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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Community-Based Research

Selected Works

2013

Social support

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Sense Of Belonging In The Urban School Environments Of Aboriginal Youth, Chantelle Am Richmond, Dawn Smith, * The Wabano Centre For Aboriginal Health Dec 2013

Sense Of Belonging In The Urban School Environments Of Aboriginal Youth, Chantelle Am Richmond, Dawn Smith, * The Wabano Centre For Aboriginal Health

Chantelle Richmond

It is well established that educational attainment and social support are critical social determinants of health among Aboriginal Canadians. Still, the gap in educational attainment with non-Aboriginal Canadians continues to grow, and little is known about the role of social support as a health determinant among Aboriginal youth. In collaboration with The Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health (Ottawa, Canada), we undertook focus groups with urban Aboriginal youth at-risk to examine perceptions of their urban school environments, including access to social support. Data were analyzed using a general inductive approach. Results indicate that youths’ perceived level of trust is key to …


Sudanese And Somali Refugees In Canada: Social Support Needs And Preferences, Edward Makawrimba, Miriam Stewart, Laura Simich, Knox Makumbe, Edward Shizha, Sharon Anderson Jan 2013

Sudanese And Somali Refugees In Canada: Social Support Needs And Preferences, Edward Makawrimba, Miriam Stewart, Laura Simich, Knox Makumbe, Edward Shizha, Sharon Anderson

Edward Shizha

The aim of the study was to identify the unique support needs and preferences of African refugees in Canada. In-depth interviews were conducted with Sudanese and Somali refugees (n=68) living in two cities in central and western Canada. Refugees were interviewed individually to identify their support needs, current sources of support, available support programmes, barriers to access to support resources, and preferred support interventions. These refugees reported major support needs, depleted social networks, and barriers to accessing services and supports. They identified distinct preferences for support from peers from the same country of origin and professionals. Participants wanted group-level support …