Laboring to mother in the context of past trauma: the transition to motherhood.

The occurrence of interpersonal trauma is a reality for many women, with effects that often persist long after the traumatic events end. The purpose of this feminist grounded theory study was to examine how past trauma shaped the lives of women as they became new mothers. We recruited a purposive sample of 32 women from two Canadian communities and conducted semistructured, dialogic interviews during the second trimester of pregnancy. We analyzed data using thematic content analytic methods, including open coding whereby we read transcripts line by line and applied codes to portions of text that illustrated concepts or themes. The substantive grounded theory, "laboring to mother in the context of past trauma," describes the exceedingly difficult emotional and cognitive work undertaken by pregnant women with histories of trauma as they anticipate becoming mothers. In this article, we present key components of the theory and offer recommendations for health and social service providers.

Exploring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion-Related Pedagogy Across Different Professions.

PURPOSE: Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have become an important priority for academic medicine. However, several barriers challenge the effective implementation of DEI-related pedagogy. An exploration of the barriers to and enablers of DEI-related pedagogy-as they relate to professional contexts-can inform how to advance DEI in medical education. Shulman's notion of signature pedagogies offers a foundation for understanding and exploring the influence of such contexts on teaching and learning. Comparisons across professions may help make signature pedagogies more visible and may facilitate change. In this study, the authors aim to explore how the professional contexts of medicine, nursing, and teacher education approach DEI-related pedagogy. METHOD: The authors conducted a qualitative exploratory study using constructivist grounded theory methodology. Using both purposive and theoretical sampling, 24 participants from across the United States and Canada were interviewed, including physicians, nurses, and K-12 teachers in practice as well as professional educators in each discipline (May-December 2022). Interviews included a case-based elicitation approach, and data were analyzed iteratively across the data collection period using constant comparative analysis. RESULTS: Medicine and nursing tend to prioritize objectivity and seek to avoid or neutralize emotions that are intrinsic to DEI-related learning, view DEI expertise as being outside the purview of their profession, and view time for DEI as limited in a clinical learning environment. In contrast, teaching is built on the assumption that DEI expertise is co-constructed and inclusive of community voices and lived experiences. DEI-related pedagogy in teaching allowed for exploration of deep assumptions and learning about structural inequities. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that assumptions and values held in professions, such as medicine and nursing, that valorize objectivity and neutrality, while stigmatizing vulnerability and suppressing emotions, may constrain DEI-related teaching and learning in such contexts.

Two for one: Effectiveness of a mandatory personal and classroom stress management program for preservice teachers.

The present study employed a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the effectiveness and acceptability of a 6-hr mandatory stress management and well-being program for preservice teachers. A program group of 157 preservice teachers (Mage = 22.46 years; 88% women) completed the program as well as baseline, postprogram, and follow-up measures. A comparison group of 63 preservice teachers (Mage = 23.50 years; 85% women) completed measures at similar time points but did not receive the program. All participants completed measures of stress, coping self-efficacy, anxiety, mindfulness, and well-being. The program group completed additional measures of well-being, affect, and program satisfaction. Findings revealed significant improvements in key indices of mental health and well-being for those in the program group relative to the comparison group and high ratings of program satisfaction. Discussion focuses on implications of present findings for mandatory inclusion of wellness curriculum in teacher preparation programs with instruction on enhancing their own and their students' well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Experiences of Women Accessing Violence Against Women Outreach Services in Canada During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Brief Report.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on violence against women (VAW), including increased prevalence and severity, and on VAW service delivery. The purpose of this research was to study women's experiences with VAW services in the first stages of the pandemic and describe their fears and concerns. This cross-sectional study was conducted from May through October 2020. Our VAW agency partners across Ontario, Canada invited women using outreach services to participate in a study about their experiences during the pandemic. In total, 49 women from 9 agencies completed an online survey. Quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and open-ended responses are presented to supplement findings. Women's experiences with VAW services during the pandemic varied greatly; some found technology-facilitated services (phone, video, text) more accessible, while others hoped to return to in-person care. Over half of women reported poorer wellbeing, access to health care, and access to informal supports. Many women reported increased relationship-related fears, some due specifically to COVID-19 factors. Our results support providing a variety of technology-based options for women accessing VAW services when in-person care options are reduced. This research also adds to the scant literature examining how some perpetrators capitalized on the pandemic by using new COVID-19-specific forms of coercive control. Although the impacts of the pandemic on women varied, our findings highlight how layers of difficulty, such as less accessible formal and informal support, as well as increased fear - can compound to make life for women experiencing abuse exceptionally difficult.

