Using SPSS to Analyze Complex Survey Data: A Primer

An introduction to using SPSS to analyze complex survey data is given. Key features of complex survey design are described briefly, including stratification, clustering, multiple stages, and weights. Then, annotated SPSS syntax for complex survey data analysis is presented to demonstrate the step-by-step process using real complex samples data

Education Leaders’ Perspectives on Special Education Research: A Priority Setting Study

Research priority setting, an element of knowledge mobilization, makes knowledge users integral to the development of research agendas. To date, the use of research priority setting in educational research has been minimal. The purpose of this study was to explore educational leaders’ perspectives on research priorities in special education. We conducted a cross-sectional research priority setting survey with educational leaders from 60 public school districts in British Columbia, Canada. Seventy-one participants completed the survey. Results of a pre-set list of questions indicated that the top three research priorities were: grade-to-grade transitions, high school graduation, and time to designation. In terms of designation, or student categorization, participants were most interested in “Intensive Behaviour Interventions/Severe Mental Illness.” When asked about other priorities, participants identified research on types of support/interventions. These results have implications for developing a research agenda that can support informed decision-making around policy-development and programming for students with special needs.

The golden ticket: gaining in-person access to relatives in long-term care homes during the Covid-19 pandemic

Context: Governments made emergency declarations to restrict the presence of family carers in long-term care homes (LTCHs) as part of infection control measures during the pandemic. Within Canada, two visitor statuses were created: ‘essential’ to the health of the resident and ‘non-essential’ or ‘social visitor’, who were subject to additional restrictions. Objective: This study explored family carers’ experiences navigating in-person access to their relatives in LTCH during the pandemic. Methods: Using interpretive description, a sample of 14 family carers (nine daughters, five spouses) living in British Columbia, Canada, participated in in-depth interviews via video call about their experiences between March 2020 and June 2021. Findings: Analyses illustrated variability in carers’ visitor status across families and over time. Two key themes were identified: 1) “Fighting a Losing Battle” describes how reductionist attitudes and policies minimized the role of caregiving and resulted in traumatic disruptions in familial relationships; 2) “Who’s In and Who’s Out” captures inequities in how visitor status policies were applied. Limitations: Restrictions on conducting research during the pandemic resulted in a smaller sample of family carer participants. Implications: Findings highlight the patchwork implementation of visitor policies over the initial 17 months of the pandemic and the precarious space family carers continue to occupy within the LTC sector. Future research should focus on formalising support for family presence during public health emergencies

Family physicians’ and trainees’ experiences regarding cancer screening with patients with intellectual disability: an interpretive description study

People with intellectual disability receive breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening at lower rates relative to the general population, although the reasons for this disparity are largely unknown. Research, both with the general population and specific to people with intellectual disability, has revealed that a family physician’s recommendation for cancer screening or continuity of primary care may increase screening rates. We interviewed family physicians and family medicine trainees regarding their experiences recommending cancer screening to patients with intellectual disability. We concluded that the decision to recommend cancer screening is complex, and includes physicians weighing their clinical judgement as to the best provision of care for patients with a patient’s eligibility for screening, while continuing to respect patients’ autonomy. This patient-physician interaction occurs within the larger medical environment. Further research with experienced family physicians is warranted to better understand this complex phenomenon

COVID-19 IDD: A global survey exploring the impact of COVID-19 on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their caregivers

Background: This protocol outlines research to explore the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on individuals who have intellectual and developmental disabilities and their caregivers. Evidence suggests that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities experience disparities in healthcare access and utilisation. This disparity was evident early in the pandemic when discussions arose regarding the potential exclusion of this population to critical care. Methods: An anonymous online survey will be conducted with caregivers, both family members and paid staff, to explore the impact of COVID-19 on this population in terms of demographics, living arrangements, access to services, the impact of social distancing, and also carer wellbeing. The survey will be developed by the research team, many of whom are experts in intellectual disability within their own jurisdictions. Using back-translation our team will translate the survey for distribution in 16 countries worldwide for international comparison. The survey team have extensive personal and professional networks in intellectual disability and will promote the survey widely on social media with the support of local disability and advocacy agencies. Statistical descriptive and comparative analyses will be conducted. Ethical approval has been obtained for this study from University College Dublin’s Human Research Ethics Committee (HS-20-28-Linehan). Dissemination: Study findings will be prepared in a number of formats in order to meet the needs of different audiences. Outputs will include academic papers, lessons learned paper, practice guidelines, reports, infographics and video content. These outputs will be directed to families, frontline and management delivering disability services, national-level policy makers, healthcare quality and delivery authorities, national pandemic organisations and international bodies

