OBJECTIVE: To examine association between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) and teeth extracted due to dental caries or periodontitis among young and middle-aged US adults. METHODS: Study sample included 15,474 and 17,430 respondents aged 18-64 completing 2010 and 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey respectively. Outcome was any self-reported tooth extraction due to caries or periodontitis. Primary predictor were self-reported 11 ACE answers (categorized into none, 1, 2, and 3+) before 18 years of age. Covariates included smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, diabetes, health coverage and access to dental care. Odds ratios were computed from unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models. RESULTS: Overall ACE prevalence was 66.5% and 64.9% in BRFSS 2010 and 2012 study sample respectively. In unadjusted models we observed a graded association wherein adults reporting experienced 2 and 3+ ACE were more likely to experience tooth extractions compared to those reporting no ACE exposure. (BRFSS 2010 OR = 1.47,1.48; BRFSS 2012 OR = 1.33, 1.54 respectively; p<0.05). We found similar results in multivariate models after adjusting for covariates (BRFSS 2010 OR = 1.56,1.34; BRFSS 2012 OR = 1.36, 1.42 respectively; p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests potential long lasting impact of early adverse life events on oral health in young and middle adulthood. Young and middle-aged adults experiencing multiple ACE had significantly more extractions compared to adults who reported not experiencing any ACE. Multidisciplinary efforts between dentists, physicians and social therapists are needed to raise awareness about ACE as means of identifying and reducing dental health inequities. / 2020-06-13T00:00:00Z

Experiencing a patient death can directly affect the well-being of health care professionals; however, this phenomenon and the effects of patients' deaths are not well understood in the transport setting. Transport nurses work in unique settings with complex patients and significant autonomy in determining the plan of care; therefore, the experiences of other health care professionals may not be applicable in this environment. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of transport nurses who have experienced patient death using Husserl's life-world and phenomenological philosophies as a theoretical framework. Semistructured interviews were completed with 8 transport nurses who had experienced a patient death in their care using video-conferencing and verbatim transcription of the interviews. Data analysis was manually coded and categorized into themes based on Moustaka's modification of the Van Kaam methods of analysis of phenomenological data. Key findings included 5 themes. Findings from this study indicate that patient death, particularly unexpected death, takes an emotional toll on transport nurses. Most transport nurses indicated that they did not have formal debriefing or support from the transport program following patient death. Transport nurses relied on their partners for feedback and support following patient death. Recommendations based on this research include promoting education regarding the psychosocial effects of death in the transport environment and formal debriefing following an unexpected death. Results from this study can be used to promote positive social change by improving the experiences of transport providers following a patient death, which may lead to improved retention and nurse satisfaction.

Becoming a new parent can cause both immense joy and immense stress that leads to increases and decreases in a new parent’s feeling of life satisfaction. In addition, working as a mental health clinician is a frequently challenging career. Given that many clinicians also become parents while working during the course of their careers, it is surprising that there is not more research on the experience of clinicians who become new parents. More research is needed to find out how people balance the stresses of new parenthood and their emotionally challenging jobs. There is some research on “stress-related growth” that suggests that people can experience stressful or traumatic events and emerge on the other side feeling like they have achieved positive personal growth. This study attempted to find out if this occurs when clinicians become parents. This was a narrative study aimed to add to the research literature on parent clinician’s (clinicians who were also parents) lives by presenting their stories of becoming new parents. Five parent clinicians were interviewed on two separate occasions and those interviews were transcribed; the transcriptions were edited into five individual stories that detail the parent clinician’s unique challenges, how they navigated their challenges, and how they reflected on their experiences and their personal growth. The five parent clinicians recounted many positive and negative experiences that new parenthood had on both their clinical work and personal lives. In addition, they described how their families and identities helped them to make meaning out of the challenges they faced. The parent clinicians all talked about how either the presence or absence of social support, or their personal and professional relationships, impacted their lives when they became new parents. Social support included institutional support such as their employers or graduate departments and personal support such as their co-parents, families, and friends. This support either helped or hindered the parent clinician’s ability to balance the demands of parenthood and work. Furthermore, the findings supported previous research on stress-related growth that suggest that cognitive processing (thinking about an event after it occurred) and social support predict the perception of positive personal growth. This was the first known narrative study on the impacts of new parenthood on mental health clinicians and the study adds to the research literature on clinician’s lived experiences. In addition, the findings from the study can help training directors, clinical supervisors, and agency directors to develop new policies that increase new parents’ social support which may help them weather the storms of becoming a new parent while working as a clinician.

