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Chronic illness and invisible disability are impactful contexts during emerging adulthood and the launching stage of the family life cycle (Beatty, 2011; Capelle, Visser, and Vosman, 2016; Young et al., 2010). The parent-child relationship is important to both developmental and health outcomes in families coping with chronic illness during emerging adulthood (Crandell, Sandelowski, Leeman, Haville, and Knafle, 2018; Fenton, Ferries, Ko, Javalkar, and Hooper, 2015; Waldboth, Patch, Mahrer-Imhaf, and Metcalfe, 2016). While informed clinical competency in counseling families experiencing disablement is a diversity-affirmative ethical imperative among psychotherapists (Mona et al., 2017), little is known in family therapy about how parents and emerging adult children experience launching with chronic illness. This qualitative study explored the parent-child dyadic experience of living with a chronic illness called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) during emerging adulthood. Seven dyads of parents and their emerging adult children with POTS were interviewed. Data analysis of in-depth interviews using Moustakas's (1994) transcendental phenomenology uncovered eight thematic clusters of meaning in the shared lived experience of POTS at the launching stage of the family life cycle. Clinical implications for family therapists were explored using Rolland's family system-illness (FSI) model of medical family therapy. Study limitations and future directions for further research were discussed. / Master of Science / More and more young adults are living with chronic illness. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) is a little-known chronic illness that tends to begin during adolescence. Like many health problems that disproportionately affect women, POTS is often overlooked by doctors. POTS symptoms, such as dizziness and cognitive difficulty, impact a person's ability to engage in preferred activities and identities. Family therapists can play an impactful role in supporting parents and children with POTS through developmental tasks related to launching an emerging adult in the context of this complex and widely misunderstood chronic illness. This thesis presented the first qualitative study of parent-child dyadic experiences living with POTS. Clinical implications for medical family therapy were highlighted. To construct an interview framework, Rolland's Family Systems-Illness (FSI) clinical model for helping families cope with illness and disability was used in conjunction with Arnett's description of emerging adulthood as a developmental stage in life. Seven parent-child dyads were interviewed for 1-2 hours in fourteen separate interviews generating transcripts about 140,000 words long in total. Analysis of these interviews identified shared themes composing the essence of the parent-child experience living with POTS during emerging adulthood. Results were described through tables and narratives. Clinical implications for family therapists working with parents and children with POTS during emerging adulthood were proposed. Limitations and ideas for future studies were discussed.

<p dir="ltr"><a href="" target="_blank">The goal of this study was to contribute to the research on determinants of caregiving by exploring whether adult children’s health problems shape their involvement in their mothers’ care. Drawing from equity theory and contingent exchange theory (Davey & Eggebeen, 1998; Davey & Norris, 1998; Walster et al., 1978), I proposed that adult children with health problems would be less likely to be their mothers’ primary caregivers but more likely to be their mothers’ secondary caregivers compared to their healthier siblings. Additionally, based on gender role development theories (Chodorow, 1978; Gilligan, 1982; Leaper & Friedman, 2007), I hypothesized that health problems would reduce sons’, but not daughters’, likelihood of serving as their mothers’ primary caregivers. The results of both the quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed that from both the mothers’ and children’s perspectives, adult children with and without health problems were equally as likely to serve as their mothers’ primary or secondary caregivers. Furthermore, the results suggested that daughters were expected to provide care despite their own health obstacles, whereas this expectation was not present for sons. The findings suggested that adult children with health problems are still participants in their mothers’ care and should be included in conversations regarding planning for their mothers’ future care needs and current caregiving arrangements. Additionally, the findings highlighted how providing care comes at a higher cost for children with health problems compared to their healthier siblings. Future research should investigate how additional support to caregivers with health problems may lead to better caregiving outcomes for both the caregivers and care recipients.</a></p>

