Kwadwo Adusei-Asante

Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) use among young people is a public health issue, contributing to the global disease burden (Stockings et al., 2016). In Australia, AOD use among youth contributes adver...

Objective: This umbrella review sought to develop a comprehensive evidence base of the well‐being of grandparent kinship caregivers in order to inform targeted intervention.Background: Despite acknowledging that grandparents constitute the majority of kinship caregivers globally, practical measures to promote the well‐being of grandparent kinship caregivers has not received the required attention in family studies literature.Method: Four databases were searched (CINAHL, Scopus, PsycINFO, and Embase) for systematic reviews published between 2012 to 2022. Seven systematic review articles that met the inclusion criteria were synthesized thematically.Results: Results revealed that grandparent kinship caregivers reported poor outcomes on two crucial domains of well‐being: (a) health and mental health, and (b) social limitations, compared to noncaregivers. The negative outcomes were more profound among custodial grandparents, grandmothers, and those providing intensive care (>40 hours per week). In contrast, custodial grandparents reported better physical well‐being than noncaregivers, and custodial grandparents in some rural contexts reported better cognitive function and mental well‐being. Education, health, and social group interventions were found to be effective in improving the well‐being of grandparent kinship caregivers.Conclusions: In this study we provided comprehensive evidence on the well‐being of grandparent kinship caregivers. Findings revealed key adverse physical and health outcomes for grandparent kinship caregivers as well as variations based on grandparents' gender, nature of kinship care arrangement, and intensity of the care.Implications: The findings suggest the need for health and social group interventions, such as nurse–social worker home visitation programs, to improve the well‐being of custodial grandparents.

Sources of sexual knowledge and information among men have impact on quality of their sexual literacy and decision making. Sexual knowledge impacts on sexual attitudes, which underpin sexual behaviours and in turn impacts the sexual health outcomes of men. A cross-sectional quantitative survey was used to assess the sources of sexual knowledge and information among 484 Kenyan adult men aged 18–54. Data analysis was performed with STATA-16. Results showed that 79% of men learned about sex from school-based sex education, 75% and 72% from peers and mass media respectively while healthcare professionals (35%) and parents (28%) had the lowest influence on sexual knowledge and information. Understanding men’s sources of sexual knowledge and information that informs their sexual decision making can influence sexuality education planning and sexological practice policies targeted to out of school youths and older men. Hence, appraising formal peer educator’s knowledge could provide transformative sexual and reproductive health support services to men.

COVID-19 has revolutionised assessment design and practices in higher education; however, there has not been a shift in the overall objective of enhancing that the association between assessments and learning promotes the holistic development of students. In this study, we provide an empirical evaluation of the perceived effects of assessment practices (invigilated examination and alternative assessments) on students’ mental wellbeing, learning processes and academic misconduct. A cross-sectional study design was employed for this study in which a self-reported survey instrument was administered to 380 social science and nursing undergraduate and postgraduate students in a public university in Australia. We explored the correlations within defined networks by path analysis via partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) framework of SmartPLS 3. Model assessment indexes indicated acceptable convergent, divergent and construct validity scores for the instrument used. Compared to invigilated exams, students perceived alternative assessments to have significant positive direct effects on stress levels, research skills, learning process and time management (). In relation to academic misconduct, students generally perceived invigilated exams to restrain such practices; however, the perceived effect was not statistically significant when compared with alternative assessments (. Although, the popularity of alternative assessment practices may have been driven by COVID-19, the pilot findings from this study suggest these assessment designs and practices have greater potential to promote overall student success and productivity and must be encouraged and utilised in the post-COVID-19 era.

This study sought to synthesise evidence on the sources of sexual knowledge and information and relationship with sexual attitudes of cis men. From a review of existing literature, five categories were obtained from 11 studies and grouped into three syntheses: (1) sources of sexual knowledge and information, (2) sexual attitudes and (3) the relationship between sources of sexual knowledge and information and sexual attitudes. Sex research relation to sexual knowledge and attitudes of cis men is scant across the globe. Men desire reliable sexual information despite peers and online media being more readily available with consequences for sexual attitudes that impact on sexuality of men. We posit that research, sex education, sexological practice and policy intervention are necessary to avail knowledge that provides reliable sexual knowledge and information to men for safe sexual decision making.

Violence and abuse by grandchildren towards their grandparent kinship carers is an important but under-researched issue. Research evidence on the perceived legitimacy of aged-related myths, beliefs, and witchcraft accusations against older people, especially grandparents, in Ghana and Africa suggest that violence and abuse against grandparent kinship carers could be common. This study explored the types of violence or abuse experienced by grandparent kinship carers, and the meanings grandparents associate with the abuse. Thirty-one grandparents were recruited from four communities in Ghana following a horizontal network sampling approach and interviewed using a qualitative in-depth narrative storytelling strategy. Analysis of the narratives revealed three common types of abuse experienced by the grandparent kinship carers which were perpetrated by children living under their care: (1) insults and verbal abuse, (2) stealing and financial exploitation, and (3) physical threats. However, the grandparents rationalised and justified the abusive behaviours by attributing them to factors within the children’s eco-system, such as friends and household members. The findings highlighted three crucial interrelated factors that underlie these incidents of violence including cultural beliefs around witchcraft, family structural dynamics, and grandparents’ attitudes towards violence. Practical recommendations, including the development of a community normative change program, have been proposed to address violence by grandchildren towards grandparent kinship carers in Ghana.