Violence against Canadian Women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Health Issue</p> <p>Exposure to violence as children or as adults places a woman at higher risk of poor health outcomes, both physical and psychological. Abused women use more health care services and have poorer social functioning than non-abused women. Knowledge of the prevalence of violence against women, and of which women are at risk, should assist in the planning of services for abuse prevention and treatment of the health consequences of abuse.</p> <p>Key Findings</p> <p>The highest rates of any partner violence were in Alberta (25.5%) and British Columbia (23%). The lowest rates were in Ontario (18.8%). Women aged 15–24 had the highest rates in all regions in Canada, compared with older women. Aboriginal women in Manitoba/Saskatchewan and Alberta had higher rates of violence (57.2% and 56.6% respectively) than non-Aboriginal women (20.6%). Lower rates of partner-related violence were reported among women not born in Canada (18.4%) than among Canadian-born women (21.7%). Visible minority women reported lower rates of lifetime sexual assault (5.7%) than non-visible minority women (12.3%). Perceptions of violence may vary by ethnicity.</p> <p>Data Gaps and Recommendations</p> <p>More information is required concerning the prevalence of violence among Aboriginal women, immigrant and refugee women, women with disabilities, lesbian women and pregnant women. Future national population-based surveys need better questions on the health consequences of violence and related resource utilization. Further research is needed to identify the health care system's role in prevention, management and rehabilitation as they relate to violence against women. Future programs and policies must be based on valid, reliable and comprehensive empirical data.</p

Multiple Roles and Women's Mental Health in Canada

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Health Issue</p> <p>Research on the relationship between women's social roles and mental health has been equivocal. Although a greater number of roles often protect mental health, certain combinations can lead to strain. Our study explored the moderating affects of different role combinations on women's mental health by examining associations with socioeconomic status and differences in women's distress (depressive symptoms, personal stress (role strain) and chronic stress (role strain plus environmental stressors).</p> <p>Key Findings</p> <p>Women with children, whether single or partnered, had a higher risk of personal stress. Distress, stress and chronic stress levels of mothers, regardless of employment, or marital status, are staggeringly high. Single, unemployed mothers were significantly more likely than all other groups to experience financial stress and food insecurity. For partnered mothers, rates of personal stress and chronic stress were significantly lower among unemployed partnered mothers. Married and partnered mothers reported better mental health than their single counterparts. Lone, unemployed mothers were twice as likely to report a high level of distress compared with other groups. Lone mothers, regardless of employment status, were more likely to report high personal and chronic stress.</p> <p>Data Gaps and Recommendations</p> <p>National health surveys need to collect more data on the characteristics of women's work environment and their care giving responsibilities. Questions on household composition should include inter-generational households, same sex couples and multifamily arrangements. Data disaggregation by ethno-racial background would be helpful. Data should be collected on perceived quality of domestic and partnership roles and division of labours.</p

Supporting Resilience in Medical School: Breakthroughs and Barriers

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“She deserves better” : a feminist exploration of gendered bullying

iv, 213 leaves ; 29 cmIncludes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 178-195).Bullying is repeated behaviour that occurs over time in a relationship characterized by an imbalance of strength and power. Gendered bullying refers to the gendered power structures that benefit heteronormative youth (Shute, Owens, and Slee 477). The research questions I am interested in exploring are: What is the relationship between bullying and hegemonic idea(l)s of masculinity and femininity? How does being bullied by boys affect girls’ sense of self and their relationships with others, in both the short and long term? I investigate these questions using feminist theories and in-depth interviewing of four women who self-identified as being bullied by boys in middle and senior high school. Results suggest that bullying took the form of gendered policing as a way to maintain the boundary between “abject” and “normal” gender identities, and the short and long-term effects on participants were low self-esteem and difficulties in social interactions. I argue that when boys bully girls, they are frequently engaging in gender policing, and are punishing girls for not conforming to a sexist, neoliberal idea of girlhood. Gendered bullying could be labelled as sexism, thus conceptualizing it as a societal, not an interpersonal, problem

Personal Health Practices

Health Issue: There are differences in health practices and self-rated health among different socio-demographic groups of women. The relationship between socio-demographic status and a) a range of health behaviours and b) a combination of multiple risk and multiple health promoting practices were examined. The relationship between self-rated health and health practices was also assessed. Key Findings: There were geographic differences in health practices with women in British Columbia having the highest odds of engaging in multiple health promoting practices, while women in Quebec had the lowest. Reports of engaging in multiple risk behaviours were most common in Ontario. Women from Ontario had the highest odds of reporting very good/excellent health and women from British Columbia had among the lowest odds

