Cette étude avait pour but d’évaluer, à partir d’un processus de co-construction avec les personnes concernées, dans un contexte de 1ère ligne, la mise en application d’interventions infirmières inspirées du Guide des meilleures pratiques de soins pour les endeuillés (GMPSE) auprès d’un couple ayant vécu une perte périnatale au cours des six dernier mois. Un devis de recherche d’étude de cas basé sur la démarche d’évaluation de la quatrième génération de Guba et Lincoln (1989) a été utilisé. Une infirmière expérimentée auprès des familles endeuillées, s’est inspirée de la guidance du GMPSE pour intervenir auprès d’un couple lors de cinq rencontres thérapeutiques, dont quatre ont été précédées d’une entrevue avec les personnes concernées . Ces entrevues ont permis à ces personnes d’identifier ensemble les interventions les plus utiles et les moins utiles. Le verbatim des rencontres et entrevues ont été enregistrées et transcrites à des fins d’analyses qualitatives, Les résultats de ces analyses font ressortir la pertinence des interventions inspirées du GMPSE et l’apport spécifique de la pratique infirmière auprès de la population visée. Il appert que la sensibilisation des décideurs et des cliniciens aux enjeux des personnes endeuilles soit nécessaire pour favoriser l’implantation du Guide dans les milieux de soins. Enfin, une meilleure appropriation du GMPSE est recommandée autant dans le cadre de la formation, que de la recherche et de la pratique en sciences infirmières. / The purpose of this study was to evaluate from a constructivist perspective, partnering with the stakeholders , the usefulness of nursing interventions inspired from The Best Practice Guidelines in Bereavement Care (BPGBC) in a first line context, during the follow up a couple whom had experienced a prenatal lost in the last six months. A case study design was used along with The Fourth Evaluation’s methodological approach designed by Guba and Lincoln (1989). An experienced nurse in the care of bereaved families, used the BPGBC to guide her interventions in five therapeutic meetings with the couple, followed by four interviews with the stakeholders. The interventions considered the most helpful and the less useful were identified. The gathering of the data and their analysis followed an interactive and ongoing process. The results support the pertinence of the nursing interventions inspired from the BPGBC, as well as the specific contribution of the nursing profession in the bereavement work. Implementing the BPGBC becomes a realistic goal when the managers and the clinical professionals are made aware of the issues encompassed by the grieving population. The nursing profession could incorporate the BPGBC in its training curriculum, in the research field and in the care offered to the bereaved population in different care settings.

No Brasil, os avanços nas pesquisas nacionais e internacionais não têm sido traduzidos na construção de diretrizes para nortear o tratamento tópico da úlcera venosa. Ainda persistem muitas dúvidas a respeito dos melhores tratamentos, o que gera uma diversidade de condutas. Este estudo foi desenvolvido em três etapas, com o objetivo de construir uma proposta de diretriz para tratamento tópico de úlcera venosa, a partir de evidências da literatura, e avaliar a concordância de especialistas das áreas de enfermagem e medicina antes e após duas intervenções. Na primeira etapa, buscaram-se as evidências pelo levantamento bibliográfico de publicações indexadas em diversas bases de dados. Para serem elegíveis, as publicações tinham que avaliar a terapia de compressão ou tópica no tratamento de úlcera venosa e relatar uma medida objetiva de redução de edema ou cicatrização de ferida. Na segunda etapa foi construída a proposta de diretriz, amparada nas evidências da literatura e diretrizes internacionais. Na terceira etapa, de delineamento quase-experimental, utilizou-se a técnica Delphi (Delfos) para identificar a opinião dos especialistas a respeito das recomendações e a influência das evidências e da opinião dos pares para a busca de concordância. Pela revisão sistemática de 33 estudos primários, 2 metanálises e 4 diretrizes, concluiu-se que o uso de terapia compressiva por bandagens ou meias aumenta as taxas de cicatrização e o não uso está associado com a recorrência da úlcera. O tratamento com compressão resulta em cicatrização confiável na maioria dos pacientes, mas deve ser associado a coberturas. Ao final da revisão sistemática, extraíram-se 82 recomendações que constituíram a proposta de diretriz, composta de 8 domínios: 1 avaliação do paciente e de sua ferida; 2 documentação