Public Health Commons^™

"The Most Important Thing In Ipv Right Now": The Intersection Of Intimate Partner Violence And Brain Injury, Halina (Lin) Haag

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The intersection of intimate partner violence (IPV) and brain injury (BI) has been almost entirely overlooked in research, practice, and policy, despite the known risks associated with the two conditions. Individually, IPV and BI are associated with elevated rates of unemployment, poverty, and homelessness, as well as increased mental health challenges. These social determinants of health, employment status, and income impact women’s wellbeing through access to safe accommodations, food security, and (dis)ability supports. These determinants are also related to an increased likelihood of experiencing addictions, mental health challenges, and physical danger, potentially leaving women vulnerable to ongoing violence. This qualitative …

Still, We Thrive: Understanding How Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, And Other Men Who Have Sex With Men (Gbtmsm) Experience Structural Barriers & Facilitators To Wellness, Lucas Gergyek

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Historically and concurrently, structural violence has been a significant force influencing the sexual health and broader health of gay, bisexual, transgender and other men who have sex with men (GBTMSM). Yet to date, the majority of projects exploring the health inequities facing GBTMSM have focused on intrapsychic and behavioural factors as most related to poor health outcomes. As well, these studies are sometimes deficits focused, and fail to evaluate how GBTMSM continue to thrive, and maintain positive health. As a result, the ways in which systems and policies underlie and perpetuate health inequities facing GBTMSM have been somewhat obscured. Connectedly, …

How Did We Learn About Sex? —— Sex Education And Sexual Health In Chinese Youth, Yujuan Liu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Attitudes toward sexuality among Chinese youth have become more liberal in recent generations, but sex education remains controversial and limited. Due to the lack of awareness of sexual risks, many Chinese youth engage in unprotected sexual activities resulting in unintended pregnancy, abortions, and STIs. Therefore, understanding successful pathways and unique challenges are crucial to develop adequate sex education for youth’s sexual health in China. The current study used semi-structured in-depth interviews and investigated 28 Chinese youths’ experiences of sex education and sexual health. The results mapped out youth’s sex education experiences by age and sources and demonstrated the impacts of …

The Lived Experiences Of Developmental Disability Caregivers And Service Providers In Ontario, Tetyana Ali

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Providing care for children with developmental disabilities (CwDD) is complex and is a life-long journey. Caregivers (CGs) of CwDD experience higher levels of stress, declining mental and physical health, feelings of isolation, diminished financial outcomes, and an overall lower quality of life. Additionally, they often face marginalization and numerous barriers when trying to access funding and supports. This study explored the experiences of CGs of CwDD in the context of Ontario and included the perspectives of CGs and service providers (SPs) to investigate the role the government played in CGs ability to provide adequate care.

Twenty participants were recruited through …

Evaluating Employees’ Experiences In Implementing Covid-19 Safety Protocols In Ontario Parks, Jessica Kaatz

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a wide range of public health challenges for park management and staff in Ontario. Green spaces have become a source of resilience during the spread of the virus, partly due to their proven positive impacts on social, mental and physical well-being. With the introduction of social distancing protocols, utilization of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and standardizing constant sanitation efforts, park employees are more responsible than ever for the daily implementation of rules governing park safety and security. At the same time, increased visitor numbers and continually changing government protocols that varied between regional jurisdictions have …

Exploring Young Acb Women’S Experiences Of Navigating Sexual Health In The Greater Toronto Area., Natasha Afua Darko

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis explores the experiences of young African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) women in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) regarding how they navigate sexual health. Young ACB women face challenges that put them at increased risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Despite this, few studies have focused on the social contexts that affect sexual health for ACB women in Canada. This Community Based Participatory Research ( CBPR) study (N = 24) utilized focus groups to examine young ACB women's experiences navigating sexual health. In the following thesis document, I present two manuscripts where I share a) a reflection …

The Hold Me Tight Program For Couples Becoming Parents: A Mixed Methods Study, Debbie Wang

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

ABSTRACT

Attachment theory has made substantial contributions to the understanding of close relationships. The purpose of this study was to inquire whether an attachment-informed psychoeducational program is a feasible and effective intervention for couples expecting their first child. The overarching question was: Is an attachment-informed relationship enhancement program, such as Hold Me Tight^® (HMT), helpful to couples in strengthening their relationship and increasing their confidence in becoming first-time parents? The research question was addressed using a mixed-methods approach.

