This qualitative exploratory research study examined the experiences of older women (over age 55) whose husbands had been admitted to a personal care home (PCH) in Winnipeg, Manitoba within the previous twelve (12) months. In-depth, semi-structured, one-on-one interviews were conducted with six (6) women. Socialist feminist and feminist caregiving theoretical frameworks along with narrative analysis were used gain insight into the participants’ needs surrounding their experiences of the admission. Findings include the fact that changes in women’s formal and informal supports began occurring years before their husbands’ admissions. The all-encompassing role as caregiver for their families continued to be central in their lives even after the admission. While women met their material and emotional needs through a range of formal and informal services, the participants were more likely to see needs met through informal means. Themes emerging from the research included those of guilt, entitlement, obligation, and reciprocity.

Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka hur tidigare forskning beskriver erfarenheter av att vara förälder till ett barn med autism, samt hur professionellt stöd och informellt stöd påverkar föräldrarnas vardag. Den metod som har tillämpats i denna studie är en litteraturstudie som kallas för Scoping study. Resultatet visar att föräldrar till barn med autism i Sverige och i flera andra länder har både negativa och positiva erfarenheter av att ha barn med autism. De föräldrar som hade negativa erfarenheter upplevde att barnet påverkade familjens vardag negativt då de blev tvungna att förhålla sig till barnets behov som även hade inflytande på föräldrarnas sociala relationer. Föräldrarna upplevde att de hamnade i ett utanförskap och kände att de blev stigmatiserade av omgivningen samt att deras sociala interaktion minskades. Andra föräldrar med positiva erfarenheter hävdar att deras barn gett dem möjligheter till personlig utveckling, stolthet över deras föräldraroll, upplevelser av framgång och känsla av empowerment. Föräldrar till barn med autism har även olika erfarenheter gällande professionellt stöd. Majoriteten av familjer upplever att professionellt stöd leder till stress och att deras barn blivit feldiagnostiserade samt att de professionella haft okunskap gällande barnets diagnos. Samtidigt anser andra föräldrar att de fått kunskap och stöd samt att de professionella hjälpt dem att hantera deras barns diagnos. När det gäller det informella stödet, beskriver föräldrar att stöd från familj och vänner har varit hjälpsamt och fungerat som emotionellt stöd.

No description available.

dc.contributor.author Kamara, Abu dc.description.abstract The international student population in Canada has increased significantly in the last decade. While we know a lot about the experiences of international students in general, we don’t know a lot about the specific experiences of international students in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Given that universities in the region have identified international student recruitment as part of their internationalization strategies, expanding our knowledge about international students’ experiences in Halifax not only has strong implications for universities, but also for provincial and local governments who see them as potential immigrants. Consequently, key research objectives for this study were to expand our understanding of the personal experiences of international students in Halifax, and to identify gatekeepers whose actions impact the experiences of international students. Two studies were designed using qualitative methodology. Study I investigated the personal experiences of international students in Halifax, Nova Scotia, while the main objective for Study II was to identify gatekeepers in the city whose actions are shaping the contexts of international student experiences. Interviews were conducted with international students from Saint Mary’s University, Mount Saint Vincent University, and Dalhousie University using a semi structured, open-ended interview method. The data was transcribed and coded using grounded theory method. Results from Study I suggest that while international students regularly turn to formal support networks, such as the international student center for immigration and employment related assistance, the majority of students interviewed for this dissertation also expressed strong preference for informal support networks. Specific individuals identified by study participants as belonging to informal support networks included friends, family members, and members of on-and off-campus organizations. Results from Study II suggest that internationalization in Canada is providing new ways for universities to help address local economic and demographic concerns. In sum, results from Study I suggest that international students rely on both formal and informal support networks to address the challenges they are facing in Canada, while findings from Study II suggest that demographic needs, and the expansion of the knowledge economy will continue to push universities to bigger and more central roles in the growth of cities.