This study examines how intensive caregivers in Nova Scotia who receive the provincial government’s Caregiver Benefit interpret and experience the program, particularly in the context of its ambiguous goals.

A qualitative descriptive methodological design was used to ensure that the reporting of findings remained close to participants’ own words and to emphasize the practicality of findings. Twenty family caregivers with experience receiving the Caregiver Benefit participated in a semi-structured interview.

Our analysis captured four themes: (a) caregiving intensity shaping perceptions of the Benefit, (b) financial relief provided by the Benefit, (c) systemic barriers to access, and (d) policy problems.

To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the firsthand accounts of caregivers’ experiences with the Caregiver Benefit in Nova Scotia.

A forum theatre-based intervention was delivered to medical students undertaking their psychiatry rotation. A professionally written and acted play titled Revolving Door was adapted for undergraduate education to illuminate the lived experience of a young man with psychosis and his family. A mixed-methods evaluation, comprising a post-intervention survey and focus group, was undertaken to assess to what extent forum theatre can support medical student learning and to identify the aspects that contribute to its pedagogical value.

Quantitative and qualitative data revealed that forum theatre is an effective pedagogical method that helps medical students to improve their intellectual understanding of a condition or clinical skill and gain insight into the lived experience of patients, empowering them to make meaningful change as future clinicians.

The study highlights an innovative intervention that champions transformative learning, an aspect that is often overlooked in traditional medical education.

Human papillomavirus (HPV), particularly high-risk types such as HPV 16 and 18, is a major cause of cervical cancer and other cancers. Despite the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) commitment to cervical cancer elimination by 2040, participation in HPV screening is declining, disproportionately affecting underserved groups, including those experiencing poverty, people from minoritized racial, ethnic, gender, or sexual identity groups, and people living with HIV.

We conducted a mixed-methods study to explore awareness, barriers, and facilitators to HPV self-sampling from clinician and public perspectives. A multi-stakeholder survey (n = 105) and two online focus groups with clinicians (n = 4) and members of the public (n = 5) were undertaken.

Survey respondents identified accuracy, cost-free availability, ease of use, accessibility, clear instructions, and adequate follow-up as critical test features. Participants emphasized that disability, cultural context, language, and socioeconomic status strongly influence barriers and facilitators to uptake. Focus groups provided contextual depth, illustrating how privacy, logistical and emotional impacts, and supportive follow-up pathways shaped acceptability and trust. Clinicians highlighted the need for integration into healthcare infrastructure to maintain trust and ensure support. Public participants recommended community-driven engagement, including multilingual instructions and tailored communication to encourage adoption among diverse groups. Concerns were raised about unintended consequences, such as anxiety following asymptomatic HPV diagnoses and challenges in managing clinical pathways after positive results. Suggestions included leveraging community organizations to reduce hesitancy.

Findings highlight policy and implementation considerations for embedding HPV self-sampling within care pathways to improve uptake and reduce inequalities.

Haiti is experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis characterised by political instability and economic and security hardship. These adversities contribute to significant mental health challenges, which are also exacerbated by poor access to psychological support due to a shortage of specialised professionals. Problem Management Plus (PM+), a scalable and low-intensity intervention developed by the World Health Organization, is based on a task-sharing approach to address the treatment gap by training non-specialist helpers to provide psychosocial support.

This study aimed to explore the implementation process of PM+ in Haiti, focusing on the barriers and facilitators that influenced its delivery. Specifically, the study focused on understanding the contextual factors affecting intervention accessibility, participant experiences and potential adaptations to enhance its effect.

A qualitative study was conducted across three Haitian cities, where trained helpers delivered PM+. Data were collected through the PSYCHLOPS tool with end-users and via cognitive interviews with stakeholders. Thematic analysis was conducted incorporating Lund’s social determinants of mental health model and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory to interpret findings.

Sixteen end-users and five stakeholders participated in the study. Key barriers to implementation and its success mainly included economic constraints and safety concerns. Facilitating factors included strong community engagement, adaptive implementation strategies (such as flexible scheduling, remote supervision and culturally responsive adjustments), alongside strong organisational support. End-users described substantial difficulties in managing everyday problems and emotional distress, as reported during pre-intervention qualitative assessments.

PM+ appeared feasible in the Haitian context from an implementation perspective; however, its implementability depends on cultural adaptations, economic considerations and sustained support for facilitators. Addressing systemic barriers and integrating task-sharing interventions within existing health structures could enhance the long-term impact.

Early integration of pediatric palliative care (PPC) offers significant benefits for children with cancer, yet referrals often occur late in the child’s cancer trajectory.

As part of a larger project looking at barriers and facilitators to early integration of PPC, this study explored the perspectives of healthcare providers (HCPs) on the pros and cons of a universal referral system where all children with cancer are referred to PPC at diagnosis.

Using the grounded theory method, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 66 oncology and PPC providers across 4 tertiary cancer centers in Canada. Interviews were coded line-by-line to explore patterns and themes across the dataset.

Three key benefits emerged that included: reducing stigma and normalizing PPC as standard care, fostering early relationship building with patients and families, and minimizing HCP subjectivity in making PPC referrals. Cons included the idea that universal referral was a poor use of resources, particularly for children with curable cancers, and that this system lacked usefulness for patients and families.

Universal referral can promote equitable, timely, and family-centered integration of PPC in pediatric oncology. However, these types of referral systems face substantial challenges, particularly around resources. There was also wide variation of opinions and acceptability of universal referral among providers. The adoption of standardized or tiered referral criteria, guided by disease risk, prognosis, or symptom burden, may represent a practical middle ground. Future work should evaluate the impact of such criteria-based referral models on patient and family outcomes, provider experiences, and healthcare resource use.

