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As policymakers globally recognize aging in place as the preferred option for most adults, there is a growing need to supplement family or informal caregiving for frail older adults with formal homecare services, particularly for those who require 24/7 care due to significant physical and/or cognitive impairment. The core objective of this qualitative study was to explore family members' experiences in employing live-in care workers, particularly the nature of their engagement and the quality of their relationships with these care workers. Our analysis of semi-structured interviews with 35 family caregivers revealed four themes: 1) challenges in acquiring support and developing dependency; 2) negotiation of roles, responsibilities, and moral dilemmas; 3) shifting emotions between trust and suspicion; and 4) role confusion, expectations, and disappointments. The study suggests that families might benefit from formal guidance regarding fostering and maintaining positive relationships in the homecare environment. This paper provides nuanced knowledge that may inform the development of such interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how neoliberal ideologies inform both social and political agendas that influence how social workers can provide support to trans and gender diverse people attempting to access gender-affirming healthcare, using an analysis of social workers' experiences working in mental health in Nova Scotia, Canada. Qualitative semi-structured interviews provide a perspective of the experiences of social workers in Nova Scotia and how their ability to provide mental health services to trans and gender diverse people is impacted by neoliberalism. Most social workers attributed the structural context of working within a bio-medical system as contributing to social workers being disempowered, undermined, and not able to practice according to the values of their profession thus limiting their ability to provide affirming mental health supports to trans and gender diverse people in ways that align with their social work professional ethics and values. Through examining how neoliberal ideologies create notions of ideal social citizens by controlling the body, the paper explores how lived experience of neoliberal practices in mental health social work reinforce transnormativity. This paper highlights the necessity for social workers to resist dominant neoliberal and medicalized discourses which serve as mechanisms of power and control. The paper concludes with recommendations for social work practice with trans and gender diverse populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the perception of "relatives" during the rehabilitation of young adults with severe acquired brain injury (SABI). This longitudinal qualitative study followed eight young adults with a SABI from hospital discharge to a year and a half after discharge. The design encompassed professional records, interviews, and surveys, including a name generator list completed by the young adults and focus group interviews with both their families and professionals. We apply a sociological theoretical framework concerning friendship, and we employ social network analysis (SNA) methodology to capture, visualise, and analyse the young adults' significant social relations. Social relations engaged as relatives during rehabilitation are to a large extent determined by the perceptions of professionals and the parents of the young adult. These perceptions contain a limited number of social relations, with priority given to biological and juridical ties. This might reflect the reduced social support available for the young adult, who initially had a much larger social network. The authors suggest a professional rethinking of who "relatives" are as well as considering these social ties as dynamic. Rehabilitation professionals must be aware of and pay attention to differing perceptions that exist as to who qualifies as significant social relations in order to reconsider the practical implementation of relative involvement. The perception of who relatives are during the rehabilitation process should be reconsidered and extended to include who the young adult perceive as significant social relations. Relatives are not a fixed entity and should be considered dynamically throughout the rehabilitation process. Social relations of the young adult must to a larger extent be considered during rehabilitation to prevent social isolation in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In pregnancy, the attachment relationship between a mother and her baby begins to develop and women are more motivated and willing to make changes to become more engaged and responsive mothers and have better relationships with their children. A transgenerational framework has proposed that dysfunctional relationship patterns are often repeated across generations and this has broadened the understanding of early difficulties in parenting. Despite this there has been little research specifically examining high-risk perinatal women and how their interactions with their infants are related to attachment or relational outcomes. This pilot study aims to evaluate, and to explore the acceptability and feasibility, of participating in the Supporting Transitions, Attachment and Relationships (STAR Mums) program, a psychodynamic attachment-based group intervention, for pregnant women with risk factors for attachment difficulties. The STAR Mums program aims to intervene during pregnancy to assist women with risk factors in the transition to parenthood with the desired outcome to improve the quality of mother-infant emotional interactions, regulation and the attachment relationship. This is a mixed-methods design study incorporating both qualitative and quantitative assessments of five groups of five first-time mothers over a 12-month period. This paper outlines the STAR Mums intervention and protocol for assessing acceptability and feasibility. The STAR Mums program takes a preventative approach and supports early intervention for parents at risk of attachment difficulties with their infants. The results of this study will inform revisions to the current treatment manual and a larger-scale program evaluation to further examine the efficacy of this intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the perspectives of working-aged adults with post-stroke aphasia (PWA) towards what has or would help them in living well with aphasia (LWA). This paper reports the findings in relation to stroke care and its relevance for LWA. This qualitative study was designed with input from a Public and Patient Involvement advisory group. We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 14 PWA. Data were analysed following principles of reflexive thematic analysis. Support services and LWA spanned five themes: Inpatient care; Support in the community; Speech therapy; Mental health; and Aphasia education and training. Per the findings, all aspects of stroke care were affected and challenged by aphasia. Access to services and information was variable. PWA of working-age, their families and children need access to person-centred stroke care and information responsive to their changing needs at all stages of recovery. Healthcare workers must be equipped with aphasia competency. The results highlight a need for equitable, transparent, responsive access to services, information and stroke liaison support. The findings extend knowledge of the importance of stroke care for supporting working-aged adults and their families to live well in the context of aphasia. There is a need for equitable, transparent access to a responsive integrated pathway of stroke care to support living well with aphasia. People with aphasia post-stroke and their families need access to person-centred stroke care and information responsive to their changing needs at all stages of recovery. This includes flexible access to mental healthcare and speech and language therapy. In order to access relevant care, people with post-stroke aphasia need access to information and stroke liaison support. Training to improve aphasia competency is imperative for healthcare workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents findings of a study that explored the challenges and coping strategies of parents of children with mental disorders. In-depth interviews were conducted with 35 parents of children with mental disorders at the Psychiatric Unit of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Findings indicated that financial constraints, inability to secure permanent employment, and stigma were the challenges of the parents. Having faith in God and accepting their children's condition were the coping strategies adopted by the parents. However, lack of effective support system makes coping difficult for the parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding Twitter by individuals and organizations to raise awareness and give voice to the disability community provides important insight into digital discourse around disability. This study examines #disability tweets shared during National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October 2018. Sourced and cleaned, English language tweets (n = 12,963) were analyzed through a mixed-methods approach. As the title of this paper, a tweet from our dataset, suggests, Twitter discourse reflects disability activism and culture as it exists globally. This work highlights important methodological considerations for differentiating the ways individuals and organizations utilize Twitter and highlights the importance of qualitative analysis in this regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]