Alcohol and Other Contextual Factors of Suicide in Four Aboriginal Communities of Quebec, Canada

Crisis ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 215-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arlene Laliberté ◽  
Michel Tousignant

Background: Aboriginal populations worldwide face increasing rates of suicide. Despite this recurring observation, little research has emerged from Aboriginal settings. Aims: This paper describes the psychosocial and behavioral characteristics of 30 consecutive adult suicides from four First-Nations communities in Quebec, Canada. Method: Psychological autopsies guided by the LEDS with family members of the deceased. Results: Suicide among this group is overrepresented by young single men. Alcohol intoxication at the time of death was reported for 22 cases in association with rapid acting out after the precipitating event for 20. All but two cases had a history of alcohol abuse, and drug use was also present in 23 cases. In 16 cases there had been a previous suicide attempt, 14 of which occurred during the previous year. The main socio-demographic characteristics of the communities were overcrowded living arrangements and no job status (90%). Seven cases were incarcerated or locked up at the time of death. Clustering of suicide was observed within seven nuclear families including 16 suicides. Conclusion: This study shows that Aboriginal suicide is the result of a complex interweaving of individual, familial, and socio-historical variables. The impact of contemporary social stressors on individual well-being must be addressed to prevent suicide in this community.

Author(s):  
Jeff Levin ◽  
Stephen G. Post

In Religion and Medicine, Dr. Jeff Levin, distinguished Baylor University epidemiologist, outlines the longstanding history of multifaceted interconnections between the institutions of religion and medicine. He traces the history of the encounter between these two institutions from antiquity through to the present day, highlighting a myriad of contemporary alliances between the faith-based and medical sectors. Religion and Medicine tells the story of: religious healers and religiously branded hospitals and healthcare institutions; pastoral professionals involved in medical missions, healthcare chaplaincy, and psychological counseling; congregational health promotion and disease prevention programs and global health initiatives; research studies on the impact of religious and spiritual beliefs and practices on physical and mental health, well-being, and healing; programs and centers for medical research and education within major universities and academic institutions; religiously informed bioethics and clinical decision-making; and faith-based health policy initiatives and advocacy for healthcare reform. Religion and Medicine is the first book to cover the full breadth of this subject. It documents religion-medicine alliances across religious traditions, throughout the world, and over the course of history. It summarizes a wide range of material of relevance to historians, medical professionals, pastors and theologians, bioethicists, scientists, public health educators, and policymakers. The product of decades of rigorous and focused research, Dr. Levin has produced the most comprehensive history of these developments and the finest introduction to this emerging field of scholarship.


Author(s):  
Julia Evangelista ◽  
William A. Fulford

AbstractThis chapter shows how carnival has been used to counter the impact of Brazil’s colonial history on its asylums and perceptions of madness. Colonisation of Brazil by Portugal in the nineteenth century led to a process of Europeanisation that was associated with dismissal of non-European customs and values as “mad” and sequestration of the poor from the streets into asylums. Bringing together the work of the two authors, the chapter describes through a case study how a carnival project, Loucura Suburbana (Suburban Madness), in which patients in both long- and short-term asylum care play leading roles, has enabled them to “reclaim the streets,” and re-establish their right to the city as valid producers of culture on their own terms. In the process, entrenched stigmas associated with having a history of mental illness in a local community are challenged, and sense of identity and self-confidence can be rebuilt, thus contributing to long-term improvements in mental well-being. Further illustrative materials are available including photographs and video clips.


This chapter looks at the purpose and history of the development of good clinical practice (GCP). The international conference on harmonisation (ICH) GCP is the international quality standard for conducting clinical research to ensure the rights and well-being of patients are protected and the resulting data are valid. The cornerstone of ethics in research stems from the Declaration of Helsinki and the chapter looks at the changes in the Declaration and the impact on clinical trials. The development of the ICH process is described and the E, S, Q and M guidelines are discussed, The efficacy guidelines affect the practical aspects of trials and the efficacy guideline number 6 (E6) is on GCP. The content of the E6 guidelines is reviewed including the responsibilities of ethics committees, investigator and sponsor. Documentation requirements including the Protocol and Investigator Brochure as well as all the other documents are outlined. The guidelines are written to be interpreted and companies and institutions have to document their interpretation using standard operating procedures (SOPs). Although ICH GCP is regarded as the world-wide standard it sits alongside countries' legislation. In Europe CTIMPs have to follow the EU Directives and Regulation. Non pharmaceutical/non interventional healthcare research has no legal requirements to adhere to ICH GCP and is carried out under different research governance frameworks (RGF), however they all have their principles based on ICH GCP. The chapter also discusses the definition of an IMP and the decisions and processes that have to be followed when conducting non CTIMP studies.


2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Selman

Peter Selman examines the recent history of intercountry adoption in Europe in the context of the enlarged EU, which contains both receiving and sending countries. The article provides a detailed analysis of the movement of children for adoption between European countries and examines the impact of intercountry adoption on the well-being of children in Europe and current debates in the European Parliament on the future of intercountry adoption in Europe.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Priyanka Ahimaz ◽  
Maya Sabatello ◽  
Min Qian ◽  
Aijin Wang ◽  
Erin M. Miller ◽  
...  

