Exploring the Lived Experiences of Daughters/ Daughters-in-Law Providing Primary Informal Care to Their Mothers/ Mothers-in-Law with Dementia

Abstract Objective As the senior population in Canada rises, more middle aged residents of Canada will find themselves taking on a caregiving role, often times for a parent with dementia. This research examines the lived experiences of daughters/daughters-in-law providing primary informal care to their mothers/mothers-in-law with dementia in order to understand the motivations, effects, and transitions within caregiving relationships. Methods Phenomenology was the theoretical orientation used to guide this research and captured individuals’ lived experiences. Background questionnaires were administered initially, followed by one-on-one semi-structured interviews which were transcribed verbatim upon completion for data analysis. Field notes, member checks, and triangulation were used to further enhance the credibility of the study. Results From the analysis, four themes emerged: (1) “Master of none.”: The many roles of informal caregivers; (2) The face of dementia; (3) “What a life!?”; and (4)“Every so often you see a little bit of light.”: The silver linings. All of the women expressed experiencing a multitude of both positive and negative effects as a result of their caregiving experiences. Conclusions Informal caregivers play an integral role in the Canadian health care system. This study provides a glimpse into the hectic lives of these informal female filial dementia caregivers. Their stories can provide strength and hope for individuals who have provided care for family members with dementia in the past, in the present, or will do so in the future

Where teachers are few: documenting available faculty in five Tanzanian medical schools.

BACKGROUND:Faced with one of the lowest physician-to-population ratios in the world, the Government of Tanzania is urging its medical schools to train more physicians. The annual number of medical students admitted across the country rose from 55 in the 1990s to 1,680 approved places for the 2015/16 academic year. These escalating numbers strain existing faculty. OBJECTIVE:To describe the availability of faculty in medical schools in Tanzania. DESIGN:We identified faculty lists published on the Internet by five Tanzanian medical schools for the 2011/12 academic year and analyzed the appointment status, rank, discipline, and qualifications of faculty members. RESULTS:The five schools reported 366 appointed faculty members (excluding visiting, part-time, or honorary appointments) for an estimated total enrolled student capacity of 3,275. Thirty-eight percent of these faculty were senior lecturers or higher. Twenty-seven percent of the appointments were in basic science, 51% in clinical science, and 21% in public health departments. The most populated disciplines (more than 20 faculty members across the five institutions) were biochemistry and molecular biology, medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, and surgery; the least populated disciplines (less than 10 faculty members) were anesthesiology, behavioral sciences, dermatology, dental surgery, emergency medicine, hematology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, otorhinolaryngology, oncology and radiology, psychiatry. These figures are only indicative of faculty numbers because of differences in the way the schools published their faculty lists. CONCLUSIONS:Universities are not recruiting faculty at the same rate that they are admitting students, and there is an imbalance in the distribution of faculty across disciplines. Although there are differences among the universities, all are struggling to recruit and retain staff. If Tanzanian universities, the government, donors, and international partners commit resources to develop, recruit, and retain new faculty, Tanzania could build faculty numbers to permit a quality educational experience for its doctors of tomorrow

Feminists Uniting Continuously Kicking Ass

Writings and artwork depicting the objectification of women by the mass media and society at large.https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/feminist_zines/1009/thumbnail.jp

Proof of influence evaluation of the Nigeria evidence‐based health system initiative (NEHSI)

The goal of this Proof of Influence evaluation is to harvest the outcomes of the project; it provides background and context for the project, objectives, and theory of change. The Nigeria Evidence‐based Health System Initiative (NEHSI) undertook activities to increase the generation and use of evidence for decision-making in Bauchi and Cross River states, in order to strengthen the health care system towards delivering effective, efficient and equitable primary health care (PHC). This evaluation reviews outcomes, relevance, and NEHSI’s contribution with NEHSI stakeholders. The pattern of outcomes at the community and individual levels was distinctly different from that at the institutional level

Modeling solutions to Tanzania's physician workforce challenge.