dos achados clínicos; 3 cuidado com a ferida e pele ao redor; 4 indicação da cobertura; 5 uso de antibiótico; 6 melhoria do retorno venoso e prevenção de recidiva; 7 encaminhamentos dos pacientes; 8 capacitação profissional. O estudo quase-experimental foi desenvolvido com 42 médicos dermatologistas, angiologistas e cirurgiões vasculares e 31 enfermeiros membros da Sociedade Brasileira de Enfermagem em Dermatologia ou estomaterapeutas de várias cidades do Brasil. Durante a pesquisa, houve perda de 15 participantes. No primeiro momento, quando os participantes receberam as recomendações para a prática baseada em evidências, as melhores concordâncias ocorreram em quatro domínios. Após a primeira intervenção, quando os participantes receberam a proposta de diretriz com os estudos que as embasavam e o nível de evidência, houve aumento dos participantes na posição concordante em todos os domínios, sendo que o domínio 2 manteve-se como o melhor aceito e o 4 como o menos aceito. Após a segunda intervenção, quando os participantes tomaram conhecimento da opinião dos seus pares, houve aumento de participantes na posição concordante na maioria dos domínios, com exceção do domínio 4. O melhor aceito passou a ser o domínio 8 e o menos aceito manteve-se o domínio 4. Observou-se que as intervenções resultaram em mudanças estatisticamente significativas nos domínios 1, 3, 6 e 7. Pode-se afirmar que ambas intervenções foram capazes de modificar a posição dos participantes, levando-os para a posição de concordância quanto às recomendações baseadas em evidências para o tratamento de úlceras venosas. / In Brazil, advances in national and international research have not been translated in the construction of topic treatment guidelines for venous ulcers. Many doubts remain about what the best treatments are, which gives rise to a variety of behaviors. This three-phase study aimed to elaborate a guideline proposal for topic treatment of venous ulcers, based on evidence from literature, as well as to evaluate nursing and medical specialists’ agreements before and after two interventions. In the first phase, evidences were collected through a bibliographic survey of publications that were indexed in different databases. Publications were included if they evaluated compression or topic therapy in venous ulcer treatment and reported on an objective edema reduction or wound healing measure. In the second phase, a guideline proposal was elaborated on the basis of the evidence collected in literature and international guidelines. In the third phase, a quasi-experimental design was adopted, using the Delphi technique to identify specialists’ opinion on the recommendations and how the evidence and peer opinions influenced the search for an agreement. The systematic review of 33 primary studies, 2 meta-analyses and 4 guidelines revealed that using compression therapy by means of bandages or stockings increases healing rates and that non-use is associated with ulcer recurrence. In most patients, compression treatment results in a reliable result, although it should be associated with dressings. The systematic review resulted in 82 recommendations, which constituted the guideline proposal, covering 8 domains: 1 patient and wound assessment, 2 documentation of clinical findings, 3 wound and surrounding skin care, 4 dressing indication, 5 use of antibiotics, 6 venous return improvement and relapse prevention, 7 patient referrals, 8 professional training. The quasi-experimental study involved 42 dermatologists, angiologists and vascular surgeons and 31 nurses who were members of the Brazilian Society of Dermatology Nursing or stomal therapists from different Brazilian cities. 15 participants left the study while in course. At the beginning, when the participants received evidence-based practice recommendations, the highest agreement levels were concentrated in four domains. After the first intervention, when the participants received the guideline proposal, including the studies it was based on and the level of evidence, agreement levels increased across all domains. Domain 2 continued as the most accepted and 4 as the least accepted domain. After the second intervention, when the participants got to know their peers’ opinions, agreement levels increased in most domains, except for domain 4. Domain 8 became the most accepted, while 4 continued as the least accepted domain. The interventions brought about statistically significant changes in domains 1, 3, 6 and 7. Both interventions were capable of changing the participants’ position towards agreement on evidence-based recommendations for venous ulcer treatment.

