Exploring how veterinary professionals perceive and use grief support resources to support companion animal caregivers in Ontario, Canada

Objective: The aim of this study was to qualitatively explore veterinary professionals’ use and perceptions of grief resources and services to support companion animal caregivers following companion animal euthanasia. Background: The loss of a companion animal can be a source of great sorrow and grief. Like human loss, many companion animal caregivers may seek out and benefit from grief resources, of which veterinary professionals are often important providers. Yet, little is known about how, when or for what reasons veterinary professionals provide these resources. Methods: A qualitative study consisting of group and individual interviews involving 38 veterinary professionals and staff from 10 veterinary hospitals in Ontario, Canada was conducted. Verbatim transcripts were evaluated using inductive thematic analysis to identify themes and subthemes. Results: Results indicated that typically resources were only provided if a caregiver requested information, or when veterinary professionals recognised that the caregiver may benefit from these resources. To assess a caregiver’s need, participants reported considering their age, the strength of the human-animal bond, their previous and ongoing life circumstances, and their emotional state. Several barriers limiting veterinary professionals’ use of grief resources were also described including perceptions that few adequate resources existed and a lack of knowledge of existing or new resources. Conclusion: Overall, findings suggest that there are substantial opportunities to improve and embed a provision of grief resources within the veterinary profession. There is a need to develop adequate resources to meet caregivers’ supportive needs and implement these resources within the greater veterinary profession.

Risk Factors of Going Missing in People Living With Dementia: A Scoping Review

Critical wandering is common in persons living with dementia, it is defined as wandering that results in an individual going missing. This exposes the missing vulnerable older adult to risks and dangers. Persons with dementia who become lost and go missing and get lost can face adverse outcomes, such as injury and death, yet the amount of information available on the risk factors associated with these incidents is scarce. The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors associated with critical wandering in persons living with dementia. We used Tricco et al.’s (2018) approach for scoping reviews and searched the following databases: Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Scopus. We included studies that referred to critical wandering in persons with dementia, cognitive impairment, or Alzheimer, and published since 1980. We identified 3,376 publications, which was reduced to 1641 publications after we removed duplications. A total of 78 studies met the inclusion and exclusion criteria for analysis and extraction. A rigorous process to synthesize and categorize the research evidence was followed. We identified four different types of risk factors associated with going missing: (1) personal, (2) physical environment and geographical location, (3) cultural environment, and (4) social environment and support resources. Recognition of these risk factors can help persons living with dementia and their care partners identify interventions and proactive strategies to mitigate or prevent critical wandering. This will support persons with dementia, their care partners, and community organizations to balance safety, autonomy, and independence to maximize quality of life.

It Was Trial by Fire: Recommendations for Building a Stronger Nursing Home Workforce After COVID-19

The COVID-19 crisis showed the urgent need for a unified, well-supported nursing home workforce. The objective of this qualitative study was to examine the lived experience of certified nursing assistants (CNAs) and administrators during COVID-19 to identify best practices moving forward. Six administrator interviews and 10 remote focus groups with CNAs at 5 nursing homes (N=56) were examined through directed content analysis. Based on priorities identified by CNAs and administrators, the following practices may be most impactful: 1) ongoing and responsive staff training; 2) transparent, direct, and two-way communication channels; 3) prioritizing hiring permanent staff to avoid shortages and reliance on agency staff; 4) building collaborative staff-management relationships; 5) providing flexible job benefits; 6) providing staff-centered emotional support resources; and 7) appraising COVID-19 innovations. Our results suggest that rather than returning to “business as usual,” nursing homes can draw on these lessons to build a more sustainable workforce and industry.

Whakatipu te Pā Harakeke: What are the success factors that normalise the use of Māori language within the whānau?

<p>Despite the language revitalisation efforts of kōhanga reo and kura kaupapa Māori, the Māori language is still endangered. The population of highly proficient speakers is dwindling (Statistics New Zealand, 2013). The Māori language is not a language of everyday use across a range of settings (Te Puni Kōkiri, 2008). Language experts have identified intergenerational transmission as the principal means of evaluating the vitality of a language and a key factor in reversing language shift (Fishman, 1991; Spolsky, 2004). This requires re-establishing the Māori language in the home. Although there is evidence of the re-emergence of intergenerational Māori language transmission, this is at the initial stages and is not yet the norm in Māori society. The process of transferring the Māori language from generation to generation depends on decisions by parents to learn and use te reo Māori on an everyday basis in their interactions with their children. Whilst educational institutions can support whānau and communities, they cannot take their place (Fishman, 1991). Community support is vital because a living language requires a pool of active speakers, in particular those who speak the language to younger community members. This thesis examines the efforts of eight whānau who have contributed to the revitalisation of the Māori language by ensuring the language is transmitted intergenerationally to their children. All but one of the parents learnt Māori as a second language in their adult years. Six critical success factors emerged from the findings that can be utilised by language planners and parents wanting to normalise the use of Māori within the whānau. The factors include critical awareness, family language policy, Poureo, support, resources and increasing parental language skills.</p>

Whakatipu te Pā Harakeke: What are the success factors that normalise the use of Māori language within the whānau?

