On Dreamcatchers

In this essay, a unique perspective of dreamcatchers is offered, including their history and their applicability to serve as a means of describing contemporary happenings in Native America

Designer's Corner: Gerontological Nursing Research: A Challenging But Rewarding Field

Permission to include article in the University of Lethbridge Institutional Repository granted by Michelle Sterling, Assistant Managing Editor CJNR.The purpose of this short article is to highlight some of the positive and negative issues confronting gerontological nurse researchers. These issues fall into three categories: ethical, recruitment and sampling, and measurement.Ye

Electroconvulsive therapy: Should this treatment be used for depression? Con - There's a lack of evidence for benefit.

Permission to include article in the University of Lethbridge Institutional Repository granted by Editor.This article provides two differing viewpoints on the use of electroconvulsive therapy for the treatment of depression

A Qualitative Study to Determine the Impact of Caregiver Education and Support Groups

Permission to include article in the University of Lethbridge Institutional Repository granted by Editor.This article describes an alternative approach to evaluating a program involving support groups for family caregivers, using focus group interviews conducted three months following a 10-week program. This was one component of a larger evaluation of the Supporting Caregivers in British Columbia (SCBC) program, funded by the B.C. Ministry of Health.Continuing Care Division, B.C. Ministry of Healt

Experiencing Community Development: Research-based Insights for Gerontological Nurses

Permission to include article in the University of Lethbridge Institutional Repository granted by Editor.This paper will include an overview of some of the characteristics of community development and a description of the community development project. The methods used to evaluate the project will be presented along with results of the qualitative evaluation. Finally, some insights and implications are offered for gerontological nurses who may be engaged in similar community development projects involving older persons

Algorithm for Appropriate Use of Neuroleptics in Dementia

A two-page flowchart that provides recommendations for the appropriate use of neuroleptics in dementia.Funded by Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Grant #200000901

Gambling and Problem Gambling Within Forensic Population: A Review of the Literature

Sherpa Romeo green journal. Permission to archive accepted author manuscriptA review of problem gambling in forensic populations suggests that one third of criminal offenders meet criteria for problem or pathological gambling. This is the highest rate yet found in any population. Approximately 50% of crime by incarcerated problem and pathological gamblers is reportedly committed to support gambling. The prevalence of gambling within correctional facilities (40%) appears lower than in the general population. However, inmates who do gamble tend to do so regularly, and problem and pathological gamblers are disproportionately represented among this group. Inmate screening for problem gambling and provision of specialized treatment are currently lacking in most correctional facilities. In addition to more screening and treatment, there needs to be greater vigilance in detecting gambling and enforcing its prohibition.Ye

Diminished: Canadian women's experiences of electroshock

Sherpa Romeo ungraded journal. Open access article. Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported LIcense (CC BY-ND 3.0)“Diminished” is the result of a two-year feminist inquiry into the gendered experience of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in Canada. This paper focuses on seven women’s experiences with electroshock and how it affected their lives. It raises pressing questions for Canadian feminists about the apparent dispensability of women’s minds, with the purpose being to re-ignite feminist interest in women’s experiences of psychiatry in general and the damaging effects of electroshock in particularYe

"Double trouble": The lived experience of problem and pathological gambling in later life

Open access article.Objective: The objective of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the lived experience of older adults who engage in problem or pathological gambling. Method and sample: Older adults who gambled were recruited and were administered two gambling screens to ensure that they met the criteria for problem or pathological gambling. Eleven problem-pathological gamblers were identified and contributed their narratives via in-depth interviews about their experiences of problem or pathological gambling. Results: Several themes arising from the interviews were similar to patterns identified with younger gamblers, yet distinct patterns emerged. Some older gamblers gamble as an opportunity to break away and escape from traditional roles and go to extreme measures to continue their gambling while hiding it from significant others. Conclusion: Despite research suggesting few seniors encounter problems with gambling, this qualitative study suggests that gambling can have devastating consequences. Older adults may have lessened ability and time to recover from these consequences or from hitting bottom.Alberta Gaming Research InstituteYe

Positive Outcomes in Cardiac Rehabilitation: The Little Program That Could

Permission to include article in the University of Lethbridge Institutional Repository granted by the Canadian Council of Cardiovascular Nurses (CCCN).Cardiac rehabilitation programs (CRPs) are receiving increasing attention because they restore, maintain, or improve both physiologic and psychosocial client outcomes (Evenson, Rosamond & Luepker, 1998). However, less attention has been paid to the effect such programs may have on the health-related quality of life of participants. The objective of this study was to measure health-related quality of life outcomes before and after participation in a CRP. Participants were 64 clients entering one of five CRP groups at the Lethbridge Regional Hospital in southern Alberta. Participants completed the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) (Ware, 1997) both at the beginning and at the end of one 13-week CRP intervention. The SF-36 examines eight health concepts: physical functioning (PF), role-physical (RP), bodily pain (BP), general health (GH), vitality (VT), social functioning (SF), role-emotional (RE), and mental health (MH). Analysis showed a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores for six of the eight categories. Larger effect sizes were found for PF (d=.746), RP (d=657), and VT (d=.593). Smaller effects were found for BP (d=.299j, SF (d=.337J, and RE (d=.271). The findings of this study highlight improved health-related quality of life outcomes for clients participating in comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation programs