“It’s a Tall Order But I’ll Try”: A Qualitative Study on Chinese Nurses’ Cognition and Experience Responding to Cancer Patients’ Requests to Hasten Death

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand the cognition and experience of oncology nurses in China when responding to a patient’s request to hasten death, to describe the obstacles that prevent their response, and to provide suggestions for dealing with the patient’s request. Methods: Researchers conducted a qualitative study that consisted of open-ended, semi-structured interviews with 18 registered nurses who had more than five years of working experience in the oncology department at a large-scale urban hospital. We analyzed these data for content and themes.Results: How to deal with patients’ requests to hasten death is a problem often encountered and handled by nurses in the Department of Oncology.Nurses have a certain understanding of the patients’ requests to hasten death. This study abstracts four themes: 1) the nurses’ cognition of the “Accelerate the process of death” ; 2) the methods they use to deal with the patients’ requests to hasten death; 3) the obstacles that prevent nurses from fulfilling the patients’ requests to hasten death; and 4) their suggestions for improvement.Conclusion: Nurses have a deep understanding of the real thoughts of patients who make a death request, and they hope to provide the corresponding psychological support and physical care. However, the lack of relevant knowledge, policy support, and cooperation of patients’ families are obstacles that prevent them from taking action. Therefore, increasing relevant training for nurses, encouraging multi-department cooperation, and developing standardized nursing processes may lay a foundation for oncology nurses to better undertake and guide such conversations.

Civic Engagement, Social Cohesion and Social Integration in Toronto,Canada

The voluntary sector has long been seen as the foundation of a healthy civil society (DeTocqueville, 1961; Leonard & Onyx, 2003). Yet, substantial growth in the last two decades in demand for voluntary sector services in Canada has been accompanied by a significant reduction in government resources supporting the sector’s activities (Browne, 1996). This confluence of demand growth and decreased governmental support has resulted in increased competition among voluntary organizations for both capital and human resources (Meinhard & Foster, 2000). Furthermore, the ethnic transformation of Canadian society has raised knowledge, policy and practical issues across all sectors, including the voluntary sector. These conditions have pushed many in the voluntary sector to reach beyond their traditional bases of support to consider hitherto untapped segments of society, and have pushed governments to rely more and more on the voluntary sector for the development of social integration. However, research on the Canadian voluntary sector, particularly with a cross-cultural lens, is a relatively new research domain, with many gaps in the knowledge base. As a starting point, Berger (2004) and Berger & Azaria (2004) have proposed, tested and supported a framework that traces the relationship between sub-group identity and volunteering, as mediated by attitudes, norms and social barriers. In this paper we extend this framework and consider the role of civic engagement in processes of social cohesion and social integration. We use the 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey (EDS) to investigate how engagement in the voluntary sector contributes to the development of both bonding and bridging social cohesion, and thereby, social integration. Keywords: CVSS, Centre for Voluntary Sector Studies, Working Paper Series,TRSM, Ted Rogers School of Management Citation:

Ethnicity, Voluntary Behaviour and Social Integration

The voluntary sector has long been seen as the foundation of a healthy civil society (DeTocqueville, 1961; Leonard & Onyx, 2003). Yet, substantial growth in the last two decades in demand for voluntary sector services in Canada has been accompanied by a significant reduction in government resources supporting the sector’s activities (Browne, 1996). This confluence of sector growth and decreased governmental support has resulted in increased competition among voluntary organizations for both capital and human resources (Meinhard & Foster, 2000). Furthermore, the ethnic transformation of Canadian society raises knowledge, policy and practical issues across all sectors, including the voluntary sector. These conditions have pushed many in the voluntary sector to reach beyond their traditional bases of support to consider hitherto untapped segments of society. However, research on the Canadian voluntary sector, particularly with a cross-cultural lens, is a relatively new research domain, with many gaps in the knowledge base. Berger (2004) and Berger & Azaria (2004) have proposed, tested and supported a framework that traces the relationship between sub-group identity and volunteering, as mediated by attitudes, norms and social barriers. In this paper we extend this framework in order to consider the role of volunteering in social integration. (See Figure 1 below.) We use the 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey (EDS) not only to investigate this relationship in general, but also to examine how it might be moderated by generation and ethnic identification. Keywords: CVSS, Centre for Voluntary Sector Studies, Working Paper Series,TRSM, Ted Rogers School of Management Citation:

