Despite religion being an important part of some patients’ identity and value systems, therapists report finding it challenging to discuss religion in therapy. Avoiding religion for these patients can have detrimental effects on the therapeutic alliance, treatment outcomes, and parity of access for minoritised groups. Therefore, this clinical guidance paper aims to support therapists to bring religion into the therapy room by addressing six key concerns: (1) difficulties raising the topic, (2) ‘getting it wrong’ when discussing religion, (3) therapist and patient differences, (4) managing negative or ambivalent beliefs about religion, (5) perceptions of insufficient knowledge, and (6) a lack of time for meaningful discussions. These barriers are explored by drawing on empirical evidence, clinical experience, and illustrative case examples. The paper aims to provide suggestions and next steps for how therapists can reflect on and address these concerns, aiming to enhance confidence and competence in integrating religion into CBT.

Key learning aims

1. (1) To support therapists to overcome commonly held concerns around discussing religion in therapy.

2. (2) To provide practical guidance, tips, and suggestions for how therapists can discuss religion with patients.

3. (3) To help therapists to take responsibility for bringing religion into the therapy room where it is relevant.

This paper reports the results of an Australian qualitative study investigating the return of raw genomic data to research study participants. Increasing numbers of participants request access to their raw genomic data, although the legal position in relation to whether data should be returned lacks clarity, particularly in Australia. Interviews were conducted with stakeholders involved in two research studies where participants have undergone whole genome sequencing: ZERO Childhood Cancer, and the Australian Pancreatic Cancer Genome Initiative. Four major themes were identified: whether raw genomic data should be returned; reasons for seeking access; risks in returning data; and processes for return. Our findings indicate that health professionals, scientists, bioinformaticians, patients and patient advocates overwhelmingly support the return of raw data upon request, with ethical imperatives providing a strong basis for this support. Many stakeholders went on to stress the importance of adequate support for participants to ensure risks associated with the return of raw genomic data are minimized, including the provision of explanation and, where necessary, counselling and clinical advice. Our findings provide a basis for arguing that adequate resourcing must be built into research projects from the outset, given expected increases in participant demand for genomic data.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a critical intervention that greatly reduces the risk of HIV transmission, yet limited access to prescribing providers continues to constrain uptake in the United States. This study examines how geographic access to PrEP providers changed between 2020 and 2023 and identifies areas with limited access, referred to as PrEP deserts. Using the Integrated two-step floating catchment area method, this study finds that despite widespread gains in PrEP access, five states experienced increases in the total population living in PrEP deserts. Additionally, more than 5 million residents in states designated as priority jurisdictions under the Ending the HIV epidemic initiative gained geographic access to PrEP providers between 2020 and 2023. However, improvements were uneven: in some states, communities of colour experienced declining access and remain disproportionately represented in PrEP deserts. These findings highlight persistent geographic and demographic disparities in HIV prevention infrastructure despite recent federal efforts to expand PrEP availability.

With a serious decline in music education and limited music technology within school settings, those wishing to practice music for a career or seek employment within the creative industries face economic barriers and social class ceilings. This article explores how young people can access education in electronic music production and align their music practice to industry roles outside of formal schooling. Research was conducted with young people from non-formal music education backgrounds who took part in a three-year programme that included mixing and mastering studio sessions, record label masterclasses and live sound engineering training days. The affordances of DIY musical skills acquisition, collaboration and creative industries social networks were vital for musical engagement and inclusion. Programmes of this nature hold significance for future pathways in music production for those who cannot access formal music education.

Poor public understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) systems has become a matter of acute concern. Even when lacking expert technical knowledge, there are good democratic, economic and other societal reasons for ensuring that the public right to know operates effectively in the AI era. Yet, the trade-secret claims of AI providers and deployers are widely seen as a potential barrier to information disclosure rights and duties, which has provoked calls for areas of significant public interest to be carved out from the protections of trade-secrets law. Such transparency carve-outs are, however, likely to lead to uncertainty, over-inclusion and ineffectiveness. In this article, we argue that the dynamic, public-driven character of the right to know can be better secured through third-party participation and public-interest stewardship innovations in AI transparency.

While much progress has been made in empirically mapping and analysing a variety of interest group activities in the last decade, less attention has been devoted to conceptual work that clearly defines and distinguishes different forms of policy engagement. This article contributes to this endeavour by developing a theoretical framework that explicitly links currently available measures of the policy engagement of groups to the distinct concepts of group involvement, access and prominence. It argues that greater conceptual clarity will lead to better accumulation of knowledge in the sub‐field and a better understanding of the role of interest groups in political systems.

Central theories of public policy imply that lobbying is demand‐driven, meaning highly responsive to the levels of access that political gatekeepers offer to interest organizations. Others stress drivers at the supply side, especially the severity of disturbances which affect an organization's constituency. We test these central arguments explaining lobbying activities in a comparative survey experiment conducted in 10 polities in Europe. Our treatments vary the severity of two types of external threats faced by interest organizations: (1) barriers that restrict their access to decision‐makers and (2) disturbances that compromise an organization's interests. We operationalize these threats at the demand and supply side of lobbying based on an (at that point) hypothetical second wave of COVID‐19. Our findings show that while severe access barriers trigger a flight response, whereby groups suspend their lobbying activities and divert to protest actions, higher disturbances mobilize groups into a fight mode, in which organizations spend more lobbying resources and intensify different outside lobbying activities. Our study serves novel causal evidence on the important dynamic relationship between policy disturbances, political access and lobbying strategies.

