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Nova Scotia's Supportive Care Program (SCP) is an individualized funding program that provides funds for people living with dementia (PLWD) or acquired brain injuries to purchase basic home care services such as personal care, respite, cleaning and cooking. The SCP has the potential to address the Quintuple Aim of enhancing care experience, improving population health, reducing costs, improving provider experience and improving health equity, yet qualitative evidence is lacking. The aim of this study is to use participatory program evaluation methods to evaluate the SCP and consider how effective it is in addressing the Quintuple Aim. The study objectives and corresponding methods are to (1) Co-develop a SCP logic model to guide the evaluation through consultations with a diverse group of stakeholders including PLWD, caregivers, care providers, researchers, government representatives, and nongovernment organizations, with attention to gender; (2) Evaluate the SCP based on the outcomes and outputs identified in the logic model using focus groups with PLWD, caregivers and home care providers, and interviews with PLWD and their caregivers; and (3) Mobilize knowledge about the ways the SCP addresses the Quintuple Aim through integrated knowledge translation activities with public, policy and research audiences. By focusing on clinically and socially vulnerable populations of PLWD and caregivers, the proposed evaluation of the SCP offers a valuable case in assessing the effectiveness of individually-funded home care in addressing the Quintuple Aim including health equity within the context of dementia care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Physical activity and nutrition are essential to healthy living and particularly important during youth, when growth and development are key. This study examined rates of physical activity (PA) and diet quality (DQ) among youth in grades 7 to 9 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, during the 2008/09 school year and tested differences among students in rural, urban and suburban neighbourhood types of high and low socio-economic status (SES). Methods: Youth in grades 7 through 9 (aged 12-16; 53% male) from six schools (N=380), stratified by neighbourhood type (urban, suburban, rural) and SES, wore accelerometers for up to 7 days (mean=4.14, standard deviation=1.49) and completed a nutritional survey. Results: The findings suggest important differences in PA and DQ across SES and neighbourhood type. Specifically, rates of moderate to vigorous physical activity among youth from schools in lower socio-economic areas were higher in urban than in suburban or rural settings. Furthermore, DQ was better among youth in higher than in lower socio-economic urban settings. Conclusions: Understanding these differences in PA and DQ across rural, urban and suburban environments of high and low SES may highlight subgroups and targeted geographic areas for the design of interventions to improve rates of PA and health nutrition. Key words: Physical activity; nutrition; youth; built environment; socioeconomic status Objectifs: L'activite physique et la nutrition sont essentiels a un mode de vie sain et particulierement importantes durant la jeunesse, en pleine periode de croissance et de developpement. Nous avons examine les taux d'activite physique (AP) et la qualite du regime (QR) d'eleves de la 7e a la 9e annee a Halifax (Nouvelle-Ecosse) durant l'annee scolaire 20082009 et evalue les ecarts entre les eleves des quartiers ruraux, urbains et suburbains, de statut socioeconomique (SSE) faible et eleve. Methode: Des jeunes de la 7e a la 9e annee (de 12 a 16 ans; 53 % de garcons) frequentant six ecoles (N=380) stratifiees selon le type de quartier (urbain, suburbain, rural) et le SSE ont porte des accelerometres pendant 7 jours ou moins (4,14 jours en moyenne, ecart type de 1,49) et rempli un questionnaire sur la nutrition. Resultats: Les constatations de l'etude laissent entrevoir d'importants ecarts dans l'AP et la QR selon le SSE et le type de quartier. En particulier, les taux d'activite physique moderee a vigoureuse chez les jeunes des ecoles de zones socioeconomiquement faibles etaient plus eleves en milieu urbain qu'en milieu rural ou suburbain. De plus, la QR etait meilleure chez les jeunes des quartiers urbains de SSE eleve plutot que faible. Conclusion: La connaissance de ces ecarts dans l'AP et la QR entre les environnements ruraux, urbains et suburbains, de SSE eleve ou faible, peut faire ressortir des sous-groupes et des zones geographiques a cibler pour concevoir des interventions qui ameliorent les taux d'AP et de saine alimentation. Mots cles: activite physique; nutrition; jeunesse; milieu bati; statut socioeconomique, Promoting physical activity (PA) and diet quality (DQ) during the adolescent years is particularly important, as research suggests that behaviours formed in adolescence extend into adulthood (1,2) and carry consequences [...]