Les connaissances décisionnelles sont un type particulier de connaissances dont le but est de décrire des processus de prise de décision. En cancérologie, ces connaissances sont généralement regroupées dans des guides de bonnes pratiques cliniques. Leur publication est assurée par des organismes médicaux suite à un processus d'édition collaboratif complexe. L'informatisation des guides a conduit à la volonté de formaliser l'ensemble des connaissances contenues de manière à pouvoir alimenter des systèmes d'aide à la décision. Ainsi, leur édition peut être vue comme une problématique d'acquisition des connaissances. Dans ce contexte, le but de cette thèse est de proposer des méthodes et des outils permettant de factoriser l'édition des guides et leur formalisation. Le premier apport de cette thèse est l'intégration des technologies du Web social et sémantique dans le processus d'édition. La création du wiki sémantique OncoLogiK a permis de mettre en oeuvre cette proposition. Ainsi, un retour d'expérience et des méthodes sont présentés pour la migration depuis une solution Web statique. Le deuxième apport consiste à proposer une solution pour exploiter les connaissances décisionnelles présentes dans les guides. Ainsi, le framework KCATOS définit un langage d'arbres de décision simple pour lequel une traduction reposant sur les technologies du Web sémantique est développée. KCATOS propose en outre un éditeur d'arbres, permettant l'édition collaborative en ligne. Le troisième apport consiste à concilier dans un même système les approches pour la création des guides de bonnes pratiques informatisés : l'approche s'appuyant sur les connaissances symbolisée par KCATOS et l'approche documentaire d'OncoLogiK. Leur fonctionnement conjoint permet de proposer une solution bénéficiant des avantages des deux approches. De nombreuses perspectives sont exposées. La plupart d'entre elles visent à améliorer les services aux utilisateurs et l'expressivité de la base de connaissances. En prenant en compte le travail effectué et les perspectives, un modèle réaliste visant à faire du projet Kasimir un système d'aide à la décision complet est proposé / Decision knowledge is a particular type of knowledge that aims at describing the processes of decision making. In oncology, this knowledge is generally grouped into clinical practice guidelines. The publication of the guidelines is provided by medical organizations as a result of complex collaborative editing processes. The computerization of guides has led to the desire of formalizing the knowledge so as to supply decision-support systems. Thus, editing can be seen as a knowledge acquisition issue. In this context, this thesis aims at proposing methods and tools for factorizing editing guides and their formalization. The first contribute on of this thesis is the integration of social semantic web technologies in the editing process. The creation of the semantic wiki OncoLogiK allows to implement this proposal. Thus, a feedback and methods are presented for the migration from a static web solution. The second contribution consists in a solution to exploit the knowledge present in the decision-making guides. Thus, KcatoS framework defines a simple decision tree language for which a translation based on semantic web technologies is developed. KcatoS also proposes an editor of trees, allowing collaborative editing online. The third contribution is to combine in a single system approaches for the creation of clinical guidelines: the approach based on the knowledge symbolized by KcatoS and the documentary approach symbolized by OncoLogiK. Their joint operation can propose a solution benefiting from the advantages of both approaches. Many future works are proposed. Most of them aim at improving services to users and the expressiveness of the knowledge base. Taking into account the work and prospects, a realistic model to create a decision-support system based on clinical guidelines is proposed

As atitudes e crenças sobre a dor lombar crônica inespecífica (DLCI) dos profissionais de saúde estão associadas com as de seus pacientes, assim como com os resultados do tratamento. Por sua relevância, alguns estudos já foram realizados com o intuito de identificar as atitudes e crenças ligadas à orientação de tratamento que os médicos adotam no manejo da DLCI, bem como investigar a associação entre suas características demográficas e profissionais e suas atitudes e crenças. No entanto, no Brasil encontramos apenas uma pesquisa sobre esse tema, com fisioterapeutas que atuavam em hospitais e clínicas particulares. Os objetivos desta dissertação foram: 1) revisar os documentos que abordam o manejo da DLCI localizados na Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde do Ministério da Saúde; 2) descrever atitudes e crenças relacionadas à orientação de tratamento dos médicos de Unidades Básicas de Saúde (UBS) conveniadas a Prefeitura de Porto Alegre (PREFPOA) e identificar a associação entre suas características demográficas e profissionais e as suas atitudes e crenças relacionadas à orientação de tratamento da dor lombar crônica inespecífica. Esta