Greenhouse gas emissions from waste management—assessment of quantification methods

Of the many sources of urban greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, solid waste is the only one for which management decisions are undertaken primarily by municipal governments themselves and is hence often the largest component of cities’ corporate inventories. It is essential that decision-makers select an appropriate quantification methodology and have an appreciation of methodological strengths and shortcomings. This work compares four different waste emissions quantification methods, including Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1996 guidelines, IPCC 2006 guidelines, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Waste Reduction Model (WARM), and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities- Partners for Climate Protection (FCM-PCP) quantification tool. Waste disposal data for the greater Toronto area (GTA) in 2005 are used for all methodologies; treatment options (including landfill, incineration, compost, and anaerobic digestion) are examined where available in methodologies. Landfill was shown to be the greatest source of GHG emissions, contributing more than three-quarters of total emissions associated with waste management. Results from the different landfill gas (LFG) quantification approaches ranged from an emissions source of 557 kt carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) (FCM-PCP) to a carbon sink of −53 kt CO2e (EPA WARM). Similar values were obtained between IPCC approaches. The IPCC 2006 method was found to be more appropriate for inventorying applications because it uses a waste-in-place (WIP) approach, rather than a methane commitment (MC) approach, despite perceived onerous data requirements for WIP. MC approaches were found to be useful from a planning standpoint; however, uncertainty associated with their projections of future parameter values limits their applicability for GHG inventorying. MC and WIP methods provided similar results in this case study; however, this is case specific because of similarity in assumptions of present and future landfill parameters and quantities of annual waste deposited in recent years being relatively consistent

Contextualizing Learning in a Resuscitation Simulation Experience: A Supportive Approach to Simulation for Novice Learners

Introduction: Simulation based experiences (SBEs) continue to be utilized in undergraduate nursing programs as a teaching strategy to contextualize learning. This is especially important for novice students in a resuscitation SBE, where it is important to learn not only psychomotor skills but also the skills required for teamwork, understanding roles, and communication in teams, inherent to nursing practice. Background: Undergraduate nursing students desire teaching strategies to support their learning during high impact SBEs, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation. These strategies need to support novice learners by providing timely feedback on performance, uncover immediate knowledge gaps, and offer opportunities for deliberate practice. An alternate facilitation approach including deliberate practice with multiple in-event short debriefing sessions was compared to the traditional post-event debriefing approach to facilitation in a resuscitation scenario. Method: Using a mixed methods descriptive study, a traditional facilitated guided post-event debrief approach to SBE was compared to a facilitated guided in-event approach using rapid cycle deliberate practice and debriefing using the promoting excellence and reflective learning in simulation (PEARLS). Data collection included Likert scale and open-ended survey questions completed post simulation (N=161). Results: Quantitative results indicated a higher level of support, improved areas of hand-over communication and early recognition of a deteriorating patient with the facilitator guided in-event group. Qualitative results identified three themes in the facilitator guided in-event group: Supportive and Deeper Level Learning, Operationalized Reflection, and Debriefing-In-The-Moment. Conclusion: The facilitator guided in-event group using rapid cycle deliberate practice with PEARLS framework lends to a more supportive approach and a deeper level of learning in simulation with undergraduate student nurses while contextualizing their learning. Résumé Introduction : Les programmes de formation en sciences infirmières de premier cycle continuent d’utiliser les expériences basées sur la simulation (EBS) comme méthode d’enseignement visant à contextualiser l’apprentissage. Cette approche est particulièrement importante pour les étudiantes et étudiants novices lors d’EBS en réanimation, où il est essentiel de maîtriser non seulement les habiletés psychomotrices, mais également toutes les compétences essentielles à la pratique infirmière, notamment le travail d’équipe, la compréhension des rôles et la communication en équipes. Contexte : Les étudiantes et étudiants en sciences infirmières de premier cycle s’attendent à ce que les méthodes d’enseignement lors d’EBS à forte intensité, telle que la réanimation cardiopulmonaire, favorisent leur apprentissage. Ces stratégies doivent être adaptées à leur niveau en leur fournissant des commentaires immédiats à propos de leur rendement, en cernant rapidement leurs lacunes sur le plan des connaissances et en leur offrant des occasions de pratique délibérée. Lors d’un scénario de réanimation, une méthode d’apprentissage alternative incluant une pratique délibérée et plusieurs sessions de débriefing durant le scénario a été comparée à la méthode traditionnelle où le débriefing se déroule à la fin du scénario. Méthode : Une étude descriptive a devis mixte a permis de comparer une méthode traditionnelle de simulation avec débriefing guidé après l’événement et une méthode de débriefing guidé pendant la simulation, qui mettait en œuvre des cycles rapides de pratique délibérée et de débriefing selon l’approche de promotion de l’excellence et de l’apprentissage réflexif en simulation PEARLS (Promotion Excellence And Reflexive Learning in Simulation). La collecte de données par sondage comprenant des questions avec une échelle de Likert et des questions ouvertes a été réalisée après la simulation (n =161). Résultats : Les résultats quantitatifs indiquent, pour le groupe bénéficiant de coaching pendant la simulation, un niveau de soutien plus élevé, une amélioration de la communication lors de la transmission de renseignements et une reconnaissance précoce des patients dont l’état de santé se détériore. Les résultats qualitatifs mettent en lumière trois thèmes pour ce même groupe : un niveau d’apprentissage soutenant et approfondi, une réflexion mise en pratique et des débriefings en temps réel. Conclusion : La facilitation du groupe durant la simulation selon l’approche PEARLS de cycles rapides de pratique délibérée et de débriefing résulte en une approche plus soutenante et des apprentissages approfondies chez des étudiantes et étudiants de premier cycle en sciences infirmières, tout en contextualisant leur apprentissage

