Browsing by Author "Giallo, Rebecca"

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    Identifying Effective Psychotherapeutic Interventions and Preferences in Emotional Care: Reducing Psychological Distress and Promoting Emotional Health in Women who have Experienced Perinatal Loss
    (2022-01-26) Charrois, Elyse Mireille; Kingston, Dawn; Giallo, Rebecca; Dimitropoulos, Gina
    Perinatal loss is a challenging experience because of the unexpected nature through which the loss of an unborn or recently born child commonly occurs. At present, evidence-based interventions to support women affected by perinatal loss are scarce. Understanding psychological distress after perinatal loss and identifying effective psychotherapeutic interventions and preferences in emotional care will likely improve emotional health for women across time. The purpose of this doctoral thesis is to provide the evidence needed to inform the development of, and improve women’s access to, a universal, integrated emotional health screening, referral and intervention initiative that is responsive to the needs of women who have experienced perinatal loss. This thesis contains a secondary data analysis (Chapter 2), a systematic review protocol (Chapter 3), a systematic review and meta-analysis (Chapter 4), and a cross-sectional descriptive survey (Chapter 5). The secondary analysis examined the trajectory patterns of depressive and anxiety symptoms following miscarriage and stillbirth from early pregnancy up to when the mother’s child was 11 years old and identified early factors predictive of elevated symptom trajectory patterns. This is the first latent class analysis to identify longitudinal symptom trajectories and early factors predictive of elevated trajectories. The review and meta-analysis analysed and synthesized research evaluating the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions to treat or decrease psychological distress in women after perinatal loss and outlined the content and delivery method of effective interventions. This is the first review to identify effective psychotherapeutic interventions and summarize their characteristics. The survey study explored women’s perception of the barriers and facilitators in discussing their emotional health with a healthcare provider after prenatal loss and identified their preferences in emotional care. This is the first study to identify women’s influences and preferences in accessing emotional care surrounding a pandemic. In summary, the studies within this research program provide evidence needed to develop a universal, integrated screening, referral and intervention initiative. This initiative empowers women to monitor and manage their emotional health after a perinatal loss. By engaging in discussions related to emotional health, healthcare providers facilitate women’s early access to resources and improve their emotional health.
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    Predictors of child resilience in a community-based cohort facing flood as natural disaster
    (2020-11-19) Arshad, Muhammad; Mughal, Muhammad K; Giallo, Rebecca; Kingston, Dawn
    Abstract Background Natural disasters are unpredictable and uncontrollable events that usually induce significant level of stress and social disruption in afflicted individuals. The consequences are formidable, affecting lifetime health and economic prosperity. Among natural disasters, floods are the most common causes and tend to have the highest economic burden. The aim of this study was to examine factors associated with child resilience in the face of the natural disaster experienced by the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada during its unprecedented flood of 2013. Methods The current study was conducted in a community-based cohort situated in the city of Calgary. The participants were recruited out of the All Our Families longitudinal cohort within the Cummings School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. Of the total 1711 people contacted, 469 people consented and completed questionnaire. Of those 469 who consented to be part of the study, 467 were eligible to be included for analysis. A flood impact questionnaire was delivered 6 months after the 2013 flood in families whose children were an average of 3 years old. Mother reported questionnaires were used to assess child resilience. The study included maternal data on a range of factors including socio-demographic, history of mental health, relationship with the partner and social support. Child related data were also incorporated into the study, and variables included delivery mode, child sex, and child age at the time of disaster. Results Child resilience was best predicted by mother’s age and social support, and by child gender, the child’s externalizing and internalizing behaviors and the Rothbart temperament scale: effortful control. Furthermore, this study revealed that children who were more exposed to the flood events, showed higher resilience compared to the children who were less or not exposed. Conclusions These findings highlight the risk and protective factors that predict child resilience and suggest that mother reported questionnaire are useful tools to assess child resilience amidst early life adversity.