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Background: As the paradigm underlying mental health care slowly shifts from an approach primarily institutional and medical in its orientation toward one more community-based and recovery-oriented, housing needs have come to the forefront. Many people with persistent mental illness accept group home living situations that do not necessarily meet their needs, and do not align with the recovery vision. Research focused on recovery for residents of group homes is all but absent in the literature. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the challenges and opportunities for enabling group homes to increase their capacity to serve as an environment that integrates the recovery vision. Method: Using ethnographic methods, this case study examined the cultural milieu of a group home, how recovery is understood within the setting, and the impact of policies and practices on enacting the recovery vision. By converging multiple strategies for data collection (participant observation, key informant interviews, and document analysis), a multi-level perspective was achieved. The use of the social-ecological model, with its attention to multiple levels of influence, emerged as a highly relevant perspective, without which the recovery vision cannot be realized. Findings: The culture within the home revealed a comfortable atmosphere, basic needs being met, access to planned and unplanned activity, and caring relationships with staff, which contribute to a place attachment that could be difficult to loosen. There is a lack of awareness of recovery-enabling practice at multiple levels, which emerged as a key challenge to its implementation. Although some policies at the government level support self-sufficiency as an important objective, others make progress towards this ideal difficult, if not impossible, such as those related to funding. The focus on enhancing well-being in the day-to-day setting subsumes the growth goals associated with recovery. Conclusion: Integrating the recovery vision within group home could benefit from confronting well-established approaches, embracing advocacy roles, and addressing mechanisms for change at multiple levels. Only then will people with mental illness living in group homes reap the benefits of social justice, social inclusion and full citizenship that come with recovery. / Thesis (Ph.D, Rehabilitation Science) -- Queen's University, 2013-02-27 23:27:44.925

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Existing food sampling programmes used by the local authorities, if they exist, operate in a 'hit or miss' fashion, and the use of small sample size is common in the programmes. Although the U.K. food co-ordination network is well developed, the complexity of the three-way systems creates many complications and duplications. Also, compliance with the European legislation generates extra burdens to the U.K. governments. A national survey was undertaken in 1998 to investigate the purpose and effectiveness on local authonty food sampling. Although only half of the returns believed that local food programmes contributed significantly to the prevention of foodborne illness, over three-quarters agreed that the programmes could be improved upon. It was clearly shown that U.K. local authorities were eager to advance their sampling regime, but were handicapped by resource constraints. The local authorities stated that improvement could be achieved if sampling activities were increased. Because sampling involves errors due to uncertainties and variations, a statistically validated sampling model was developed in an attempt to determine suitable sample sizes under various sample proportions that would also satisfy good normal approximation in order to reduce margin of error to a minimum. However, the model illustrated that current sampling regimes were far from reaching the minimum requirement. In the main, if sampling has a part in food safety activities, then central government support towards sampling and analysis cost is vital. Routine sampling can be undertaken collectively at a regional basis, and such high cost may be split among local authorities. Alternatively, a requirement can be placed upon food premises to undertake their own sampling, and officers will then carry out local audits. Finally, further investigations should be extended to the determination of many contaminants' limits and the cost benefit analysis along the chain of causality.