dissertação foi composta por dois artigos, sendo que cada artigo inclui um dos objetivos citados. Para atingir o objetivo 1, realizamos uma revisão de documentos na língua portuguesa sobre o manejo da dor lombar publicados na Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde do Ministério da Saúde. Para atingir o objetivo 2, todos os médicos de UBS da PREFPOA foram convidados para participar do estudo. Como critérios de inclusão, foi determinado que para participar da pesquisa o médico deveria atender pelo menos um paciente com DLCI por semana e estar trabalhando na atenção básica há pelo menos seis meses. Para coleta de dados, utilizamos um questionário demográfico e profissional e o Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale for Physiotherapists, para avaliar as atitudes e crenças, sendo composto por duas orientações de tratamento: biomédica e comportamental. Os resultados do artigo 1 indicam que não há um documento na língua portuguesa que oriente os profissionais a utilizarem a orientação biopsicossocial no manejo de pacientes com DLCI. Os resultados do artigo 2, em que participaram do estudo 110 médicos, com idade média de 47,18(±9,52) anos, indicam uma média de 27,75(±6,89) na orientação biomédica e de 22,76(±4,44) na orientação comportamental, sendo que os médicos consideraram o papel do estresse e de questões psicossociais no manejo da DLCI, mas também relacionaram a dor à presença de lesão tecidual. Tanto na orientação biomédica quanto na comportamental as diferenças entre os grupos foram pequenas, considerando as variáveis demográficas e profissionais. Conclui-se que existe uma carência de documentos na língua portuguesa para guiar os profissionais a utilizarem a orientação biopsicossocial no manejo da DLCI, os médicos de UBS da PREFPOA apresentaram atitudes e crenças ligadas tanto à orientação biomédica quanto comportamental e nenhuma característica analisada estava associada às atitudes e crenças dos médicos. / Attitudes and beliefs about chronic nonspecific low back pain of health professionals are associated with their patients, as well as the results of treatment. For its relevance, some studies have been conducted in order to identify the attitudes and beliefs related to orientation treatment that physicians adopt in the management of chronic nonspecific low back pain and investigate the association between their demographic and professional characteristics and their attitudes and beliefs. However, in Brazil we found only research on this subject, with physiotherapists who worked in hospitals and private clinics. The objectives of this dissertation were: 1) to review the documents that address the management of chronic nonspecific low back pain located in the Virtual Health Library of the Ministry of Health; 2) describe attitudes and beliefs related to the orientation treatment of the Basic Units of Health linked the Porto Alegre Prefecture and identify the association between their demographic and professional characteristics and their attitudes and beliefs related to orientation treatment of chronic non-specific low back pain. This dissertation was composed of two articles, wherein each article includes one of said goals. To article the goal 1, we conducted a review of documents in Portuguese on the management of low back pain published in the Virtual Library of Health Ministry of Health. To article the goal 2, Porto Alegre Prefecture’ Basic Units of Health’ all physicians were invited to participate in the study. As inclusion criteria, it was determined that to participate in the survey the physician should meet at least one patient with chronic nonspecific low back pain a week and be working in primary care for at least six months. To collect data, use demographic and professional questionnaire and Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale for Physiotherapists, to assess attitudes and beliefs, being composed of two treatment guidelines: biomedical and behavioral. The results of Article 1 indicate that there is a document in the Portuguese language to guide professionals to use the biopsychosocial orientation in the management of patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain. The results of Article 2, in the study 110 physicians with an average age of 47.18 (± 9.52) years, indicate an average of 27.75 (± 6.89) in biomedical orientation and 22.76 (±4.44) in the behavioral orientation, and the physicians considered the role of stress and psychosocial issues in the management of chronic nonspecific low back pain, but also related pain to the presence of tissue injury. Any biomedical orientation as the behavioral differences between groups were small, considering demographic variables and professionals. It is concluded that there is a lack of documents in Portuguese to guide professionals to use the biopsychosocial guidance in the management of chronic nonspecific low back pain, Porto Alegre Prefecture’ Basic Units of Health’ physicians of presented attitudes and beliefs related to both biomedical and behavioral guidance and no analyzed characteristic was associated with attitudes and beliefs of physicians.

