Nicole M. Yantzi

The contested meanings of home for women caring for children with long-term care needs in Ontario, Canada

Home as a place of caring is theorized using the literature from geography, sociology, housing and feminist studies. To support our theorization, grounded theory is used to capture and interpret the experiences of women caring for children with long-term care needs in the home. Eleven semi-structured interviews conducted with women in Ontario, Canada uncovered differences in the way the women perceived their homes and highlighted their multiple and complex experiences. The findings revealed three key issues. First, women do not want their homes to be completely defined by long-term care activities as many other types of activities are situated in their homes. Second, long-term care activities and schedules are not segregated but become deeply embedded and enmeshed within the spatial and temporal practices and processes of family life. Third, the meanings, characteristics and ideal of ‘home’ portrayed in popular culture and the academic literature often clashed with what the women experienced on a daily basis. Analysis revealed the tensions surrounding ‘reconstructing spaces in the home’ and ‘the home as a private and public place’ which are indicative of the womens struggles with the disjuncture between the ideal and lived home. The womens experiences challenge us to consider new ways of theorizing the home, and the home when it is a place where long-term care is provided.

The suitability of school playgrounds for physically disabled children

To participate in most educational and social experiences of childhood, many disabled children require both technological and human supports, in accessible and suitable environments. In Canada, inclusive education policies and practices increase the likelihood that interior classroom spaces are appropriately accommodating, yet pay little attention to exterior school spaces such as playgrounds. As a result many playground attributes contribute significantly to the socio-spatial exclusion and marginalization of physically disabled children. In this study accessibility audits of five publicly funded school playgrounds in Toronto, Canada were conducted. The organization of space, equipment design and landscape characteristics revealed that the rights to full participation are constrained in this important space of childhood.

Weather, disability, vulnerability, and resilience: exploring how youth with physical disabilities experience winter

Abstract Purpose: Having a mobility-related disability can create numerous challenges in navigating the physical and built environment, especially during winter. Such weather-related challenges can be a significant barrier to participation in everyday activities and are linked with increased physical and psychological morbidities. Unfortunately, mobility research – especially among youth – has often overlooked the effects of winter weather. Methods: This study explores the experiences of daily activities during Canadian winter among a purposive sample of youth, aged 15–22, who have a physical disability requiring the use of a mobility device. The researchers applied a qualitative design, including 12 in-depth interviews. Results: Our findings show that youth encounter several vulnerabilities to participating in social and recreational activities in winter, including: (1) physical barriers and social spatial exclusion; (2) health and safety concerns; and (3) psychosocial issues (i.e. worry, isolation and dependence). Youth also discussed several strategies for adapting to barriers and enhancing their participation during winter, including: (1) wheelchair maintenance; (2) awareness of surroundings; (3) practice using mobility devices and planning; and (4) keeping busy and active. Conclusions: Youth who use a mobility device are vulnerable to health and safety risks and isolation during the winter, but they also display signs of resilience. Implications for Rehabilitation Clinicians should ensure that youth who are new to using their mobility device are properly trained in how to use it. Service providers should offer a winter survival guide to youth who use a mobility device. Clinicians should be taught to recognize signs of loneliness, isolation and depression, and provide a list of local resources and activities during the winter. Rehabilitation engineers should focus their efforts on adapting mobility devices to enhance the safety of youth.

Adaptation in families raising children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Part I: What has helped

ABSTRACT Background There is limited research investigating the lived experiences of parents raising children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). The aim of this paper is to use qualitative analysis to identify how parents have adapted to the experience of raising their child with FASD. Method Eighty-four parents and caregivers of children with FASD in Ontario, Canada, participated in in-depth, semistructured interviews employing a basic interpretive approach. Results Parents of children with FASD report a number of strategies, supports, and transformational outcomes. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, 5 themes were identified: understanding FASD and advocating on their childs behalf, day-to-day adaptation, transformational outcomes, as well as the importance of informal and formal supports. Conclusions Understanding what families do in order to facilitate adaptation is important when assisting families who may not be adapting as successfully. Continued research looking at the family experience of raising a child with a developmental disability, such as FASD, is necessary.

The experiences of participating in winter among youths with a physical disability compared with their typically developing peers

BACKGROUND Having a physical disability and using a wheelchair can create difficulties in navigating the physical and built environment, especially during winter when snow and ice become problematic. Little is known about the experiences of winter among youth who use an assistive mobility device. This study aimed to understand how youth with a physical disability experience winter, compared with typically developing peers. METHODS A purposive sample of 25 youths (13 with a physical disability; 12 typically developing) completed a 2-week weather journal and photographs in two Canadian cities during winter. These data were used to guide semi-structured interviews with participants. RESULTS Youths with disabilities experienced many similar challenges in winter, such as health and safety concerns and accessibility issues, compared with typically developing youth - but to a greater extent. Youths with disabilities reported more challenges going outdoors during winter and negative psychosocial impacts, including loneliness and increased dependence, compared with peers without a disability. They also, however, described developing several adaptive strategies to cope with these challenges. CONCLUSIONS There is a strong need to remove physical and environmental barriers to facilitate the participation and inclusion of youth with disabilities in winter.

“No Alcohol Is Recommended, But . . .”: Health Care Students’ Attitudes About Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy:

Canadian findings suggest that health care providers require further training and education to support their work preventing fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). However, the knowledge and training of health care students in relation to FASD remains largely unexplored. The purpose of this study was to understand the attitudes and beliefs of health care students about alcohol use during pregnancy. Twenty-one health care students participated in a scenario-based vignette about alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Although almost all students recognized that no alcohol consumption during pregnancy is the safest recommendation, many students recounted that this advice is not always conveyed during encounters with their pregnant patients. Three primary themes related to students’ attitudes concerning alcohol use during pregnancy were identified. Health care professionals in training need further education about the risks of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and the potential health outcomes associated with prenatal alcohol exposure.

Health Care Students’ Attitudes About Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy: Responses to Narrative Vignettes:

This article explores medical, midwifery, and nurse practitioner students’ attitudes about women who may consume alcohol throughout their pregnancies. Twenty-one health care students responded to a scenario-based vignette addressing alcohol consumption during pregnancy, as well as a semistructured interview, which were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis approach. Two primary themes related to students’ attitudes concerning alcohol consumption during pregnancy were identified: (a) divergent recommendations for different women, based on perceptions of their level of education, culture/ethnicity, and ability to stop drinking; and (b) understanding the social determinants of health, including the normalization of women’s alcohol consumption and potential partner violence. Health care professionals in training need further education about the risks of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). In addition, health care students need training in how to engage in reflective practice to identify their own stereotypical beliefs and attitudes and how these attitudes may affect their practice.

The Icy Path: Accounting for Weather in the Care and Support of Vulnerable Populations in the Home and Community

This short communication reviews an emergent body of qualitative health research into the connections between weather and care. It focuses on a series of recent Canadian studies that have examined the important yet underresearched every day, often taken-for-granted aspects of weather in the care and support in the home and community. It calls for governments, health care organizations, and service and support providers to recognize and account for the impacts that weather has on vulnerable individuals and care workers.