Ethnicity, Voluntary Behaviour and Social Integration

The voluntary sector has long been seen as the foundation of a healthy civil society (DeTocqueville, 1961; Leonard & Onyx, 2003). Yet, substantial growth in the last two decades in demand for voluntary sector services in Canada has been accompanied by a significant reduction in government resources supporting the sector’s activities (Browne, 1996). This confluence of sector growth and decreased governmental support has resulted in increased competition among voluntary organizations for both capital and human resources (Meinhard & Foster, 2000). Furthermore, the ethnic transformation of Canadian society raises knowledge, policy and practical issues across all sectors, including the voluntary sector. These conditions have pushed many in the voluntary sector to reach beyond their traditional bases of support to consider hitherto untapped segments of society. However, research on the Canadian voluntary sector, particularly with a cross-cultural lens, is a relatively new research domain, with many gaps in the knowledge base. Berger (2004) and Berger & Azaria (2004) have proposed, tested and supported a framework that traces the relationship between sub-group identity and volunteering, as mediated by attitudes, norms and social barriers. In this paper we extend this framework in order to consider the role of volunteering in social integration. (See Figure 1 below.) We use the 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey (EDS) not only to investigate this relationship in general, but also to examine how it might be moderated by generation and ethnic identification. Keywords: CVSS, Centre for Voluntary Sector Studies, Working Paper Series,TRSM, Ted Rogers School of Management Citation:

The Impact of Dietary Knowledge on Health: Evidence from the China Health and Nutrition Survey

Promoting a healthy diet through education is part of the Healthy China 2030 action plan. However, studies examining how dietary knowledge affects public health in China are sparse. This study employs multiple waves of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) data to examine the impacts of dietary knowledge on Chinese adults’ health, with a particular emphasis on how the impacts of dietary knowledge vary across different demographic groups. Moreover, we contribute to the literature by incorporating the spouse’s dietary knowledge into the analysis framework to inspect the relationship between a spouse’s dietary knowledge and an individual’s health. Our results indicate that dietary knowledge significantly improves an individual’s health status. However, there is no evidence that an individual’s health is influenced by his/her spouse’s dietary knowledge. Moreover, we find that individuals with a lower level of education and rural residents benefit more from increasing dietary knowledge. Policy implications of this study are also discussed.

Promoting knowledge to policy translation for urban health using community-based system dynamics in Brazil

Background Effectively bridging the knowledge–policy gap to support the development of evidence-based policies that promote health and well-being remains a challenge for both the research and policy communities. Community-based system dynamics (CBSD) is a participatory modelling approach that aims to build stakeholders’ capacity to learn and address complex problems collaboratively. However, limited evidence is available about the contributions of CBSD to knowledge-generating and policy processes across sectors and policy spheres. In the context of a multi-country research project focused on creating an evidence base to inform urban health policies across Latin America, a series of CBSD workshops convened stakeholders from research, policy-making, and other backgrounds working in food and transportation systems. Diverse participants were selected aiming to incorporate multiple perspectives relevant to understanding complex urban systems linked to food and transportation. This study focuses on one of these workshops, whose avenue was São Paulo, Brazil, assembling country-based participants representing local, regional, national, and international institutions with multidisciplinary backgrounds linked to food and transportation systems. Objective The aim of this case study is to explore the perceived influence of one of these workshops on attendees’ understandings of food and transportation systems and their relationship to healthy urban environments, with attention to the role of the workshop in supporting knowledge to policy translation for urban health. Methods We conducted 18 semi-structured qualitative interviews with attendees one year after their participation in a CBSD workshop held in São Paulo, Brazil. A framework method approach was used to code participants’ responses and identify emerging themes. Results Participants reported that the workshop’s group model-building activities influenced their understanding of the knowledge–policy process as it relates to food and transport systems. Workshop contributed to participants’ (1) abilities to engage with multisectoral stakeholders, (2) construct a shared language and understanding of urban challenges, (3) improve understanding of the interconnectedness across food and transportation systems, (4) facilitate dialogue across sectors, and (5) apply a systems thinking approach within their sector and professional context. Participants continued to draw on the tools developed during the workshop, and to apply systems thinking to their research and policy-making activities. Conclusions CBSD may offer valuable opportunities to connect the research sector to the policy-making process. This possibility may contribute to knowledge to policy translation in the interconnection between the urban context, food and transportation systems, and health.