Decommissioning citizenship : the organization of long-term residential care

Long-term residential care (LTRC) is a complex sociopolitical milieu where people from diverse backgrounds come to live and work together. In recent years health care restructuring has resulted in the closure of facilities; health care policy has narrowed the population that accesses LTRC so that only those who are the most medically and socially complex are admitted; and there has been a transformation of the work force, a workforce that is mainly comprised of Women of Colour and is among the lowest paid in health care. The purpose of this study was to critically examine the organization of care in LTRC within this context. The theoretical perspective guiding the study was informed by postcolonialism, postcolonial feminism, intersectionalities, and Foucaudian epistemology. The method of inquiry for the study was critical ethnography, which allowed for critical analysis of `taken for granted' assumptions in the organization of care. Over a period of ten months, I was immersed in two LTRC facilities in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Field work consisted of approximately 218 hours of participant observation. I conducted 51 interviews with administrators, family members, residents, and staff. I reviewed relevant provincial policies and facility-based policies and procedures. I also collected quantitative data related to resident transitions in the health care system (for example, admissions, discharges, and hospital admissions), and staffing levels. Findings from this study were discussed in three key themes. First, a systematic decommissioning of citizenship occurred for residents and staff in this setting. Second, the impact of health care restructuring over the past decade had important consequences for relationships between residents, family, and staff. Third, relational care took place in `stolen' moments that occurred despite heavy workloads. All of these themes were underscored by intra-gender oppression, relations of power, and influenced by discourses of ageism and corporatism, which ultimately played out in day to day interactions between those who live and work there. Recommendations from this study included: addressing the entrenched hierarchies in nursing, further examination of the public-private funding model in LTRC, and the introduction of an independent ombudsperson to ensure consistent, high quality care across the LTRC sector.Applied Science, Faculty ofNursing, School ofGraduat

Special Education in British Columbia : A Population-Based Investigation

Applied Science, Faculty ofNursing, School ofUnreviewedFacultyResearche

Inclusive Education Snapshot : Prevalence over Time of BC's K-12 Students with Learning Exceptionalities and Disabilities

Applied Science, Faculty ofNursing, School ofUnreviewedFacultyResearche

From Kindergarten to Post-Secondary : Educational Journeys of British Columbia's Students with Disabilities and Learning Exceptionalities

In this report, we describe the assorted educational “journeys” that over 68,000 British Columbian students with disabilities and learning exceptionalities take from school entry at Kindergarten through to high school completion, and beyond to public postsecondary education (if undertaken in British Columbia). In particular, we report students’ journeys for each of the 12 separate inclusive education (special needs) categories (“designations”) routinely tracked by the British Columbia (BC) Ministry of Education and Child Care (MECC). These designations refer to a range of disabilities and/or learning exceptionalities. We also report students’ journeys for a 13th “designation” (called Special Needs Ever), in which all 12 designations have been combined together.Applied Science, Faculty ofNursing, School ofUnreviewedFacultyResearche

Back to School : Prevalence of Students with Disabilities and Learning Exceptionalities in British Columbia, Canada, during the COVID-19 Pandemic (2019 – 2022)

Starting in March, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused many disruptions in the delivery of education for students with disabilities and learning exceptionalities (also known as BC Ministry of Education inclusive education ‘designations’) in British Columbia (BC), Canada. With public and independent (private) students grouped together (province total): • Anecdotally, many parents considered ‘pulling’ their children from in-person learning during the 2020/2021 school year. However, this does not appear to have occurred in large numbers, as the provincial number of students with disabilities and learning exceptionalities (designations) actually increased (+1073) between the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 school years. • The increase in students with designations between 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 was higher than in a typical (pre-pandemic) year (+4482). • The three designations with the greatest increases between 2019/2020 and 2021/2022 were Autism Spectrum Disorder (+3950), Learning Disabilities (+1053), and Moderate Behaviour Support/Mental Illness (+819). • The three designations with the greatest decreases between 2019/2020 and 2021/2022 were Intensive Behaviour/Serious Mental Health (-255), Moderate to Profound Intellectual Disability (-155), and Gifted (-67).Applied Science, Faculty ofNursing, School ofUnreviewedFacultyResearche