Exploring Mental Health and Well-Being Among University Faculty Members: A Qualitative Study.

The current exploratory qualitative study describes how environmental factors, social interactions, personal experiences, and stigma affect mental health and help-seeking. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine university faculty members who self-identified as having mental illness-related concerns. Using Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems framework and thematic analysis, four domains were determined: (1) macrosystem (i.e., influences of academic culture); (2) mesosystem (i.e., influences of faculty leadership and interpersonal dynamics); (3) microsystem (i.e., influences of individual mental health experiences); and (4) exosystem (i.e., influences of stigma across structural, interpersonal, and intrapersonal levels). These domains included barriers to and facilitators of mental health and help-seeking. Findings suggest that competitiveness and individualism may perpetuate stereotypes that mental illnesses are inherent weaknesses, and that seeking help is a barrier to academic success. Recommendations for future research are provided. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 60(11), 17-25.].

Exploring Harm Reduction in Supportive Housing for Formerly Homeless Older Adults.

Background: Exclusionary care policy contributes to the growing number of older adults experiencing homelessness and complex health challenges including substance misuse. The aim of this study was to examine how harm reduction policy and practices are experienced and enacted for older adults with homeless histories and care staff in congregate supportive housing. Methods: Drawing on harm reduction (HR) principles, Rhodes' risk environment framework, and 15 semi-structured interviews (six residents, nine staff) at a 70-bed supportive housing facility in Western Canada, this qualitative constructivist grounded theory study aimed to determine: How is harm reduction experienced and enacted from the perspectives of older adults and their care staff? Results: HR policy and practices helped residents to feel respected and a sense of belonging, due largely to staff's understanding of structural vulnerability related to homelessness and their efforts to earn and maintain residents' trust. Physical and program structures in the facility combined with the social environment to mitigate harms due to substance- and nonsubstance-related risk behaviours. Conclusion: HR policy and practices in supportive living empower care providers and older adults to work together to improve housing and health stability. Wider adoption of HR approaches is needed to meet the needs of a growing number of older people experiencing homelessness and substance use challenges.

"A right place for everybody": Supporting aging in the right place for older people experiencing homelessness.

While policies and practices that promote aging in place have risen in prominence over the last two decades, marginalised older adults have largely been overlooked. 'Aging in the right place' is a concept that recognises the importance of adequate and appropriate age-related health and psychosocial supports in shelter/housing settings and their impact on the ability of older people to age optimally. To understand the unique shelter/housing challenges and solutions that affect aging in the right place for older people experiencing homelessness (OPEH), we conducted three World Café workshops in three Canadian cities-Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver. In total, 89 service providers and OPEH engaged in the workshops, which involved guided, small-table discussions with the goal of stimulating creative ideas and fostering a productive atmosphere. Findings revealed two overarching themes 1) Discrepancies, between the need and availability of housing options and community supports for OPEH, such as affordable transportation, case management, access to healthcare, and system navigation; and 2) Desires, for more peer support, participatory planning, service-enriched housing, social programming, and policies that promote agency, independence, and choice for OPEH. These findings provide evidence to inform the development or modification of housing and supports for OPEH that promote aging in the right place.

A Qualitative Exploration of Addiction Disclosure and Stigma among Faculty Members in a Canadian University Context.

Addiction is one of the most stigmatized public health issues, which serves to silence individuals who need help. Despite emerging global interest in workplace mental health and addiction, scholarship examining addiction among university faculty members (FMs) is lacking, particularly in a Canadian context. Using a Communication Privacy Management (CPM) framework and semi-structured interviews with key informants (deans and campus mental health professionals), this qualitative study aimed to answer the following research questions: (1) What is the experience of key informants who encounter FM addiction? (2) How may addiction stigma affect FM disclosure and help-seeking? and (3) What may help reduce addiction stigma for FMs? Thematic analysis was used to identify three main themes: (1) Disclosure was rare, and most often involved alcohol; (2) Addiction stigma and non-disclosure were reported to be affected by university alcohol and productivity cultures, faculty type, and gender; (3) Reducing addiction stigma may involve peer support, vulnerable leadership (e.g., openly sharing addiction-recovery stories), and non-discriminatory protective policies. This study offers novel insights into how addiction stigma may operate for FMs in relation to university-specific norms (e.g., drinking and productivity culture), and outlines some recommendations for creating more recovery-friendly campuses.

