Search

There is a growing interest in English-speaking jurisdictions, including Australia, North America, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, about the prevention of sexual abuse perpetrated by children against other children. The aim of this review was to identify opportunities for research, policy and practice which could enhance the prevention agenda relating to the perpetration of sexual abuse by children through conducting a Critical Interpretive Synthesis. Eleven electronic databases were searched in the period from 22 April to 23 May 2013 and included: SocINDEX, Social Services Abstracts, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Family and Society Studies Worldwide, Project Muse, PsychINFO, Family and Society Plus, Jstor, Expanded Academic ASAP, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Key individual journals were also searched, including Child Abuse and Neglect and the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, as well as the grey literature. The search was guided by the research question: How could the prevention agenda relating to sexual abuse perpetrated by children be enhanced? The systematic literature search yielded 3323 titles, and 34 of these papers were included in the final synthesis. The authors identified five domains operating in the evidence base: characteristics, causes, communications, interventions and treatments. A synthesising construct emerged from the review: prevention-enhancing interactions. This construct referred to the potential for enhancing the prevention agenda which exists as the evidence domains interact with one another, and with the public health model of prevention. The authors consider this review to be a timely contribution to the current agenda pertaining to sexual abuse perpetrated by children. It provides researchers, policy makers and practitioners in the field with an evidence-informed conceptualisation of opportunities for enhancing prevention work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cultural keystone species theory predicts plant species that are culturally important, play a role in resource acquisition, fulfil a psycho-socio-cultural function within a given culture, have high use-value, have an associated naming and terminology in a native language, and a high level of species irreplaceability qualify for cultural keystone species designation. This theory was proposed as a framework for understanding relationships between human societies and species that are integral to their culture. A greater understanding of the dynamic roles of cultural keystones in both ecosystem processes and cultural societies is a foundation for facilitating biocultural conservation. Given such important direct conservation implications of the cultural keystone species theory, we reviewed the use of this theoretical framework across the literature to identify new directions for research. Most studies often emphasized the role of cultural keystones species in human societies but failed to provide a robust and reproducible measure of cultural keystone species status or direct test of the predictions of the theory and underemphasized their potential roles in ecosystem processes. To date, no studies that mentioned cultural keystone species tested the predictions of the theory. Only 4.4% provided a measure for cultural keystone status and 47.4% have cited or applied keystone designation to a given species without providing a reproducible measure for cultural keystone species. Studies that provided a measure for cultural keystone species primarily occurred in North America while few of these studies occurred in Australia and Europe with none occurring in Africa. As such, most cultural keystone species have been designated as such qualitatively based on researcher subjectivity while other studies have designated keystone species with quantitative indices of cultural importance, often incorporating researcher biases or measuring a few of the cultural keystone status predictors rather than all of them, indicating a lack of consensus in identifying cultural keystone species. Thus, we pose the need for a paradigm shift toward the development of serious and systematic approaches for keystone designation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Measurement of health inequities is fundamental to all health equity initiatives. It is complex because it requires considerations of ethics, methods, and policy. Drawing upon the recent developments in related specialized fields, in this paper we incorporate alternative definitions of health inequity explicitly and transparently in its measurement. We propose a three-stage approach to measuring health inequities that assembles univariate health inequality, univariate health inequity, and bivariate health inequities in a systematic and comparative manner. Methods We illustrate the application of the three-stage approach using the Joint Canada/United States Survey of Health, measuring health by the Health Utilities Index (HUI). Univariate health inequality is the distribution of the observed HUI across individuals. Univariate health inequity is the distribution of unfair HUI -- components of HUI associated with ethically unacceptable factors -- across individuals. To estimate the unfair HUI, we apply two popular definitions of inequity: "equal opportunity for health" (health outcomes due to factors beyond individual control are unfair), and "policy amenability" (health outcomes due to factors amenable to policy interventions are unfair). We quantify univariate health inequality and inequity using the Gini coefficient. We assess bivariate inequities using a regression-based decomposition method. Results Our analysis reveals that, empirically, different definitions of health inequity do not yield statistically significant differences in the estimated amount of univariate inequity. This derives from the relatively small explanatory power common in regression models describing variations in health. As is typical, our model explains about 20% of the variation in the observed HUI. With regard to bivariate inequities, income and health care show strong associations with the unfair HUI. Conclusions The measurement of health inequities is an excitingly multidisciplinary endeavour. Its development requires interdisciplinary integration of advances from relevant disciplines. The proposed three- stage approach is one such effort and stimulates cross-disciplinary dialogues, specifically, about