Browsing by Author "Donnelly, Tam Truong"

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    Breastfeeding Practices among Arab Mothers in Calgary with a Focus on Exclusive Breastfeeding: A Qualitative Inquiry
    (2018-11-15) Dorri, Roqaia Ahmad; Donnelly, Tam Truong; Premji, Shahirose Sadrudin J. E.; McKiel, Elaine; Raffin Bouchal, Shelley
    Breastfeeding is university acknowledged as providing health benefits for the child, for breastfeeding mothers, and for the community. The World Health Organization and Health Canada recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of an infant’s life. However, the rates of exclusive breastfeeding practices among immigrant mothers, including Arab mothers residing in Calgary, are lower when compared with rates for non-immigrant Canadian mothers and mothers in the immigrants’ countries of origin. Using critical ethnography, the purpose of this study was to explore the contextual factors that influence initiation and exclusive breastfeeding practices by Arab immigrant mothers. Ten Arab mothers residing in Calgary were interviewed. Three of these mothers were interviewed twice for member checking. An analysis of the qualitative narrative data indicated that knowledge, family, religion, and infant feeding practices influence Arab immigrant mothers’ initiation and exclusive breastfeeding practices. The findings from this study can be used to facilitate supportive culturally safe and sensitive interventions that are tailored to address Arab mothers’ breastfeeding concerns and needs, so that exclusive breastfeeding might be promoted within this population in Canada. Further, the research will provide information needed for addressing key challenges relating to culture, religion, and the healthcare system with the practice of exclusive breastfeeding.
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    Contextual factors influencing dietary practices of Chinese Canadian seniors: elderly Chinese Canadians' perspectives
    (2008) Meng, Xianmei; Donnelly, Tam Truong
    The dietary behaviours of elderly Chinese immigrants can be multidimensional, varying with cultural beliefs, acculturation, socioeconomic status, and other factors. Informed by the PRECEDE-PROCEED model and Kleinman's explanatory models, the primary purpose of this qualitative study was to explore factors influencing Chinese Canadian seniors' dietary practices. The ultimate goal is to increase the health care professionals' awareness and understanding on how to provide culturally appropriate and effective health care that meet the elderly Chinese immigrants' dietary needs. In-depth interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire were conducted with 10 male and female Chinese Canadian seniors. The results of this study revealed that: (a) cultural beliefs and values played a major role in the Chinese elderly participants' dietary practices; (b) family members, peers, as well as health care professionals and services greatly influenced the elderly participants' dietary practices; and (c) the participants' biological changes, psychological health, accessibility and availability of traditional Chinese foods, and financial issues significantly affected their dietary practices. Strategies were suggested to help provide appropriate and effective health education programs and consultation for the elderly Chinese immigrants.
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    Exploring immigrant women's mental health care experiences: from a health care provider's perspective
    (2005) O'Mahony, Joyce Maureen; Donnelly, Tam Truong
    Immigrants coming to Canada have increased in the last three decades. Serious mental health problems exist among immigrant women, therefore the primary purpose of this study was to increase awareness and understanding of what would be helpful in meeting their mental health needs. Informed by post-colonial feminist perspective and Kleinman's explanatory model this qualitative exploratory study was conducted with seven health care providers who provided mental health services to immigrant women. In-depth interviews were used to obtain information about the women's mental health care experiences. The study's findings reveal that (a) immigrant women have difficulties accessing mental health care services due to insufficient language skills, unfamiliarity/unawareness of services and low socio economic status; (b) cultural background exerts positive and negative influences; ( c) health care provider-client relationship had profound effects on the immigrant woman seeking help. Strategies are suggested to help provide more culturally appropriate and accessible mental health care for immigrant women.
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    Immigrant and refugee women's voices: exploring postpartum depression help seeking experiences and access to mental health care
    (2011) O'Mahony, Joyce Maureen; Donnelly, Tam Truong
    Recent immigrant and refugee women may be particularly at risk of less than optimal health outcomes following childbirth because of language difficulties, as well as cultural and socioeconomic factors that shape their postpartum experiences. Postpartum depression (PPD), one of the most common complications of pregnancy, can have long lasting traumatic effects on women and their families, but is also treatable. Therefore early detection and treatment of the problem is both valuable and important. While there has been research conducted on immigrant and refugee women's mental health care experiences, there is limited understanding of how these women access multiple levels of health care to deal with mental illness such as PPD, and how contextual factors such as cultural, social, political, historical, and economic influence their mental illness treatment and prevention. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how contextual factors interacted with race, gender, and class to affect and shape the ways in which immigrant and refugee women seek help and manage their PPD. The objectives were to increase understanding of how immigrant and refugee women made decisions about postpartum care; what factors may have influenced their health seeking behaviour and what kind of strategies they would find helpful in PPD prevention and treatment. Informed by Kleinman's explanatory model (1978, 1980) and the postcolonial feminist perspective (2002) a qualitative study was conducted with a purposive sampling of 30 immigrant and refugee women in a western province of Canada. Recruitment of participants was done via health care providers and organizations that provide mental health care services for this population. In-depth interviews using semi-structured questionnaires were used to obtain information about their PPD experiences. The study's findings revealed that (a) more awareness and understanding of PPD is necessary to meet the mental health needs of immigrant and refugee women within the postpartum period; (b) women experience diverse, complex challenges and facilitators in seeking help to manage their PPD treatment and prevention; ( c) women's health care practices are influenced by both cultural background and socioeconomic, historical, and political factors which intersect with race, gender, and class; ( d) immigrant and refugee women' s resilience and coping strategies with PPD need to be recognized. Based on the study' s findings intervention strategies for PPD care and treatment, are suggested to assist with implementing and planning more culturally appropriate and equitable health care services among immigrant and refugee women living in Canada.