Background: Genetic testing is indicated for children with a personal or family history of hereditary cardiomyopathy to determine appropriate management and inform risk stratification for family members. The implications of a positive genetic result for children can potentially impact emotional well-being. Given the nuances of cardiomyopathy genetic testing for minors, this study aimed to understand how parents involve their children in the testing process and investigate the impact of genetic results on family dynamics. Methods: A survey was distributed to participants recruited from the Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation and 7 North American sites in the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry. The survey explored adolescent and parent participants’ emotions upon receiving their/their child’s genetic results, parent-child result communication and its impact on family functionality, using the McMaster Family Assessment Device. Results: One hundred sixty-two parents of minors and 48 adolescents who were offered genetic testing for a personal or family history of cardiomyopathy completed the survey. Parents whose child had cardiomyopathy were more likely to disclose positive diagnostic genetic results to their child ( P =0.014). Parents with unaffected children and positive predictive testing results were more likely to experience negative emotions about the result ( P ≤0.001) but also had better family functioning scores than those with negative predictive results ( P =0.019). Most adolescents preferred results communicated directly to the child, but parents were divided about whether their child’s result should first be released to them or their child. Conclusions: These findings have important considerations for how providers structure genetic services for adolescents and facilitate discussion between parents and their children about results.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-71
Author(s):  
Ron Babin ◽  
Brian Nicholson ◽  
Megan Young

This teaching case introduces the concept of Impact Sourcing, in the context of global IT outsourcing. While IT outsourcing is a well-established management technique, with a history of at least 30 years, Impact Sourcing is a relatively new concept, conceptualized by the Rockefeller Foundation in 2011 and recently defined by the Global Impact Sourcing Coalition. To summarize this case, a First Nations band collaborated with a successful global outsourcing firm, Accenture, to establish Indigena, a Canadian-based impact-sourcing enterprise. Indigena found it difficult to attract, hire and retain qualified Aboriginal employees. The suburban office location in the high-cost Vancouver market may have been a key challenge in building a robust Aboriginal workforce. However, the challenge of winning outsourcing contracts in a competitive market may have been hindered by the Aboriginal workforce, despite the outward positive response of clients to the Impact Sourcing model. Indigena was not able to meet its social goals and at the same time it struggled to attract and retain clients. It was unable to demonstrate profitable business success, resulting in a strategic challenge from its investors.


2014 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 371-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Cooke ◽  
Erin O’Sullivan

2007 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myra Rutherdale ◽  
Jim Miller

Abstract This paper traces the history of Aboriginal people’s participation in national spectacle and argues that the Indian Pavilion at Expo 67 was unique in its assertion of the portrayal of Native/Newcomer relations. Historians have interpreted the impact of the Indian Pavilion as an event that awakened non-Native Canadians to both the plight of Aboriginal peoples and their increasing unwillingness to suffer in silence. The controversy over the contents and general argument of the Indian Pavilion followed soon after the release of the two-volume Hawthorn Report on the social and economic conditions First Nations faced, and operated just as the federal government was initiating a series of talks with First Nations leaders to forge a new policy towards First Nations. At the same time, there is little evidence that the Indian Pavilion, whatever succès de scandale it enjoyed, had a lasting impact on public opinion or policymakers. Where the experience of mounting, operating, and defending the Indian Pavilion did matter, however, was with First Nations themselves. Whether causation or coincidence, the newfound confidence and pride that underlay the creation of the Indian Pavilion was completely consistent with the positive demeanour of Aboriginal political leaders from the late 1960s on.


2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manolo Abella

Successive censuses have shown that the Aboriginal populations of Canada are very mobile with strong tendencies to move to urban areas, but little is known about the consequences of these circular movements on the development of First Nations, the welfare of individual members and their families, and the costs and benefits to their larger communities. This article reviews the large body of literature on the nexus between mobility and development of countries in the developing world with a view to developing insights that may be relevant to the development of First Nation communities. While there are clear differences, the two contexts may be similar enough – in terms of socio-economic well-being, service levels, and institutional barriers to socio-economic development – for such analysis to contribute to understanding the effects of migration on the migrants themselves, their households, and their communities and countries of origin. The experience of developing countries suggest that there are positive gains not only in earnings but also in education and health for those who move internally and more so for those able to move internationally, even if there remain some concerns about negative effects on migrants’ families left behind, especially on the children. What seems clear is that migration plays an important role in family survival strategies. Money migrants send home finance the education of children, enable better health care, and improve housing. They shield migrants’ families against all kinds of “shocks”. However, emigration may reduce the human capital stock (brain drain), thus adversely affecting productivity. The loss of health professionals can set back critical medical services in remote communities, and disrupt formal and informal systems for transferring know-how. These “spill-over effects” or externalities on origin communities can be significant, imposing burdens on those left behind. Finally, the article looks at how diaspora communities have served as sources of information, linkages, or networks with businesses, markets for sovereign bonds, mediums for the transfer of technology and know-how, and a market for tourism.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 796-796
Author(s):  
Yazhen Yang ◽  
Maria Evandrou ◽  
Athina Vlachantoni

Abstract Research to-date has examined the impact of intergenerational support in terms of isolated types of support, or at one point in time, failing to provide strong evidence of the complex effect of support on older persons’ wellbeing. Using the Harmonised China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011, 2013 and 2015), this paper investigates the impact of older people’s living arrangements and intergenerational support provision/ receipt on their physical and psychological wellbeing, focusing on rural/ urban differences. The results show that receiving economic support from one’s adult children was a stronger predictor for higher life satisfaction among older rural residents compared to those in urban areas, while grandchild care provision was an important determinant for poor life satisfaction only for older urban residents. Receiving informal care from one’s adult children was associated with a poor (I)ADL functional status and with depressive symptoms among older rural people. Meanwhile, having weekly in-person and distant contact reduced the risk of depression among older people in both rural and urban areas. The paper shows that it is important to improve the level of public economic transfers and public social care towards vulnerable older people in rural areas, and more emphasis should be placed on improving the psychological well-being of urban older residents, such as with the early diagnosis of depression.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document