Denna studie syftar till att undersöka hur barn vars syskon har en neuropsykiatrisk funktionsnedsättning eller intellektuell funktionsnedsättning påverkas och upplever att det är att leva med ett syskon med en funktionsnedsättning. Studien utförs som en kvalitativ litteraturstudie i form av en scoping-review. 15 vetenskapliga artiklar identifierades och sammanställdes utifrån tematisk analysmetod. De vetenskapliga artiklarna analyserades efter Goffmans teori om stigma, Eriksons utvecklingsteori och Bronfenbrenners utvecklingsekologiska perspektiv. Resultatet visade att barn vars syskon har en neuropsykiatrisk funktionsnedsättning eller intellektuell funktionsnedsättning behöver göra anpassningar och kompromisser i sin vardag relaterat till syskonets svårigheter och behov av anpassningar. Flertalet sociala konsekvenser identifierades då barnen sällan vågade bjuda hem vänner samt valde att stanna hemma för att inte riskera att bli mobbad eller retad på grund av sitt syskon. Många av barnen behövde ta ett stort ansvar för sitt syskon i en tidig ålder vilket resulterade i att de mognade snabbare än andra jämnåriga. Det framkom även att barnen utvecklade positiva egenskaper som empati, tålamod och acceptans. / The aim of this study is to investigate how children with siblings who have a neuropsychiatric disability or intellectual disability experience their everyday life and how it has affected them. The study is conducted as a qualitative literature review as a scoping review. Fifteen scientific articles were identified and compiled using thematic analysis methods. The scientific articles were analyzed based on Goffman's theory of stigma, Erikson's developmental theory, and Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. The results showed that children with siblings who have a neuropsychiatric disability or intellectual disability need to make adjustments and compromises in their daily lives related to their sibling's difficulties and need for adaptation. Several social consequences were identified, as the children rarely dared to invite friends home and often chose to stay at home to avoid the risk of being bullied or teased because of their sibling. Many of the children had to take on significant responsibilities for their sibling at an early age, which resulted in them maturing faster than their peers. It also emerged that the children developed positive qualities such as empathy, patience, and acceptance.

Background: Social exclusion of people with vision impairments is an ongoing issue. Since social inclusion emphasizes social and emotional aspects as distinct from academic ones and the aspects concerning opportunities, the focus is turned on the domain of social interactions and friendships. Adolescence is the time point when youth feels mostly the need to ‘fit in’ in social circles and groups and the social life and friendships are important aspects of young people’s well-being and development. Aim: The aim of this study is to review the existing literature on the social interactions and friendships of adolescents with visual impairments from their own perspective and investigate the interventions designed to improve their social interactions and friendships. Method: A literature search on the databases of ERIC, CINAHL and PsycINFO and a hand search on the reference lists of the relevant articles was conducted. The search was limited to recent peer reviewed studies published in English, reporting perspectives of adolescents (13-18 years old) with visual impairments on their social interactions and friendships and intervention studies aimed to support them in the aforementioned domain. Results: In the 18 included studies, adolescents with vision impairments engaged more in passive activities that were not highly interactive. They reported being satisfied with their networks and friends, however contradictions existed in the perceived quality of friendships and the feeling of loneliness. The context of school was presented often as problematic compared to other contexts, and friendships in schools were rare. According to adolescents’ voices, friendships helped to cope with the impairment, friends had a meaningful role in their life and they made school life more enjoyable. In comparison to their sighted peers, adolescents with vision impairments had smaller networks and less friends with whom they had different type of relationships. Lastly even though several barriers and facilitators were identified, which belong to domains of Body functions and structures and Physical, Attitudinal and Social environment, there was a lack of interventions aiming to support the social interactions and friendships of adolescents with vision impairments. Conclusions: Considering the importance of social interactions and friendships in adolescents’ life for them to learn, develop and enjoy, more interventions with social focus need to be designed in respect to the challenges that exist. A plethora of barriers and facilitators impacting the social interactions and friendships of adolescents with vision impairments were identified that need to be taken into consideration for future research and interventions since the existing literature provided so far is limited. Adolescents need to be engaged in this process so that their interests, preferences and their views are prioritized.