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:50:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseVAGR.pdf: 3064239 bytes, checksum: 381f34490e3e91c32ab1ea5948e9c82a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-04-27 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / Due to the rapid aging of the Brazilian population, the number of programs for the elderly is increasing. The objectives of this study were to: (a) analyze the organizations that offer services for the elderly, in a city in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and (b) identify the support network used by dependent elderly. In the conduct of this study, all ethical guidelines that apply to studies with humans were followed. The organizations were identified using municipal registers, and others sources as Snow Ball Technique, and interviews were conducted with the head administrators. The organizations were grouped in four categories: long-term care (n=6); culture, leisure, sports, education and social activities (n=27); healthcare (n=21); and referral (n=1), totaling 55 organizations that offer services for the elderly. An advertising folder containing all pertinent information was produced and was it was presented to the Municipal Elderly Council in order to be advertised and upgraded. The greatest numbers of elderly were involved in cultural, leisure, sports, education and social programs, a category that emphasizes activities that promote social integration. However, in a two years period, of the 2183 registered participants, 225 withdrew (150 women and 75 men). To better understand this, interviews were conducted with program directors and service users in the highest use category, along with other documents. The most frequent reasons for withdrawal were illness (n=42) and death (n=42). Thus, in-depth interviews were conducted with elderly people, who withdrew due to illness, and their family members in their home. It was observed that the aggravating stages of some diseases caused an increased difficulty of instrumental activities on a daily basis contributed to some limitations, and among them the difficulty of continuing participating in the program. Issues like financial difficulties, adapted transportation and cultural values also were relevant to the organization of the family dynamics of interviewed people. It was verified that the most utilized support network by these people was the family. Caring places in the health area were also used in the treatment of the pathologies. New organization alternatives in terms of elderly caring need to be created to attend the population that grows and ages day after day. On the other hand, it is necessary to improve the conditions of existing caring institutions with the focus on team and qualified work in order to educate the population facing the aging process. / Em função do envelhecimento populacional, há no Brasil atualmente uma grande diversidade de serviços e programas para idosos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar a oferta de serviços disponíveis para idosos com alguma dependência de uma cidade do interior paulista. Para identificar essas organizações foi realizado um levantamento junto à Prefeitura Municipal, usando-se a técnica Bola de Neve e uma pesquisa em listas telefônicas, através de palavras-chave. Foram realizadas entrevistas com os dirigentes das organizações encontradas, e as informações foram organizadas e sistematizadas em 4 categorias: moradia (n=6); cultura, lazer, esporte, educação e social (n=27); saúde (n=21) e suporte/encaminhamento (n=1), totalizando 55 organizações de atendimento ao idoso. Foi produzido um folder com essas informações, divulgado na comunidade e todo material desse folder foi entregue ao Conselho Municipal do Idoso para continuidade da atualização e divulgação. A categoria cultura, lazer, esporte, educação e social teve destaque quanto ao número de lugares e das pessoas que participavam. Ela desenvolve atividades que enfatizam a integração social. No entanto, quando as pessoas adoecem e passam a apresentar alguma dependência deixam de freqüentar estes espaços, conhecidos por grupos da terceira idade. Identificar quem eram os desistentes, desses lugares, que adoeceram e a rede de suporte formal e informal utilizada por eles e seus familiares, foram os objetivos seguintes desta pesquisa. Para tanto, foram realizadas entrevistas com os responsáveis dos programas da categoria: cultura, lazer, esporte, educação e social, além de consultas aos registros e entrevistas com usuários, depois de dois anos da primeira entrevista. Os resultados demonstraram que, dos 2183 inscritos, 306 pessoas (14%) deixaram de participar, sendo 211 mulheres (69%) e 95 homens (31%). Desses, 225, eram idosos; 150, mulheres (67%); e 75, homens (33%). A maioria dos coordenadores desconhecia os motivos pelos quais os idosos deixaram de participar, seguido dos motivos ter ficado doente (n=42) e ter morrido (n=42). Entrevistas em profundidade com os idosos, que deixaram de freqüentar por motivo de doença, e com seus familiares foram realizadas no domicílio dos mesmos. Constatou-se que o agravamento de algumas doenças dificultando principalmente as atividades instrumentais de vida diária foram as que contribuíram para algumas limitações cotidianas, dentre elas, continuarem a participar dos programas. Fatores como, dificuldades financeiras, transporte adaptado e valores culturais, também foram relevantes para a organização da dinâmica familiar dos entrevistados, frente à dependência cotidiana. Verificou-se que a rede de suporte mais utilizada por eles foi à família. Lugares de atendimento na área de saúde também foram utilizados pautados no tratamento de patologias. Novas alternativas de organizações de atendimento a idosos dependentes precisam ser criadas para atender a heterogeneidade de uma população que cresce cada vez mais e que está ficando cada vez mais idosa. Por outro lado, faz-se necessário melhorar o atendimento dos lugares já existentes, focalizando um trabalho integrado, sistematizado, qualificado no sentido de educar a população como um todo frente os desafios do processo do envelhecimento com ou sem dependência.

