African Nova Scotian nurses' perceptions and experiences of leadership: a qualitative study informed by Black feminist theory.

BACKGROUND: People of African Nova Scotian (ANS) ancestry are a culturally distinct group who experience numerous socioeconomic inequities and health disparities, secondary to structural and social determinants of health. Understanding the experiences of ANS health practitioners is important in addressing anti-Black racism in health care. We sought to critically examine the leadership experiences of ANS nurses in health care practice. METHODS: We used Black feminist theory to guide this qualitative study. We conducted 1-on-1 semistructured telephone interviews with ANS nurses and analyzed interview transcripts using Critical Discourse Analysis. RESULTS: We interviewed 18 nurses of ANS ancestry. We conceptualized study findings in 3 overarching areas: People of ANS ancestry as a distinct people, institution of care, and leadership philosophy and practice. Each area, and its corresponding themes and subthemes, illustrated an emergent understanding of factors that influence leadership among ANS nurses, such as socialization, early exposure to care and diversity in health care. Participants perceived and practised leadership in a manner that transcended formal titles or designations. INTERPRETATION: African Nova Scotian ancestry is implicated in the perception and practice of leadership among ANS nurses, who considered leadership to be a fundamental component of nursing practice that was grounded in community-oriented care. This study provides new insights that could inform recruitment, retention and representation of ANS people in nursing and other health professions.

Black nurses in the nursing profession in Canada: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: With migration occurring over a series of centuries, dating back to the 1600's, the circumstance regarding Black people in Canada is a complex account. A plethora of social issues and the failure to adequately acknowledge and reconcile historical issues, has resulted in health inequity, disparities and knowledge gaps, related to the Black population in Canada. In nursing, historical records indicate a legacy of discrimination that continues to impact Black nurses. The profession has begun reckoning with anti-Black racism and the residual effects. This scoping review sought to chart the existing evidence on Black nurses in the nursing profession in Canada. METHODS: JBI methodology was used to search peer-reviewed evidence and unpublished gray literature. Sources were considered for inclusion based on criteria outlined in an a priori protocol focusing on: 1) Canada 2) Black nurses and 3) nursing practice. No restrictions were placed on date of publication and language was limited to English and French. All screening and extractions were completed by two independent reviewers. RESULTS: The database search yielded 688 records. After removing duplicates, 600 titles and abstracts were screened for eligibility and 127 advanced to full-text screening. Eighty-two full-text articles were excluded, for a total of 44 sources meeting the inclusion criteria. Seven sources were identified through gray literature search. Subsequently, 31 sources underwent data extraction. Of the 31 sources, 18 are research (n = 18), six are commentaries (n = 6); one report (n = 1) and six are classified as announcements, memoranda or policy statements (n = 6). The review findings are categorized into five conceptual categories: racism (n = 12); historical situatedness (n = 2); leadership and career progression (n = 7); immigration (n = 4); and diversity in the workforce (n = 4). CONCLUSIONS: This review reveals the interconnectedness of the five conceptual categories. Racism was a prominent issue woven throughout the majority of the sources. Additionally, this review captures how racism is exacerbated by intersectional factors such as gender, class and nationality. The findings herein offer insight regarding anti-Black racism and discrimination in nursing as well as suggestions for future research including the use of diverse methodologies in different jurisdictions across the country. Lastly, the implications extend to the nursing workforce in relation to enhancing diversity and addressing the ongoing nursing shortage.

