scholarly journals Exploring the Term “Resilience” in Arctic Health and Well-Being Using a Sharing Circle as a Community-Centered Approach: Insights from a Conference Workshop

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwen Healey Akearok ◽  
Katie Cueva ◽  
Jon Stoor ◽  
Christina Larsen ◽  
Elizabeth Rink ◽  
...  

In the field of Arctic health, “resilience” is a term and concept used to describe capacity to recover from difficulties. While the term is widely used in Arctic policy contexts, there is debate at the community level on whether “resilience” is an appropriate term to describe the human dimensions of health and wellness in the Arctic. Further, research methods used to investigate resilience have largely been limited to Western science research methodologies, which emphasize empirical quantitative studies and may not mirror the perspective of the Arctic communities under study. To explore conceptions of resilience in Arctic communities, a Sharing Circle was facilitated at the International Congress on Circumpolar Health in 2018. With participants engaging from seven of the eight Arctic countries, participants shared critiques of the term “resilience,” and their perspectives on key components of thriving communities. Upon reflection, this use of a Sharing Circle suggests that it may be a useful tool for deeper investigations into health-related issues affecting Arctic Peoples. The Sharing Circle may serve as a meaningful methodology for engaging communities using resonant research strategies to decolonize concepts of resilience and highlight new dimensions for promoting thriving communities in Arctic populations.

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Cueva ◽  
Gwen Healey Akearok ◽  
Sean Guistini ◽  
Nicole Kanayurak ◽  
Christina V. L. Larsen ◽  
...  

In the field of Arctic health, “resilience” is a concept used to describe the capacity to recover from adversities. The term is widely used in Arctic policy contexts; however, Arctic peoples and communities question whether “resilience” is an appropriate term to describe the human dimensions of health and well-being in the Arctic as it is currently applied. A scoping review of peer-reviewed and gray literature was conducted. We used searchable databases, Google Scholar, and Dartmouth College Library Services, to select studies conducted between 2000 and 2019 and key documents from the Arctic Council and other relevant organization and government entities. A scoping review framework was followed, and consultation among the authors provided initial scope, direction, and verification of findings. Analyses identified over- and underrepresented key thematic areas in the literature on human resilience in Arctic communities. Areas of overrepresentation in the literature included ecosystem, climate change, and environmental sciences. Areas that were underrepresented in the literature included health, medicine, wellness or well-being, and community voices on the topic of human resilience. Results indicated that “resilience” as a concept was applied across a diversity of contexts and subject areas in the Arctic and that this may have repercussions for understanding the human dimension of “resilience” and community expressions of well-being. Alternative terms and concepts with which Northern community members more closely identify could be used to more respectfully and accurately advance research in areas such as epidemiology, community health and well-being, and particularly Indigenous peoples’ health.


ARCTIC ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Southcott ◽  
Frances Abele ◽  
David Natcher ◽  
Brenda Parlee

 The four decades since the Berger Inquiry have produced a large body of research demonstrating the positive and negative impacts of resource development on northern communities. However, little independent research has aimed to yield an understanding of how best to manage the impacts of resource development and to harness its benefits in ways that can promote long-term sustainable development. This question was the impetus for the Resources and Sustainable Development in the Arctic (ReSDA) research project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in 2011. Representing a network of researchers, community members and organizations, ReSDA researchers conducted a series of analyses that focused on what was needed to ensure that northern communities received more benefits from resource development and potential negative impacts were mitigated. Overall, the analyses highlight the serious gaps that remain in our ability to ensure that resource development projects improve the sustainability of Arctic communities. These gaps include a proper understanding of cumulative impacts, the ability of communities to adequately participate in new regulatory processes, the non-economic aspects of well-being, the effects of impact and benefit agreements and new financial benefits, and new mitigation activities.


2021 ◽  
pp. 140349482110076
Author(s):  
Katie Cueva ◽  
Elizabeth Rink ◽  
JosÉE G. Lavoie ◽  
Jon P.A. Stoor ◽  
Gwen Healey Akearok ◽  
...  

Aims: Historically, health research in the Arctic has focused on documenting ill-health using a narrow set of deficit-oriented epidemiologic indicators (i.e., prevalence of disease and mortality rates). While useful, this type of research does not adequately capture the breadth and complexities of community health and well-being, and fails to highlight solutions. A community’s context, strengths, and continued expressions of well-being need to guide inquiries, inform processes, and contextualize recommendations. In this paper, we present a conceptual framework developed to address the aforementioned concerns and inform community-led health and social research in the Arctic. Methods: The proposed framework is informed by our collective collaborations with circumpolar communities, and syntheses of individual and group research undertaken throughout the Circumpolar North. Our framework encourages investigation into the contextual factors that promote circumpolar communities to thrive. Results: Our framework centers on the visual imagery of an iceberg. There is a need to dive deeper than superficial indicators of health to examine individual, family, social, cultural, historical, linguistic, and environmental contexts that support communities in the Circumpolar North to thrive. A participatory community-based approach in conjunction with ongoing epidemiologic research is necessary in order to effectively support health and wellness. Conclusions: The iceberg framework is a way to conceptualize circumpolar health research and encourage investigators to both monitor epidemiologic indicators and also dive below the surface using participatory methodology to investigate contextual factors that support thriving communities.


