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Building upon two previously published research papers exploring Canadian media reporting of childhood in the first wave of the pandemic, this paper investigates how constructions of childhood evolved from the first wave to the fourth wave of the pandemic. This qualitative research is guided by the central research question: Over the span of 2 years, from 2020 to 2022, what changes are evident in discourses reported within media focused on the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on Canadians under the age of 18 years? Findings from this study suggest that in the fourth wave young people were constructed as innocent victims of pandemic restrictions framed through an adult-centric lens; noticeably absent were representations of young people under the age of 18 in their voices. A key recommendation emerged from this study: any future research investigating the impact of the pandemic on young people under aged 18 years must include their full participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been no shortage of literature that has focused on the role of money in politics. While the majority has focused squarely on the fundraising activities and spending preferences of parties and candidates, far less has paid attention to the spending habits of corporations, unions and interests that often register as non-parties. Yet these actors have gained prominence across general elections and referendum campaigns in the past decade owing to the increase in funds spent to influence election outcomes. Little is known about what the public thinks about the participation of these actors in campaigns. Yet public opinion toward non-party campaign spending is important to the degree that it effects perceptions of electoral integrity and might compel policy change. This paper uses new survey data collected from Canada and the UK to answer questions about how citizens perceive non-party campaign spending and what informs attitudes toward non-parties. We find that the public in both countries have mixed views on the participation of non-parties, but that there is some evidence that core concerns about electoral interiority and perceptions toward the role of money in politics drives opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stigma of mental illness contributes to silence, denial and delayed help seeking. Existing stigma reduction strategies seldom consider gender and cultural contexts. The Strengths in Unity study was a multi-site Canadian study that engaged Asian men in three stigma reduction interventions (ACT, CEE, psychoeducation) and mobilized them as Community Mental Health Ambassadors. Our participants included both men living with or affected by mental illness (LWA) as well as community leaders (CL). This paper will: (1) describe the baseline characteristics of the Toronto participants including their sociodemographic information, mental illness stigma (CAMI and ISMI), attitudes towards social change (SJS), and intervention-related process variables (AAQ-II, VLQ, FMI, Empowerment); (2) compare the differences among these variables between LWA and CL; and (3) explore factors that may correlate with socio-economic status and mental health stigma. A total of 609 Asian men were recruited in Toronto, Canada. Both CL and LWA had similar scores on measures of external and internalized stigma and social change attitudes, except that LWA had more positive views about the acceptance and integration of those with mental illness into the community on the CAMI, while CL had a higher level of perceived behavioral control on the SJS. Group differences were also observed between LWA and CL in some process-related variables. Exploratory analysis suggests that younger and more educated participants had lower stigma. Our findings underscore the importance of engaging both community leaders and people with lived experience as mental health advocates to address stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As countries around the globe struggle to find appropriate solutions to the growing migration and refugee crisis, it is essential to better understand attitudes towards refugees. This article explores whether individual differences in personality can help explain anti refugee sentiments. The article takes an expansive approach, integrating both general personality traits (honesty-humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness) as well as the Dark Triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy) into the analysis. While a large literature has explored the relationship between personality and prejudice generally, much less work has studied specific outgroups like refugees. Drawing on survey data from a representative sample of 2,500 Canadians the results reveal the importance of personality for understanding prejudicial attitudes towards refugees, and highlight the importance of studying both general and dark personality traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complexities of developing and disclosing multiple, marginalized, minority identities is theoretically recognized by Minority Stress Theory and the concept of intersectionality; however, the experiences of people living at these intersections, such as Asian transgender youth, are under-examined. Consequently, they remain a largely erased community, often excluded from the research and services that are assumed to include them. The present study attempted to ameliorate this erasure by examining the coming out experiences of eight Asian-Canadian transgender youth. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was utilized from Minority Stress Theory and intersectional perspectives to advance understanding of their coming out experiences and the contexts that maintain their marginalization. Semi-structured individual interviews elicited three themes: (a) Maintaining Family Cohesion; (b) Experiencing Adultism; and (c) Creating Community. Implications for service provision and future research are discussed with emphasis on attending to their whole personhood, which necessarily includes the individual, their community, and the systemic structures that perpetuate oppression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conceptualize infection prevention and control (IPAC) as a form of risk communication in the hospital and examine how doctors and nurses interpret and adopt IPAC measures in the wards. We conducted a 20-week ethnography in a Canadian hospital in which we observed doctors' and nurses' routines, infection prevention practices, and barriers they encountered when following IPAC guidelines. After the observation period, we conducted interviews with doctors and nurses to gauge their perceptions of risk and how they make IPAC decisions while working in the wards. Doctors and nurses perceive the hospital as a site of risk, and expressed this anxiety in disinfection routines and cleansing rituals. This risk prevention behaviour is mediated by situational and lived experience, and not expressed consistently. Doctors and nurses negotiate IPAC protocols with individual perceptions of risk, material limitations, and more pressing needs. IPAC behaviour could be reinforced by improving risk communication in the hospital, first, by involving workers as stakeholders in managing the risk of infection, and second, by acknowledging various forms of risk knowledge, including embodied and situated experience, as well as material constraints. We recommend developing participatory models of risk communication that engage stakeholders in long-term dialogue, considering their risk perceptions, risk tolerance, and challenges to comply with guidelines; communicating IPAC measures as a way to protect patients and emphasizing personal risk for hospital workers; and conducting regular in-person training sessions to ensure that any concerns can be voiced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overall goal was to synthesize knowledge on actions that need to be taken to promote health equity and the mental health of Black refugees in Canada. Group concept mapping systems were applied to generate and organize action-oriented statements related to the different social determinants of health. A total of 174 participants from the cities of Calgary and Edmonton with experience working with Black Canadians participated in four focus groups: (a) 2 focus groups that engaged 123 participants in brainstorming 84 statements guided by the following focus prompt: 'A specific action that would improve the mental health equity of Black refugees living in Canada is ... ' and (b) 2 focus groups of 51 participants who sorted the generated statements and rated them by order of 'importance' and 'ideas seen in action.' Data was further computed and analysed by the research team and a select advisory group from the participants. A 10-cluster map generated included the following clusters: (1) promoting cultural identity, (2) promoting ways of knowing, (3) addressing discrimination and racism, (4) addressing the criminalization of Black Canadians, (5) investing in employment for equity, (6) promoting equity in housing, (7) facilitating self-determination, (8) improving (public) services, (9) promoting appropriate and culturally relevant mental health services, and (10) working with and addressing faith and belief related issues. Clusters 4 and 9 ranked as the most important clusters in promoting health equity and the mental health of Black Canadians. Addressing the criminalization of Black Canadians through a range of rehumanizing interventions at institutional levels will provide a platform from which they can participate and engage others in developing appropriate and culturally relevant mental health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration is stressful and potentially detrimental to the mental health of immigrant children. However, they may draw tremendous mental health benefits by participating in group-based arts programs. In this literature review, we aimed to answer the question: how does participation in group-based arts programs impact the mental health of immigrant children in Canada? Findings indicated that factors at personal, interpersonal, and structural levels affect the mental health of these populations. Arts classes and programs at schools or communities would promote these children's mental health through both the direct impact of artworks and the facilitation of social support within groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored social service providers' perceptions of risk and resilience while caring for their vulnerable clients during COVID-19. Participants (N = 68) from two agencies completed an online survey. Over half of participants had shifted to virtual service delivery; about 30% continued to have direct contact with clients. Using regression modeling, we found that age, gender, confidence in providing COVID-related care, worries about spreading SARS-CoV-2, and information and supports explained 36% of variance (Adjusted R2 =.357) in provider resilience. Social service agencies need to address provider worries, which may contribute more to resilience than providing information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly changed the lives of a majority of the world's population. People have been encouraged to implement social distancing behaviors enforced by governments, and have experienced loss of employment or changes to their usual working environment. In the mental health sector, psychologists and psychiatrists have been forced to alter the standard care of patients without compromising safety. This article documents the experiences of the authors – mental health professionals in four countries, Canada, Russia, Australia and Japan – at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, and offers recommendations on how clinical, training, and research practices may need to be adjusted to deal with lockdown situations. Clinicians adapted their usual best practices by learning new skills and updating their knowledge base. Mental health clinicians noticed that the pandemic led to symptomatic changes in some of their patients. Most clinicians moved towards providing telemental health services, such as conducting assessments and treatments remotely. Those who continued seeing patients in person employed personal protective equipment with various impacts on the clinician–patient relationship. The dilemmas of mass quarantines need to be carefully examined, as their effects on numerous health and psychosocial variables appear to be far-reaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]