African Canadian nurses in the nursing profession in Canada: a scoping review protocol.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review is to synthesize the evidence on African Canadian nurses in the nursing profession in Canada. INTRODUCTION: With approximately 1.2 million people of African descent, Canada has committed to addressing the United Nations' decade for people of African descent. Intergenerational racism continues to result in multisectoral discrimination against African Canadians. Studies suggest that African Canadians are under-represented in nursing, and encountering systemic barriers to entering and advancing in the profession. Additionally, African Canadian nurses experience racism from patients and colleagues, as well as systemic racism through hiring and promotion. INCLUSION CRITERIA: This review will consider sources that include African Canadian nurses who identify as Black or as of African descent. All levels of professional nursing practice will be included (practical nurses, registered nurses, and advanced practice nurses, including nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists). Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies and gray literature will be searched. METHODS: This review will be conducted in accordance with the JBI methodology. Databases to be searched from inception to the present include CINAHL, MEDLINE, Embase, Sociological Abstracts, Gender Studies Database, America: History and Life, PsycINFO, Academic Search Premier, and Scopus. Studies published in English and French will be included. A comprehensive search strategy developed with a librarian will be used to retrieve relevant sources. Two independent screeners will screen titles and abstracts as well as full texts of relevant sources. Data will be extracted by two independent extractors then presented narratively, using appropriate tables and figures. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER: Open Science Framework Preregistration October 3, 2019. Open Science Framework Link for Abstract https://osf.io/6a2fe/?view_only=57d86d5b7c1d464182692d0f4bb9b396.

The application of implementation science theories for population health: A critical interpretive synthesis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Over the last decade, the field of implementation science (IS) has yielded an array of theoretical approaches to clarify and understand how factors influence the application and scaling-up of evidence-based practice in health care. These developments have led to questions about whether IS theories and frameworks might be of value to population health researchers and decision makers. The purpose of this research was to conduct a critical interpretive synthesis to explore, if, and how, key IS theories and frameworks might inform population health interventions aimed at reducing the burden of illness across populations. METHODS: An initial list of theories and frameworks was developed based on previous published research and narrowed to focus on theories considered as formative for the field of IS. A standardized data extraction form was used to gather key features of the theories and critically appraise their relevance to population health interventions. RESULTS: Ten theories were included in the review and six deemed most applicable to population health based on their consideration of broader contextual and system-level factors. The remaining four were determined to have less relevant components for population health due to their limited consideration of macro-level factors, often focusing on micro (individual) and meso (organizational) level factors. CONCLUSIONS: Theories and frameworks are important to guide the implementation and sustainability of population health interventions. The articulation of meso level factors common in IS theories may be of value to interventions targeted at the population level. However, some of the reviewed theories were limited in their consideration of broader contextual factors at the macro level (community, policy or societal). This critical interpretive synthesis also found that some theories lacked provision of practical guidance to address interventions targeting structural factors such as key social determinants of health (e.g., housing, income).

Improving pathways to primary health care among LGBTQ populations and health care providers: key findings from Nova Scotia, Canada.

BACKGROUND: This study explores the perceived barriers to primary health care as identified among a sample of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) identified individuals and health care providers in Nova Scotia, Canada. These findings, based on a province-wide anonymous online survey, suggest that additional efforts are needed to improve pathways to primary health among LGBTQ populations and in deepening our understanding of how to advance the unique primary health needs of these populations. METHODS: Data were collected from the LGBTQ community through an online, closed-ended anonymous survey. Inclusion criteria for participation were self-identifying as LGBTQ, offering primary health care to LGBTQ patients, being able to understand English, being 16 years of age or older, and having lived in Nova Scotia for at least one year. A total of 283 LGBTQ respondents completed the online survey which included sociodemographic questions, perceptions of respondents' health status, and their primary health care experiences. In addition, a total of 109 health care providers completed the survey based on their experiences providing care in Nova Scotia, and in particular, their experiences and perceptions regarding LGBTQ access to primary health care and physician-patient interactions. RESULTS: Our results indicate that, in several key areas, the primary health care needs of LGBTQ populations in Nova Scotia are not being met and this may in turn contribute to their poor health outcomes across the life course. CONCLUSION: A framework of intersectionality and health equity was used to interpret and analyze the survey data. The key findings indicate the need to continue improving pathways to primary health care among LGBTQ populations, specifically in relation to additional training and related supports for health care providers who work with these populations.