In the first phase, the Hold Me Tight^® program developed by Dr. Sue Johnson was modified for use with couples …

Spatial Modelling And Wildlife Health Surveillance: A Case Study Of White Nose Syndrome In Ontario, Lauren Yee

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Wildlife data is often limited by survey effort, small sample sizes, and spatial biases associated with collection and missing data. These factors can create unique challenges from a surveillance perspective when trying to extract spatial patterns of habitat suitability and disease distributions for conservation and management purposes. This thesis examined data quality from a wildlife health database in the context of spatial analysis of wildlife disease. Spatial analysis of the data to predict habitat suitability of bats and white nose syndrome afflicted bats was examined by using the MaxEnt modelling method. Methods to reduce spatial bias were examined and specific …

Hepatitis C Testing And Treatment Access Among People Who Inject Drugs, Monika Roerig

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Hepatitis C (HCV) remains a global issue as it affects 2-3% of the world’s population. Despite Canada’s universal access to healthcare, barriers to accessing testing and treatment for HCV has contributed to approximately 250,000 Canadians living with chronic HCV. People who inject drugs (PWID) account for about 60% of all HCV cases in Canada, making them the primary target for public health interventions, namely prevention and harm reduction. Harm reduction efforts have proven effective to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases and to prevent overdoses, but there remains a large proportion of individuals living with the virus who are unaware …

Learning And Working Together: Invoking Systems’ Change Through Inter-Organizational Collaborative Principles And A Learning Community Framework, Brandon Hey

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Local communities face significant challenges such as increased inequality, immigration, and global climate change. In order to address these challenges whole cities have to innovate and learn together. In this thesis, I introduce the Learning Community (LC) model, a new way of collaborating and creating collective impact that emphasizes learning, alongside collective impact, as a central strategy to addressing complex social challenges. In a LC, members value the continuous pursuit of knowledge, feedback, and experimentation as well as the flow of information and resources between academic institutions and practice groups. The value of learning is built into key structures …

Developing And Testing Quality Indicators For Seriously-Ill Home Care Clients In Ontario, Lisa Harman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Introduction Currently in Ontario, there is no set of quality indicators for use in palliative care settings. Palliative care research tends to focus heavily on those with cancer diagnoses, and therefore potentially misses those with other life limiting illnesses. The current study aims to develop a preliminary set of quality indicators relevant for seriously-ill individuals for use in the community. Methods Secondary analysis of Resident Assessment Instrument for Home Care (RAI-HC) data from 2006-2013 (n=263,767) was used to develop QIs thought to be relevant to the needs of seriously-ill home care clients. Seriously-ill clients were defined as those with a …

Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Daughters/ Daughters-In-Law Providing Primary Informal Care To Their Mothers/ Mothers-In-Law With Dementia, Sarah Macfarlane

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

Objective

As the senior population in Canada rises, more middle aged residents of Canada will find themselves taking on a caregiving role, often times for a parent with dementia. This research examines the lived experiences of daughters/daughters-in-law providing primary informal care to their mothers/mothers-in-law with dementia in order to understand the motivations, effects, and transitions within caregiving relationships.

Methods

Phenomenology was the theoretical orientation used to guide this research and captured individuals’ lived experiences. Background questionnaires were administered initially, followed by one-on-one semi-structured interviews which were transcribed verbatim upon completion for data analysis. Field notes, member checks, and triangulation …

Space-Time Modelling Of Emerging Infectious Diseases: Assessing Leptospirosis Risk In Sri Lanka, Cameron C F Plouffe

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In this research, models were developed to analyze leptospirosis incidence in Sri Lanka and its relation to rainfall. Before any leptospirosis risk models were developed, rainfall data were evaluated from an agro-ecological monitoring network for producing maps of total monthly rainfall in Sri Lanka. Four spatial interpolation techniques were compared: inverse distance weighting, thin-plate splines, ordinary kriging, and Bayesian kriging. Error metrics were used to validate interpolations against independent data. Satellite data were used to assess the spatial pattern of rainfall. Results indicated that Bayesian kriging and splines performed best in low and high rainfall, respectively. Rainfall maps generated from …

Factors Influencing Influenza Vaccination Rates Among Rural Ontario Paramedics, Tonya A. Leduc

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Introduction. Influenza vaccination rates have traditionally been very low among healthcare workers (HCWs) however; very few studies have examined vaccination rates andmotivators among paramedics.

Objectives. The Health Belief Model (HBM) (Rosenstock,1974) was used as a guideline in this study to better understand the motivators and barriers to flu vaccination among rural Ontario paramedics. This group represents a considerable proportion of the HCW community, yet it has been virtually omitted from previous research.

Methods. Through the use of self-report questionnaires, and using the HBM as a guideline, a graphical representation of the decision-making process regarding flu vaccination was generated. The sample …

Japanese Encephalitis: Assessing Disease Risk Due To Landscape Factors At Multiple Scales, Julia E. Metelka

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Japanese Encephalitis is a mosquito-borne disease and is the leading cause of viral encephalitis in Asia. In many Asian countries, the geographical distribution of JE is dependent on a variety of human-environment interactions that can be conceptualized as a complex social-ecological system. The JE transmission cycle is influenced by a few primary human-landscape factors; the abundance and the spatial configuration of rice paddy fields (which provide habitat for the vector), the distribution of pig farms (which position the virus' amplifying host), and the location of a susceptible human population. Our models integrate population dynamics, landscape characteristics, and weather variables that …

Examining Quality Indicator Rates For Older Home Care Clients With Dual Sensory Impairment (Dsi) And Exploring The Heterogeneity Within Dsi., Jacob G S Davidson, Dawn M. Guthrie

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Older adults with impairments in both hearing and vision, called dual sensory impairment (DSI), are at an increased risk of negative health outcomes such as impaired communication and difficulties with mobility. It is unknown whether DSI is associated with potential quality of care issues. This study used a set of home care quality indicators (HCQIs) to examine potential quality issues in older clients (65+) with DSI. Further, it looked to explore how HCQI rates differed based on the geographic region of care and whether the client’s level of hearing and vision impairment was related to certain HCQIs. The HCQIs were …

Experiences Of Victimization And Health Care Access Among Non-Metropolitan Lgbtq+ Individuals, Ashley-Ann Marcotte

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals report substantial rates of violence, discrimination, and negative life events due to homophobia and transphobia and these experiences impact access to health care services and programs (Bauer et al, 2009; Grant, Mottet, Tanis, Harrison, & Keisling, 2010) These experiences result in LGBTQ+ communities needing services, programs, and social supports to provide safer spaces. Although it is well recognized that health care services are not a major determinant of health outcomes and yet use more than 60% of health spending (Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2014; Muzyka, Hodgson, & Prada, 2012). As such, …

Investigation Of Low Back And Shoulder Demand During Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: The Effect Of Different Compression-Ventilation Ratios, Richard Scott Dainty

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Background: The current American Heart Association (AHA) standard cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is performed with a compression-ventilation ratio of 30:2 (standard CPR), meaning 30 compressions are applied to the chest followed by the administration of two breaths to the victim. Some evidence has shown that performing continuous chest compressions rather than standard CPR with breaks in chest compressions for administering breaths, may increase survival rates after cardiac arrest. Cont-CPR has been shown to be very fatiguing in nature, with a significant drop in chest compression force within the first two minutes of CPR. The purpose of this study was to examine …

The Lived Experiences Of Sandwich Generation Women And Their Health Behaviours, Allison Steiner

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Sandwich generation caregivers simultaneously provide care to their aging parents/in-laws and at least one child under 18 years living in the home (Sinha, 2013). In 2012, 2.23 million Canadians were considered sandwiched caregivers. This group is expected to grow as individuals are delaying marriage, resulting in delayed childrearing (Robinson, Barbee, Martin, Singer, Yegidis, 2003). Further, the government has been advocating for caregiving to move from formal to informal caregiving. Although this would help the government immensely, this creates challenges for middle-aged adults occupying multiple roles. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of sandwich generation women …

Ems Use By The Young Adult Population In The Region Of Waterloo, Karen J. Totzke

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Anecdotal evidence suggests that university students are accessing local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) more frequently, usually as a result of alcohol consumption. In doing so, they endanger their personal health and create challenges for EMS and local hospitals. This study examined EMS use by young adults (ages 16-24 years) to identify differences between university students and youth in the Region of Waterloo, and to determine predictors of transport to hospital. This cross-sectional study used retrospective data collected during a six-year period (2006-2011) from a large, mixed urban and rural municipal ambulance service located in southwestern Ontario. Data were extracted from …

Transient Trunk Flexion: The Potential To Alleviate Low Back Pain During Prolonged Standing, Danielle M. Stewart

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The current study examined potential benefits of intermittent, short-term periods of full trunk flexion on the development of low back pain (LBP) over two hours of standing. Sixteen participants completed a 2-hour standing protocol, on two separate days. On one day, participants stood statically for 2 hours; on the other day participants bent forward to full spine flexion for 5 seconds every 15-minutes. During both protocols, participants reported LBP using a 100mm visual analogue scale every 15-minutes. During the flexion trials, erector spinae muscle activation was monitored. Ultimately, intermittent trunk flexion reduced LBP by 36% (10mm) at the end of …

Physical Fitness Characteristics Of An Active Firefighter Population Serving An Urban Area, Michael R. Antolini

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Firefighters require a high level of physical fitness in order to meet the demands of their profession. While physical fitness testing is required to join the department, firefighters are not subject to further formal exercise testing throughout the duration of their careers. Active, career firefighters were tested on a variety of physical fitness measures related to body composition, strength, power, and endurance over three testing sessions. 49 firefighters (40.5 ± 8.3 yr, 89.5 ± 13.0 kg, 27.8 ± 3.6 kg/m2) were found to have a resting heart rate of 57.7 ± 8.2 bpm, blood pressure of 121.5 ± 11.9/71.5 ± …

Increased Solar Ultra Violet Radiation And Possible Links To Health Effects In Nunavut, Shaun Greig Carson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Ultra violet radiation (UVR) is believed to be linked to many health problems, and numerous studies have been conducted on Caucasian populations at all latitudes. Nunavut, in the Canadian Arctic, comprises approximately one fifth of Canada's land mass and has a scattered population, the majority of which (over 70%) is Inuit. Nunavut also possesses a unique physical geography, as well as culture, which may result in its population being at great risk from UVR Very little research has been conducted in Nunavut on the affects of increased solar UVR and possible links to health. This thesis has compiled baseline data …

Pandemic Influenza: An Analysis Of The Spread Of Influenza In Kitchener, October 1918 (Ontario), Niall Phillip Alan Sean Johnson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Influenza remains one of the major killers in modern society. In addition to the mortality it causes, it exacts a huge medical, social and economic toll. Due to its propensity to undergo change, through antigenic drift and shift, this disease continues to torment humankind. These changes are the driving force that enables influenza to periodically become epidemic and pandemic. The study of past pandemics thus may provide useful insight to comb-it the disease now and in the future. The 1918-19 pandemic is one of the three worst outbreaks of disease in recorded history, with only the Justinian plagues and the …