Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour to Explain Use of Traditional Chinese Medicine among Hong Kong Chinese in Britain.

The UK Chinese are known for their underutilisation of western healthcare services. Reasons for this underutilisation are complex. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is a widely used model of social cognition, which in the present study is being applied to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) utilisation and satisfaction with TCM services. Two hundred and seventy-two UK Chinese aged between 15 and 91 years (M = 46.55; SD = 18.53) enrolled in the study. TCM utilisation was associated with gender, age, cultural attachment, and subjective norms. TCM users were more likely to be female and older and have a strong attachment to Chinese culture, and be influenced by the views of important others. Findings highlight the potential of the TPB in exploring TCM utilisation, whilst also throwing light on other factors influential in the use of TCM and satisfaction with TCM service provision among Chinese in the UK.

Standards for education and training for interagency working in child protection in the UK: implications for nurses, midwives and health visitors.

This article presents a discussion of key issues for the education of nurses, midwives and health visitors following the completion of a Department of Health funded project, managed by the General Social Care Council and conducted jointly by two research centres; Salford Centre for Social Work Research and Salford Centre for Nursing, Midwifery and Collaborative Research. The work was initiated in response to Lord Laming's report on the circumstances leading to the death of Victoria Climbié. The project was conducted in relation to specified professions and occupational groups: doctors; health visitors; midwives; nurses; police; teachers, and social workers. It was undertaken in two stages. The first stage mapped existing material about standards in relation to education and training for interagency working. The second stage engaged in an extensive consultation exercise through which a model and a set of proposed standards for interagency education and training for interagency work were developed. The former is detailed fully in this report, while nine examples of standards are presented. The project final report was presented seven months after commencement.