Long-term segregation (LTS) is used in mental health hospitals in England to manage individuals perceived to pose a sustained risk of harm to others. Increasing evidence indicates that LTS causes significant psychological and physical harm and may breach international human rights standards. The HOPE(S) programme (2022–2025) was introduced nationally to reduce, and ultimately end, the use of LTS for autistic people, individuals with learning disabilities and children and young people.

To explore the experiences of LTS from different perspectives and to examine its impact through a human rights lens.

Qualitative data were collected from 73 participants, including people with lived experience of LTS, family members, HOPE(S) practitioners, clinical staff, commissioners and regulators. Reflexive thematic analysis was conducted as part of a wider, mixed-methods evaluation of the HOPE(S) programme.

LTS was described by most participants as harmful, dehumanising and lacking in therapeutic value. Four interrelated themes emerged: (a) dehumanisation and erosion of personhood; (b) safeguarding and systemic failure; (c) psychological and relational harm; and (d) loss of hope and systemic inertia. These experiences reflected breaches of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

LTS is not a therapeutic intervention and is associated with profound psychological harm and human rights violations. Systemic reform and implementation of rights-based, trauma-informed alternatives, such as the HOPE(S) model, are urgently required to safeguard well-being and dignity in mental healthcare.

To explore the multilevel factors (barriers and facilitators) influencing maternal and child nutrition (MCN) from community perspectives using the Socioecological Model (SEM) as the guiding framework.

An exploratory qualitative study combining semi-structured online interviews (Microsoft Teams) and photovoice method. Data were audio-recorded, translated, transcribed and analysed inductively using Braun and Clarke’s thematic approach, with final themes mapped to the SEM levels.

Two semi-urban communities in Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Twenty-five participants (aged 25–75 years), including pregnant and lactating mothers, fathers, grandmothers, community leaders, and health workers, were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling.

Despite basic nutrition awareness, maternal diets were predominantly carbohydrate-based while infant feeding was characterised by delayed breastfeeding initiation, prelacteal feeding, and suboptimal complementary feeding practices. At the interpersonal level, strong familial and community support was evident, however, grandmothers strongly influenced dietary taboos and health-seeking decisions. Organisational barriers, including poor facilities and negative staff attitudes, reduced trust in primary healthcare centres and encouraged reliance on private clinics and traditional providers. Community-level challenges such as poverty, rising food prices, unreliable water supply and poor waste disposal systems increased the risk of malnutrition. Nonetheless, some households demonstrated resilience through home gardening, bulk food purchasing and adequate hygiene practices.

MCN is shaped by interconnected factors. Sustainable progress requires moving beyond individual knowledge transfer towards integrated, system-based actions that strengthen nutrition and health services, improve access to diverse foods, safe water and sanitation, and leverage existing community strengths.

There is a dearth of research investigating clinicians’ experiences of mental health assessment of patients using an interpreter. This study aims to address this gap in the literature by exploring how clinicians, from several different disciplines in mental health, in both community and inpatient settings, experience the use of interpreters in mental health assessment.

Fifteen participants were purposefully sampled from a cohort of clinicians currently working in specific inpatient and community mental health services in Dublin, Ireland. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using Reflective Thematic Analysis.

Six themes were developed: ‘Interpreters providing depth and adding cultural meaning to assessment’, ‘The absence of control over interpreter performance and selection’, ‘Interpreters being a reassuring presence for patients’, ‘Interpreters undermining patient freedom to express their thoughts and feelings in confidence’, and ‘Further training, guidance, and regulation are needed’, and ‘The practical barriers to interpreter use’.

Findings emphasise the importance of interpreters in providing culturally relevant and meaningful information in clinical assessment, while also providing a reassuring presence for patients. However, our data also highlight the challenges associated with using interpreters in clinical assessment. For example, interpreters undermining a clinician’s ability to control the clinical interview and eroding patient confidence that they can communicate confidentially, and without prejudice. Deficits exist in interpreter and clinician training, guidance, and regulation that warrant urgent action to ensure that language does not prevent adequate, appropriate, and timely recovery-oriented assessment in mental health services.

As in other European countries, mental healthcare in Belgium has to deal with the increasing cultural diversity that exists within society. However, commitment of the Belgian healthcare system toward cultural diversity remains weak, and clear guidelines on culturally competent psychiatric practice are still lacking.

Three focus groups with professional caregivers, three with adult patients, and one with young adults in the transition age were organized. The seven focus groups each consisted of 5–10 participants. Two brainstorming sessions with a total of 15 experts were organized a priori to delineate focus group topics. Data analysis software MAXQDA 24 was used for thematic analysis.

The thematic tree consists of the central theme “culturally sensitive mental healthcare” with five main themes (i.e., vulnerable population, language barrier, mental healthcare stigma, spirituality/religion, Western vs non-Western frame of reference). These themes are further stratified into a number of subthemes and one overarching theme (i.e., diversity policy). The themes have resulted in six recommendations to improve cultural psychiatric care. These recommendations underscore the vulnerability of the target patient population, specific training needs, the need for professional interpreters and intercultural mediators, the place of religion and spirituality in therapy, reflexivity as core competence, and the need to establish reference centers.

The six recommendations provide a scientifically sound base to develop focused and effective mental health policies at the governmental, organizational, and patient level. Continued attention to the importance of cultural sensitivity in mental healthcare provision remains important, particularly in countries that are lagging behind.