Contexte : Au Canada, une personne sur cinq vit avec une douleur chronique, une maladie fréquemment associée à d’autres maladies chroniques. Comme pour la plupart des maladies chroniques, l’engagement réussi du patient dans la gestion des symptômes est essentiel pour la gestion de la douleur chronique. Dans le contexte de multiples maladies, l’autogestion implique une priorisation quotidienne des symptômes et des maladies, ainsi que des prises de décision, ce qui peut être exigeant. L’autogestion des maladies chroniques peut nécessiter une compétence plus complexe et des tâches pour aborder les différentes implications de chaque maladie. Objectif : Notre objectif de recherche était d’explorer les types et les processus de priorisation des symptômes dans l'autogestion chez les adultes vivant avec de la douleur chronique et d'autres maladies chroniques. Devis : Cette recherche a été menée dans le cadre d’une étude plus vaste adoptant un devis mixte séquentiel explicatif. Cette recherche s’est concentrée plus particulièrement sur la partie qualitative de l’étude. Lieu(x) : Les participants recrutés pour la composante qualitative ont participé à un entretien individuel semi-structuré en ligne ou en personne au Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal. Participants : Au total, 25 participants ont été interviewés, dont 18 femmes et 7 hommes. Méthodes : Les participants étaient éligibles pour participer à l’étude s’ils avaient 18 ans ou plus, vivaient avec de la douleur depuis plus de trois mois et avaient au moins une autre condition médicale pour laquelle ils recevaient un traitement ou s’engageaient dans la gestion des symptômes. Les entretiens semi-structurés ont été menés en personne ou virtuellement et ont été retranscrits intégralement. Une analyse thématique réflexive a été utilisée pour explorer les récits des patients, et une approche ouverte et itérative a été adoptée pour coder les entretiens et générer des thèmes. Résultats : Le premier thème, axé sur la priorisation des symptômes, a montré différents processus de priorisation, notamment la priorisation d'une maladie dominante, la priorisation de plusieurs maladies pour éviter des conséquences indésirables, et enfin l'absence ou les processus automatiques de priorisation. Dans le deuxième thème, nous avons identifié plusieurs caractéristiques d'une maladie, en l'occurrence la douleur chronique, qui en faisaient une priorité d'autogestion : sa nature incontrôlable et handicapante, son omniprésence, son imprévisibilité, son caractère désagréable et son invisibilité pour autrui. Dans le dernier thème, nous avons souligné que certains facteurs psychosociaux influencent les niveaux d'engagement dans l'autogestion et les processus de priorisation, notamment le soutien social et la relation patient-médecin. Conclusions : La douleur chronique était la maladie la plus souvent priorisée par les participants dans leurs tâches d’autogestion. En raison de ses caractéristiques, c’était la maladie qui avait le plus d’impact négatif sur le fonctionnement quotidien. / Context. In Canada, one out of five people lives with chronic pain, a condition frequently co-occurring with other chronic illnesses. As with most chronic illnesses, successful patient engagement in symptom management is key. In the context of multiple illnesses, self-management involves daily prioritization of symptoms and illnesses, and decision-making, which can be challenging. Self-management of chronic illnesses can require more complex competence and tasks to address the different implications of each illness. Objective. Our research objective was to explore types and processes of self-management symptom prioritization among adults living with chronic pain and other chronic illnesses. Design. This research was carried out as part of a larger study that adopted an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. This study focused more specifically on the qualitative part of the study. Settings. Participants recruited for the qualitative component took part in a semi-structured individual interview online or in person at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal. Participants. In total, 25 participants were interviewed, including 18 women and 7 men. Methods. To participate in the qualitative part of the study, participants were selected from the larger study and were eligible if they were 18 years old or older, experiencing pain for more than three months, and had at least one other chronic illness for which they were receiving treatment or engaged in symptom management. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in-person or virtually and were transcribed verbatim. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to explore patients’ narratives, and an open and iterative approach was adopted to code interviews and generate themes. Findings. The first theme, focus on symptom prioritization, showed different prioritization processes, including prioritizing a dominant illness, prioritizing multiple illness to avoid undesirable consequences, and finally absence of or automatic processes of prioritization. In the second theme, we identified several characteristics of an illness, in this case chronic pain that made it a self-management priority: uncontrollable and disabling nature, omnipresence, unpredictability, unpleasantness and invisibility to others. In the last theme, we highlighted that some psychosocial factors influence levels of engagement in self-management and prioritization processes, including social support and the patient-physician relationship. Conclusions. Chronic pain was the medical condition most often prioritized by participants in their self-management tasks. Because of its characteristics, it was the medical condition that had the most negative impact on day-to-day functioning.

No / Two routine consultations in primary care diabetes clinics are compared using extracts from video recordings of interactions between nurses and patients. The consultations were chosen to present different styles of interaction, in which the nurse's gaze was either primarily toward the computer screen or directed more toward the patient. Using conversation analysis, the ways in which nurses shift both gaze and body orientation between the computer screen and patient to influence the style, pace, content, and structure of the consultation were investigated. By examining the effects of different levels of engagement between the electronic medical record and the embodied patient in the consultation room, we argue for the need to consider the contingent nature of the interface of technology and the person in the consultation. Policy initiatives designed to deliver what is considered best-evidenced practice are modified in the micro context of the interactions of the consultation.

A child diagnosed with a life-threatening illness such as cancer, and is hospitalized for extensive periods of time, is faced with innumerable stressful and traumatic circumstances. This emotionally challenging life situation can bring on much emotional distress such as anxiety. Thus, it has become imperative that the oncology child is assisted and supported, in his individual struggle to cope with the harshness of his strained reality. In this study the hospitalized oncology child was provided with a means of support and intervention through the use of Gestalt play therapy. Gestalt play therapy was conducted to assist the child to express and work through feelings of anxiety and related emotional distress associated with his present life experience. Gestalt play therapy was presented with six case studies. The researcher explored and described the experiences of each case study from which, the researcher drew conclusions and made recommendations. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Play Therapy)