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This study was born out of the Telephone Peer Support Group Program for Women with Spinal Cord Injury Living in Small Communities and Rural Areas in Ontario, funded by the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation. It represents the final chapter in the evaluation process of this innovative and participatory program, which produced positive results for a majority of women who took part in it. A phenomenological approach according to Moustakas was used to deepen the understanding and describe the participants’ experience of the program. The seven women who took part in the program contributed their narratives. Emotional support and learning were the main structures of the experience as reported by the women. The program was a space where participants gave and received emotional support through sharing, connecting and exchange. Participants who differed from the majority in the group because of the nature of their injury did not benefit as much from the program. For true peers, the program was a space of “real understanding” and learning in which participants’ perceptions of self were shaped and new identities found, where loneliness was replaced with the feeling of belonging and “not being alone”. It was the space where the bodily aspects of SCI and the socially constructed roles of women were examined, where solutions for health and lifestyle issues were discussed and embraced, and where relationships with others developed into the positive interactions of informed and empowered individuals. The women with SCI attributed changes in their attitudes and behaviours to participation in this program. Reported changes ranged from increased knowledge about a proactive and healthy lifestyle, to completed annual medical check-ups, changed pain treatment, changed dietary and exercise regimes, to the establishment of a web-site with information about a healthy and proactive life for women with SCI. For the majority of participants in this program, it was an enriching and life changing experience which has a huge potential for reaching isolated women with SCI. For service providers, the program was an opportunity to provide services to underserved populations, impacting their quality of life by using cheap and accessible technology. For participatory researchers it was a rewarding experience of seeing immediate benefits reported by satisfied research participants. / Thesis (Master, Rehabilitation Science) -- Queen's University, 2008-07-08 02:45:25.455

Understanding factors that influence parenting practices is important, as parents play a critical role in the healthy development of children (Sanders, 1999). From an ecological perspective, both individual and contextual factors must be considered when examining predictors of parenting practices (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). There is limited research, however, that combines both individual and contextual factors within one model to predict parenting practices. The objective of the current research was to examine parents’ contextual sources of support as a buffer and as a mechanism of the relationship between the individual factors of parental stress, and beliefs and knowledge about parenting, and parenting practices. The two studies analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of 3,008 Canadian parents who had at least one child under the age of five. In the first study, hierarchical regression analyses were used to examine the availability of community support as a moderator. Our result indicated that having a high number of community resources available buffered the additive effect of high stress and negative beliefs and knowledge about parenting on parenting practices. In the second study, structural equation modeling was used to develop multiple mediator models to examine three levels of support. The results indicated that: Partner support was a mechanism through which stress affects negative discipline; partner support was a mechanism through which beliefs and knowledge about parenting affect positive and negative parental discipline; community support was a mechanism through which beliefs and knowledge about parenting affect positive parenting practices and positive parental discipline; and national support was a mechanism through which beliefs and knowledge about parenting affect positive parenting practices. Together, these findings emphasize the importance of the environment in shaping parenting practices and demonstrate that support within each environment differentially impacts parenting. Interventions that enhance the support that parents receive at the individual, community, and national levels have the potential to increase positive parenting and decrease negative parenting, and in doing so, promote the healthy development of children. / Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2009-09-06 15:16:22.485

Purpose: To evaluate differences in perceived workplace social support for different disability groups, and to better understand the support experiences of persons with mental health disabilities. Methods: A sequential mixed methods design was used. Phase I involved the analysis of an existing dataset to compare perceived social support scores between participants with different disabilities. Phase II, rooted in the phenomenology tradition, involved interviews with workers with mental health disabilities. Triangulation of methods was done in the analysis phase by comparing participant interviews with their corresponding support scores. Results: Phase I - No significant differences were found between participants with orthopaedic and emotional disabilities regarding their total perceived social support score, or support scores according to type (e.g. informational) or source (e.g. supervisor) of support; however, trends suggested that participants with emotional disabilities had higher perceived support scores for friends/family support and lower perceived support scores for appraisal support. Regression models developed from the demographic variables did not predict the perceived amount of social support. Phase II – 9 theme clusters concerning the role of supervisors, external and internal factors, and disclosure emerged from the interviews with workers with mental health disabilities regarding their experiences of support in the workplace. Conclusions: This was the first mixed-methods study to examine the workplace support experiences of individuals with mental health disabilities using a workplace and disability context specific support scale and interviews rooted in phenomenology. No significant differences in perceived support scores between orthopaedic and emotional disabilities were found and this may be attributable to small sample size. In addition, although the qualitative findings provide interesting insight into support experiences, additional research with more participants from a variety of industries would add to the findings. / Thesis (Master, Rehabilitation Science) -- Queen's University, 2010-09-08 19:03:05.468

The purpose of this study was to explore specific types of informal social relationships- family or friends formed in nursing homes and to determine how each affected the health of the elderly, especially in the areas of loneliness and depression. A face-to-face interview using four structured questionnaires was adopted for this descriptive study design. The main outcomes of depression and loneliness were measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and University of California Loneliness Scale (UCLA). The Duke Inventory Social Support Scale, measuring both family and friend support separately, measured predictor variables of family and friend support. Eighty-seven percent of participants completed the study. The results indicate that friend support was a more reliable factor for predicting the levels of loneliness and depression after controlling for all other co-founding variables. The findings will help nurses and other health care personnel when assessing the social support networks, beliefs and preferences of older adults to plan and implement the best practices. This will also offer health care facilities suggested ways to reduce or combat loneliness and depression among the elderly people. / Thesis (Master, Nursing) -- Queen's University, 2010-09-16 20:34:22.965

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<p><font face="Arial"> <p align="left">The findings in this study demonstrate that the Child Support Grant is only effective if it is incorporated into the household income, that recipients of the grant mainly spend it on food and in paying school fees for their children. Although the recipients share the same sentiments with regards to the amount of the grant, they all agree that it does have a positive impact on the lives of the children, especially when it is combined with the household income.</p> </font></p>

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