Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

"Use It Or Lose It": How Online Activism Moderates The Protective Properties Of Gender Identity For Well-Being, Mindi D. Foster

Psychology Faculty Publications

Regardless of criticisms that online activism does nothing but increase positive feelings, there is merit to understanding the role of online activism for well-being. This research sought to integrate two separate but complimentary lines of research (the well-being effects of activism and social identity) by suggesting that online activism may enhance the ability of social identity to protect against the negative well-being consequences of pervasive discrimination. Three studies, each with different operational definitions of online activism, showed a similar pattern: online activism enhanced the relationship between gender identity and well-being. Consistent with theory on activism’s role as a dynamic predictor …

Are We Doing More Than We Know? Possible Mechanisms Of Response To Music Therapy, Amy Clements-Cortés, Lee Bartel

Music Faculty Publications

Due to advances in medical knowledge the population of older adults struggling with issues of aging like Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and stroke is growing. There is a need for therapeutic interventions to provide adaptive strategies to sustain quality of life, decrease neurologic impairment, and maintain or slow cognitive decline and function due to degenerative neurologic diseases. Musical interventions with adults with cognitive impairments have received increased attention over the past few years, such as the value of personalized music listening in the iPod project for AD; music as a tool to decrease agitation and anxiety in dementia; …

Madness And Lived Experience: An Analysis Of The Icarus Project, Alyson Young

Social Justice and Community Engagement

Psychiatric frameworks are used as the primary lens in the Western world to understand, define, describe, and categorize the experience of mental distress in individuals. The Icarus Project is a community mental health organization that has a focus on intersectionality and uses a social justice lens to look at experiences of mental distress. Members of The Icarus Project believe that they possess knowledge about the potential benefits that exist in the space between brilliance and madness as a community of individuals with lived experience of mental distress. Members believe that, through this knowledge, they can instill a sense of hope …

Exploratory Study Of The Use Of Community Treatment Orders With Clients Of An Ontario Act Team, Magnus Mfoafo-M'Carthy, Cara Grosset, Carol Stalker, Irene Dullaart, Linda Mccoll Dr.

Lyle S. Hallman Social Work Faculty Publications

Community Treatment Orders (CTOs) have raised questions about coercion, lack of autonomy, and effectiveness in reducing hospitalizations and improving service users’ quality of life. This study examined the experiences of clients and clinicians when CTOs are used in combination with Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) in a recovery oriented approach. Eleven clients who were or had previously been on a CTO and eight ACT clinicians were interviewed. Although most clients had negative feelings about CTOs, some acknowledged their lives had improved. Clinicians reported that the decision to employ a CTO is sometimes debated within the team but they agreed that combining …

The Walk-In Counselling Model Of Service Delivery: Who Benefits Most?, Manuel Riemer, Carol A. Stalker, Livia D. Dittmer, Cheryl-Anne Cait, Susan Horton, Narges Kermany, Jocelyn Booton

Psychology Faculty Publications

The walk-in counselling (WIC) model of service delivery has been found to reduce psychological distress more quickly than a traditional model of service delivery involving a wait list. A question remains, however, as to the relative benefit of the WIC model for different client groups. The present study uses graphical inspection and multilevel modeling to conduct moderator analyses comparing two agencies, one with a WIC clinic and the other with a traditional wait list approach, and their relative impact on psychological distress. Key findings regarding the differential benefits for different types of presenting problems as well as clients at different …

‘Self As Instrument’ – Safe And Effective Use Of Self In Music Psychotherapy: Canadian Music Therapists’ Perceptions, Heidi Ahonen

Music Faculty Publications

This article introduces the results of a pilot survey conducted with accredited Canadian music therapists investigating their perceptions of personal psychotherapy and the concept of Safe and Effective Use of Self (SEUS) in the music therapy relationship. An emailed survey questionnaire covered both closed and openended questions on SEUS-related topics. The open-ended questions were analysed using the qualitative data analysis software Nvivo. Simple percentages were calculated to analyse the results of the closed-ended questions. The results suggest that music therapists engaging in psychotherapy seem to work with similar client populations, use similar theoretical approaches and techniques, and hold very similar …

The 4th International Conference Of The International Association For Music And Medicine (Iamm), Amy Clements-Cortés

Music Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Caregiver Burden And Depressive Symptoms In Ontario Home Care Clients, Nicole Williams, Samantha Jamal, Dawn M. Guthrie

Health Sciences Faculty Publications

The onset of depressive symptoms is common in home care clients and their caregivers. Understanding the experience of the informal caregiver can assist clinicians in providing services to maximize the well-being of both the client and their caregivers. The objectives of this article are to examine risk factors for the development of depressive symptoms. A longitudinal analysis design was completed for clients with 2+ assessments. The development of depressive symptoms was defined as a Depression Rating Scale score of 3+ on re-assessment. The results-overall, 10.7% of clients experienced new depressive symptoms and clients with a caregiver who was feeling distressed, …

A Deterioration In Hearing Is Associated With Functional And Cognitive Impairments, Difficulty With Communication And Greater Health Instability, Nicole Williams, Dawn M. Guthrie, Jacob G.S. Davidson, Kathryn Fisher, Lauren E. Griffith

Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Objectives: To examine the relationship between hearing deterioration and several health-related outcomes among home care clients in Ontario. Design: Longitudinal analysis was completed for clients with at least two comprehensive assessments. Hearing status, based on a single item, ranged from zero (no impairment) to three (highly impaired). Hearing deterioration was defined as at least a 1-point decline between subsequent assessments. Results: Seven percent experienced a 1-point deterioration in hearing and roughly 1% had a 2/3-point decline. After adjusting for other covariates, increasing age (odds ratio = 1.94; 95% confidence intervals [CIs] = [1.45, 2.61]) and a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease …

Combined Impairments In Vision, Hearing And Cognition Are Associated With Greater Levels Of Functional And Communication Difficulties Than Cognitive Impairment Alone: Analysis Of Interrai Data For Home Care And Long-Term Care Recipients In Ontario, Dawn M. Guthrie, Jacob G.S. Davidson, Nicole Williams, Jennifer Campos, Kathleen Hunter, Paul Mick, Joseph B. Orange, M. Kathleen Pichora-Fuller, Natalie A. Phillips, Marie Y. Savundranayagam, Walter Wittich

Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Objectives: The objective of the current study was to understand the added effects of having a sensory impairment (vision and/or hearing impairment) in combination with cognitive impairment with respect to health-related outcomes among older adults (65+ years old) receiving home care or residing in a long-term care (LTC) facility in Ontario, Canada.

Methods: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted using existing data collected with one of two interRAI assessments, one for home care (n = 291,824) and one for LTC (n = 110,578). Items in the assessments were used to identify clients with single sensory impairments (e.g., vision only [VI], hearing only …