Bridging the silos in HIV and Hepatitis C prevention: a cross-provincial qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES: The Our Youth Our Response (OYOR) study explored the scope and accessibility of existing youth-oriented human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Hepatitis C (HCV) prevention in Atlantic Canada. METHODS: A cross-provincial, qualitative population health and gender-based analytic approach was used in this study. Four hundred and twenty-five documents were part of the initial scoping review, while 47 in-depth interviews across youth-relevant sectors were undertaken to explore the perceptions related to current approaches to youth-oriented HIV/HCV prevention policies and programs. The study also conducted focus group discussions with 21 key informants aimed at identifying strategies to address the challenges identified from the interview data. RESULTS: Five overarching themes emerged from our triangulated data in relation to the present state of youth-related HIV/HCV prevention. These included: inter-organizational and intersectoral collaboration; youth engagement; access to testing; harm reduction; and education. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings will assist in informing the next generation for HIV/HCV prevention aimed at youth. Specifically, the results indicate that future prevention initiatives should support the use of intersectoral collaboration, gender-based approaches, and HIV/HCV testing innovation to help de-stigmatize prevention efforts.

"I feel like I am surviving the health care system": understanding LGBTQ health in Nova Scotia, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Currently, there is a dearth of baseline data on the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) populations in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. Historically, LGBTQ health research has tended to focus on individual-level health risks associated with poor health outcomes among these populations, which has served to obscure the ways in which they maintain their own health and wellness across the life course. As such, there is an urgent need to shift the focus of LGBTQ health research towards strengths-based perspectives that explore the complex and resilient ways in which LGBTQ populations promote their health. METHODS: This paper discusses the findings of our recent scoping review as well as the qualitative data to emerge from community consultations aimed at developing strengths-based approaches to understanding and advancing LGBTQ pathways to health across Nova Scotia. RESULTS: Our scoping review findings demonstrated the lack of strengths-based research on LGBTQ health in Nova Scotia. Specifically, the studies examined in our scoping review identified a number of health-promoting factors and a wide variety of measurement tools, some of which may prove useful for future strengths-based health research with LGBTQ populations. In addition, our community consultations revealed that many participants had negative experiences with health care systems and services in Nova Scotia. However, participants also shared a number of factors that contribute to LGBTQ health and suggestions for how LGBTQ pathways to health in Nova Scotia can be improved. CONCLUSIONS: There is an urgent need to conduct research on the health needs, lived experiences, and outcomes of LGBTQ populations in Nova Scotia to address gaps in our knowledge of their unique health needs. In moving forward, it is important that future health research take an intersectional, strengths-based perspective in an effort to highlight the factors that promote LGBTQ health and wellness across the life course, while taking into account the social determinants of health.

Implementation Process of a Canadian Community-based Nurse Mentorship Intervention in HIV Care.

We describe salient individual and organizational factors that influenced engagement of registered nurses in a 12-month clinical mentorship intervention on HIV care in Canada. The intervention included 48 nurses and 8 people living with HIV (PLWH) who were involved in group-based and one-on-one informal mentorship informed by transformative learning theory. We evaluated the process of implementing the mentorship intervention using qualitative content analysis. The inclusion of PLWH as mentors, the opportunities for reciprocal learning, and the long-term commitment of individual nurses and partner organizations in HIV care were major strengths. Challenges included the need for multiple ethical approvals, the lack of organizational support at some clinical sites, and the time commitment required by participants. We recommend that clinical mentorship interventions in HIV care consider organizational support, adhere to the Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS principles, and explore questions of professional obligations.

Sex and gender matter in health research: addressing health inequities in health research reporting.

