Journalists and Depressive Symptoms: A Systematic Literature Review.

Mental health research focusing on journalists has largely tended to give precedence to trauma exposure and subsequent symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. However, there are several occupational factors that may be associated with the development of depressive symptoms in journalists. This systematic literature review aims to provide a concise, comprehensive, and systematic review of the quantitative literature relating to journalists' experiences of depressive symptoms. The systematic literature review method adopted was based on that prescribed by Fink and contains three main elements: sampling the literature, screening the literature, and extracting data. Key terms were developed and used to source appropriate studies from several electronic databases, a hand search of reference lists was conducted, and authors were contacted to suggest examples of their own work not yet sampled. The sample included 13 quantitative studies reported in English language. Journalists most at risk of experiencing depressive symptoms had (1) greater exposure to work-related and personal trauma, (2) experienced threats to themselves or their family, and (3) reduced levels of family and peer support, social acknowledgment, and education. An area for further investigation is the prevalence and experiences of specific depressive disorders within the journalist population. There are a number of theoretical and methodological issues that can be addressed in future research.

Trust, conversations and the 'middle space': A qualitative exploration of the experiences of physiotherapists with clients with suicidal thoughts and behaviours.

In Australia, physiotherapists are registered healthcare practitioners who possess the knowledge and skills to care for clients with poor physical health as a result of musculoskeletal, neurological, and respiratory conditions. Although physiotherapists are not considered a primary profession in the Australian mental health workforce, the association between suicide and poor physical health suggests that they may encounter clients with suicidal thoughts and behaviours. We used a qualitative approach inspired by phenomenology to explore the experiences of nine physiotherapists who encountered clients with suicidal thoughts and behaviours. We used a combination of focus groups and in-depth interviews to collect this data. The data were analysed inductively using framework analysis. The main themes identified in the data were: i) the importance of trust, ii) the mechanism of conversation, and iii) the 'middle space'. The middle space refers to the experience of working with clients at risk of low or medium risk of suicide. A trusting practitioner-client relationship was reported to be essential in facilitating the disclosure of suicidal thoughts and behaviours. Physiotherapists also reported that less structured subjective assessments encourage clients to talk more openly, which in turn facilitates the disclosure of suicidal thoughts and behaviours. Once the disclosure of suicidal thoughts and behaviours occurred, physiotherapists reported a lack of confidence regarding role clarity and issues associated with this. Difficulties were most evident during encounters with clients with low to medium suicide risk due to a lack of confidence in the accuracy of assessment of these clients. The findings suggest that physiotherapists are well placed to detect and/or receive disclosure of suicidal thoughts and behaviours, as well as the need for physiotherapists to be trained in how to support clients who disclose suicidal thoughts and behaviours.

Journalists and substance use: A systematic literature review.

BACKGROUND: Journalists' exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs), high levels of job stress, and anecdotal reports within the industry seem to suggest that journalists are at greater risk than the general population to experience substance use disorders. The present systematic literature review (SLR) aims to provide a concise, comprehensive, and systematic review of the quantitative literature relating to journalists' experience of substance use. METHODS: The systematic review method adopted within the present study was based on that prescribed by Fink in the 2010 book, Conducting systematic literature reviews: From the internet to paper, 3rd ed., which contains three main elements: sampling the literature, screening the literature, and extracting data. RESULTS: Alcohol consumption is the most widely studied substance in journalist samples and is discussed in relation to quantity, level of risk, and potential alcoholism. The review also considers journalists' use of substances, including cigarettes, cannabis, and other illicit substances. In particular, comparisons are made between journalistic roles and gender. CONCLUSIONS: The research is piecemeal in nature, in that more recent research does not build upon the research that has come before it. Much of what has been reported does not reflect the progress that has taken place in recent years within the alcohol consumption and substance use field in terms of theory, assessment, scale development, practice, and interventions with those who use or are addicted to various substances. This SLR raises a number of methodological and theoretical issues to be explored and addressed in future research.