2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 146-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meinrad Perrez ◽  
Michael Reicherts ◽  
Yves Hänggi ◽  
Andrea B. Horn ◽  
Gisela Michel ◽  
...  

Abstract. Most research in health psychology is based on retrospective self reports, which are distorted by recall biases and have low ecological validity. To overcome such limitations we developed computer assisted diary approaches to assess health related behaviours in individuals’, couples’ and families’ daily life. The event- and time-sampling-based instruments serve to assess appraisals of the current situation, feelings of physical discomfort, current emotional states, conflict and emotion regulation in daily life. They have proved sufficient reliability and validity in the context of individual, couple and family research with respect to issues like emotion regulation and health. As examples: Regarding symptom reporting curvilinear pattern of frequencies over the day could be identified by parents and adolescents; or psychological well-being is associated with lower variability in basic affect dimensions. In addition, we report on preventive studies to improve parental skills and enhance their empathic competences towards their baby, and towards their partner.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahari Ishak ◽  
Suet Fin Low ◽  
Wan Abdul Hakim Wan Ibrahim ◽  
Abqariyah Yahya ◽  
Fuziah Md. Zain ◽  
...  

<p>Obesity has been shown to impact the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among children. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of MyBFF@school program on HRQOL among overweight and obese primary school children in Malaysia. KINDL<sup>R</sup> Questionnaire was used to collect data on their HRQOL before and after the program. ANCOVA was used to analyse the comparison between intervention and control group after 6 months. There are significant effect on family functioning, F(2,1103)=7.452, p<0.05 and school functioning, F(1,1117)=7.103, p<0.05 after the intervention. Effects can also be seen on physical well-being, emotional well-being and friends functioning. The program is effective in improving the HRQOL significantly in two dimensions namely the family and school functioning. In order to achieve greater overall success,social support should be an integral part of the program and stigma on obesity should be managed and reduced by including normal-weight children in the program.</p>


Author(s):  
Vera Arsenyeva ◽  
Boris Martynov ◽  
Gennadiy Bulyshchenko ◽  
Dmitriy Svistov ◽  
Boris Gaydar ◽  
...  

Gliomas make up about 8 cases per 100,000 population and the number of patients with this disease is only increasing. There can be not only various types of neurological deficits among the symptoms, but also personal and emotional changes, that seriously affects the quality of life. The modern model of health care includes not only recovery of the patient’s physical functions, but also his or her psychosocial well-being. In particular, the assessment and study of the characteristics of health-related quality of life, as well as cognitive functions in patients with gliomas, is increasingly recognized as an important criterion when considering the effectiveness of treatment. To date, the features of health related quality of life and cognitive functions of patients with epilepsy and acute cerebral circulation disorders have been studied sufficiently, and, as a result, techniques have been developed that accurately assess the QOL and CF in patients with these diseases. These are QOLIE-31 and QOLIE-AD-48 questionnaires for patients with epilepsy. This is the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Orgogozo stroke scale (OSS), World Federation of Neurological Surgeons (WFNS) scale for the clinical assessment of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) for patients with acute cerebrovascular accident. At the same time, there are no generally accepted methods for assessing quality of life and neurocognitive functions that are sensitive to changes in the condition of patients with gliomas in the early postoperative period by the time of discharge from the hospital. As a result, there is no systematic information on the dynamics of the quality of life of such patients, their neurocognitive functioning. The purpose of this article was to study the literature on QOL and CF in patients affected by neurological and neurosurgical disorders for the further selection of optimal methods for assessing dynamics of the condition of patients with glial brain tumors before and after surgery. At the moment, such requirements are only partially met by the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire and its application EORTC QLQ-BN20.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 771
Author(s):  
Fany Chuquilín-Arista ◽  
Tania Álvarez-Avellón ◽  
Manuel Menéndez-González

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a complex disorder characterized by a wide spectrum of symptoms. Depression and anxiety are common manifestations in PD and may be determinants of health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The objective of this study is to determine the association of depression and anxiety with the dimensions of HRQoL in subjects with PD enrolled in an association of patients. Ninety-five community-based patients with PD diagnosis at different disease stages were studied. HRQoL was assessed using the Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39); depression and anxiety were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), respectively. Our results showed that depression and anxiety were negatively associated with HRQoL measured by PDSI. Higher motor dysfunction measured by Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) staging was also associated with worse HRQoL. Depression was the most influential variable in the model. All PDQ-39 dimensions except social support and bodily discomfort were associated with depression. Anxiety was associated with the emotional well-being and bodily discomfort dimensions. These results suggest that physicians should pay attention to the presence of psychiatric symptoms and treat them appropriately.


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