The Ontario Grade 10 Civics curriculum reflects Canada’s desire for good citizens. Since Canadian schools have a diverse population, many of whom are immigrants, civics education students from diverse cultural backgrounds deserve attention. This study examines how young Chinese immigrant students who came to Canada experienced the transition from Chinese conceptions of the “good” citizen that they learned in China to Canadian ones. This thesis specifically probes students’ perception of civic responsibility, civic participation, and critical thinking conveyed in the Chinese and Canadian civic education courses, and asks how, if at all, do participants perceive their experiences as Chinese immigrants affecting their Canadian citizenship education experiences? The study included in-depth interviews with Ontario Chinese immigrant students who attended civic education classes at least in Chinese elementary schools and subsequently moved to Canada before the required Ontario grade 10 civics course. The findings generally demonstrate different experiences of Chinese and Canadian citizenship education and indicate Chinese immigrant students’ educational and cultural backgrounds are significant factors influencing their Canadian civic education experiences. These findings have important implications for guiding future Canadian citizenship education practices by better understanding the interests, needs, and values of Chinese immigrant students.

The development of mental health services emerged from South Africa’s colonial history and the racist policy of apartheid’s influence on colonialism, race and legislative framework within mental health services. In social work practice, the critical issue relates to the required knowledge of DSM as it relates to the process of diagnosis guidance in social work education and practice. Assessment is a cornerstone of social work practice in the mental health field to gain a comprehensive and holistic view of our clients and their lives, not only a focus on both the person and the environment, but also to assesses their strengths and capabilities. Social workers are viewed as an important profession which have a huge contribution to mental health issues through prevention and early intervention, without considering whether they are working in a specialised mental health role, and regardless of the setting in which they work. The present study explored and described the experiences of social workers in the provision of mental health services in Johannesburg. The present study followed a qualitative research approach which was utilised and guided the research study. A case study design was selected and used in this qualitative study to explore the experiences of social workers in the provision of mental health services in their respective mental health institutions with Johannesburg. The research study made use of the purposive sampling technique and a semi-structured interview guide with open-ended questions, which were used in face-face interviews to collect data for the study. Ten interviews were conducted with social workers who provide mental health services in Johannesburg, whereby seven participants were from CGMHS and three were from Tara Psychiatric Hospital. The researcher reported on all ten participants who participated in the present study, which also included the pilot done prior the actual study. The findings indicated that social workers have knowledge and understanding of mental health services, what mental health services are, and how mental health care should be aligned with social work practice. The study found that social workers provide numerous services in their respective mental health institutions where they worked. The study found that social workers have working relations with other stakeholders who also have a role in mental health issues such as the police, to mention few. The findings also indicated a lack of continuous mental health training for social workers who work in the field of mental health as well as a lack or limited support and supervision. Lastly, the findings showed that social workers in the field of mental health encounter a numerous challenges such as lack of resources, staff compliment, relapse of mental health care users, financial support, stigma towards users, lack of leadership and ineffective policies and systems in the field of mental health. The study concludes that social workers do understand what mental health services are, and their role and tasks in the field of mental health. It can be also concluded that a lack of support and supervision is overlooked for social workers who are providing mental health services in respective mental health institutions and they are faced with various challenges which makes their work difficult to cope with under certain circumstances. Recommendations in the present study include that professional social workers be trained very diligently and comprehensively in the mental health field and such training should be continuous so as to improve the services provided by social workers in the field of mental health. / Mini Dissertation (MSW (Health Care))--University of Pretoria, 2021. / Social Work and Criminology / MSW (Health Care) / Unrestricted

