Research — Blog — Sage Perspectives Blog

Brief mental health support for Ontario healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Remember the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic? Businesses shut down, we were told to stay away from other humans, and people were dying from a disease we did not know or understand. Now imagine that on top of that, you were a healthcare worker (HCW). You perhaps worked in a hospital – one of the businesses that did not shut down, maybe even directly with patients infected with COVID-19. Vaccines to protect against COVID-19 did not exist, personal protective equipment was not always available, you could not access your coping strategies the way you normally would, and you were working long hours, with increased possibility of getting COVID-19 yourself. Would that have impacted your mental health?

Editor's Picks, ResearchMoazzma ArshadApril 25, 2024Mental health, COVID-19

Are Functional Disorders Driven By Underlying Psychological Distress?

An intriguing discussion is going on in one corner of the world of clinical neuropsychiatry that has implications that are important for how a very common group of disorders are understood and, therefore, treated. ‘Functional disorders’ are conditions where physical symptoms and signs, after very thorough assessment, cannot be attributed to a general medical condition. Individuals with these conditions make up about 22% of all people presenting for primary medical care, and over 30% in some neurology clinics. The matter of debate is whether we know enough to attribute causation of these conditions to underlying psychological distress, or whether we should take an agnostic approach to causation.

ResearchWehida NiaziApril 25, 2024psychology, neurology, Mental health

What can publishing open access with Sage do for you?

Sage is adapting to the rapidly changing nature of the open access publishing landscape and evolving to better serve the needs of researchers, but throughout, we continue to be a publisher you can trust. Together, we can maximize the potential of you research and make a positive impact society.

Author Services, ResearchRachel WolfeApril 23, 2024Open Access, Publishing, academic research

Informal Workers in the Global South and the Global Labor Movement

Today, among many Marxists and labor scholars in the Global North, the largest segments of the world’s workforce is, amazingly, rarely considered or conceptualized as part of the working class. The segment of the workers I´m referring to is the world’s informal workers, especially the informal workers in the Global South and in Africa.

ResearchRachel WolfeApril 22, 2024capitalism, labor movement, South America, Africa, class-consciousness

Working with Farm Animals as A Therapeutic Intervention for People with Mental and Physical Disorders

Every spring we take duck eggs from our farm to the local farmers market. One of our ducks usually accompanies us at those trips and greets customers sitting in the wicker basket. While people react very cheerfully to our duck’s presence, one time it was a rather unusual reaction: a young woman teared up when she saw the duck sitting in her basket. When I asked her what was wrong, she answered, smiling through tears, “she made me feel so good just sitting here and preening her feathers, so I cried because she is so sweet...”

ResearchWehida NiaziApril 19, 2024AATF, Animals, Therapy, Mental health

Theories and Models: Anti-Racist, Culturally Competent Counselors for Black Gifted and Talented Students

Perhaps more than ever before in recent history, minoritized students need school and mental health counselors who are anti-racist and culturally competent. While my colleagues/co-authors and I focus extensively on gifted and talented students (GATE), our work is relevant to all racial and ethnic students who face individual and institutional barriers to success in school and life.

Innovating Neurological Care: Your Research in Our Special Collection "Advances in Personalized Neurological Interventions: Bridging Transdisciplinary Insights"

Welcome to an exciting new era in neurological care. Our upcoming Special Collection in SAGE Open Medicine, "Advances in Personalized Neurological Interventions: Bridging Transdisciplinary Insights," aims to be at the forefront of this evolution. We're at a unique point where advanced research intertwines with collaborative insights, and your contribution is crucial.

Editor's Picks, ResearchWehida NiaziApril 11, 2024neurology, special collections, brain

Tips and Tricks for Maintaining Wellbeing and Addressing Bias in Research

This blog offers advice on how to maintain wellbeing and address bias in research as a PhD candidate, as well as some broader discussion of how identity and privilege factor into this work.

“Being a father gives purpose and mission in life...” Perspectives on Fatherhood & Involvement During Pregnancy and Childbirth

Becoming a father often represents a critical milestone in a man’s life. Much of the academic literature has focused on the roles, needs, challenges, and expectations of fathers after the baby is born, but there is a need to better understand what it means to be a father from the time they learn of conception through the opportunity they have to see their child come into the world. Fathers perspectives are important for developing resources and implementing programs to help fathers fulfill their roles, and support the needs of expectant and new mothers.

ResearchRachel WolfeApril 9, 2024fatherhood, father, pregnancy, Childbirth

Fighting Infodemics: Labels as Antidotes to Mis- and Disinformation?!