Bakgrund: Att genomgå en amputation är en livsomvälvande händelse som bjuder på utmaningar både fysiskt och psykiskt för den drabbade personen inte minst efter utskrivning från sjukhus. Syfte: Syftet med den här litteraturstudien var att sammanställa tidigare kvalitativ forskning om patienters erfarenheter av rehabilitering efter amputation av nedre extremitet efter utskrivning från sjukhus. Metod: Scoping review. Resultat: Resultatet av den här studien byggde på tolv artiklar och fem huvudteman identifierades samt femton subteman. Studien visade bland annat på hur informationsbrist råder från sjukvårdspersonalen till patienten på olika nivåer och att tilliten till personalen är viktig. Bristande ekonomi minskade följsamheten till rehabiliteringen av olika anledningar, men har även en direkt korrelation till patientens överlevnad. Kostnaden för sjukvården beskrevs även som en fråga om liv och död där fri sjukvård var avgörande för socioekonomiskt utsatta grupper. Konklusion: Konklusionen belyste att partner och familj är viktiga för hur patienten tacklar själva rehabiliteringsprocessen. Därför är det viktigt att sjuksköterskan är lyhörd vid vårdövergång från sjukhus till hemmiljö eftersom vårdbördan för familjen ökar och patienten är som mest sårbar. / Background: Going through an amputation is a life-changing event followed by challenges physically and mentally for the affected person not least after discharge from hospital. Aim: The aim of this literature review was to compile previous qualitative research of patients’ experience of rehabilitation after amputation of lower extremity after discharge from hospital. Method: Scoping review. Result: Based on twelve scientific articles five main themes and fifteen subthemes were identified. This study illustrated how lack of information exists from healthcare professionals to the patient on different levels and trust towards the staff is important. Lack of financial resources reduced the adherence to rehabilitation and had a direct correlation to patient survival. The cost of medical care was described as a matter of life and death where free health care was crucial for socio-economically vulnerable groups. Conclusion: The conclusion illuminated the importance of the partner and family for how the patient deal with the rehabilitation process. It is important that the nurse is responsive when care transition occurs from hospital to home environment as the burden of care for the family increases and the patient is the most vulnerable.

This study sought to better understand program evaluation capacity and competency amongst public health nurses. Program evaluation plays a vital role in public health and is an identified core competency for public health practice (Canadian Public Health Agency). In Part One, I conducted a scoping review to systematically map the current literature on this topic and to identify important areas for future research. Twenty-three articles were selected based on pre-established exclusion and inclusion criteria and the assistance of a secondary reviewer. The articles highlighted the value of program evaluation in public health and its importance as a nursing skill amidst the evolving health care sector. Themes identified included: a broader lack of public health competencies (including program evaluation) among all public health professionals; the complexities and challenges of evaluating public health interventions; and the uncertainty of what constitutes adequate evaluation competency in public health. Furthermore, my review noted inconsistent terminology to describe a public health nurse and the need for further exploration around the specific evaluation capacity of public health nurses. In Part Two, I explored the stated or expected evaluation competencies for public health nurses through a document review of relevant Canadian public health nursing core competencies, guidelines, and standards for practice. The identification of 52 stated evaluation competencies, demonstrates the assumption that public health nurses have competency and or capacity related to program evaluation and contrasts with the themes identified in my scoping review. Furthermore, the documents I reviewed included no specific reference to the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES), however some of the included content did align with the CES Program Evaluation Standards. This study demonstrates a misalignment between the discourse in the literature reviewed related to evaluation competency amongst public health nurses and the stated or assumed evaluation competencies put forth in leading public health nursing documentation. In the absence of any standardized evaluation training and preparation for public health nurses, further exploration is needed around what these broad evaluation competencies mean in practice and how they can be objectively assessed, exhibited, and better integrated into public health nursing education and evaluation capacity building activities. These questions warrant further investigation to ensure public health interventions are properly evaluated and that public health nurses have the competencies required for effective public health practice.

Background: People who use drugs (PWUD) are disproportionately burdened by rates of HIV and Hepatitis C, more likely to experience stigma, social exclusion, and as a result, have poorer health outcomes. To mitigate these inequities in health, people with lived experience of drug use are, and should be, included in decisions that affect them. There is evidence that including PWUD in the development and delivery of harm reduction programs, services, and drug policy ensures such initiatives addresses their needs most effectively. As such, the purpose of this thesis is to present the findings of a scoping review of the peer-reviewed literature examining the involvement of people who use drugs (PWUD) in the development and delivery of harm reduction programs, services, and drug policy. Methods: Scoping reviews represent an increasingly popular method used to review the literature of a particular topic. It is a process of summarizing, or ‘mapping’, a range of evidence in order to convey the breadth and depth of a particular field. This scoping review implemented a search strategy focused on three categories: search terms that describe ‘peer engagement’, search terms that describe ‘substance use’ and finally search terms that describe ‘harm reduction programs/services/policy’. Searches of five academic electronic databases were conducted. Peer-reviewed literature published between 2010 and 2020 that discussed the involvement of PWUD in the development and/or delivery of harm reduction programs, services, or drug policy was included in the scoping review. Results: The search strategy produced a total of 1902 references. After duplicates were removed, thirty-two references met the inclusion criteria and were included for analysis. This scoping review identified five characteristics from each study: 1) type of study, 2) location of study, 3) year of publication, 4) type of engagement/participation, and 5) peer roles. Conclusion: One critical finding of this scoping review is the highest level of participation among PWUD was achieved when drug-user organizations were involved. / Graduate

The purpose of this thesis is to scope the literature to understand how people who use injection drug (PWIDs) experience access to hepatitis C (HCV) testing and diagnosis. The design was a scoping review methodology, guided by Arksey and O’Malley, JBI, and PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A search was conducted through seven electronic databases using a peer-reviewed search strategy. Five studies were yielded through two-level screenings. The extracted data were synthesized using conventional data analysis and reported using tables and narrative summaries. Four categories were found: Awareness and Knowledge, Stigma, Healthcare Service, and Psychological Responses. The studies were conducted in Australia, UK, and US published between 2014 to 2018. A total of 19 participant characteristics were extracted to contextualize their experiences. The World Health Organization’s definition of accessibility should be defined through the guidance of the constructed truths of the individuals in the current context. The lack of demographic data and connection to client quotes further exacerbates the inequities among the population through overlooking their intragroup identities.

