Somali-Canadian Women: Historical Past of Survival and Facing Everyday Challenges of Resettlement?

Using a qualitative life history methodology, this study explores the migration and integration experiences of Somali-Canadian women/mothers who resettled in Toronto and Ottawa. This study focuses on womens narratives at each stage of migration and resettlement. It explores the internal and external barriers that are now contributing to the Somalis prolonged poverty and a life of toxic stress in Canada. In addition, this study identifies external barriers such as geopolitically based economic/social exclusions as well as internal barriers such as fear and isolation that are silent, systemic and are currently working against Somali-Canadians and other Black ethnic groups. Since 1978 reports from the Horn of Africa depicted a bleak picture of a region in crisis mainly from the areas inhabited by Somali ethnic groups. The contributors of this ongoing crisis have been the long absence of formal governance in that region, the longstanding tribal conflicts in other regions, reports of famine, political Islam, piracy, kidnapping, and mass displacement. According to recent UNHCR reports (2009, 2011, 2012 & 2015), there are now approximately 1.4 million internally displaced Somalis within what was known before 1991 as the Somali Republic and nearly one million Somali refugees who have fled to neighbouring countries. Because of these longstanding regional issues, many Somali refugees resettled in Canada in the late 1990s and early 2000. Upon arrival searching for social support, the overwhelming majority of Somalis began to resettle in Toronto and other major cities including Ottawa. In this study, the narratives of survival in these womens stories were analyzed using a multidisciplinary approach including knowledge from social neuroscience. The findings indicate that more than two decades after their initial arrival the majority of Somali-Canadians still live under stressful, poverty ridden and toxic environments with the possibility of transference of trauma to the next generation. Finally, this study concludes with a recommendation as to how to create an indigenous social work intervention that is acceptable, effective, and meaningful for this ethnic group

The Significance of Indigenous Knowledge in Social Work Responses to Collective Recovery: A Rwandan Case Study

This paper reports a portion of findings of a large research project that sought to understand social helping and healing practices that have arisen in the post-genocide contexts that could inform social work education and practice in Rwanda. A team of Canadian and Rwandan researchers used a community-based and collaborative practice to invite local partners to share their knowledge through 4 different annual workshops. The findings indicated that the locus of helping in Rwanda is focused on community or collective practices, such gutababarana “mutual rescue,” umuganda “community work,” and ibimina “tontines.” These practices are supported by the Rwandan government policies that encourage the revitalization of traditional ways of solving socio-economic problems and rebuilding social relations. Yet, the study noted a disconnect between learned theories and local practices and locally produced materials as social work becomes professionalized in Rwanda. Implications for social work education and practice in post-colonial post-conflict societies are discussed

The Significance of Indigenous Knowledge in Social Work Responses to Collective Recovery: A Rwandan Case Study

This paper reports a portion of findings of a large research project that sought to understand social helping and healing practices that have arisen in the post-genocide contexts that could inform social work education and practice in Rwanda. A team of Canadian and Rwandan researchers used a community-based and collaborative practice to invite local partners to share their knowledge through 4 different annual workshops. The findings indicated that the locus of helping in Rwanda is focused on community or collective practices, such gutababarana “mutual rescue,” umuganda “community work,” and ibimina “tontines.” These practices are supported by the Rwandan government policies that encourage the revitalization of traditional ways of solving socio-economic problems and rebuilding social relations. Yet, the study noted a disconnect between learned theories and local practices and locally produced materials as social work becomes professionalized in Rwanda. Implications for social work education and practice in post-colonial post-conflict societies are discussed

Becoming Resilient: Promoting the Mental Health and Well-Being of Immigrant Women in a Canadian Context

This paper reports on grounded theory findings that are relevant to promoting the mental health and well-being of immigrant women in Canada. The findings illustrate how relationships among settlement factors and dynamics of empowerment had implications for “becoming resilient” as immigrant women and how various health promotion approaches enhanced their well-being. Dimensions of empowerment were embedded in the content and process of the feminist health promotion approach used in this study. Four focus groups were completed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with 35 racialized immigrant women who represented diverse countries of origin: 25 were from Africa; others were equally represented from South Asia (5), Asia (5), and Central or South America and the Caribbean (5). Participants represented diverse languages, family dynamics, and educational backgrounds. One focus group was conducted in Somali; three were conducted in English. Constructivist grounded theory, theoretical sampling, and a critical feminist approach were chosen to be congruent with health promotion research that fostered women's empowerment. Findings foreground women's agency in the study process, the ways that immigrant women name and frame issues relevant to their lives, and the interplay among individual, family, community, and structural dynamics shaping their well-being. Implications for mental health promotion are discussed

CHALLENGES OF GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN COLLABORATIVE TRANSNATIONAL RESEARCH

This paper addresses some of the challenges of gender mainstreaming in the context of a Rwanda-Canada social research project. The study partnership includes a team of academics from the Social Sciences Department at the University of Rwanda and three Canadian universities which are Calgary, St.Thomas and York. The ultimate goal of the research project is to create knowledge that could be used to train social workers to respond appropriately to the complex social issues of post-genocide Rwanda. The research team started by documenting the current practice of social work by Rwandan social workers; it wanted to be sure to understand the influence of indigenous cultures and values in social work practices. Interviews were conducted with 19 social work practitioners in Huye and Gisagara Districts of the Southern Province of Rwanda. The findings about the above stated goal have been published elsewhere. However, the present paper is focusing on the challenges of gender mainstreaming which arose after the field work. In this transnational social research project, the research team realized that it had not adequately addressed the different socio-cultural values of the researchers, particularly their understanding of gender and gender equality. It was found that when research team members/collaborators have different geopolitical locations, gender equal collaboration can be difficult to achieve. The paper reflects on the importance of research collaborators, either locally or transnational, to practice self-reflexivity as they negotiate the issues of power and privilege to produce non-hierarchical and accountable knowledge. The paper suggests that research team members need to be open to discuss the construction of gender and gender equality in both the local and the global context of the research. This research is a reminder that engaging gender throughout the process of transnational social research is crucial to addressing gender equity in post-conflict contexts