Bakgrund: Den psykiska ohälsan ökar i Sverige, forskning visar att över hälften av ungdomar i Sverige påvisat någon form av psykisk ohälsa före 14 årsåldern.  Studier visar att unga idag är mer benägna att prata om vad som främjar psykiskt välbefinnande. Socialt stöd påvisas som en tydlig faktor för psykiskt välbefinnande. Socialt stöd för psykiskt välbefinnande beskrivs utifrån flera perspektiv. Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka socialt stöd för psykiskt välbefinnande hos ungdomar (16–19 år). Metod: En kvantitativ undersökning, med tvärsnittsdesign. Ett bekvämlighetsurval gjordes där enkätundersökningar skickades ut till gymnasieskolor i Västmanland. Totalt 165 enkätsvar till dataunderlaget. Dataunderlaget har analyserats via generering av frekvenstabeller, korstabeller och Chi2-test har utförts mellan självskattat psykiskt välbefinnande, kön och olika variabler för socialt stöd. Resultat: Resultatet visar både att ungdomar önskar mer socialt stöd från formella aktörer och att de allra flesta (61%) av ungdomar önskar att få socialt stöd i form av fysiska samtal. Ungdomarna och i synnerhet flickor önskar att bli erbjuden socialt stöd. Generellt sätt visar både forskningsstudier och examensarbetet hur flickor nyttjar det sociala stödet i högre grad än pojkar, samt att flickor hellre ser ökad tillgänglighet av socialt stöd från formella aktörer.  Slutsatser: Ungdomar rapporterar hög tillgänglighet av socialt stöd, men önskar mer. Ungdomar önskar att bli erbjudna socialt stöd och föredrar fysiskt samtal som form av socialt stöd. Ungdomar som mår sämre, samt flickor generellt var oftare missnöjda kring sociala stödet, samt hade mer behov. / Background: Mental illness is increasing in Sweden, research tells that over 50% of youth in Sweden have shown signs of mental illness before their 14th birthday. Studys show that the youth today are more outspoken about mental well-being and the factors that promotes it. Social support have shown to be an indisputable factor for mental well-being. Social support for mental well-being is despicted from multiple perspectives. Aim: The purpose is to examine social support for mental well-being in youth (16-19 years). Method: A cross-sectional study, with quantitative approach. The survey was sent to high schools in Västmanland. Convenience sample, in total 165 surveys in the dataset. The dataset has been analyzed with frequency tables, crosstables and Chi-squared test have been executed between self-assessed mental well-being, gender and different variables for social support. Results: The results show both that youth want more social support from formal actors and most of youth (61%) wish for social support in the form of peer-on-peer conversations. The youth and foremost girls wish to be provided social support. Both research studies and this examination paper show how girls use social support more than boys and that girls prefer more availability of social support from formal actors. Conclusions: Youth report high availability of social support but wish for more. Youth want to be offered social support and prefer psychical conversations as form of social support. Those youth who reported worse mental well-being and girls in general were more often unhappy with social support and had bigger needs.