<p>Despite the language revitalisation efforts of kōhanga reo and kura kaupapa Māori, the Māori language is still endangered. The population of highly proficient speakers is dwindling (Statistics New Zealand, 2013). The Māori language is not a language of everyday use across a range of settings (Te Puni Kōkiri, 2008). Language experts have identified intergenerational transmission as the principal means of evaluating the vitality of a language and a key factor in reversing language shift (Fishman, 1991; Spolsky, 2004). This requires re-establishing the Māori language in the home. Although there is evidence of the re-emergence of intergenerational Māori language transmission, this is at the initial stages and is not yet the norm in Māori society. The process of transferring the Māori language from generation to generation depends on decisions by parents to learn and use te reo Māori on an everyday basis in their interactions with their children. Whilst educational institutions can support whānau and communities, they cannot take their place (Fishman, 1991). Community support is vital because a living language requires a pool of active speakers, in particular those who speak the language to younger community members. This thesis examines the efforts of eight whānau who have contributed to the revitalisation of the Māori language by ensuring the language is transmitted intergenerationally to their children. All but one of the parents learnt Māori as a second language in their adult years. Six critical success factors emerged from the findings that can be utilised by language planners and parents wanting to normalise the use of Māori within the whānau. The factors include critical awareness, family language policy, Poureo, support, resources and increasing parental language skills.</p>

Challenges in Access to Support Resources for Diabetic Patients: A Qualitative Study in Deprived Areas of Iran

Objectives This study aimed to identify the perceptions of challenges in access to diabetes-related support resources among patients with type 2 diabetes and their family caregivers. Methods This qualitative study was conducted with 18 patients with type 2 diabetes and nine of their family caregivers, using the conventional content analysis method, in 2020 in Lorestan Province, Iran. The participants were selected through purposive sampling and the process continued until the data was saturated. Thirty semi-structured interviews, carried out from February to April 2020, were used to collect the data; they were analyzed using Graneheim and Lundman’s content analysis (2004). Results The study showed two main categories of structural challenges (subcategories: shortage of skilled professionals and defects in executive processes) and destructive inefficiencies (subcategories: service bottlenecks, uncertain support, and irresponsibility of medical team), indicating the dimensions of the participants’ perceptions of barriers to support. Discussion The findings of the study showed that barriers relating to the structure and function of healthcare organizations were among the most important challenges perceived by patients with diabetes when pursuing their care. However, there may be other barriers that have not been addressed due to the lack of support resources in deprived areas and the lack of awareness of patients.

Using Online Photovoice (OPV) to Understand Youths’ Perceptions of Distance Education during COVID-19

In this study we aimed to investigate young college students’ experienced problems and support resources regarding online or distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used an innovative technique, Online Photovoice (OPV) method to collect data. The research includes the theoretical framework created to understand the factors that facilitate and complicate online/distance education processes for prospective teachers in the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the framework consisted of Ecological Systems Theory (EST), Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), and OPV. In the analysis of the data, we used Online Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (OIPA). The study sample consisted of 153 young university students in three universities in the south and southeast of Turkey. The data collection tool was created as an online form consisting of four parts: introduction, general information, and consent form; questions on the most important facilitator and the most important barrier in your life for your online/distance education during the COVID-19 process using OPV; and demographic questions section. When the facilitating factors obtained from the study data were examined, 11 main themes emerged. These main themes were having online or distance education (37%), technology, computer, internet, and helpful course programs (30%), and private space (10%). On the other hand, 16 complicating main themes have emerged including insufficient technology (32%), problems with online education (15%), and financial issues (12%). The participants attributed facilitators and barriers to EST levels, respectively: individual/intrapsychic factors (47%, 43%), microsystem (19%, 48%), exosystem (36%, 37%), and macrosystem (26%, 34%).

Do Homeless People Giving Up Hope? A Qualitative Study in Penang, Malaysia

This qualitative study aims to explore the lives of homeless people around Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia especially in the social support aspect of their lives. Twenty (20) informants were involved in this study. Data obtained were analyzed using the content analysis method. The results showed that the homeless were classified as those who had given up hope. Lack of social support resources makes the homeless' lives to be drifted and then further triggers risky behaviour changes. The feelings of isolation and neglect caused the homeless to decide not to have any kind of relationship with their nuclear family. This study has the potential to contribute to the knowledge of social marginalization issues affecting homeless people in Malaysia in general and especially in Georgetown, Penang as well as its implications for the survival and sustainability of these minorities' lives.