"Stop Imposing on Us": A Critical Examination of Ethnocultural Considerations in the Canadian Volunteer Hospice Palliative Care Landscape.

Volunteers are foundational in hospice programs. The purpose of this research was to address social, ethnic and demographic changes in Southwestern Ontario and understand how this may affect volunteer recruitment, and representation. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with hospice volunteers, key informants from leaders in ethnocultural communities, and hospice staff. Qualitative data from the interviews was analyzed using thematic analysis in five phases. Findings suggest ethnocultural interpretations of hospice can be very different than Westernized, Eurocentric ideas around end-of-life care. Systemic and structural barriers, information sharing, volunteer motivation and representation were found to influence and impact ethnocultural volunteer recruitment in hospice palliative care. Using a critical analysis allows us to identify the "imposition" of a Euro-ethnocentric hospice palliative care model that prevents recruitment of and impedes access of ethnocultural groups to hospice palliative care. To build bridges across predominantly White/Western models of care to ethnocultural racialized communities requires constant communication, relationship building, and determination in mutuality of learning on behalf of the dominant model. This research has implications for different regions of Canada providing hospice palliative care and hoping to increase ethnocultural accessibility and volunteer recruitment for hospice palliative care.

Scoping Review of Interventions Supporting Mothers with Mental Illness: Key Outcomes and Challenges.

Despite the fact that more than 60 % of women experiencing mental distress also care for dependent children, little is known about the efficacy of interventions supporting parents with mental illness. A scoping review of the literature published between 1997 and 2014 was conducted to obtain an overview of empirically evaluated interventions and to typify their outcomes. Our review identified 19 publications reporting on 9 interventions. The efficacy of programs was apparent and key components used by programs were recognized. To enhance the well-being of mothers with mental illness and their children an increased knowledge transfer in this field is required.