Attention to the concepts of 'sex' and 'gender' is increasingly being recognized as contributing to better science through an augmented understanding of how these factors impact on health inequities and related health outcomes. However, the ongoing lack of conceptual clarity in how sex and gender constructs are used in both the design and reporting of health research studies remains problematic. Conceptual clarity among members of the health research community is central to ensuring the appropriate use of these concepts in a manner that can advance our understanding of the sex- and gender-based health implications of our research findings. During the past twenty-five years much progress has been made in reducing both sex and gender disparities in clinical research and, to a significant albeit lesser extent, in basic science research. Why, then, does there remain a lack of uptake of sex- and gender-specific reporting of health research findings in many health research journals? This question, we argue, has significant health equity implications across all pillars of health research, from biomedical and clinical research, through to health systems and population health.

Preferences for rapid point-of-care HIV testing in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Rapid point-of-care (POC) testing for HIV has been shown to increase the uptake of testing, rates of clients receiving test results, numbers of individuals aware of their status and timely access to care for those who test positive. In addition, several studies have shown that rapid POC testing for HIV is highly acceptable to clients in a variety of clinical and community-based health care settings. Most acceptability studies conducted in North America, however, have been conducted in large, urban environments where concentrations of HIV testing sites and testing innovations are greatest. Using a survey of client preferences at a sexual health clinic in Halifax, Nova Scotia, we suggest that HIV test seekers living in a region outside of Canada's major urban HIV epicentres find rapid POC testing highly acceptable. We compare the results of the Halifax survey with existing acceptability studies of rapid POC HIV testing in North America and suggest ways in which it might be of particular benefit to testing clients and potential clients in Nova Scotia and other regions of Canada that currently have few opportunities for anonymous or rapid testing. Overall, we found that rapid POC HIV testing was highly desirable at this study site and may serve to overcome many of the challenges associated with HIV prevention and testing outside of well-resourced metropolitan environments.

HIV and disability: a pilot study exploring the use of the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills to measure daily life performance.

INTRODUCTION: Limitations in performing activities of daily living (ADL) are important indicators of health and overall wellness, yet relatively few studies specifically identify the ADL abilities of people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs). Given the wide range of abilities and ages of PHAs, there is an urgent need to utilize an assessment of ADL ability that can validly evaluate those who are very able, as well as those who are very disabled, without the presence of ceiling or floor effects, to provide sensitive measures to detect change. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to gather preliminary evidence of the validity of using the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS) with PHAs. METHODS: By utilizing existing data records of PHAs from the international AMPS database, we explored (a) demographic factors; (b) person response validity by examining person and individual item goodness-of-fit to the AMPS measurement model; and (c) trends in ADL abilities of PHAs. FINDINGS: There were 137 data records in the international AMPS database (0.08% of the database). Goodness-of-fit analyses revealed that >90% of the individuals in the sample fit AMPS measurement model and >99% of the individual item ratings fit the model. More than 80% of the data record had ADL motor abilities that were significantly lower than age expectations, and 67% had ADL process ability measures that were significantly lower than age expectations. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that the AMPS is a valid measure of ADL ability for PHAs. Coupled with the lower than expected number of AMPS data records for PHAs and the significant ADL ability challenges that were encountered by this sample, this pilot study may indicate that PHAs encounter barriers to accessing rehabilitation services and/or may not receive referrals until significant ADL challenges are encountered.

Challenges and opportunities to integrating family members of injection drug users into harm reduction efforts within the Atlantic Canadian context.