conceptual and empirical significance of definitions of health inequities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the experiences of Black students in two western Canadian undergraduate nursing programs. Using a qualitative focused ethnography design grounded in critical race theory and intersectionality, participants were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. Data were collected through individual interviews, and a follow-up focus group. Data were analyzed using collaborative-thematic analysis team approaches. n=18 current and former students participated. Five themes emerged: systemic racism in nursing, precarious immigrant context, mental health/well-being concerns, coping mechanisms, and suggestions for improvement. An improved understanding of Black student experiences can inform their recruitment and retention. Supporting Black students' success can potentially improve equity, diversity, and inclusivity in nursing education programs and/or their representation in the Canadian nursing workforce. The presence of a diverse nursing profession is imperative to meet the needs to provide more quality and culturally competent services to diverse population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As federal, state, and local governments continue to test innovative approaches to health care delivery, the ability to produce timely and reliable evidence of what works and why it works is crucial. There is limited literature on methodological approaches to rapid-cycle qualitative research. The purpose of this article is to describe the advantages and limitations of a broadly applicable framework for in-depth qualitative analysis placed within a larger rapid-cycle, multisite, mixed-method evaluation. This evaluation included multiple cycles of primary qualitative data collection and quarterly and annual reporting. Several strategies allowed us to be adaptable while remaining rigorous; these included planning for multiple waves of qualitative coding, a hybrid inductive/deductive approach informed by a cross-program evaluation framework, and use of a large team with specific program expertise. Lessons from this evaluation can inform researchers and evaluators functioning in rapid assessment or rapid-cycle evaluation contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Medical pluralism has flourished throughout the Western world in spite of efforts to legitimize Western biomedical healthcare as "conventional medicine" and thereby relegate all non-physician-related forms of healthcare to an "other" category. These "other" practitioners have been referred to as "unconventional", "alternative" and "complementary", among other terms throughout the past half century. Methods: This study investigates the discourses surrounding the changes in the terms, and their meanings, used to describe unconventional medicine in North America. Terms identified by the literature as synonymous to unconventional medicine were searched using the Scopus database. A textual analysis following the method described by Kripendorff 2013 was subsequently performed on the five most highly-cited unconventional medicine-related peer-reviewed literature published between 1970 and 2013. Results: Five commonly-used, unconventional medicine-related terms were identified. Authors using "complementary and alternative", "complementary", "alternative", or "unconventional" tended to define them by what they are not (e.g., therapies not taught/used in conventional medicine, therapy demands not met by conventional medicine, and therapies that lack research on safety, efficacy and effectiveness). Authors defined "integrated/integrative" medicine by what it is (e.g., a new model of healthcare, the combining of both conventional and unconventional therapies, accounting for the whole person, and preventative maintenance of health). Authors who defined terms by "what is not" stressed that the purpose of conducting research in this area was solely to create knowledge. Comparatively, authors who defined terms by "what is" sought to advocate for the evidence-based combination of unconventional and conventional medicines. Both author groups used scientific rhetoric to define unconventional medical practices. Conclusions: This emergence of two groups of authors who used two different sets of terms to refer to the concept of "unconventional medicine" may explain why some journals, practitioner associations and research/practice centres may choose to use both "what is not" and "what is" terms in their discourse to attract interest from both groups. Since each of the two groups of terms (and authors who use them) has different meanings and goals, the evolution of this discourse will continue to be an interesting phenomenon to explore in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

wilson l., whitehead l. & burrell b. (2011) Learning to live well with chronic fatigue: the personal perspective. Journal of Advanced Nursing 67(9), 2161-2169. Abstract Background. Persistent fatigue is recognized as an integral and significantly disabling aspect of the experience of living with a long-term health condition. Acute medical care models have limited applicability when seeking to provide health care to meet the needs of those living with chronic fatigue. Aims. This article is a report of a study that sought to understand how people can live well in spite of the presence of chronic fatigue. Methods. A thematic analysis was conducted on 43 narratives provided by people living with chronic fatigue during 2007 as part of an internet-based study. Findings. This report focuses on the two themes that appeared of most relevance to participants: managing energy and redefining self. Two particular approaches to energy management were noted. In the first, the focus is upon moderating and avoiding excess to manage energy. In the second approach, the body was conceptualized as a machine so that energy becomes a limited resource to be managed. Work to redefine the sense of self appeared to be focused upon the desire to seek normality, to see oneself as rational and come to terms with change. Conclusion. People can and do find ways to live well with chronic fatigue. Understanding how the person with chronic fatigue has come to conceptualize his/her experiences will be a more fruitful starting point than providing recipes for successful living if nurses are to work effectively with this group of people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]