Nurse-Physician Communication Tools to Enhance use of Nursing Evidence-Based Protocols by Tochi Onyenwe Ubani MSN, Walden University, 2011 BSN, Chamberlain College of Nursing, 2009 Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice Walden University February 2015 In the current health care environment, consumers are demanding collaboration among clinicians even when traditional attitudes minimize nurses' input on the direction of clinical care. Compounding this problem is that nursing practices have not always been derived from randomized clinical trials, but instead from personal experiences. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of nurses, physicians, and administrators on clinical protocols, including the use of nurse evidence-based practice (EBP) in practice settings. The study aimed at fostering clinical decisions anchored on shared knowledge, collegiate interactions, and emotions. A survey designed using nurse-physician communication tools was disseminated among a convenience sample of 50 nurses, 12 physicians, and 3 administrators. Content analysis was applied to survey responses. The findings revealed that effective communication between nurses, physicians, and administrators enhanced the use of nursing EBPs; these findings were used to generate the Nurse-Physician Communication Tools (NPCT) as a mechanism to enhance the translation of nursing EBP in clinical setting. The use of NPCT provided a mechanism for practice changes needed to improve clinical collaboration and enhance use of nursing EBPs in patient care.

The increased prevalence rate of childhood obesity in Saudi Arabia is a nationwide health issue. The doctoral project was instituted in the pediatric out-patient clinic (POPC) of a tertiary university hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Child obesity clinic and clinical practice guideline (CPG) for primary prevention were not available in the pediatric outpatient clinic with a high incidence of newly diagnose obese children. The focus of this doctoral project was to improve the clinical nursing practice of POPC nurses through the adoption of CPG on primary prevention of childhood obesity. The knowledge translation into action framework provided a summary of descriptive series of ideal CPG implementation steps in POPC. The search for published CPGs was taken from DynaMed, National Guideline Clearinghouse, Guideline International Network, Pubmed, and Google Scholar. There were 2 tools applied for analysis and synthesis. First, the appraisal of guidelines for research and evaluation II instrument was used to assess the quality of the guidelines. Second, the BARRIERS' scale was used to assess the extent of nurses' perception of barriers in CPG utilization. The 1st findings from this study revealed that RNAO CPG was the best and high-quality CPG over the Endocrine Society and the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement CPGs. The 2nd findings showed that most of the nurses perceived BARRIERS to utilization towards on the unclear implications of the CPG in their daily nursing practice. Hence, one of the vital recommendations was to have CPG awareness and education before the implementation. Overall, the doctoral project contributed to positive social change through guidelines, policies, and protocol provision for childhood obesity prevention in similar settings.

