university activities. Informed by the theory of student involvement, the study utilizes descriptive analysis for the level of involvement and the Kruskal-Wallis test to investigate faculty differences. This quantitative study, involving 332 students of the University of the South Pacific, identifies the relational and interactional hesitance in many measures. This included hesitance to seek assistance at the library or to seek advice from instructors on their writing. Furthermore, students are unlikely to work or socialize with a faculty member on a project or informally, and students...

This chapter describes three of the pedagogical frameworks that comprise the Models of Engaged Learning and Teaching (Willison, J. (2017). The Models of Engaged Learning and Teaching (MELT); Willison, J. (2020). The models of engaged learning and teaching: Connecting sophisticated thinking from early childhood to PhD. Springer). Monash University Library (MUL) adopted the MELT to underpin its teaching practice and guide library–faculty teaching collaborations. The MELT include the Research Skill Development (RSD) framework (Willison, J., & O'Regan, K. (2006/2018). Research skill development framework), the Work Skill Development (WSD) framework (Bandaranaike, S., & Willison, J. (2009/2018). Revised by Monash University Library, 2019. Work skill development framework; Revised by Monash University Library 2019) and the Digital Skill Development (DSD) framework (Torres, L., McLeod, A., Yazbeck, B., Rayner, G., Skrbis, M., Yates, S., Dickson, N., & Fulton, H. (2018). Digital skill d...

This research project arose from a need to ensure librarians and academics work together to support student information literacy (IL) development, aligned to the Anglia Ruskin University learning and teaching strategy, and specifically to improve librarians’ understanding of how academic staff view IL and consider their perceptions and expectations within different disciplines. A literature review found a limited number of studies which considered academics’ point of view and few were concerned with discipline (faculty) differences. We took a qualitative approach to this research, using semi-structured interviews with a convenience sample of participants drawn from nursing subjects and business subjects in a post-1992 university in the United Kingdom. The research questions asked about academics’ perception of IL, the impact of their discipline on IL and their view of the ideal information literate student. Six key areas of concern emerged around the teaching of IL: students transit...

This study seeks to understand variations in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) risk perception and sexual behaviour among male and female adults in Fiji. The Second-Generation Surveillance Report (2006) indicates the median age of first sex within the youth group as 16 years (range 10 – 23 years). Therefore, this study was purposively targeted at individuals of reproductive age, preferably 10 years and above. We utilized convenience sampling to collect 137 self-administered surveys from individuals working in both public and private sector organizations in two highly populated areas of Fiji. Independent samples t-test analyses revealed that men living in urban areas are more likely to experiment with multiple sexual partners, have a higher tendency of engaging in sexual practices, and are highly likely to have unsafe sex with multiple partners. Gender-sensitive interventions may help facilitate and achieve positive behaviour change among males and influence the sexual health of fem...

This document is the author deposited version. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite from it. Published version BAINBRIDGE, D., ADSETTS, D., BRAY, K., MCDONNELL, A. and TOD, A. (2010). An evaluation of the impact of introducing a new model for recognising and responding to early signs of deterioration in patients at the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust. Project Report. Rotherham, Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust. (Unpublished)

Information literacy practice plays a key role in the transitional processes of individuals within new intercultural settings. While this ability to adjust to new cultural contexts is increasingly important within today’s multicultural societies, campuses and workplaces, typical approaches to information literacy education struggle to scaffold the newcomer’s disrupted information landscapes. In focusing on prescriptive skills, information literacy standards position linguistic and cultural difference as a learning deficiency. Yet when alternative information literacy frameworks centre upon personal habits of mind, they fail to account for contextual dynamics. In this conceptual paper, the authors use research into the health practices of resettling refugees as an example to argue that a move away from behaviourist approaches to information literacy refocuses our attention on questions of adjustment and engagement with cultural understandings of information, and forms a more inclusiv...

Fish poisoning (FP) affects human health, trade and livelihood in Fiji, where management has depended mainly on traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). This paper investigated and documented this TEK through a 2-day stakeholder workshop, group consultation, in-depth interviews, field observations, and analyses of survey data from the Ministry of Fisheries, Fiji. Six TEK topics were identified and classified as preventative and treatment options. The preventive approach involves identifying toxic reef fishes, the spawning season of edible seaworms, hotspot areas of toxic fishes, folk tests, and locating and removing toxic organs. For example, 34 reef fish species were identified as toxic. The FP season was associated with the spawning of balolo (edible seaworm) and the warmer months of October to April (cyclone seasons). Two well-known toxic hotspots associated with an abundance of bulewa (soft coral) were identified. Folk tests and locating and removing toxic fish organs are also pr...

Home Care Aides (HCAs) have nearly four times the rate of injury as the general U.S. work force. In 2015, the Service Employees International Union 775 Benefits Group conducted a health and safety survey with 672 HCAs in Washington State. The goal was to identify the risk factors for injury and to better assess injury rates through self-report. Quantitative analyses assessed injury prevalence and barriers in reporting injury. Overall, 13 percent responded that they had ever had an injury that required medical attention while working as an HCA. These rates are significantly higher for HCAs employed by home care agencies compared with HCAs who work independently. Over a third reported moderate to high levels of hesitancy in reporting an on-the-job injury; these rates were even higher for independent providers. Study findings suggest that HCAs are well informed about appropriate next steps following workplace injury, but strong barriers may prevent them from attempting the reporting pr...