Background: This paper arises from a larger study exploring early professional socialization across five professions: physiotherapy, nursing; dentistry; pharmacy; and medicine. Purpose: To explore the process of physiotherapy student professional identity development and the evolution of expectations and views of interprofessional practice in the first year of their program. Methods: One-on-one interviews at three time points: after being accepted into the physiotherapy program and before classes began (T1; n = 12); after term one (T2; n=9) and on completion of year one (T3; n = 7). Analyses employed narrative methodology, guided by anticipatory socialization and professional identity theories. Results: At T1, participants described their path towards physiotherapy, indicating career satisfaction as the core of their choice. Expectations of practice aligned with the normative social positioning of the profession. T2 and T3 interviews revealed that their pre-entry conceptualization of practice was both challenged and positively reinforced, leading them either to being satisfied with, or questioning their choice. Clinical placements created the most meaningful opportunities to understand their roles both as individual professionals and members of a collaborative team. Conclusion: Findings revealed the complex process of professional socialization in physiotherapy students with implications for admissions and formal and IPE curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dysfunctional interprofessional teams are a threat to health system performance and the delivery of quality patient outcomes. Implementing strategies that prepare future health professionals to be effective collaborators requires a comprehensive understanding of how early professional socialization and professional identity formation occur. We present findings from a qualitative study, grounded in narrative methodology, examining early professional socialization among students across five health professional programs (dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, physiotherapy) in the first year of health professional training. Between April and September 2015, students (n = 49) entering programs at an Atlantic Canadian University participated in one-on-one, audiotaped interviews starting before formal program orientation. Pre-entry interviews focused on factors influencing students' career choice and expectations of future profession and interprofessional collaboration (IPC). Findings revealed that many different experiences influenced participants' career choice and framed the social positioning of their future career (e.g., leadership, prestige, autonomy). Participant narratives revealed the existence of stereotypes pertaining to their chosen and other health professions. Study findings provided insights that may help strengthen initiatives to promote positive professional identity formation within the context of IPC. Implications of this research highlight the need for the early introduction of IPC including pre-entry recruitment messaging for prospective health professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The postpartum period is an exciting yet stressful time for first-time mothers, and although the experience may vary, all mothers need support during this crucial period. In Canada, there has been a shift for universal postpartum services to be offered predominantly online. However, due to a paucity of literature, it is difficult to determine the degree to which mothers' needs are being effectively addressed. The aim of this study was to examine and understand how first-time mothers accessed support and information (online and offline) during the first 6 months of their postpartum period. Using feminist poststructuralism methodology, data were collected from focus groups and e-interviews, and analyzed using discourse analysis. Findings indicate that peer support is greatly valued, and mothers often use social media to make in-person social connections. Findings highlight how accessing support and information is socially and institutionally constructed and provide direction for health professionals to provide accessible postpartum care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The Health System Impact (HSI) Fellowship, an innovative training program developed by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's Institute of Health Services and Policy Research, provides PhD-trained health researchers with an embedded, experiential learning opportunity within a health system organization., Methods/design: An electronic Delphi (eDelphi) study was conducted to: (1) identify the criteria used to define success in the program and (2) elucidate the main contributions fellows made to their organizations. Through an iterative, two-round eDelphi process, perspectives were elicited from three stakeholder groups in the inaugural cohort of the HSI Fellowship: HSI fellows, host supervisors and academic supervisors., Discussion: A consensus was reached on many criteria of success for an embedded research fellowship and on several perceived contributions of the fellows to their host organization and academic institutions. This work begins to identify specific criteria for success in the fellowship that can be used to improve future iterations of the program., (Copyright © 2019 Longwoods Publishing.)