published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing

This study explored whether the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) scores of children in the care of Family and Children's Services of Renfrew County might predict foster placement outcomes. A file review was completed for 268 children, all of whom had at least one set of CAFAS scores completed, to obtain data regarding the number and types of placements they experienced. Placement categories were ranked -- in order from best alternate care option to least-desired -- by 11 agency employees. These rankings were used to calculate total weighted placements for each child as a measure of the child's foster placement experience. In regression analyses, including age, gender, and reasons for placement, CAFAS scores were found to be the most significant predictor of the number and nature of placements experienced by a child. This relationship suggests that there might be value in using CAFAS as a placement matching tool in a child welfare setting.

The demand for home care increased dramatically in Canada in the past decade. This was because more patients were discharged from hospital, more emphasis was put on health care at the home and community levels, the continuing aging of the population, advancements in technology, and the adoption of a more cost-effective strategies. Though home care is still not a part of Canadian Health Act (CHA) and there are no national regulations for home care, people value the significance of home care. Home care is now one of the fastest growing sectors in Canada’s health care system. With a focus on the elderly population in the province of Ontario, this thesis uses data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS cycle 1.1, 2.1 and 3.1) to examine utilization patterns of home care considering social and geographical factors, the variation within home care service provision, and unmet home care need. The major findings of the thesis are that seniors with poorer health status, older age, female, with lower household incomes, marital status widowed/separated/divorced/single/never married, and living in urban areas are more likely to use home care. At the same time, seniors who are older, with poorer health status, and suffering from chronic condition are in a more vulnerable position to receive the home care they need. A large amount of responsibility was shifted to informal caregivers due to the budget constraints and the policy bias of the government. Access to home care is unequal on a geographical scale. Seniors living in rural and remote areas tend to have more unmet home care needs than seniors living in urban areas. People living in rural northern regions in Ontario have the least access to home care. Also, seniors living in urban areas have a greater chance of getting government provided care than those living in rural areas. Overall, under the current managed competition model of home care in Ontario, unequal accessibility, insufficient services, an excessive burden on informal caregivers are observed. / Thesis (Master, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2011-05-21 00:10:26.287

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 291-315). Also available online.

Thesis (M.A.)--Oregon State College, 1955. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-115). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (MPhil) -- AUT University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print (x, 225 leaves ; 30 cm.) in City Campus Theses Collection (T 362.7330993 SHI)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1980. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 257-265).

Thesis (doctoral)--Göteborgs universitet, 1999. / Extra t.p. with thesis statement and English abstract inserted. Includes bibliographical references (p. 242-251).

No description available.

The purpose of this thesis is to make an exploratory study of the basic and immediate psychosocial factors which may intensify the concern which some adolescent foster children show about the natural parents from which they were permanently separated at an early age. The study includes : 1. A brief description of bow the child's concern may be intensified (a) by broad social factors which vary according to the cultural definition of the importance to the child of being reared by "biological" parents (b) by the problems of adolescence in this culture's family life. 2. A description of the intensifying factors derived from a review of relevant literature in the fields of social work, social psychology and psychiatry. 3. An identification and description of the factors in the cases of seven adolescent foster children who, according to two experienced social workers, showed Intense concern about their unknown natural parents. The review of the literature provided a tentative frame of reference for use in exploring the case records. Some factors which were described seemed related to the foster child's early developmental years, others seemed more related to the particular psychosocial problems of adolescence. Suggestions for further research and social work diagnosis were drawn from the study. The concern of the adolescent foster child about his unknown natural parents seems related to his own particular life experiences. Careful study of the individual child should be made before the matter of telling the child about the parents is approached by the social worker. Further orientation of foster parents with regard to this problem seems indicated. Special treatment for certain children with pathological life experiences of which their concern about parents seems to be symptomatic is also suggested. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate