Browsing by Author "MacInnis, Cara"
Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Open Access Examining Weight Bias among Practicing Canadian Family Physicians(Karger Publishers, 2019-11-08) Alberga, Angela S.; Nutter, Sarah; MacInnis, Cara; Ellard, John H.; Russell-Mayhew, ShellyObjectives: The aim of this study was to examine the attitudes of practicing Canadian family physicians about individuals with obesity, their healthcare treatment, and perceptions of obesity treatment in the public healthcare system. Method: A national sample of Canadian practicing family physicians (n = 400) completed the survey. Participants completed measures of explicit weight bias, attitudes towards treating patients with obesity, and perceptions that people with obesity increase demand on the public healthcare system. Results: Responses consistent with weight bias were not observed overall but were demonstrated in a sizeable minority of respondents. Many physicians also reported feeling frustrated with patients with obesity and agreed that people with obesity increase demand on the public healthcare system. Male physicians had more negative attitudes than females. More negative attitudes towards treating patients with obesity were associated with greater perceptions of them as a public health demand. Conclusion: Results suggest that negative attitudes towards patients with obesity exist among some family physicians in Canada. It remains to be determined if physicians develop weight bias partly because they blame individuals for their obesity and its increased demand on the Canadian public healthcare system. More research is needed to better understand causes and consequences of weight bias among health professionals and make efforts towards its reduction in healthcare.Item Open Access Indigenous Mentorship for the Health Sciences(2021-09) Atay, Elaine; Murry, Adam; MacInnis, Cara; Madsen, Joshua; Barnabe, CherylThe present study aimed to establish the credibility and attributed outcomes of an existing Indigenous mentorship (IM) model from the perspective of Indigenous mentees in health sciences and community research. Six mentees from mentorship networks associated with the Canadian Institute of Health Research’s IM Network Program participated in 1-2 hour long semi-structured interviews inquiring: 1) their resonance with the IM model, 2) personal stories related to the behavioural constructs in the model, 3) outcomes their mentors’ behaviours had on them, and 4) components they felt were missing from the model. Overall, the model resonated with participants. Of the model constructs, mentees discussed mentor behaviours associated with practicing relationalism the most frequently (26%), followed by fostering Indigenous identity development (23%), mentee-centered focus (21%), and imbuing criticality (16%). Advocacy (9%) and abiding by Indigenous ethics (5%) were addressed, but not given as much attention as the other constructs. Outcomes included positive career and work attitudes, engaging in more helping behaviours, motivation, overall well-being, and enhanced criticality. Recommendations to expand the model included incorporating: 1) additional mentor behaviours (transference of traditional knowledge, prayer, modeling resiliency, and engaging in trauma-informed practices), 2) higher-order dimensions (e.g., institutional impact), 3) specific mentee characteristics (e.g., age and gender), and 4) additional types of mentoring relationships (e.g., peer, multiple mentors). This research provides valuable insight to the IM model and IM theory more generally. This information can be applied to refine culturally appropriate mentorship practices, mentor selection and support, and evaluation of mentorship programs.Item Open Access Observing Incivility: What influences detection, perceived motivations, and intervention?(2024-09-03) Boss, Harrison; MacInnis, Cara; Bourdage, Joshua; Hershcovis, Sandy; Hamilton, LeahWorkplace incivility can be operationalized as low-intensity rude, discourteous behaviours, that violate workplace norms of respect, and are ambiguous in their intent to harm the target. These behaviours are ubiquitous in workplaces. While incivility in the workplace is common, evidence suggests that minoritized groups are disproportionately targeted with uncivil behaviour, selective incivility, and represent a form of modern discrimination. The current dissertation explored whether non-target observers of incivility were able to differentiate between two different types of witnessed workplace mistreatment, 1) general incivility (i.e. incivility not motivated by target identity) and 2) selective incivility (i.e. incivility motivated by the target’ sociodemographic identity). Theoretically informed by literature on both Aversive Prejudice, and Bystander Intervention Models, experimental methodologies were employed in Study 1, by which participants listened to recordings of group interactions that contained general incivility, selective incivility, or no incivility. The role of experimental conditions on participants’ detection of mistreatment, motivational attributions surrounding the instigator, and interventional intentions were then assessed with regression analyses, while also exploring the potential interactive roles of bystander gender, ethnicity, and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) on these relationships using moderation. Study 2 enhanced this work, in part, by introducing evidence of longitudinal mistreatment in the recordings (i.e., reductions in incivility ambiguity), and importantly shifted to measure intervention behaviours. Regression-based analyses were conducted in Study 2, but also bolstered by the inclusion of qualitative assessments of participants’ intervention behaviours. Over both studies, data demonstrated that bystanders were able to meaningfully detect between different types of workplace incivility and attributed that mistreatment to prejudicial or generalized negative motivations of the perpetrator, based on discernible characteristics of the target (i.e. minoritized vs. non-minoritized identity). Participants that were higher in SDO tended to downplay the role of prejudice as a motivational factor behind the mistreatment of the minoritized target. Qualitative results indicated that participants had a diverse set of responses to incivility, which resulted in a variety of interventional behaviours, including providing emotional support to the victim, reprimanding the instigator, and inciting support from other observers. Notably, intervention behaviours favoured participants in the selective incivility condition (i.e., when the target was minoritized). In some cases, intervention behaviours were accompanied with evidence of victim blaming. Last, future directions for this research and other important practical implications are discussed.Item Open Access The initial validation of an Evidence-informed, competency-based, Applied Compassion Training (EnACT) program: a multimethod study(2024-06-21) Sinclair, Shane; Dhingra, Swati; Bouchal, Shelley R.; MacInnis, Cara; Harris, Daranne; Roze des Ordons, Amanda; Pesut, BarbaraAbstract Introduction Compassion is positively associated with improved patient outcomes, quality care ratings, and healthcare provider wellbeing. Supporting and cultivating healthcare providers’ compassion through robust and meaningful educational initiatives has been impeded by a lack of conceptual clarity, inadequate content coverage across the domains of compassion, and the lack of validated evaluation tools. The EnACT program aims to address these gaps through an Evidence-informed, competency-based, Applied, Compassion Training program delivered to healthcare providers working in various clinical settings. In this study, we describe the development and initial validation of the program, which will inform and be further evaluated in a forthcoming Randomised Controlled feasibility Trial (RCfT). Method A multimethod design was used to explore learner needs, experiences, and outcomes associated with the program. Pre- and post-training surveys and qualitative interviews (1 month post training) were conducted among twenty-six healthcare provider learners working in acute care and hospice. Quantitative measures assessed professional fulfillment/burnout, self-confidence in providing compassion, learner satisfaction, and compassion competence. Qualitative interviews explored learners’ experiences of the program, integration of learnings into their professional practice, and program recommendations. Results Learners exhibited relatively high self-assessed compassion competence and professional fulfillment pre-training and low levels of burnout. Post-training, learners demonstrated high levels of compassion confidence and satisfaction with the training program. Despite high levels of reported compassion competence pre-training, a statistically significant increase in post-training compassion competence was noted. Thematic analysis identified five key themes associated with learners’ overall experience of the training day and integration of the learnings and resources into their professional practice: (1) A beginner’s mind: Learner baseline attitudes and assumptions about the necessity and feasibility of compassion training; (2) Learners’ experiences of the training program; (3) Learner outcomes: integrating theory into practice; (4) Creating cultures of compassion; and (5) Learner feedback. Conclusion Findings suggest that the EnACT program is a feasible, rigorous, and effective training program for enhancing healthcare provider compassion. Its evidence-based, patient-informed, clinically relevant content; interactive in class exercises; learner toolkit; along with its contextualized approach aimed at improving the clinical culture learners practice holds promise for sustaining learnings and clinical impact over time—which will be further evaluated in a Randomized Controlled feasibility Trial (RCfT).Item Open Access What role does compassion have on quality care ratings? A regression analysis and validation of the SCQ in emergency department patients(2024-07-18) Boss, Harrison; MacInnis, Cara; Simon, Roland; Jackson, Jeanette; Lahtinen, Markus; Sinclair, ShaneAbstract Objective To examine the unique contribution of patient reported experiences of compassion to overall patient quality care ratings. Additionally, we assess whether patients’ reported experiences of compassion in the emergency department differed between sociodemographic groups. Methods Provincial data for this cross-sectional study were collected from 03/01/2022 to 09/05/2022 from 14 emergency departments in Alberta, Canada. Data from 4501 emergency department patients (53.6% women, 77.1% White/European) were analyzed. The primary outcome was patients’ overall quality care ratings during their most recent ED visit. Measures included in the hierarchical stepwise regression included demographics, and those drawn from the Emergency Department Patient Experience of Care (EDPEC) questionnaire: single and multi-item measures of patient information (e.g., patient perceptions health) and patient experience (e.g., physician communication), and compassion (e.g., Sinclair Compassion Questionnaire; SCQ-ED). Results Data from 4501 ED patients were analysed. Stepwise hierarchical linear multiple regression indicated that of 21 included variables, compassion most strongly predicted overall quality care ratings (b=1.61, 95% CI 1.53-1.69, p<.001, f2=.23), explaining 19% unique variance beyond all other measures. One-way ANOVAs indicated significant demographic differences in mean compassion scores, such that women (vs. men) reported lower compassion (MD=-.15, 95% CI=-.21, -.09, p<.001), and Indigenous (vs. White) patients reported lower compassion (MD=-.17, 95% CI =-.34, -.01, p=.03). Conclusions Compassion was identified as a key contributor to ED overall quality care ratings, and experiences of compassion varied as a function of demographics. Patient-reported compassion is an indicator of quality care that needs to be formally integrated into clinical care and quality care assessments.