This thesis looks at the process of reunification for Indigenous children following a time in the care of the child welfare system. To understand what has been studied in the area of reunification of Indigenous children back to their families, a scoping review process is undertaken to gathering and mapping the available research. The initial search produced a total of 1823 abstracts. After applying an inclusion and exclusion reviewing process, the scoping review resulted in a total of 44 literature sources for this study. This study uses Cindy Blackstock’s Breath of Life Theory as the theoretical framework to understand and reimagine the process of reunification from the perspective of the child, the family, the worker, and substitute caregiver. The review found support for the idea that research and programs relating to reunification for Indigenous children needs to use Indigenous methods and ways of thinking. Five themes emerged from this review, the use of Indigenous ways of knowing, this theme is central throughout the literature and informs the other four themes: structural vs. individual assessment/intervention, trauma/reconciliation, connections/relationships, and Indigenous research. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

Introduction: Psychosocial problems (PSPs) are common issues associated with negative health outcomes. Since general practitioners are the first point of contact for any health-related concern, understanding their options to recognise patients with PSPs plays an important role as it is essential for early intervention and can prevent serious conditions. The objective of our scoping review is to map published evidence on the usage of instruments to identify patients with PSPs in general practice. Methods and analysis: We will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews checklist and the Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewer’s Manual on scoping reviews. A systematic search of four electronic databases (Medline (Ovid), Web of Science Core Collection, PsycInfo, Cochrane Library) will be conducted for quantitative and qualitative studies published in English, Spanish, French and German. Main study characteristics as well as information on identification instruments will be extracted and visualised in structured tables to map the available evidence. The protocol has been registered with Open Science Framework, https://osfio/c2m6z. Ethics and dissemination: This study does not require ethical approval as we will not collect personal data. Dissemination will consist of publications, presentations and other knowledge translation activities.

Though more recognition has been placed on the cruciality of university staff in their roles supporting the internationalization of higher education (HE), research-based understandings of micro level engagement have been largely neglected. This critical realist scoping study explores the extent of peer-reviewed articles published between 2017 and 2022 regarding university staff experiences and perceptions of internationalization in Australian and South Korean HE. A total of 34 relevant articles were found using a systematic approach to data collection. The findings confirm previous studies which demonstrate that internationalization research largely focuses on the perspectives and experiences of academic staff while non-academic staff and HE leadership and management are under-researched. Six dimensions of internationalization were represented, with ‘Teaching, Supervising, and Supporting Students’ being the most-researched across the body of literature overall and the ‘Internationalization of the Curriculum’ and ‘English-Medium Instruction Practice and Policy’ the most-researched in Australia and Korea respectively. The review also brought up several conceptual issues. While all university staff research participants in the Korean HE context were explicitly defined based on their nationality, ethnicity, and/or cultural background, university staff participants in the Australian HE context were often not described beyond their occupation. However, the majority of articles researching staff interactions with international students in the Australian HE context did include descriptions of national, ethnic, and/or cultural background. Additionally, the authors of the selected articles in both contexts rarely disclosed their own subjectivity and connection to the topic being researched. This study has illuminated the need for future research on the perspectives and experiences of all university staff in relation to internationalization and argues for future research that acknowledges the positionality of the researcher and the complexity of the identity of its participants.

In 2014, UNAIDS published the Gap Report that identified adults aged 50 years and older as a vulnerable group being left behind in HIV treatment and prevention efforts (UNAIDS, 2014). This manuscript thesis is composed of two data chapters that aim to address the gap in the HIV, aging, and disability literature by exploring what is known about the quality of life and disability experiences of older adults aged 50 years and older living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The purpose of the scoping review was to map out published literature on quality of life among older adults living with HIV in SSA. Following Arksey & O’Malley’s framework for conducting scoping reviews, 6 databases were searched resulting in 1021 titles and abstracts that were screened for inclusion resulting in a total of 8 articles included for review and synthesis. The review confirmed a dearth in research literature on older adults living with HIV in SSA as included studies were only conducted in 2 out of 47 countries in the region. The qualitative study addressed this gap in knowledge by exploring the disability- related experiences of 10 older men and women living with HIV in Zambia. The qualitative study identified 5 major themes: 1. Multiple Symptoms and Impairments: Variation in Onset and Duration; 2. Daily Activities and Participation: Shaped by Gender Roles; 3. HIV Status Disclosure: Hindered by Stigma, Driven By A Purpose; 4) Poverty and Food Insecurity: Precarious Employment; and 5) Managing An Altered Uncertainty: Changes Resulting From A Prolonged Life. These findings demonstrated that while participants were benefiting from antiretroviral therapy, many still experienced disability. The component studies in this thesis complement one another and advance dialogue about the quality of life and experiences of disability in older adults living with HIV in SSA and points to a need for further research so that fewer people are left behind. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)