BACKGROUND:There is a great need for physicians in Tanzania. In 2012, there were approximately 0.31 physicians per 10,000 individuals nationwide, with a lower ratio in the rural areas, where the majority of the population resides. In response, universities across Tanzania have greatly increased the enrollment of medical students. Yet evidence suggests high attrition of medical graduates to other professions and emigration from rural areas where they are most needed. OBJECTIVE:To estimate the future number of physicians practicing in Tanzania and the potential impact of interventions to improve retention, we built a model that tracks medical students from enrollment through clinical practice, from 1990 to 2025. DESIGN:We designed a Markov process with 92 potential states capturing the movement of 25,000 medical students and physicians from medical training through employment. Work possibilities included clinical practice (divided into rural or urban, public or private), non-clinical work, and emigration. We populated and calibrated the model using a national 2005/2006 physician mapping survey, as well as graduation records, graduate tracking surveys, and other available data. RESULTS:The model projects massive losses to clinical practice between 2016 and 2025, especially in rural areas. Approximately 56% of all medical school students enrolled between 2011 and 2020 will not be practicing medicine in Tanzania in 2025. Even with these losses, the model forecasts an increase in the physician-to-population ratio to 1.4 per 10,000 by 2025. Increasing the absorption of recent graduates into the public sector and/or developing a rural training track would ameliorate physician attrition in the most underserved areas. CONCLUSIONS:Tanzania is making significant investments in the training of physicians. Without linking these doctors to employment and ensuring their retention, the majority of this investment in medical education will be jeopardized

A pre-post evaluation of an online career planning module on university students’ career adaptability

Indecisiveness and negative thinking regarding career pathways can hinder university students’ career planning, motivation, and mental health. Students intending to enter the workforce after graduation therefore need to develop skills related to career adaptability (i.e. career planning, decision-making, problem solving/confidence and exploration), particularly since career planning and construction is linked to gaining employment. This study aimed to test the effectiveness of an online career planning module on students’ career adaptability.  The career-focussed online module, based on the constructs of Savickas’ (2005) theory of career construction, and tailored to students’ skills and interests, was developed and embedded into the University curriculum of a second-year exercise and public health-related unit. In 2018, 80 students completed the online module, along with pre- and post-intervention questionnaires assessing career adaptability elements including career planning, decision making, problem solving/confidence, and exploration. Dependent t-tests were conducted to assess differences in these measures pre- and post-intervention. Post-intervention, significant increases in career-planning strategies used (t(69)=5.45, p<0.001), career planning concern (t(69)=3.73, p<0.001), decision making (i.e. career path identification) (t(70)=3.86, p<0.001), decision making confidence (t(65)=2.69, p<0.01), and problem solving/confidence (t(65) = 2.16, p=0.03) were observed. Further, 80% of participants identified jobs at post-intervention not previously identified pre-intervention (exploration) and 71% of participants perceived improvements in confidence regarding job ideas/making career choices.  Findings from this research indicated that completing a brief online career education module, tailored to an individual’s skills and interests, improved all dimensions of the participating students’ career adaptability. Further research utilising longer-term follow-up and randomised controlled trial designs are required to confirm the reliability and transferability of the findings

Interprofessional Team Immersion: Team Resilience

Healthcare practitioners take on the responsibility of helping clients maintain or improve their quality of life. Interprofessional collaboration is a key aspect of treating clients in order to provide them with the best possible care. Each healthcare profession has their own therapeutic process, yet they compliment each other very well. The state of the research shows that high functioning healthcare teams can improve the quality of care provided to clients by decreasing communication failures and reducing medical errors (Babikar, et al., 2014; Rosen et al., 2018; Smith, et al., 2018). The aim of the Interprofessional Team Immersion (IPTI) was to provide University of New England and Rosalind Franklin University students with the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the roles and responsibilities of each healthcare profession and have a chance to practice communication skills in a telehealth setting. The current group included students from occupational therapy, physical therapy, social work, osteopathic medicine, allopathic medicine, dental hygiene, and nursing programs. The immersion consisted of 10 total hours, 80 minutes of which were dedicated to direct patient care with client actors. At the end of IPTI, students concluded that they felt more confident defining the roles and responsibilities of other healthcare professionals. It was evident that communication played a key role in the successful approaches the team took, and having opportunities to get to know one another outside of patient simulations allowed the team to build trust, leadership, and cohesion (Cohen-Konrad et. al, 2014). Students also felt that their motivational interviewing skills and ability to navigate difficult client interactions improved because of the IPTI experience.https://dune.une.edu/cecespring2022/1005/thumbnail.jp

External review : IDRC Governance for Equity in Health Systems Program

By 2011, the IDRC’s Governance for Equity in Health Systems (GEHS) and other stakeholders had made considerable progress in establishing the legitimacy of the field, developing methodology and building a critical mass of international health systems researchers. The 2011-2016 Prospectus identified four outcomes towards the goal of improved health in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs) through strengthened equitable health systems. This evaluation provides analysis of programming investments, program adaptability, quality of research and the relevance and significance of program outputs. GEHS’s achievements are above expectations; there is no similar research funding program that has accomplished as much given the time elapsed and available resources