Public Health Commons^™

Exploring The Experience Of Sexuality And Gender During The Healthcare Transition Of The Youth With Cerebral Palsy, Umma Salma

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Background: Transition from the pediatric to adult health care system is an important phase of healthcare for youth with cerebral palsy (CP). Sexuality and gender are two very important components of health that are mostly ignored in the healthcare transition process. It is possible that health care providers only see a client’s disability, and therefore, key aspects of sexuality and gender diversity may be ignored, or deemed irrelevant as a result of their disability status. Therefore, the purpose of our study is to explore how gender and sexuality may influence the experience of health care transition for youth with cerebral …

Exploring The Experience Of Disclosing In The Workplace, Jillian Auger

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

An alarming rate of workplace violence/harassment is observed each year, with negative outcomes that affect the organization (i.e., financial loss) and those directly involved (i.e., job loss, financial strain, fear of being blamed, being labeled a ‘troublemaker’). The literature indicates that, for many victim-survivors, there is little hope for positive outcomes following a disclosure of workplace violence/harassment. In fact, some studies show that negative reactions to disclosure can compound and intensify the impact of violence/harassment on psychological functioning. However, minimal research has been devoted to the experiences of victim-survivors regarding the outcomes of a disclosure. Utilizing virtual semi-structured interviews, the …

Examining The Socio-Economic And Gendered Structure Of Canada's Live-In Caregiver Program: A Qualitative Study Of Filipina Women's Health Experiences, Andrea Bobadilla

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The primary aim of this critical ethnographic study was to examine how Filipina women in the Canadian live-in caregiver program (LCP) negotiate their own physical and mental well-being while managing the complex health needs of their clients. Using global care chain and postcolonial theoretical frameworks, I also sought to identify how multi-scalar forces including caregiving and migrant policies in Canada and South East Asia exacerbate pre-existing gendered and labour inequities faced by these women. The distressing impact of this precarious form of employment on family dynamics and relationships among family members in the Philippines was also explored. Data collection took …

Impacts Of Covid-19 Related Changes In Income On Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence At Home, Cara Davidson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Introduction: Intimate partner violence (IPV) has increased in Canada due to COVID-19 and associated public health measures. Economic status may be responsible, but this must be validated during COVID-19.

Methods: An online survey was administered to 23 Canadian women to measure their income pre and during COVID-19 and their experiences of IPV in the past 12 months. Factorial ANOVAs and MANOVAs were used to explore the relationship between income and IPV.

Results: Of women responding to both timepoints, 56.5% (n=13) indicated an increase in IPV. Analyses did not suggest that income was significantly related to IPV, apart from the effect …

"Man Up": Male Survivors Of Intimate Partner Violence Through The Eyes Of Their Providers, Xavier S. Borsato

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a complex phenomenon that is often understood with women as the primary recipients of violence and men as the primary perpetrators. However, emerging literature on heterosexual relationships suggests that men also experience interpersonal violence, most often from their female partners. Drawing on research data gathered through semi-structured interviews with service providers (n = 4), this qualitative inquiry explores how gender, power, and the stigma associated with interpersonal violence impact men who have experienced abuse through the perspectives of the service providers who work with them. The findings from this study highlight how traditional constructions …

Pregnancy In Peril: The Impact Of Conflict On Antenatal Care And Skilled Birth Attendant Utilization In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo And Burundi, Bianca R. Ziegler

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

As of 2019, over two billion people globally reside in conflict-affected areas, and as a result, face negative health implications. Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are among those countries classified as fragile and conflict-affected situations, resulting in disproportionally high maternal mortality rates. Grounded in Andersen’s Model of Healthcare Utilization, this thesis employed multivariate binary logistic regressions to examine factors which influence antenatal care and skilled birth attendant usage in these two countries. Findings indicate that women living in high conflict regions were significantly less likely than those in low conflict regions to have their first antenatal care …

Health Policy And Social Change: Women’S Advocacy Groups And Narrative Mobilization, Jill Moffatt

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The goal of this study is to systematically investigate the mobilization of co-created (storyteller and story-gatherer) narratives for policy and social change. A case study format investigated the mobilization of narratives by a women’s health organization in London, Ontario. Semi-structured interviews resulted in transcripts from key actors. These transcripts were thematically coded and analyzed. All interview participants emphasized that from their perspective the organization did influence health policy or social change through their narrative use. Specific policy change examples were provided by participants, and social change was subjectively recognized as realized through the creation of awareness and affirmed through audience …

Investigating The Health Meanings Of Young Saudi Women, Tagreed Alnajjar

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Women’s structural position within society and their family roles significantly influence their health. Previous studies have shown women hold lower health and socioeconomic status because of their gender within the Saudi culture. This study aimed to provide an understanding of how Saudi women value health and define being healthy within their social contexts. Adopting an ethnographic perspective, three focus groups (31 participants in total) were conducted with volunteer undergraduate Saudi female students on campus during a nine-week field trip to the participants’ university, King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Three themes were generated from this study that characterize the …

Social Connectedness, Social Support And The Health Of Older Adults: A Comparison Of Immigrant And Native-Born Canadians, Natalie Iciaszczyk