Violence against women is a widespread challenge is various communities. Literature reveal that women with disabilities specifically are at an elevated risk of experiencing different types of violence and they experience violence more than women without disabilities or men with disabilities. More so, they are faced with violence unique to them known as disability related violence. As such, the goal of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of violence among women with physical disabilities in Tshwane Metro, Pretoria. The study was based on a qualitative approach to research and it was applied in nature. Using an instrumental case study design, a sample of twelve women was selected using purposive sampling method. Data was collected using face to face and virtual interviews guided by a semi-structured interview schedule. The data was thematically analysed. The empirical findings of the study indicated that the participants experienced various forms of violence such as sexual, financial, physical, emotional, structural violence as well as neglect and deprivation. As found in this study, there were two risk factors that increased the possibility of the participants experiencing violence. These included, assumptions allied to women with physical disabilities and not disclosing the violence experienced. Nevertheless, the participants had ways of protecting themselves from violence highlighted as protective factors, which included self-acceptance, disclosing violence and getting support from significant others. Further, the participants coped in different ways after they experienced violence. They relied on support from informal networks, professionals and also by being empowered. The participants suggested that social workers ought to intervene within the responsible families of women affected with violence, carry out sensitive interventions and enhance the dignity of women with physical disabilities experiencing violence. The study concluded that women with physical disabilities are not an exception to violence as they are faced with multiple forms of violence and disability related violence unique to them. Based on the conclusion, it is therefore recommended that there is a need for facilitation of public awareness on violence experienced by women with physical disabilities. Further, there should be capacity building for social workers, and assessment of the families of women with physical disabilities experiencing violence for holistic effective interventions. Intervention programmes or services for people faced with violence should not discriminate against women with physical disabilities, and a multi-sectoral approach can be used to help in addressing violence as it occurs in different environments such as public places, family contexts, schools, health care centres and work places / Dissertation (MSW (Research))--University of Pretoria, 2021. / Social Work and Criminology / MSW (Research) / Unrestricted

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ABSTRACT This study explores the post-treatment psychosocial experiences of female adult cancer patients. In particular, this study aims at identifying common themes in the nature of their experiences. This research was exploratory in nature and took place within the context of the qualitative paradigm. The focus group method was utilised in collecting data. The six participants were white Christian females between the ages of 50 and 62 who had completed treatment (either chemotherapy, radiation or both) not more than four months prior to the study. Data were analysed by means of categorical content analysis. Four out of the six participants reported relief as well as mixed emotions after discovering they had survived cancer. A major finding of this research was that all of the participants were experiencing anxiety that the cancer might recur. Five out of the six participants reported ample support from their partners and other family members. The entire group of participants admitted that their genuine friends remained supportive throughout treatment, while some friends avoided them when they had cancer, but were willing to continue the friendship after treatment. This impacted negatively on their friendship. The entire group mentioned negative social experiences due to the stigma attached to having cancer. It was also found that the participants preferred spending time with people who have insight into the meaning of life. All of the participants agreed that without their relationship with God and the social support structure including churches and acquaintances at church, they would not be able to get through their experiences during and after treatment. The entire group mentioned the experience of a greater appreciation for life after having completed treatment and survived cancer. It is evident that the experiences of cancer survivors in the South African context necessitate further research and that an understanding of these experiences plays a crucial role in the development of successful interventions for survivors, their families and the wider social community in regard to cancer.

M.Sc. (Nursing), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 2009

This paper defends the claim that videogame playing interaction (VGI) is a distinctive kind of interaction compared with other interactive practices. This claim is not grounded in the fact that videogame playing is a digital experience, nor the claim that videogame playing is a video example of gameplay, but rather in two unique characteristics of videogame playing experiences: the controlled identity of players and the temporal continuity. In my view, both Aaron Smuts (2009) and Dominic Lopes (2001)’s theories on interactivity have omitted to discuss these issues sufficiently. By distinguishing between three kinds of interactions according to involved participants and ranking them in the order from weakest to strongest we find: i) interactions between humans and interactive objects, ii) interactions between humans, iii) videogame playing interactions (VGI). In this paper I reflect on the theoretical framework of interactivity and forecast that the strongest form of interaction should be the interaction between human and artificial intelligence supported by technical devices in which human interactors lose overall authority of the continuous interaction.