Effective Community Project Planning for Academics

Kirurška korekcija skolioza prednjim pristupom je vrlo ekstenzivni ortopedski zahvat. Bol nakon torakotomije je jedna od najintenzivnijih boli što poslijeoperacijsku analgeziju čini vrlo kompleksnom, naročito u populaciji djece i adolescenata. Terapija akutne poslijeoperacijske boli važan je postupak ne samo zbog osiguravanja bolesnikovog komfora nego i zbog preveniranja komplikacija, ponajprije respiracijskih. Cilj ove studije je ispitati utjecaj kontinuirane paravertebralne blokade na intenzitet poslijeoperacijske boli kod prednje spondilodeze u kirurškoj korekciji skolioza u dječjoj dobi. Istraživanje je provedeno kao monocentrična prospektivna studija u razdoblju od svibnja 2015. do prosinca 2016.godine. Uključeno je 80 bolesnika u dobi od 10 do 18 godina ASA I i II statusa. U ispitnu skupinu je svrstano 40 bolesnika kojima je paravertebralno postavljen kateter za kontinuiranu regionalnu analgeziju i apliciran 0,25%-tni levobupivacain, a u kontrolnu skupinu 40 bolesnika koji su za analgeziju intravenski dobivali kombinaciju opioidnog analgetika tramala i metamizola. Intenzitet boli nakon operacije procjenjivan je pomoću VAS skale 1, 4, 8, 12 i 24 sata nakon operativnog zahvata, te svakih 12 sati do petog poslijeoperacijskog dana. Respiracijski parametri FVC, FEV1 i PEF određivani su prije operacije, zatim jednom dnevno do 5. poslijeoperacijskog dana. Bilježena je potrošnja analgetika, trajanje hospitalizacije i zadovoljstvo analgezijom te ukupno zadovoljstvo svim postupcima. Bolesnici u skupini kontinuirane paravertebralne analgezije zahtijevali su oko 50% manje intravenskih analgetika u odnosu na kontrolnu skupinu. Nije uočena statistički značajna razlika u procjeni boli pomoću vizualno analogne skale niti u vrijednostima respiracijskih parametara osim kod FEV1 2. i 4. poslijeoperacijskog dana. Hospitalizacija je bila kraća i ocjena zadovoljstva veća kod bolesnika ispitne skupine. Zaključno možemo reći da kontinuirana paravertebralna bokada značajno utječe na smanjenje boli kod korekcije skolioze prednjim pristupom kod djece i adolescenata.Aim: Surgical correction of scoliosis by anterior approach is a very extensive orthopaedic procedure. Pain after thoracotomy is one of the most intense types of pain and its treatment is a very complex procedure, especially in children and adolescents. Acute postoperative pain therapy is an important process, not only for the patient's comfort, but also for preventing complications, mainly respiratory. The aim of this study is to research the impact of continuous paravertebral nerve block on the intensity of pain in the early postoperative period, after the surgical correction of scoliosis by anterior approach. Methods: The research was conducted from May 2015 to December 2016 as a monocentric prospective study of 80 patients of ASA I and II status, aged 10-18 years. The test group consistsed of 40 patients with a paravertebral catheter applied with 0.25% levobupivacaine for continuous regional analgesia at a dose of 0,1 ml/kg/h. The 40 patients in the control group were intravenously given a combination of analgesics: metamizole at a dose of 0,5-1 gr and opioid analgesic tramadol at a dose of 2 mg/kg to a maximum of 100 mg. The intensity of pain after the operation was measured using the VAS scale at 1, 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours after the operation, then every 12 hours until the 5th postoperative day. Respiratory parameters FVC, FEV1 and PEF were determined before surgery in a sitting position on the bed and once daily until the 5th postoperative day. Analgesics consumption, the number of days in hospital, satisfaction with analgesia and overall satisfaction with the procedures were recorded. Results: Given the demographic characteristics, height, weight, age, gender and Cobb's angle, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups. The patients in the group with continuous paravertebral analgesia consumed about 50% less intravenous analgesics than the patients in the control group. Statistically significant difference was not found in the VAS scores nor was it found in the values of respiratory parameters, except for FEV1 of the second and the fourth postoperative days. The average grade for postoperative analgesia quality was 8,38 in the test group and 7,05 in the control group. This difference was statistically significant. The average satisfaction rating for all procedures was 7.48 in the test group and 6.60 in the control group and is also statistically significantly different. In the test group the number of days in hospital was lower. Conclusion: The results of this study show that continuous thoracic paravertebral blockade with the use of 0.25% of levobupivacaine achieves satisfactory postoperative analgesia with significantly lower consumption of opioid analgesics and fewer side effects. The multimodal approach, linking peripheral nerve blocks and systemic analgesia, was shown to be the most optimal in the treatment of postoperative pain. It is also important to mention that due to the lowered necessity for opioid analgesics decreases the chances of side effects, such as respiratory depression and addiction. The thoracic paravertebral block is an effective method for postoperative analgesia of children and adolescents after ventral spondylodesis in scoliosis correction