The development of a preventive peer mentoring program for students: Grounded theory at work

In this thesis, I describe the beginning stages of a process for improving the well-being of students in a secondary school community. In the first section I describe the social context of the PTOJCCI. Next, I outline the values and principles that served to inform the research and action. I then review the relevant literature on consultation in educational settings and examine various prevention programs that have been introduced into schools, focusing primarily on those programs/changes that increase social support. Following the review I present the research and action goals of the present project which were to examine change as it occurs at Galt Collegiate Institute (GCI) and to provide recommendations for proceeding with the development, implementation, and evaluation of a peer mentoring program for all students in the school community. To accomplish my objectives I organized one in-person interview and five focus groups to afford the GCI community an opportunity to relate their experiences with, and opinions about, change at GCI. Using a framework derived from the relevant literature on change in schools, I conducted a qualitative comparative analysis on the data collected from the various stakeholder groups. The findings and discussion are presented in the form of a grounded theory and a set of recommendations. The grounded theory is intended to inform change within schools in general, and GCI in particular. Typically, for new programs or changes to be successful, the school community must take ownership of the process and content of a change, and attention must be given to human issues (e. g., recognition for one\u27s efforts) and proper implementation. The recommendations for proceeding with the mentorship program at GCI are organized according to six phases; design, planning, commencement/implementation, interim/implementation, closure/implementation, and planning anew. Prior to concluding, I identify some limitations of the study and relate some of my experiences .15 4 consultant in .1 school setting. Finally, I end by summarizing the main contributions of this work

Building capacity for evidence informed decision making in public health: a case study of organizational change

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Core competencies for public health in Canada require proficiency in evidence informed decision making (EIDM). However, decision makers often lack access to information, many workers lack knowledge and skills to conduct systematic literature reviews, and public health settings typically lack infrastructure to support EIDM activities. This research was conducted to explore and describe critical factors and dynamics in the early implementation of one public health unit's strategic initiative to develop capacity to make EIDM standard practice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This qualitative case study was conducted in one public health unit in Ontario, Canada between 2008 and 2010. In-depth information was gathered from two sets of semi-structured interviews and focus groups (n = 27) with 70 members of the health unit, and through a review of 137 documents. Thematic analysis was used to code the key informant and document data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The critical factors and dynamics for building EIDM capacity at an organizational level included: clear vision and strong leadership, workforce and skills development, ability to access research (library services), fiscal investments, acquisition and development of technological resources, a knowledge management strategy, effective communication, a receptive organizational culture, and a focus on change management.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>With leadership, planning, commitment and substantial investments, a public health department has made significant progress, within the first two years of a 10-year initiative, towards achieving its goal of becoming an evidence informed decision making organization.</p

Beyond the Boundaries Themes for Thinking and Action in the Promotion of Family Wellness and the Prevention of Child Maltreatment

The purpose of this concluding chapter is to reflect on what we have learned regarding the promotion of family wellness and the prevention of child maltreatment (fundamentals for thinking). In addition, this chapter focuses on what can be done to enhance Canada’s ability to improve the lives of children (fundamentals for action). In so doing, we consider key themes that we have identified throughout the book. Some of these themes relate to our conceptual framework that we described in Chapter 1 and that we have used throughout the book, while other themes have emerged over the course of this project

Mapping the Terrain Framework for Promoting Family Wellness and Preventing Child Maltreatment

We know that prevention is better than cure, but provincial ministries of health in Canada devote less than 1 per cent of their budgets to the prevention of mental health problems. Most of the money goes toward treatment (Nelson, Prilleltensky, Laurendeau, & Powell, 1996). The situation is much the same in the United States (Goldston, 1991).We want teenagers who are unprepared for parenthood to stop having children, but we are unwilling to invest in family planning, educational, and preventive services (Harris, 1996; Mitchell, 1998a; Simone, 1995). We know that about 26 per cent of Canadian children experience behavioural, learning, emotional

Planning mental health services for children and youth: Part I—A value-based approach

The main purpose of the paper is to introduce a value-based approach to planning in mental health and human services. Based on the values of self-determination, collaboration and democratic participation, and distributive justice, we present a sequential planning framework that allows stakeholders to consider the following six facets of a service-oriented organization: (a) values, (b) needs, (c) vision, (d) resources, (e) mission, and (f) service. Following an explanation of the rationale and need for such framework, we describe in a case study how we implemented this approach in helping a children's mental health agency conduct a mandate review. We describe how we attempted to enact the values mentioned above during the pre-entry, entry, work, and separation phases of the consultative process. The case study concludes with a 30 month followup report. Finally, we discuss the benefits and challenges encountered in applying this framework, and encourage evaluators and program planners to make explicit and share with others the values, assumptions, and premises that guide their work

Vision and Values for Child and Family Wellness

Historically, children have suffered because they have no social movement to advance their cause. Unlike other groups claiming their legitimate rights, such as seniors, labour, women, and ethnic minorities, children are political orphans. Consider the following examples: Austria, 1940s, doctors kill children with disabilities to examine their brains (Silvers & Hagler, 1997); Brazil, 1980s, off-duty police execute street children because they are considered a public nuisance (Scheper-Hughes & Hoffman, 1997); United States, 1990, the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect declares society’s lack of response to the crisis of child abuse a national moral disaster (Melton & Barry, 1994a); Canada, 1989