Homeless for the First Time in Later Life: Uncovering More Than One Pathway.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Increasingly, researchers have recognized the heterogeneity with the growing population of older homeless adults. However, scant research has considered the complex pathways into first-time homelessness from the perspective of older adults themselves. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Through in-depth interviews, this constructivist grounded theory study aimed to address this gap by exploring the pathways of 15 adults, aged 50 years and older, into late-life homelessness. RESULTS: Two divergent pathways were revealed: gradual and rapid. Individuals with gradual pathways endured many years of struggle related to poor housing conditions, lack of social support, and social distress. They had reached out for support on several occasions, with little success due to their limited social capital. In contrast, for individuals with rapid moves to homelessness, multiple unanticipated losses threatened their economic and social resources and they were propelled into homelessness with little warning. Despite having access to social networks to help buffer these losses, they preferred homelessness over asking for help and being perceived as dependent. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Our study revealed that different pathways into homelessness require divergent strategies of prevention and support. For individuals with gradual moves, strengthening pre-homeless social supports and addressing social distress may have mitigated the eventual loss of housing. For individuals with rapid pathways, homelessness may have been prevented if independence and self-sufficiency were less idealized in our society.

Later-Life Homelessness as Disenfranchised Grief.

ABSTRACTAlthough interest on older homelessness is gaining momentum, little research has considered the experiences of first-time homelessness from the perspective of older adults themselves. This constructivist grounded-theory study addresses this gap by exploring how societal perceptions of homelessness and aging shape access to housing, services, and perceptions of self for 15 older adults residing in emergency homeless shelters in Montreal, (Quebec, Canada). Findings revealed that homelessness evoked a grief response characterized by shock, despair, anger, and in some cases, relief. Connecting and receiving support from other shelter residents and staff helped participants to acknowledge and grieve their losses. However, difficult shelter conditions, the stigma associated with aging and homelessness, and not having their grief recognized or validated served to disenfranchise grief experiences. Conceptualizing later-life homelessness as disenfranchised grief contributes to the aging and homelessness literature while providing new avenues for understanding and validating the experiences of a growing population of vulnerable older adults.

Oscillating in and out of place: Experiences of older adults residing in homeless shelters in Montreal, Quebec.

Aging in place is desirable from the perspective of older adults and policy makers alike. However, the meaning of 'place' for adults experiencing homelessness has been largely overlooked. Addressing this gap, this constructivist grounded theory study discusses the meaning of place for 15 older adults residing in emergency homeless shelters in Montreal, Quebec. Findings revealed that four interrelated dimensions of place-that is, control, comfort, privacy, and security were instrumental in supporting participants' ability to feel in place across housed-homeless trajectories. Many felt out of place well before they lost their housing and some felt more in place during homelessness when shelter conditions and interpersonal relations supported these four dimensions. The empirically-driven model oscillating in and out of place extends and nuances existing understandings of aging in place and provides insights into policy and practice solutions for older adults who may not have a stable place to call home.

Revisiting the role of neighbourhood change in social exclusion and inclusion of older people.

Objective. To explore how older people who are "aging in place" are affected when the urban neighbourhoods in which they are aging are themselves undergoing socioeconomic and demographic change. Methods. A qualitative case study was conducted in two contrasting neighbourhoods in Montréal (Québec, Canada), the analysis drawing on concepts of social exclusion and attachment. Results. Participants express variable levels of attachment to neighbourhood. Gentrification triggered processes of social exclusion among older adults: loss of social spaces dedicated to older people led to social disconnectedness, invisibility, and loss of political influence on neighbourhood planning. Conversely, certain changes in a disadvantaged neighbourhood fostered their social inclusion. Conclusion. This study thus highlights the importance of examining the impacts of neighbourhood change when exploring the dynamics of aging in place and when considering interventions to maintain quality of life of those concerned.