Chinese family care partners of older adults in Canada have grit: A qualitative study.

AIM: To explain the process taken by Chinese family care partners of older adults in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, to access health and social services in their communities. The research question was: What mechanisms and structures impact the agency of Chinese family care partners of older adults, in the process of assisting them to access health and social services? DESIGN: This qualitative study was informed by critical realism. METHODS: Chinese family care partners of older adults in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, were interviewed from August 2020 to June 2021. Transcripts underwent thematic analysis. FINDINGS: Twenty-eight Chinese family care partners expressed a firm commitment to maintain caregiving conditions and to judiciously access health and social services. Their commitment was made up of three parts: (a) legislative and cultural norms of family, work, and society; (b) their perseverance to fill gaps with limited social and financial resources; (c) the quality of their relationship to, and illness trajectory of the older adults. The social structures created tension in how Chinese family care partners made decisions, negotiated resources, and ultimately monitored and coordinated timely access with older adults. CONCLUSION: Participants' commitment and perseverance were conceptualized as "grit," central to their agency to conform to legislative and cultural norms. Moreover, findings support grit's power to motivate and sustain family caregiving, in order for older adults to age in place as long as possible with finite resources. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION: This study highlights the importance of cultural awareness education for nurses, enabling continuity of care at a systems level and for a more resilient healthcare system. IMPACT: Family care partners' grit may be crucial for nurses to harness when together, they face limited access to culturally appropriate health and social services in a system grounded in values of equity and inclusion, as in Canada. REPORTING METHOD: When writing this manuscript, we adhered to relevant EQUATOR guidelines of the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ). PATIENT OR PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AND ENGAGEMENT: No patient or public involvement.

Social support, social conflict, and immigrant women's mental health in a Canadian context: a scoping review.

ACCESSIBLE SUMMARY: Social support has positive and negative dimensions, each of which has been associated with mental health outcomes. Social networks can also serve as sources of distress and conflict. This paper reviews journal articles published during the last 24 years to provide a consolidated summary of the role of social support and social conflict on immigrant women's mental health. The review reveals that social support can help immigrant women adjust to the new country, prevent depression and psychological distress, and access care and services. When social support is lacking or social networks act as a source of conflict, it can have negative effects on immigrant women's mental health. It is crucial that interventions, programmes, and services incorporate strategies to both enhance social support as well as reduce social conflict, in order to improve mental health and well-being of immigrant women. ABSTRACT: Researchers have documented the protective role of social support and the harmful consequences of social conflict on physical and mental health. However, consolidated information about social support, social conflict, and mental health of immigrant women in Canada is not available. This scoping review examined literature from the last 24 years to understand how social support and social conflict affect the mental health of immigrant women in Canada. We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Healthstar, and EMBASE for peer-reviewed publications focusing on mental health among immigrant women in Canada. Thirty-four articles that met our inclusion criteria were reviewed, and are summarized under the following four headings: settlement challenges and the need for social support; social support and mental health outcomes; social conflict and reciprocity; and social support, social conflict, and mental health service use. The results revealed that social support can have a positive effect on immigrant women's mental health and well-being, and facilitate social inclusion and the use of health services. When social support is lacking or social networks act as a source of conflict, it can have negative effects on immigrant women's mental health. The results also highlighted the need for health services to be linguistically-appropriate and culturally-safe, and provide appropriate types of care and support in a timely manner in order to be helpful to immigrant women.

Intimate partner violence in Sri Lanka: a scoping review.

South Asia is considered to have a high prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) against women. Therefore the World Health Organisation has called for context-specific information about IPV from different regions. A scoping review of published and gray literature over the last 35 years was conducted using Arksey and O'Malley's framework. Reported prevalence of IPV in Sri Lanka ranged from 20-72%, with recent reports of rates ranging from 25- 35%. Most research about IPV has been conducted in a few provinces and is based on the experience of legally married women. Individual, family, and societal risk factors for IPV have been studied, but their complex relationships have not been comprehensively investigated. Health consequences of IPV have been reported, with particular attention to physical health, but women are likely to underreport sexual violence. Women seek support mainly from informal networks, with only a few visiting agencies to obtain help. Little research has focused on health sector responses to IPV and their effectiveness. More research is needed on how to challenge gendered perceptions about IPV. Researchers should capture the experience of women in dating/cohabiting relationships and women in vulnerable sectors (post-conflict areas and rural areas), and assess how to effectively provide services to them. A critical evaluation of existing services and programmes is also needed to advance evidence informed programme and policy changes in Sri Lanka.

Immigrant nurses' experience of racism.

PURPOSE: To document and describe the experiences of immigrant nurses of colour who have filed grievances concerning their employers' discriminatory practices; and to solicit their views of existing policies and recommendations for equity in professional life. DESIGN AND METHODS: In this descriptive, exploratory study nine immigrant nurses of colour in Ontario, Canada, were interviewed between 1997 and 1998. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews and in focus groups. The discourse theory and methods of van Dijk and Essed were used to analyse the qualitative data. FINDINGS: Recurring themes were: (a) being marginalized and acknowledging and naming the racist experiences; (b) experiencing physical stress and emotional pain; (c) strategizing to cope and survive; (d) recommending policy changes. CONCLUSIONS: All nurses interviewed had experienced reprisals as a result of complaining or filing grievances and unfairness was encountered in the redress process itself. Participants recommended policy initiatives to ensure equity and fair practices in the nursing profession.

Primary prevention of violence against women.

The best mechanisms to prevent violence against women were reviewed in a critical appraisal conducted by the University Health Network Women's Health Program. Several promising primary interventions were identified. These included: educational and policy-related interventions to change social norms, early identification of abuse by health and other professionals, programs and strategies to empower women, safety and supportive resources for victims of abuse, and improved laws and access to the criminal justice system. The policy recommendations emerging from this analysis are presented.

Transcultural nursing in Canada.

By the year 2000, approximately one in every five Canadians will represent an ethnic minority. Even today, Canada is home to over a hundred different linguistic and cultural groups. Yet between these Canadians and the health care system there exists a large cultural gap. At the crux of the matter is the lack of recognition by health care professionals of the cultural differences and related health beliefs of various groups. A further impediment is the lack of formal educational programs, theory and research in multicultural nursing care in Canada.