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    The Influence of Risk Perception on Health Behaviour in Adults with Cardiovascular Disease: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Study
    (2021-01-05) Helms, Kailee Corrine; Donnelly, Tam Truong; Raffin-Bouchal, Shelley; Ginn, Carla S.
    Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is recognized as a significant contributing factor to the global burden of chronic illness. Fortunately, CVD is a largely preventable disease; the challenge may lie in identifying accurate perception or understanding of personal CVD risk to increase the likelihood that an individual is engaged in preventative behaviours. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how perceptions of risk factors influence preventative health behaviour in adults living with CVD. Using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) as the guiding theoretical framework and constructivist grounded theory methodology, I interviewed nine participants from a Cardiovascular Rehabilitation facility in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to explore their experience following an acute cardiovascular event. I analyzed the data using coding, memo-writing, theoretical sampling, and constant-comparative processes. This analysis led to the co-construction of the theory An Inner Struggle of Finding Self-Acceptance after a Cardiovascular Event. Encompassed within this theory is the core variable and basic social process, an inner struggle, and three interrelated categories each with defining sub-categories and properties. Findings from this study suggest that the key to supporting and empowering individuals to make preventative lifestyle changes is in acknowledging and understanding the unique and contextual experience of each individual to foster a multidimensional approach to health. Keywords: Cardiovascular disease, prevention, perception of risk, health behaviour, constructivist grounded theory, theory of planned behaviour.
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    Understanding Cultural Competence from the Perspective of Registered Nurses Working in Community Health Care Settings
    (2019-09-19) Anokye-Owusu, Evelyn Addai; Donnelly, Tam Truong; Raffin-Bouchal, Shelley; Phillips, Georgina Ann
    Canada’s immigrant population has been growing steadily for decades, and, as a result, the health care system is attending to increasing numbers of patients from ethnically diverse backgrounds. With increased migration, culturally competent care from nurses has become an expectation to prevent cultural impositions and to foster respect for national diversity when providing effective patient care. Using descriptive phenomenology methodology, the purpose of this research is to describe the essence of cultural competence by exploring the strengths, challenges, and barriers that public health nurses face in community healthcare settings. The primary research question is: What are the lived experiences of nurses with respect to cultural competence? Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with seven nurses who work in community health clinics. This study suggests that there are inherent challenges to working with culturally and ethnically diverse populations. These include language barriers, limited cultural knowledge, and lack of organizational support which hinders the nurse-patient relationship. Cultural competence education for nurses working with ethnically diverse patient populations is neither mandatory nor readily available; as a result, nurses working in cross-cultural settings often have insufficient cultural knowledge and lack the cultural skills required to work cross-cultural situations. Professional development in the form of workshops and seminars is required on an on-going basis for nurses to develop their cultural awareness and skills. Cultural competence education should be a required aspect of the undergraduate nursing curriculum, as well as the in the workplace.
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    What Influences Use of Nonpharmacological Treatments for Seniors with Mild or Moderate Dementia: An Integrative Review Protocol
    (2022-04-02) Hwang, Jasmine; Donnelly, Tam Truong; Davidson, Sandra; Raffin, Shelley
    Aim: The aim of this integrative review is to explore the extent and nature of evidence concerning factors that influence use of nonpharmacological treatment interventions for community-dwelling seniors with mild-to-moderate dementia. Background: Despite the significance of nonpharmacological interventions in optimal management of mild-to-moderate dementia, it is unclear in the literature how seniors with mild or moderate dementia view, understand, and access nonpharmacological interventions. To our knowledge, no review has been conducted on factors influencing the use of nonpharmacological interventions for seniors with mild-to-moderate dementia. Design: An integrative review method will be used to meet the review objective. Review method: We will perform a systematic literature search from five electronic databases to locate relevant empirical and theoretical research evidence on the topic. Eligible studies include empirical research, both qualitative and quantitative methods, and theoretical studies published since 2000 in English, that explored factors influencing use of community-based nonpharmacological interventions for seniors with mild or moderate dementia. Eligibility criteria are studies that included community-dwelling seniors (≥ 65) with mild-to-moderate dementia, their care partners, or health care practitioners and that explored the use of community-based nonpharmacological dementia treatments. We will extract the data by creating matrices on quality appraisal, key methodological features, and key findings. Data analysis will include constant comparison of extracted data, examining relationships between concepts, overall strengths and weaknesses of the literature, and gaps in knowledge. Findings will be visually categorized and narratively summarized. Discussion: This integrative review will identify and synthesize enablers and barriers that influence use of nonpharmacological interventions by seniors with mild-to-moderate dementia, identify knowledge gaps, and inform future research studies and literature reviews.