Promoting the health of mothers of young children in Australia: A review of face‐to‐face and online support

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 402-410
Author(s):  
Adriane Heaperman ◽  
Fiona Andrews
Author(s):  
Alexander McAuley ◽  
Fiona Walton

Offered between 2006 and 2009 and graduating 21 Inuit candidates, the Nunavut Master of Education program was a collaborative effort made to address the erosion of Inuit leadership in the K-12 school system after the creation of Nunavut, Canada’s newest territory, in 1999. Delivered to a large extent in short, intensive, face-to-face courses, the program also made extensive use of online supports. This paper outlines the design challenges – geographical, technological, pedagogical, and cultural – that faced the development and delivery of the online portion of the program. It highlights the intersection of the design decisions with the decolonizing principles that framed the program as a whole, the various and varying roles played by the online environment over the course of the program, and the program’s contribution to student success.


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (14) ◽  
pp. 1664-1675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Ekberg ◽  
Susan Danby ◽  
Maryanne Theobald ◽  
Belinda Fisher ◽  
Peta Wyeth

Author(s):  
Firas Moosvi ◽  
Stefan Reinsberg ◽  
Georg Rieger

In this article, we examine whether an inquiry-based, hands-on physics lab can be delivered effectively as a distance lab. In science and engineering, hands-on distance labs are rare and open-ended project labs in physics have not been reported in the literature. Our introductory physics lab at a large Canadian research university features hands-on experiments that can be performed at home with common materials and online support, as well as a capstone project that serves as the main assessment of the lab. After transitioning the lab from face-to-face instruction to a distance format, we compared the capstone project scores of the two lab formats by conducting an analysis of variance, which showed no significant differences in the overall scores. However, our study revealed two areas that need improvements in instruction, namely data analysis and formulating a clear goal or research question. Focus group interviews showed that students in the distance lab did not perceive the capstone project as authentic science and that they would have preferred a campus lab format. Overall our results suggest that the distance project lab discussed here might be an acceptable substitute for a campus lab and might also be suitable for other distance courses in science.


10.2196/18099 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. e18099
Author(s):  
Victoria Perkins ◽  
Neil S Coulson ◽  
E Bethan Davies

Background People living with a tic disorder (TD)—such as Tourette syndrome (TS)—experience many negative psychological and social challenges arising from chronic tics, such as stigmatization from peers and poorer quality of life, and these can impact upon their families too. It can be difficult for this population to access face-to-face support for tics, and so online support communities offer one avenue for support from peers facing similar experiences. However, little is known about how online support communities may be used by people with TS and other TDs, and by others (eg, parents, caregivers) supporting a person with TS/TD. Objective This study aimed to explore users’ experiences of participation in online support communities for TS and TDs. Methods In total, 90 respondents (aged 13-62 years; 62% [56/90] female) from 13 countries completed an online survey exploring their experiences of using online support communities for TS and TDs. Respondents were people living with TS/TD themselves (n=68) or supportive others of someone with TS/TD (eg, parent, sibling, spouse; n=14), or both (n=8). The online survey contained open-ended questions eliciting their self-reported motivations for using online communities, their benefits and drawbacks of participation, and whether online support communities affected offline management of tics. Responses were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Seven overarching themes captured experiences of using online support communities for TS/TDs. The overwhelming reason for their use was to find accessible support due to a lack of offline face-to-face support. Online support communities were valued sources of informational and emotional support, and also had a positive impact upon helping users’ psychological well-being. Online communities helped provide a space where people with TS/TDs could feel accepted and reduce the social isolation they felt offline. The suggestible nature of tics and being reminded of the challenging nature of TDs were main disadvantages arising from using online support communities, alongside conflict arising within online communities. Conclusions The findings suggest that online support communities appear to offer valuable informational and emotional support to those living with TS/TD and their families too, especially given the lack of locally available support. This facilitates a sense of community online, which can help users in overcoming long-standing social isolation and aid self-reported improvements in psychosocial well-being. Users reported some drawbacks in engaging with online support communities, such as conflict between different types of users and triggering content, which negatively affected experiences of community participation.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. e050557
Author(s):  
Li Ming Wen ◽  
Huilan Xu ◽  
Danielle Jawad ◽  
Limin Buchanan ◽  
Chris Rissel ◽  
...  

ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate perceived impacts, ways of communication with professionals and information sources related to COVID-19, and explore whether these impacts or information sources were associated with ethnicity that is, language spoken at home.DesignA cross-sectional study.SettingSydney, Australia during the period from March to October 2020.ParticipantsMothers of young children participating in an existing trial.Outcome measuresMothers were asked to respond to a set of survey questions related to COVID-19 via telephone. The questions included a mental health scale, and how they communicated with health professionals and their information sources related to COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsOf 537 mothers who completed the survey (81% response rate), 45% reported they spoke a language other than English at home. Overall, 136 (26%) reported experiencing mental distress. 234 (44%) reported that COVID-19 affected the way they receive and communicate health-related information with health professionals, especially for those from non-English speaking backgrounds with an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.58 (95% CI 1.10 to 2.27). They were less likely to use a face-to-face service (AOR 0.55, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.80) and more likely to use social media (AOR 2.11, 95% CI 1.40 to 3.17) for health-related information. Regarding sources of COVID-19-related information, mothers from non-English-speaking backgrounds were more likely to rely on family members (AOR 1.49, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.19) and social media (AOR 3.34, 95% CI 2.05 to 5.43).ConclusionsCOVID-19 has significantly impacted mothers with young children in regard to their mental health, means of communication with health professionals and sources of health information. Mothers from non-English-speaking communities were less likely to use a face-to-face service, and more likely to seek information from family members and social media. Appropriate health support for non-English-speaking community needs to take these factors into account.Trial registration numberANZCTR:12618001571268.they


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. e44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil S Coulson ◽  
Emma Bullock ◽  
Karen Rodham

Background A growing number of online communities have been established to support those who self-harm. However, little is known about the therapeutic affordances arising from engagement with these communities and resulting outcomes. Objective The aim of this study was to explore the presence of therapeutic affordances as reported by members of self-harm online support communities. Methods In total, 94 respondents (aged 13-63 years, mean=23.5 years; 94% female) completed an online survey exploring their experiences of engaging with a self-harm online support community. Respondents varied in terms of how long they had been accessing an online community, with 22% (21/94) accessing less than 1 year, 39% (37/94) 1 to 2 years, 14% (13/94) 2 to 3 years, and 24.5% (23/94) more than 3 years. Responses were analyzed using deductive thematic analysis. Results The results of our analysis describe each of the five therapeutic affordances that were present in the data, namely (1) connection, the ability to make contact with others who self-harm for the purposes of mutual support and in so doing reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation; (2) adaptation, that is, how use of online support varies in relation to the personal circumstances of the individual user; (3) exploration, that is, the ability to learn about self-harm and learn about strategies to reduce or stop self-harming behavior; (4) narration, that is, the ability to share experiences, as well as read about the experiences of others; and (5) self-presentation, that is, how and what users present about themselves to others in the online community. Conclusions Our findings suggest that engagement with self-harm online support communities may confer a range of therapeutic benefits for some users, which may serve to minimize the psychosocial burden of self-harm and promote positive coping strategies. In addition, the online nature of the support available may be helpful to those who are unable to access face-to-face support.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 205520761877266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Tsai ◽  
Emma Crawford ◽  
Jenny Strong

Objective People with chronic pain often have limited avenues for social support. Social isolation often develops as their abilities to engage in daily social and vocational activities decrease. With recent advancements in technology and increasing use of social media, virtual platforms such as blogging may provide opportunities for social support. This study analyzed published blog posts of people with chronic pain to investigate how social support occurs through blogging for chronic pain blog users and the nature of such online interactions. Methods A total of 810 blog posts published from January 2014 to December 2015 on 44 publicly accessible chronic pain blogs were collected and analyzed through qualitative phenomenological thematic analysis. Results The Virtual Online Support Sequence (VOSS) was identified through the exchange of online comments; this sequence defines the process by which virtual social support can be established through the process of chronic pain blogging. Three subthemes were also identified in relation to social support in the online blogging environment: (a) the virtual community of pain blogging; (b) establishing social support through the VOSS; and (c) recounting everyday experiences related to pain. Conclusions These findings suggest that blogging can be useful in seeking, receiving and providing social support for people with chronic pain. Understanding this mechanism behind establishing virtual social support may potentially encourage people with chronic pain to pursue additional support online if they have limited face-to-face opportunities.


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