Effect of Age, Breed, and Sex on the Health-Related Quality of Life of Owner Assessed Healthy Dogs.

Using an app, this exploratory study generated information on HRQL in a large cohort of dogs deemed healthy according to the owner. It forms the basis for further studies investigating the natural history of HRQL of dogs to inform the interpretation of interventional studies, but highlights the risks of relying on owner impression of health status. A previously published health-related quality of life (HRQL) instrument (VetMetrica™) that generates scores in four domains of quality of life in dogs - Energetic and Enthusiastic (E/E), Happy and Content (H/C), Active and Comfortable (A/C), and Calm and Relaxed (C/R), generated information on HRQL in 4,217 dogs (3 months-21 years). Dogs were categorized by age; young, 3-47 months, middle-aged, 48-95 months, and old, 96 months and older. Owners considered 2,959 dogs (3-95 months) to be "in perfect health" and these were used to explore the relationship between age, sex, breed and HRQL in apparently healthy dogs. Mean score was significantly greater (better) in young compared to middle-aged dogs in E/E, H/C and A/C and declined with advancing age. In H/C there was a small but significant difference in mean score between female and male dogs (mean greater in females), with a similar rate of decline in each gender with advancing age. In E/E there were very small but statistically significant differences in mean scores between certain breeds. In A/C there was a statistically significant interaction between breed and age and the rate of decline with advancing age differed with breed. Overall, age, breed, and sex predicted very little of the variation seen in HRQL scores. Data from a subset of 152 dogs, for whom clinical information was available, were used to examine the agreement between clinical evidence and owner opinion. According to the clinical records, 89 dogs were healthy and 63 had evidence of chronic disease. There was an approximately 40% disagreement between owner opinion on health status and clinical evidence of chronic disease (35% disagreement in all dogs and 43% in old dogs). HRQL scores were generally higher in dogs for whom there was no evidence of disease in the clinical record.

Intimate partner violence: a review of online interventions.

Violence against women (VAW) is a global social issue affecting health, social, and legal systems. VAW contributes to the inequities with respect to the social determinants of health that many women face today. The onus on self-care in the face of violence remains almost singularly with the victims. Access to information and services in support of women's health and safety is fundamental. However, research gaps exist regarding how women access health information across all stages of an abusive intimate relationship. Given the ubiquity of online access to information, the purpose of this scoping review was to provide an overview of online interventions available to women within the context of intimate partner violence (IPV). Research literature published between 2000 and 2016, inclusive, was reviewed: 11 interventions were identified. Findings suggest that online interventions focused on the act of leaving with less emphasis on the experiences that occur after a woman has left the relationship. In addition, the online interventions concentrated on the individual capacity of the survivor to leave an abusive relationship and demonstrated limited understanding of IPV in relation to the broader social-contextual factors. Findings from this research highlight information gaps for women who require significant support after leaving an abusive relationship.

Toxoplasma gondii and ovine toxoplasmosis: new aspects of an old story.