Interest group research has focused extensively on political access. While access does not guarantee influence, it is customarily seen as a crucial step towards gaining political influence. It is argued that groups with access are, all else equal, more likely to be influential than groups without access. Biased access may thus result in biased influence. On the basis of a review of this literature, the article shows how the concept of access rests on an intuitive understanding rather than an explicit definition. This hampers methodological discussions of measurement. We propose to define access as instances where a group has entered a political arena (parliament, administration, or media) passing a threshold controlled by relevant gatekeepers (politicians, civil servants, or journalists). On the basis of this discussion, we compare operationalisations based on our proposed definition with some of the major alternatives found in the literature.

Research confronting inequality in volunteering has mostly focused on the attribution of its benefits to different groups and communities, with little attention paid towards fundamental factors that shape such inequalities and how these intersect with volunteering opportunities. This paper highlights the importance of volunteering for young refugees in Uganda, as a means of both learning new skills and earning a livelihood. However, evidence suggests that not everyone has equal access to these opportunities, with inequalities primarily distributed along the lines of language, gender and education. The paper provides a critical examination of the kinds of volunteering organised and promoted by state actors and civil society organisations with a particular focus on access to volunteering opportunities and the ways they can produce inequalities among young people. Based on data drawn from a study among young refugees from South Sudan, Burundi, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in four settings in Uganda, the paper explores issues of access to opportunities as a core premise around which these inequalities are shaped. It demonstrates that rather than address social inequality, the obfuscation of these experiences in how volunteering is organised only serves to reinforce the status quo.

Consistent with many countries in the region, the Republic of Guatemala likely has a high level of mental health need. However, with high poverty rates and workforce deficits, Guatemala faces challenges in providing accessible mental healthcare across the nation. We describe examples of interventions that have been developed to reduce this mental health gap by addressing the existing barriers to accessing mental healthcare. Within this country profile, we identify further opportunities, such as future mental health legislation, to improve access to services across the human lifespan, especially for at-risk and underserved communities.

Background: Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) is a global issue. World Health Organization (WHO) stated, there are 3 categories of antimicrobial: ACCESS, WATCH, and RESERVE. e-RASPRO as a digital ASP may alter antibiotic prescribing pattern by prioritizing ACCESS category as suggested by WHO. Methods: This manuscript was a ward retrospective survey data of 9 months Define Daily Dose (DDD) average before-after implementing the electronic-RASPRO (e-RASPRO) on ACCESS & WATCH antibiotic. Results: Number of inpatients 9 months before-after e-RASPRO implementation were 7,754 and 6,794. Within 9 months after implementing e-RASPRO there was a trend of antibiotic prescription shifting from WATCH category antibiotic to ACCESS category antibiotic. There was a trend of reduced Define Daily Dose (DDD) average of WATCH category antibiotic. 24.82% of 3rd generation Cephalosporin, 33.20% of Quinolones, 14.76% of Carbapenems and 100% of Piperacillin Tazobactam DDD average were reduced. While, in ACCESS Category Antibiotic, there were an elevation of Penicillin and Aminoglycosides DDD average up to 528.66% and 137.66%. Conclusion: T here are trend changing of DDD average from WATCH to ACCESS category antibiotic following the 9 months implementation of e-RASPRO. We need further study to judge the effectiveness of e- RASPRO as a digital ASP tools.

This study examined the use and satisfaction levels of State Law Advisors regarding online legal databases at the Research Centre in the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) in Pretoria, South Africa. The study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of digital platforms in facilitating legal research and decision-making processes. Data were collected via structured interviews with State Law Advisors, who function as primary legal experts in matters of international law. The findings reveal that although State Law Advisors recognize the efficiency and convenience of online legal databases, various challenges hinder their optimal use. Identified key issues include restricted after-hours access, dependence on librarians for database retrieval, insufficient mobile optimization, and a limited understanding of advanced search functionalities. Enhancements to infrastructure were recommended by respondents, specifically the provision of dedicated computers within the Research Centre and remote access through personal devices, especially for individuals working late or travelling internationally. Additionally, there was a significant demand for the incorporation of more specialized international law databases to address the specific research needs of State Law Advisors. The findings underscore the necessity for enhanced digital accessibility, focused user training, and increased resource availability to bolster legal advisory functions and effectively support South Africa’s international engagements.

In Nairobi, water rights emerge not through legal recognition alone but through relationships with infrastructurally powerful actors. Residents must engage with specific individuals across institutional levels who control urban water distribution. This explains neighborhood disparities in water access and why some residents secure better supplies than others. The fragmentation of water control challenges traditional legal and normative frameworks of water rights. Understanding how rights are embedded in everyday socio-material relationships is crucial for comprehending how people establish water access and thereby concretize their right to water in practice.

In this Comment, I reflect on my personal experience in doing research at institutional archives as an early career historian. I discuss how my research has been shaped by encounters with physical and digital sources across Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong SAR and the United Kingdom. In doing so, I draw on the concept of ‘interim archives’ to emphasise the partial nature of primary sources in institutional archives, and the necessity for research to be multi-archival due not only to the realities of access, but also the need to incorporate diverse perspectives.