Environmental and financial implications of ethanol as a bioethylene feedstock versus as a transportation fuel

Bulk chemicals production from biomass may compete with biofuels for low-cost and sustainable biomass sources. Understanding how alternative uses of biomass compare in terms of financial and environmental parameters is therefore necessary to help ensure that efficient uses of resources are encouraged by policy and undertaken by industry. In this paper, we compare the environmental and financial performance of using ethanol as a feedstock for bioethylene production or as a transport fuel in the US life cycle-based models are developed to isolate the relative impacts of these two ethanol uses and generate results that are applicable irrespective of ethanol production pathway. Ethanol use as a feedstock for bioethylene production or as a transport fuel leads to comparable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fossil energy consumption reductions relative to their counterparts produced from fossil sources. By displacing gasoline use in vehicles, use of ethanol as a transport fuel is six times more effective in reducing petroleum energy use on a life cycle basis. In contrast, bioethylene predominately avoids consumption of natural gas. Considering 2013 US ethanol and ethylene market prices, our analysis shows that bioethylene is financially viable only if significant price premiums are realized over conventional ethylene, from 35% to 65% depending on the scale of bioethylene production considered (80 000 t yr−1 to 240 000 t yr−1). Ethanol use as a transportation fuel is therefore the preferred pathway considering financial,GHGemissions, and petroleum energy use metrics, although bioethylene production could have strategic value if demand-side limitations of ethanol transport fuel markets are reached

Mindfulness in medical education: Students’ perceptions and four recommendations for implementation of a mindfulness intervention

Background: Faculties of Medicine around the globe have implemented mindfulness-based curricula to deal with medical student’s burnout, anxiety and depression. The purpose of this qualitative study is to assess students’ perception of a mandatory mindfulness intervention and their recommendations for further curricula development and implementation.Methods:  Third-year medical students participated in a mandatory three-hour mindfulness workshop embedded in their family medicine academic week. Eleven students consented to two interviews which explored their perceptions of mindfulness and the workshop in relation to their personal and professional wellbeing as well as their views for the implementation of a longitudinal mindfulness curriculum.Results:  Student and institutional benefits and barriers relating to the curriculum were identified.  Student’s benefits included positive changes in stress, self-awareness and personally   that also translated into self-reported better patient care. Students reported lack of time, forgetting to practice and lack of knowledge about mindfulness as barriers. Institutional pride for their support of student wellness and an overfilled curriculum, were the major institutional benefits and barriers respectively, to the expansion of this curriculum. Among developing an implementing a longitudinal mindfulness curriculum, we found four key features to consider: Firstly to engage the stakeholders; secondly, to incorporate the mindfulness intervention into the curriculum with both a mandatory and elective component; thirdly, to emphasize the clinical implications of the mindfulness intervention and fourthly, to have protected time for wellness interventions.Conclusions: Introducing mindfulness into the undergraduate medical school curriculum through this workshop resulted in perceived personal, institutional and professional benefits. For faculties of medicine that want to implement a mindfulness intervention, we found four key components for implementing a mindfulness intervention in their institutions. Further research is needed to better quantify the benefits and to identify ways to manage barriers at both individual and institutional levels.