Family Practice Nursing Commons^™

About Dying And Death: Thanatology's Place In Medical Curriculum, Jill Dombroski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study explored how healthcare providers engage in advance care planning and end-of-life care conversations. The research explored what shapes their understanding and the extent to which concepts from thanatology they intuitively bring in, explicitly bring in, and maybe fail to recognize. To achieve this, constructivist grounded theory (CGT) methodology guided the design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation of the findings, which allowed for iteration across interviews and analysis with existing theories and data in the literature. The CGT design encouraged further engagement with the literature in an ongoing iterative fashion as well as with the analysis of the data. …

Chronic Disease Management In A Nurse Practitioner Led Clinic: An Interpretive Description Study, Natalie Floriancic

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Statement of research problem: Nurse practitioner led clinics (NPLC) in Ontario (ON) represent a model of care that is potentially well-situated to improve primary healthcare delivery. There is currently limited knowledge about this model of cares impact on patients with chronic disease. This study explored current chronic disease management practices implemented by Nurse Practitioners (NP) within NPLCs across ON.

Methods: Using a qualitative interpretive description methodology, eleven in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with nurse practitioners practicing within NPLCs in Ontario.

Results: Results indicate NPLCs successfully support patients with chronic disease through provision of on-site multidisciplinary care, continuity in service provision …

Health Care Initiative To Evaluate The Impact Of A Nurse Practitioner Led Community Wound Care Service On Emergency Department Utilization, Sherry Morrell

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Nurse Practitioners (NP) diagnose and treat wounds and wound-related conditions based on their advanced scope of practice. An NP with graduate-level wound care education (NP(W)) gains additional knowledge and clinical experience to provide comprehensive wound care.

This research aimed to explore community patients’ access to wound care in Southwestern Ontario (Canada). A quality improvement project was initiated utilizing stakeholder feedback to develop and implement a 12-week pilot NP(W)-Led community-based wound care service; the NP(W) wound care practices, clinical outcomes, and adverse events were described. One hundred twelve participants attended the service over 117 visits. The NP(W) services included prescribing and …

Women's Quality Of Life After Leaving An Abusive Relationship: The Effects Of Past And Ongoing Intimate Partner Violence, Mastery And Social Support, Diana Jaradat

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is considered a major stressor that threatens the lives of women globally. Although qualitative research suggests that IPV has substantial negative effects on women’s quality of life, few quantitative studies have examined the quality of life of women who have experienced IPV due, in part, to the lack of an appropriate, brief measure of QOL. Consequently, little is known about the contextual process by which IPV experiences affect women’s quality of life (QOL) after leaving an abusive relationship. Mastery and social support are two important resources that women may use to deal with IPV but whether …

Gender And Experiences Of Family Homelessness, Fawziah Almalki

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

BACKGROUND: Family homelessness is a growing issue in Canada. Families have been reported as the most rapidly increasing population of emergency shelter users. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of family homelessness in A mid-sized Canadian city and, in particular, the role that gender plays in these experiences.

METHODS: This project was a secondary analysis situated within a critical theoretical perspective. The data for this study, consisting of 4 focus groups, 36 family member participants interviews, and 10 shelter staff members interviews, was extracted from a primary study that focused on diversion from family homelessness. Qualitative …

An Investigation Of Health Literacy, Acculturation, Diabetes Knowledge, And Social Supports Among Latinos With Diabetes In Southern Ontario, Ivonne Aguilar

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The prevalence of diabetes is high among Latino people. This study investigated the relationships between health literacy, acculturation, social support, and diabetes-related knowledge among Latino adults with Type 2 diabetes and informal caregivers with a family history of Type 2 diabetes. A non-experimental, cross-sectional design was used to examine these relationships among 73 adult Latino participants living in Southern Ontario. Based on Nutbeam’s conceptualization of health literacy, associations existed between health literacy, acculturation and knowledge of diabetes among Latino participants, yet the concept of social support showed no direct relationship to health literacy. This research has explored the factors that …

Mothers' Lived Experience Of Parenting An Infant/Young Child With Special Needs In A Rural Context, Lauren M. Elford

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Parenting an infant with special needs requires performing extra care giving duties and mothers living in rural communities face additional challenges obtaining health and social support services. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used to explore the lived experience of parenting young children with special needs from rural mothers’ perspectives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 7 mothers. Findings revealed an overarching theme entitled Getting Through It and 6 subthemes: Experiencing the Unexpected; Overcoming the Challenges to Mothering; Unconditional Commitment to Child; The Lived Human Relation as Powerful; Being a Care Co-ordinator; and Being Transformed. Mothers of infants …

Comparison Of Housed And Homeless Patients With An Orthopedic Diagnosis, Susan M. Williams

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Studies on homelessness have shown that people who are homeless are admitted to hospital more frequently, for longer periods of time, and at a younger age than people who are housed. Once admitted to hospital, discharge planning is difficult and resource intensive, often leading to discharge back to the streets or a shelter. This puts this population at risk for complications and readmission. Although people who are homeless are prone to orthopedic injuries, there is no research on the outcomes of patients who are homeless with orthopedic injuries. This retrospective, case control study, based on the social determinants of health, …

Food For Health: An Investigation Of Infant Feeding Practices, Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy, And Perceived Barriers And Facilitators, Jessica W. Smith

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Exclusive breastfeeding is associated with numerous health benefits for both mother and child, and is recommended for the first 6 months of an infant’s life. The purpose of this prospective study was to examine, using a survey-based design, the breastfeeding practices, self-efficacy, and perceived barriers and facilitators of primiparous mothers in London, Ontario. A total of 71 women (M_age = 30.0, SD = 4.3) participated in the study. Women (breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding) were asked to complete online surveys at three time points: < 4 weeks postpartum, 3 months postpartum, and 6 months postpartum. Results indicated that rates of exclusive breastfeeding decreased over time, whereas partial and non-breastfeeding rates increased. Women in the exclusive breastfeeding category reported the greatest levels of breastfeeding self-efficacy at all time points. Lastly, participants identified a number of breastfeeding-related facilitators (e.g., partner support, community services) and barriers (e.g., insufficient milk supply, latching difficulties).

An Exploration Of Knowledge Translation Amongst Homecare Providers, Family Caregivers, And Clients, L. Jansen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The aim of this two-phased investigation was to enhance understanding of urinary incontinence (UI) knowledge translation (KT) to inform how UI management knowledge might be translated within in-home nursing practice and family caregiving. Although UI can be managed conservatively, it is a principal reason for the breakdown of family-care and care recipient admission to long-term care. Research has afforded little insight into family caregivers’ experience of KT and the process of in-home KT for UI management.

The first study used a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to explore family caregivers’ experience of UI KT. Data were collected from in-depth interviews with a …