Browsing by Author "Ginn, Carla S."

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    Disclosure of Sexual Orientation in Primary Health Care: Gay Men's Stories of Coming Out
    (2018-09-20) Cashen, Daniel Steven; Estefan, Andrew; Venturato, Lorraine; Dela Cruz, Añiela Marie; Ginn, Carla S.; Then, Karen L.
    Access to primary health care is important for maintenance of health and well-being and the timely treatment of illness. Primary health carers address many dimensions of people’s health and social welfare. The literature suggests that experiences of primary health care might be problematic for gay men. For many reasons, it can be difficult for gay men to discuss their sexual orientation with primary providers. The health literature offers little guidance about how gay men experience primary health care. The health care literature about gay men is dominated by studies about the transfer and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, and there is little exploration of patient-practitioner relationships in the context of primary health care. This study is a narrative inquiry into three gay men’s experiences of “coming out,” or disclosure of their sexual orientation in primary health care. Three narrative accounts form the basis for the development and discussion of three narrative threads: Disclosure and Connections, Opportunities Taken and Lost, and Making Maps for Connections. Recommendations for nursing practice, research, and policy development are made.
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    Exploring Literacy and Perceptions of Genomics Among Undergraduate Nursing Students and Faculty: A Mixed Methods Study
    (2019-08-22) Dewell, Sarah Lynne; Benzies, Karen Marie; Ginn, Carla S.; Goldsworthy, Sandra; Seneviratne, Cydnee C.
    As the single largest health care profession in Canada, nurses have a remarkable opportunity to shape the implementation of genomic health care, and will need a solid foundation in genetic and genomic knowledge to do so (Calzone et al., 2010; Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2016). In the early 2000s, a dedicated group of nurse leaders provided recommendations for genetic nursing in Canada (Bottorff et al., 2004). Since that time, the literature and guidelines from Canadian nursing organizations suggest that there has been little progress in the implementation of these recommendations. A mixed-methods explanatory sequential design combining a cross-sectional administration of a survey and thematic analysis of focus group discussion was used to answer the following research questions: Quantitative - How do nursing undergraduate students and faculty perform on the Genomic Nursing Concept Inventory (GNCI)? What individual socio-demographic characteristics and previous experiences with genetics are associated with performance on the GNCI? Qualitative - What barriers and facilitators to the addition of genetic and genomic content into undergraduate nursing curricula are identified by nursing undergraduate students and faculty? Mixed Methods - How do the barriers and facilitators associated with the addition of genetic and genomic knowledge into undergraduate nursing curriculum broaden understanding and provide context for the scores on the GNCI? The average percent correct on the GNCI for the 220 participants was 45%, which is comparable to results of sample US students and faculty. Characteristics associated with higher performance on the GNCI included older age, attending site A, not being female, having taken a genetics course, a previous degree, and having a positive attitude towards nurses learning about genetics. A list of barriers and facilitators was developed, along with eight themes (gaps in understanding; complexity; gaps in curriculum; lack of role models; scope; role; application; and relevance) describing the general sense of becoming “stuck” when discussing integration of genetics into the nursing curriculum. Clear implications emerged from the integration of the quantitative results and qualitative findings, which can be used to focus future research and efforts to advance the inclusion of genetic and genomic knowledge in undergraduate nursing curricula in Canada.
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    The Influence of Risk Perception on Health Behaviour in Adults with Cardiovascular Disease: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Study
    (2021-01-05) Helms, Kailee Corrine; Donnelly, Tam Truong; Raffin-Bouchal, Shelley; Ginn, Carla S.
    Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is recognized as a significant contributing factor to the global burden of chronic illness. Fortunately, CVD is a largely preventable disease; the challenge may lie in identifying accurate perception or understanding of personal CVD risk to increase the likelihood that an individual is engaged in preventative behaviours. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how perceptions of risk factors influence preventative health behaviour in adults living with CVD. Using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) as the guiding theoretical framework and constructivist grounded theory methodology, I interviewed nine participants from a Cardiovascular Rehabilitation facility in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to explore their experience following an acute cardiovascular event. I analyzed the data using coding, memo-writing, theoretical sampling, and constant-comparative processes. This analysis led to the co-construction of the theory An Inner Struggle of Finding Self-Acceptance after a Cardiovascular Event. Encompassed within this theory is the core variable and basic social process, an inner struggle, and three interrelated categories each with defining sub-categories and properties. Findings from this study suggest that the key to supporting and empowering individuals to make preventative lifestyle changes is in acknowledging and understanding the unique and contextual experience of each individual to foster a multidimensional approach to health. Keywords: Cardiovascular disease, prevention, perception of risk, health behaviour, constructivist grounded theory, theory of planned behaviour.
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    Parenting Stress, Maternal Perception, and Child Development in Families Experiencing Adversity
    (2020-11-08) Mughal, Muhammad Kashif; Ginn, Carla S.; Syed, Hafsa; Donnelly, Carlene; Benzies, Karen Marie
    The objective of this study was to examine the association between maternal parenting stress and child development in families living with low income, mental illness, addiction, and/or social isolation on intake to an inner-city two-generation preschool program. Our sample included 88 children (age 2.5-5 years) and their mothers entering the preceding inner-city two-generation preschool program. We administered the Parenting Stress Index – Short Form (PSI-SF) and the Battelle Developmental Inventory- Screening Test 2nd ed. (BDI-ST). Bivariate analysis demonstrated associations between PSI-SF sub-scale scores and BDI-ST personal-social and adaptive domains, and we performed two multivariable logistic regression models to investigate associations. Increased parenting stress related to maternal perception of difficult child was associated with delays in children’s development in adaptive and personal-social domains. When designing two-generation early interventions with whole-family approaches for families experiencing adversity, mindfulness of the effects of maternal stress and maternal perception of having a difficult child is essential. In families experiencing adversity, where mothers experience parenting stress due to perceptions of having a difficult child, additional support and resources for both mothers and children may mitigate the risk of children’s developmental delay. Consideration of intergenerational effects of adversity includes increasing societal contributions to environments decreasing parenting stress.
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    ‘To Have a Paddle and a Rudder’: A Postmodern Narrative Study of the Lives of Families with Disability
    (2020-09-15) Crawford, Suzanna C.; Estefan, Andrew; Lashewicz, Bonnie M.; Ginn, Carla S.
    This is a narrative study of daily lives for families who have a member with a disability (families with disability). Families with disability are often studied in a way that centralizes disability rather than personhood. The medical model and social models of disability work to create a framework of how disability might be viewed. However, these models are problematic because they have a tendency to cover over the smaller, more subjective stories of disability. Stories told by families with disability are important to tell, hear, and understand because they provide new and alternative ways of looking at life with disability. In this study, I interviewed families (being any group of people that consider themselves to be family) with disability. I conducted interviews with two or more members of five families who have a member with disability. Narrative analysis of data resulted in the writing of three stories that tell of daily life for families with disability. The stories are then further analyzed to reveal conventional and unconventional readings. Conventional readings show how dominant narratives shape understanding of family life with disability. Unconventional readings were derived using a postmodern lens. These readings uncover lesser heard, as well as difficult to tell and hear stories. The dissertation concludes with recommendations and suggestions for health and social care providers that work with families with disability or in other disability-related contexts.