BACKGROUND: This paper explores injection drug users' (IDUs) relationships with non-drug using family members in order to understand the potential opportunities for, and challenges to, having these family members provide harm reduction services (e.g., clean syringes). METHODS: The qualitative data for this paper were drawn from a larger study of IDUs' relationships with key individuals in their lives (e.g., friends, family members). Interviews were conducted with 115 IDUs from across Atlantic Canada living in both urban and rural areas. RESULTS: IDUs report that their relationships with family members are variable and dynamic, often changing over time. IDUs and family members engage in a variety of strategies to protect themselves from the multiple harms associated with drug use. Several strategies of self-protection (e.g., discontinuing all contact) are antithetical to the provision of harm reduction supports by family members. However, other strategies are based on continued contact, providing a potential opportunity for the integration of harm reduction approaches. Some family members not only have contact but provide supports (e.g., emotional support, housing) thus potentially facilitating the integration of harm reduction. In a few instances, family members already provide harm reduction supports (e.g., safe space to use). CONCLUSIONS: Conceptualizing addictions as a health and social justice issue, and providing appropriate interventions, may reduce some of the harms experienced by users and family members thus encouraging sustained relationships and greater integration of harm reduction approaches into the relationship. Targeted education to family members about harm reduction may also further encourage their involvement in such efforts. Likewise, supporting family members who are already providing harm reduction supports will likely assist in the scaling-up of harm reduction efforts.

HIV counselling and testing in Nova Scotia: the provincial strategy in the context of an international debate.

Nova Scotia, as a small province in Atlantic Canada, provides health care professionals and policy analysts with unique challenges for developing and implementing a strategy for accessible and acceptable HIV counselling and testing. Despite universal health care in Canada, barriers and challenges persist in relation to HIV counselling and testing programs and services in Nova Scotia. It is therefore necessary to examine the unique circumstances in the provision of programs and services in Nova Scotia prior to the possibility of adopting international HIV counselling and testing standards and guidelines being implemented in other jurisdictions. Nova Scotia's provincial strategy on HIV/AIDS promotes a harm-reduction approach for different populations in various service settings, recognizing the diverse circumstances and experiences of people living in Nova Scotia. By contrast, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommended strategy promotes opt-out testing and in some instances alters the requirement of informed consent. As the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) revises the national HIV counselling and testing policies, it is imperative to address the unique characteristics of Nova Scotia's provision of services, and how divergent strategies have the potential to address or compound the barriers to access that exist in this province's communities.

Back to work: vocational issues and strategies for Canadians living with HIV/AIDS.

Much has been written since the first appearance of HIV/AIDS in 1981 about its effects on the Canadian health care and social services systems. However, researchers have given limited attention to issues of entry or re-entry to the competitive job market for HIV positive individuals. The emergence of highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART) has allowed a significant number of persons who are HIV positive to experience a major recovery in health and energy. This increase in physical health has in turn led to a re-examination of the possibility of returning to former types and levels of activity, including the prospect of going back to work or entering the competitive workforce for the first time. The purpose of this paper is to outline some of the issues and concerns that impact HIV positive individuals' attempts to return to or enter the competitive workforce, particularly those relating to disability policies and public insurance. Data from in-depth interviews with a sample of people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) are used to help illustrate the disconnect between these policies and the lived experiences of PHAs. Also discussed are the opportunities for Canadian policies and practices to employ a functional definition of disability and a philosophy of early intervention in vocational rehabilitation.

Harm reduction and women in the Canadian national prison system: policy or practice?

Applying the principles of harm reduction within the context of incarcerated populations raises a number of challenges. Although some access to harm reduction strategies has been promoted in general society, a divide between what is available and what is advocated continues to exist within the prison system. This paper explores the perceptions and lived experiences of a sample of nationally incarcerated women in Canada regarding their perceptions and experiences in accessing HIV and Hepatitis C prevention, care, treatment and support. In-depth interviews were conducted with 156 women in Canadian national prisons. Q.S.R. Nudist was used to assist with data management. A constant comparison method was used to derive categories, patterns, and themes. Emergent themes highlighted a gap between access to harm reduction in policy and in practice. Despite the implementation of some harm reduction techniques, women in Canadian prisons reported variable access to both education and methods of reducing HIV/HCV transmission. Concerns were also raised about pre-and post-test counseling for HIV/HCV testing. Best practices are suggested for implementing harm reduction strategies within prisons for women in Canada.