Journal of Applied Gerontology, Ahead of Print.
End-of-life Goals of Care (GoC) discussions aim to support care that is consistent with patients’ preferences and values. This study uses an exploratory qualitative design drawing upon a social constructivist epistemology to examine family carers’ perspectives on GoC within acute Australian hospital settings. Twenty-five family carers of aging inpatients were recruited from six Australian hospitals to participate in recorded, semi-structured interviews. Data were transcribed and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three main themes were developed. Theme 1 explored carers’ experiences of GoC discussions—identifying varying levels of preparedness and carers' hopes for open, two-way discussions initiated by empathic Health Care Professionals (HCPs). Theme 2 examined carers’ unmet needs for time, space, consistency, and support to make careful decisions. Theme 3 identified carers advocating for patients' needs when they could not do it themselves. Preparing carers and normalizing GoC discussions relating to end-of-life care maximizes benefits for patients, carers, and HCPs involved.

Journal of Health Psychology, Ahead of Print.
Refugees and asylum seekers are more prone to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than the general population. This systematic review aims to determine which psychosocial interventions effectively treat PTSD among refugees and asylum seekers in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Relevant papers were retrieved from the bibliographic databases. PTSD symptoms post-intervention was the primary outcome. Ten studies were selected with 1981 participants. In meta-analyses of Randomised control trials (RCTs), psychosocial interventions for PTSD (SMD −0.60, 95% CI −0.96 to −0.23; I2 = 91%; 95% CI 75–100; nine studies, 1789 participants) were shown to be clinically effective. Also, in case of depression (SMD −0.59, 95% CI −0.95 to −0.22; I2 = 84%; 95% CI 50–90; seven studies, 1248 participants). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) had the greatest effect size among psychosocial therapies for this demographic. However, the number of studies is small, and their methodological rigour is limited, thus future study should concentrate on performing more rigorous trials.

Journal of Health Psychology, Ahead of Print.
The childbirth process represents a moment of transition in the life of each woman, and is a source of complex and dynamic emotions. The aim of this study was to describe the emotions women experience during hospital childbirth and to determine the conditioning factors. A qualitative prospective study with a phenomenological approach was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 42 women. The negative emotions the women highlighted were fear, anguish, suffering, concern and nervousness, and they were related to factors such as: the evolution of childbirth, the appearance of complications, pain, the doubt about the ability to give birth and poor communication. The positive emotions highlighted were joy, satisfaction, security, confidence and tranquillity, and they were related to the first skin-to-skin contact, effective communication, partner support and participation in decisions. The findings may contribute to the development of policies aimed at achieving the women and newborns’ maximum health and life potential.