Residents in nursing facilities are more prone to falls than those living in the community. Injuries resulting from falls impact residents, their families, and healthcare costs. The gap in nursing practice was the lack of a comprehensive fall-prevention program in a long-term care facility that had experienced high fall rates among residents. This project addressed whether an educational program using the American Medical Directors Association's clinical practice guideline and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's STEADI (Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, & Injuries) toolkit for fall- prevention improved the self-efficacy of direct-care staff in preventing falls among residents in a long-term care facility. The practice-focused question focused on whether education on the use of an integrated multifactorial fall-prevention guideline would increase confidence of long-term care staff in reducing falls in long-term care residents. The evaluation used the 11-item Self-Efficacy for Preventing Falls-Nurse scale for 5 licensed nursing staff and the 8-item Self-Efficacy for Preventing Falls-Assistant scale for 21 nursing assistants. The positive change in self-efficacy scores of nurses and nursing assistants after the education program was greatest for face-to-face team communication regarding fall risk and individual resident prevention plans. The use of best-practice guidelines that improve fall risk-assessment and use of fall precautions to decrease the number of falls and falls with injury has the potential to bring about positive social change by improving the nursing care of nursing home residents, resulting in improved resident safety and quality of life.

<p>The overall aim of this thesis was to study the implementation of guidelines, change processes and contextual variables from the perspective of improvements and neonatal nursing care’s endeavours to be more evidenced-based. Because health care is exposed to extensive change pressure and because the impact of effectiveness research on clinical practice is limited, it becomes urgent to understand how knowledge utilisation initiatives can be facilitated.</p><p>Three studies involved managers and nurses at all neonatal units in Sweden. Two of these studies also included nurses from other healthcare organisations. The fourth study included all staff at four neonatal units. The study designs used were cross-sectional, comparative and prospective longitudinal surveys; questionnaires were used as data collection tools in all four studies.</p><p>Evaluation of the utilisation of the neonatal nursing guidelines showed that the guidelines were known to the nurse managers and used at most of the units, though to varying degrees and in different ways. Fifteen months after guideline dissemination, 8 of 35 units had changed practice, of which 2 units had completed the implementation process of a guideline. Involvement in the preceding guideline project facilitated the completion of improvement projects compared with participation in training courses for quality improvement (QI) only. There was no difference between these two groups on long-standing involvement in improvement work. Nurses who continued QI work over a 4-year period were more active in seeking research and implementing research findings in clinical practice than those who ceased the improvement work. The QI-sustainable nurses reported better contextual support for research-related activities. In a separate study staff perceptions of organisational factors appeared stable over the course of one year at the aggregated level. Improvements in skills development and participatory management predicted higher overall organisational and staff well-being. </p><p>The findings emphasize the importance of including both individual and organisational factors in the strategic planning for evidence-based nursing. Plans have to be long-term and consider that change is a slow process. Leadership commitment is essential and there are clear benefits in developing a learning and professional supportive environment as well as of involving staff in organisational decision making.</p>

The overall aim of this thesis was to study the implementation of guidelines, change processes and contextual variables from the perspective of improvements and neonatal nursing care’s endeavours to be more evidenced-based. Because health care is exposed to extensive change pressure and because the impact of effectiveness research on clinical practice is limited, it becomes urgent to understand how knowledge utilisation initiatives can be facilitated. Three studies involved managers and nurses at all neonatal units in Sweden. Two of these studies also included nurses from other healthcare organisations. The fourth study included all staff at four neonatal units. The study designs used were cross-sectional, comparative and prospective longitudinal surveys; questionnaires were used as data collection tools in all four studies. Evaluation of the utilisation of the neonatal nursing guidelines showed that the guidelines were known to the nurse managers and used at most of the units, though to varying degrees and in different ways. Fifteen months after guideline dissemination, 8 of 35 units had changed practice, of which 2 units had completed the implementation process of a guideline. Involvement in the preceding guideline project facilitated the completion of improvement projects compared with participation in training courses for quality improvement (QI) only. There was no difference between these two groups on long-standing involvement in improvement work. Nurses who continued QI work over a 4-year period were more active in seeking research and implementing research findings in clinical practice than those who ceased the improvement work. The QI-sustainable nurses reported better contextual support for research-related activities. In a separate study staff perceptions of organisational factors appeared stable over the course of one year at the aggregated level. Improvements in skills development and participatory management predicted higher overall organisational and staff well-being. The findings emphasize the importance of including both individual and organisational factors in the strategic planning for evidence-based nursing. Plans have to be long-term and consider that change is a slow process. Leadership commitment is essential and there are clear benefits in developing a learning and professional supportive environment as well as of involving staff in organisational decision making.