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Considerable research exists on the influence of social relationships for health in old age. However, few studies have compared the associations of social connectedness and social support with the health of older adults. Using data from the CCHS-Healthy Aging, this study examines how these constructs are related to the self-reported health status of immigrant and native-born adults aged 65+. Results show that social connectedness and social support are differently associated with health in later life; whereas connectedness is linked to better health, social support is negatively related with health once levels of social connectedness are considered. Furthermore, these associations hold …

Visualizing And Interacting With Social Determinants Of Health, Moutasem Zakkar

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the use of information visualization to represent specific social determinants of health, and to examine the benefits of such representation for health policymaking. Methods: The study developed a prototype for a visualization tool (www.healthvisualization.ca), which represents the conceptual framework for the social determinants of health (CSDH) and new ways to represent related health equity indicators. This tool was used by study participants. The experience of these participants and the usability of the tool were evaluated using qualitative semi-structured interviews. Results: Visualizing the CSDH framework helps to present the social …

Exploring The Career Pathways, Professional Integration And Lived Experiences Of Regulated Nurses In Ontario, Canada, Godfred O. Boateng

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In the context of an enduring shortage of nurses, this study explores the career pathways and experiences of immigrant and Canadian-born nurses in two Ontario cities utilizing a qualitative research design consisting of 70 in-depth interviews. Differences in career entry and experiences of workplace conflict across immigration status and race are explored.

First, I explore successful immigrants’ pathways into the nursing profession and their social and economic integration into the Canadian economy in light of the traditional assimilation and segmented assimilation theories. The study reveals distinct career pathways taken by foreign-born nurses and Canadian born nurses. While Canadian-born nurses have …

Interesting Shapes Of Vegetables: Is It A Strategy To Promote Consumption Among Preschool Children?, Salma H. Alhabshi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study highlighted the low intake of vegetables by preschool children and determined whether changing the shape of vegetables increased their level of consumption. A new strategy of repeated exposure to interesting-shaped vegetables was a step aimed at increasing vegetable consumption by increasing the fun element in having vegetables as snacks. Vegetables are the less desirable food in comparison to more attractive unhealthy choices available to children, and discovering a strategy to promote vegetables is considered an important step in nutrition. The primary aim was to explore the effect of repeated exposure (eight times) of shaped vegetables on consumption by …

Re-Cognizing Power In The Culture Of Dementia Care Knowledge, Ryan T. Deforge

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In light of increasing system demands, system regulations, and constrained resources, those living and working with dementia in the long-term care sector are vulnerable to oppressive care practices. This is true so long as our understanding of how social power affects the ways in which dementia care knowledge is created, shared, and enacted remains limited. Based on prolonged field observations and on informal and formal interviews with care recipients, family members, and staff, the aim of this critical qualitative research was to examine the culture of dementia care knowledge in two sites: a specialized dementia care unit in a long-term …

"Being Stuck": Understanding The Health-Related And Everyday Lived Experiences Of Young Mothers In Rexdale, Ontario Through A Social Determinants Framework, Jaspreet Kaur

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the ways the health-related and everyday lived experiences of young mothers are shaped by various social determinants, and in the context of their neighbourhood. Using a critical qualitative methodology, five mothers between the ages of 17 to 19 were interviewed from Rexdale, a neighbourhood in the City of Toronto characterized by a number of social risk factors(e.g. high rates of visible minorities, unemployment, and teen mothers). In-depth thematic analysis led to the emergence of four themes: 1) Living in Rexdale: Representations and realities; 2) Leaving Rexdale and wanting something …

Risk Factors For Diabetes Mellitus: A Comparative Analysis Of Subpopulation Differences In A Large Canadian Sample, Michael James Taylor

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Objectives: Certain Canadian subpopulations observe numerous modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for diabetes. This study compares immigrants and Aboriginals (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) with Canada-born individuals at higher risks for diabetes, and deciphers the determinant differences between them.

Methods: Pooled Canadian Community Health Survey data (2001-2010) were used. Time trends for diabetes within each subsample were calculated using individual survey year prevalence rates; diabetes diagnoses were self-reported (N=33,565). Various risk factors were also examined using logistic regression.

Results: Diabetes prevalence rates significantly increased from 2001 to 2010 for each subpopulation, as well as the total sample: Canada-Born individuals (3.9% …

The Impact Of Social Integration On The Lived Experience Of Resilience Among Women Who Lived In Poverty During Childhood, Nedra R. Peter

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis is a study of the lived experience of poverty and resilience among women who lived in poverty during childhood. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of social integration on resilience to the adverse effects of poverty. This investigation was conducted as a retrospective study. Using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, seven women who lived in poverty during childhood were interviewed in semi-structured interviews lasting 60 to 90 minutes. These interviews, along with a member-checking meeting, were the primary method of data collection. Data was analyzed through thematic analysis informed by van Manen (1990, 1997). The …

Exploring Parental Experiences And Decision-Making Processes Following A Fetal Anomaly Diagnosis, Ramona L. Fernandez

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Often the first indication that something may be wrong in a seemingly normal pregnancy occurs during the first detailed ultrasound appointment between 16 and 20 weeks gestation. Even the most tentative suspicions of fetal anomalies is jarring. Parent’s default reality of a normal pregnancy and a ‘perfect child’ changes to one of risk factors and the possibility of an ‘unhealthy child’. This study begins with the realization of this first loss in a series of losses that follow for parents as they grapple with diagnostic information to be able to make informed medical decisions regarding their fetus and pregnancy. The …