The quality and quantity of the generation and dissemination of mis- and disinformation in the form of inaccurate media are unprecedented resulting in the emergence of infodemics (rapid and far-reaching spread of both accurate and inaccurate information about a topic) They often relate to important matters (e.g., elections), and introduce risks that will likely escalate further. Although labeling false information seems logical in fighting false information, and experts call for this approach, findings in the literature on information-related labels are ambivalent.

Workaholism: Predictors and outcomes over time?

Workaholism implies not only an over-investment in work, but also an inability to stop thinking about work, a permanent and uncontrollable need to work, and negative emotions (e.g., frustration, anger) if the employee is unable to work. In this research, we showed that over 40% of the participants surveyed had high levels of workaholism. Furthermore, employees who tended to prioritize their personal life and were not prepared to sacrifice everything to succeed at work were less affected by these high levels of workaholism.

Determining Accessibility and Availability of Gifted Information on School District Websites

Disparities exist across all facets of educational programs, including gifted programming. Inequities in gifted education have been described as a symptom of prolonged societal dilemmas leading to lack of gifted identification and limited access to gifted programs for students from underrepresented populations. In essence, awareness and access are the first steps towards equity in gifted education.

ResearchRachel WolfeApril 2, 2024education, florida, education system, gifted students, gifted education

The Impact of Sports Participation for the Marginalized during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented global event that required swift and extraordinary actions to protect people from this new disease. These actions impacted the everyday lived experience of people around the globe. In the United States, an emphasis was placed on reducing human contact by canceling in-person events, transitioning to online school instruction, and requiring mask wearing when social contact was necessary. Therefore, our study sought to determine how sport participation impacted youth health for different populations of adolescents.

Quantitative Research: Planning, Adapting, and Thriving

Unlike qualitative studies that test several aspects simultaneously and adapt easily, quantitative research aims to measure something. It gathers data about a set of variables and focuses on testing one central idea. But, if something goes wrong, we may change the whole study.

The case for osteobiologics in degenerative spine surgery

The new AO Spine Guideline for Using Osteobiologics in Spine Degeneration (AO-GO) focuses on anterior cervical discectomy and fusion surgeries (ACDF). It formulates precisely defined, clinically relevant, and internationally applicable recommendations for osteobiologics and their use. The Global Spine Journal Special Issue aims to fill the many knowledge gaps in this exciting field.

ResearchRachel WolfeMarch 27, 2024spine surgery, AO Spine, special collection, AO-GO, guideline

The Invisible Minority

The number of people self-identifying as LGBTQ is increasing in the United States, reaching a new high of 7.1% in 2022 according to a Gallup poll. The same poll found that 1 in 5 (20%) of adult members of Gen Z identify as LGBTQ – also known as sexual and gender diverse (SGD). This may have serious implications for our health systems and providers, as SGD people suffer disproportionately from many health problems, and are at greater risk for anxiety, suicidal ideation, certain cancers, and cardiovascular disease due to difficulty accessing health services and avoidance of primary care.

ResearchRachel WolfeMarch 21, 2024LGBTQ, healthcare, LGBTQ health, Sexual and gender diverse, mental health

How do the geometric characteristics of horizontal curves on rural highways affect the likelihood of traffic crashes?

Did you know that fatal crash rates on curved road segments are approximately three times higher than those occurring on straight segments? Data shows that more than 25 percent of fatal crashes are found to be associated with horizontal curves and the majority of fatal crashes occur on two-lane highways with almost twice fatality rate on rural highways compared to its urban counterpart. Unfortunately, there are very few studies on the safety performance of horizontal curves, especially on rural county highways.

ResearchWehida NiaziMarch 20, 2024highway deaths, Traffic, car crashes

Fracturing the Black Nucleus: Reflections on School Desegregation in Texas Through the Lens of Black Orchestra Students

Centering the voices and experiences of Black string musicians supported by historical context was our main priority when writing this article. We initially thought there would be an increase in representation after the full integration of music competitions; however, the opposite was true.

AO Spine and the PRAXIS Institute release new clinical practice guidelines for acute spinal cord injury (SCI)

Researchers from AO Spine and Praxis Spinal Cord Institute in Vancouver, Canada, have published a new set of clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of acute spinal cord injury (SCI). These guidelines play a major role in making treatment decisions for example in the timing of surgical decompression and the hemodynamic management in cases of acute SCI. Despite the mounting evidence, implementing guidelines into daily clinical practice is challenging—given biases towards clinicians’ hardened routines or material deficiencies in different global health contexts.