Ovine toxoplasmosis, caused by the intracellular protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, was first described in 1954 and while the incidence of ovine infection is difficult to define, it has been reported that in the UK it is responsible for between 1 and 2% of neonatal losses per annum. Recent reports have suggested that sheep persistently infected with T. gondii may pass infection to the fetus in subsequent pregnancies more readily than previously thought. These data show a high proportion of both successful and failed pregnancies in sheep to be positive by PCR for T. gondii with a tendency for samples from certain genetic lines of Charollais sheep more likely to be positive than samples from other lines, suggesting that some sheep have a particular genetic susceptibility to T. gondii.

Who is caring for our most vulnerable children? The motivation to foster in child welfare.

OBJECTIVE: Responding to the need for more foster families to provide care for increasing numbers of children coming into care, this study was designed to understand the motivations and needs of foster parents in order to improve recruitment and retention. To meet this goal, the study identified characteristics of current foster families, performed a factor analysis on the Foster Parent Satisfaction Survey (FPSS) (Denby, R. W., Rindfleisch, N., & Bean, G. 1999). Predictors of foster parent's satisfaction and intent to continue to foster were identified, and the results were used to differentiate between foster parents who did and did not consider quitting fostering. METHOD: A sample of 652 foster parents completed a survey of 139 items including the Foster Parent Satisfaction Survey [Denby, R. W., Rindfleisch, N., & Bean, G. (1999). Predictors of foster parent's satisfaction and intent to continue to foster. Child Abuse & Neglect, 23, 287-303]. RESULTS: Foster parents were motivated by wanting to be loving parents to children and saving children from harm. The factor analysis of the FPSS resulted in five factors that were consistent with typical scoring methods of the instrument. A discriminant function analysis using these factors and whether parents had considered quitting fostering revealed that one factor, Challenging Aspects of Fostering, correctly classified 75.5% of parents. CONCLUSIONS: Foster parents' satisfaction is related to their perceptions about teamwork, communication, and confidence in relation to both the child welfare agency and its professionals. Further, the most frequently endorsed reasons for fostering reflected foster parents' altruistic and internal motivations to foster. Negative relationships with professional staff from the child welfare agency were linked to considering quitting fostering.

The association of readiness to change and motivational interviewing with treatment outcomes in males involved in domestic violence group therapy.

The present study investigated the impact of motivational interviewing (MI) and stage of change on a self-report measure of global functioning (Outcome Questionnaire [OQ 45.2]). Participants were men mandated to attend the Responsible Choices for Men (RCM) group therapy program following an incident of domestic violence. The study design utilized a quasi-experimental between-groups comparison utilizing data collected at three time points (pregroup, first group session, and final group session). One group of mandated program attendees received two sessions of MI (n = 106), whereas the comparison group did not (n = 106). Stage of change was assessed using the URICA-G and the URICA-DV (University of Rhode Island Change Assessment--Domestic Violence). Multilevel growth modeling indicated that stage of change has a significant relationship to global functioning. Discussion focuses on the potential benefits of MI as a pregroup treatment and the importance of accounting for individual readiness to change.

A gene-driven ENU-based approach to generating an allelic series in any gene.

N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) introduces mutations throughout the mouse genome at relatively high efficiency. Successful high-throughput phenotype screens have been reported and alternative screens using sequence-based approaches have been proposed. For the purpose of generating an allelic series in selected genes by a sequence-based approach, we have constructed an archive of over 4000 DNA samples from individual F1 ENU-mutagenized mice paralleled by frozen sperm samples. Together with our previously reported archive, the total size now exceeds 6000 individuals. A gene-based screen of 27.4 Mbp of DNA, carried out using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC), found a mutation rate of 1 in 1.01 Mbp of which 1 in 1.82 Mbp were potentially functional. Screening of whole or selected regions of genes on subsets of the archive has allowed us to identify 15 new alleles from 9 genes out of 15 tested. This is a powerful adjunct to conventional mutagenesis strategies and has the advantage of generating a variety of alleles with potentially different phenotypic outcomes that facilitate the investigation of gene function. It is now available to academic collaborators as a community resource.