The Ph.D. dissertation encompasses an interdisciplinary study exploring qualitative, holistic strategies for individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) in integrated areas of law, medicine, education, psychology and justice, through both inductive analysis of field research as well as through relevant documentary analysis, incorporating a global or comparative component. Compliance with Guidelines for Research Involving Aboriginal Peoples has been sustained through community partnerships with various First Nations and Métis Communities, Elders and Parents, as well as with an FASD Parental Advocacy Group, advised by a team of interdisciplinary researchers in the academy. Accordingly, emergent research protocols were co-constructed through ongoing collaboration with the various community partners. In Aboriginal research, it is essential not to parachute in and out of communities with the data, but rather to forge genuine, collaborative, long term partnerships, and to build capacity in those communities.<p> The dissertation format approved by the Student Advisory Committee is Manuscript Style, a format approved by the University of Saskatchewans College of Graduate Studies and Research (formerly referred to as X-Format) similar to a self-edited book or collection of articles with introduction, sub-text, intra-text and general discussion to link the manuscripts. The various manuscripts comprising the present thesis include:<p> 1.Framing the Research Anthology: A Vision Quest, Ékehohksimoht Ke-kiss-see Muya<p> Section One situates the research style, process, approach, substance and rationale of the dissertation. It is largely situated within holistic Indigenous epistemologies, which may require a paradigm shift, in contrast to more bounded western world views.<p> Interdisciplinary, holistic, community-based research on the topic of FASD, including a search for solutions, extends globally, across the lifespan, and across sectors.<p> II. Indigenous Disadvantage and Despair, An Evaluation of Recent Strategies and Alternatives: Healing and Transformation, Pluralism and Reconciliation, Ne wah kuma ka tik<p> Section Two explores historical and contextual factors leading to a high prevalence of FASD, as well as strategies to overcome disadvantage, including Reconciliation, Treaty Processes, and Research as Reconciliation. Local Narratives are privileged over Meta-narratives, to counter the power of global market forces usurping the sphere of family, community and culture.<p> III. Disjunctures and Discontinuities in the Law of Mental Intent: FASD as a Site of Resistance and Transformation, Esquiskuit<p> Section Three examines the disconnect between medical knowledge of FASD, on the one hand, and the Laws of Mental Intent, on the other, inspiring a search for a unified, integrated theory of mental disorder and criminal responsibility that takes into account modern neurocognitive conditions like FASD. Section Three further explores the present piecemeal and compartmentalized rules for fitness, responsibility, various levels of mental intent, and a resultant rationale, substance and process of law reform and systemic change.<p> IV. FASD and Holistic Literacies: A Talking or Sharing Circle, Wa-sa-cam-e-be-ke-skue<p> Section Fours inductive themes comprise model practice guidelines for the gestalt of Literacy and FASD, derived from inductive analysis of qualitative data collected in the field research. The data was collected using Sharing Circles with Aboriginal Elders, Parents, and Mentors of Individuals with FASD; Conversational Interviews with Parents and Children with FASD; as well as Interviews and Focus Groups with various Professionals who support individuals with FASD and their Families. Special protocols were followed in creating and participating in the Indigenous Research, Sharing Circles and Conversational Interviews. Meta-paradigmatic analysis situates Indigenous Research Methodologies among emerging, multi-disciplinary, inductive methodologies suitable for understanding the infinite complexity of natural phenomena, such as FASD.<p> V. Epilogue: An Honour Song, Kethou-ne-ka-mon<p> Circles of healing, transformation and reconciliation heal wounds, reconcile differences, and transform paradigms of justice, health, education and governance, through the incorporation of models of equitable, holistic relationships with one another and with Mother Earth. Multidisciplinary and cross-cultural perspectives, dialogues between local and global, and particular and universal, become matrices to support new paradigms embodying broader reflections of reality.