Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Health Concerns Of Adolescents And Adults With Spina Bifida, Jessica A. Starowicz

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Transitional and Lifelong Care (TLC) program is a multidisciplinary clinical service providing comprehensive, coordinated care to adolescents and adults with spina bifida (SB). This study sought to identify the most common health concerns among this population at initial consultation and identify patient factors related to these concerns to ultimately improve health care delivery. A retrospective chart review was performed. Descriptive analyses were completed and associations between concerns and patient factors were determined using Spearman’s rho correlation coefficients. A multiple linear regression was performed to estimate the relationship between patient factors and total number of concerns reported. Ninety-four patient charts …

“I Am The Expert” : The Process Of Adolescent Transition In The Self-Management Of Hearing Healthcare. A Constructivist Grounded Theory Study, Christine N. Meston

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Adolescence is a time when adult behaviours become established and adolescents are more able to manage aspects of their healthcare. Research has examined adolescent transitions to self-manage their personal healthcare needs associated with chronic diseases. Providing children and adolescents with information about their health is an ongoing process and, as they mature, they should be allowed to take on more responsibility for their healthcare management. The purpose of this study was to explore the transition for adolescents who are deaf and hard of hearing toward the self-management of their hearing healthcare. A constructivist grounded theory approach was used to develop …

Breakfast Consumption And Diet Quality Of Teens In Southwestern Ontario, Nicolas Woods

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

BACKGROUND: Breakfast skipping has previously been associated with worse diet quality among adolescents, although research from Canada is relatively sparse. Additionally, many studies do not consider diet quality as a function of calories, which is problematic as skippers tend to consume less energy than consumers.

PURPOSE: This study investigated breakfast skipping habits and Healthy Eating Index-2015 scores among teens in Southwestern Ontario.

METHODS: Cross-sectional, baseline data were used from the SmartAPPetite project, which is currently ongoing. 24-hour dietary recalls and sociodemographic information were obtained from participants and parents (n=512).

RESULTS: Breakfast skippers had significantly lower diet quality, even when calories …

Cumulative Purposeful Soccer Heading Can Lead To Compensatory Changes In Brain Activity During Combined Moderate Exercise And Cognitive Load In Female Youth Soccer Players, Alexandra Harriss

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Head trauma that occurs during sporting events is responsible for an increasing number of emergency department visits in Canada and is associated with an increased risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases.While head injury in American football has been extensively studied, it cannot be extrapolated to non-helmeted sports. Approximately 265 million people are actively participating in soccer and many are 18 years of age and younger. Soccer is unique in that players use their head to redirect the ball; however, the effects of cumulative purposeful soccer heading on brain health are unknown. Accordingly, the objective of this thesis was to quantify head …

Impact Of Diagnostic Terminology On Parental Attitudes Toward Concussion And Brain Injury, Naomi Sanderson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Although some have argued that the terms concussion and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) should not be used interchangeably, any differences between the diagnoses are subtle. In this study, we recruited 98 individuals through Amazon Mechanical Turk who self-identified as having children between the ages of 13 and 18 (inclusive). Participants were asked questions about a hypothetical injury to their child, related to symptoms, participation in school and physical activity, and recovery prognosis. Roughly half (n = 51) were asked these questions in reference to a “concussion”, and the remainder (n = 47) were asked questions in reference to an …

Rural Ontario Youth And Mental Wellness, Brad Ross

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Currently, there is a significant lack of knowledge regarding rural Ontario youth and their mental wellness. This study addresses the following research questions: 1) How do rural youth maintain mental wellness? and 2) What factors facilitate or hinder the mental wellness of rural youth from their perspective? Eight rural participants, four male and four female, aged 16-23 provided data via one on one interviews. It was found that many rural youth have adapted to utilize their rural environment, social support, and intrapersonal techniques to maintain their mental wellness. Furthermore, four main themes act as both facilitators and hindrances to their …

The Development And Evaluation Of A Smartphone Nutrition Intervention For Adolescents, Sarah A. Cappuccitti

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A diet high in fruit and vegetables is associated with the prevention of many chronic diseases; however, only one in ten Canadian students in grades 6 to 12 consume the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables. Using smartphones to deliver nutrition interventions is an emerging area of research, although to-date these interventions typically limit their focus to weight loss. The overarching purpose of this research is to redevelop and evaluate an existing smartphone application for an adolescent population. This thesis used a mixed-methods approach to gain adolescent perspectives on how to redevelop the app and to evaluate its use …

Transition From Paediatric To Adult Healthcare: Readiness And Experiences Of Canadian Adolescents And Young Adults Diagnosed With Epilepsy In Childhood, Alison S.B. Dasiewicz

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Documenting the transition from paediatric to adult healthcare is important to guide the delivery of developmentally appropriate healthcare. The objectives of this research were to quantify the transition readiness of adolescents and young adults (AYAs) diagnosed with epilepsy in childhood, explore its association with individual and familial factors, and describe transfer/transition experiences for AYAs and parents. Families and physicians were followed for ten years as part of the Health-Related Quality of Life in Children with Epilepsy Study and provided report using questionnaires.

The distribution of transition readiness indicates much room for improvement. Age was the only factor significantly associated with …

Concept Mapping And The Cognitive Orientation To Daily Occupational Performance (Co-Op) Approach As An Intervention Framework For Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd), Jessie A. Wilson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Individuals who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience a range of difficulties that impact their daily occupational performance. The current body of research identifies the importance of occupational engagement and competence as fundamental elements in facilitating an individual’s social connections, development of personal autonomy and overall wellbeing. This dissertation explores the use of concept mapping embedded within the meta-cognitive framework of the Cognitive Orientation to Daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) approach, to engage adolescents with ASD in meaningful occupations.

This thesis contains three manuscripts, an introductory and a final reflection chapter. The first manuscript is a methodological paper that …

From Their Perspective: How Adolescents And Young Adults Experience And Conceptualize Life And Occupation Surrounding Parental Divorce Or Separation, Laura R. Hartman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Parental divorce affects adolescents’ emotions, routines, habits, occupations and relationships. The current body of research indicates that parental divorce leads to many unfavourable social, behavioural, and mental health outcomes for adolescents. This dissertation explores the daily lives and occupations of adolescents and young adults surrounding the transition of a parental divorce or marital separation.

This thesis contains four manuscripts in addition to the introductory and final reflection chapters. The first manuscript explores the current North American literature relating to adolescent life surrounding a parental divorce or marital separation, ranging form 1998 to 2014. The second manuscript provides an overview of …

Weight Status Underestimation Among Canadian Adolescents: An Important And Frequently Overlooked Aspect Of The Childhood Obesity Epidemic, Mary Ellen Kuenzig

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Objectives: Overweight adolescents frequently fail to recognize that they are overweight. This project examines the magnitude of weight status underestimation among overweight adolescents and identifies predictors of this underestimation.

Methods: Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (2001-2010) were used. Overweight adolescents (N=11,452) reporting they were underweight or about right were classified as underestimating their weight. The time trend in underestimation and effects of individual-level characteristics on underestimation were examined using logistic regression. Multilevel analysis examined the effect of weight status of community-based reference groups.

Results: For every 5 overweight male adolescents, 3 underestimated their weight; 2 of 5 overweight …