Browsing by Author "Sitter, Kathleen C."

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    Development of the Strengths, Skills, and Goals Matrix: a tool for facilitating strengths-based adolescent and young adult engagement in research
    (2023-10-04) Allemang, Brooke; Patton, Megan; Greer, Katelyn; Pintson, Karina; Farias, Marcela; Schofield, Keighley; Samuel, Susan; Patten, Scott B.; Sitter, Kathleen C.; Dimitropoulos, Gina
    Abstract Background The involvement of adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with lived experience of health and mental health conditions as partners in research is increasing given the prominence of participatory approaches to research, including patient-oriented research (POR). Much of the relevant research is conducted by graduate students. While guiding AYA engagement frameworks and models exist, the processes of partnering with AYAs in patient-oriented graduate-level research projects have not been well established. Co-developed tools and practices are required to support strengths-based, developmentally appropriate AYA-graduate student partnerships. Objectives The objectives of this commentary are: (1) to share the processes of partnership between a graduate student and five Young Adult Research Partners (YARP), (2) to describe the co-design and implementation of the Strengths, Skills, and Goals Matrix (SSGM), a tool for facilitating strengths-based AYA engagement in research, and (3) to outline considerations for applying this tool across a variety of research contexts with patient partners. Main body Within the YARP-graduate student partnership, the SSGM offered extensive benefits, including tangible skill development, peer mentorship, and rapport building among all members. This tool offers strategies for strengths-based engagement practices which emphasize AYAs’ preferences and goals throughout POR projects. Practical recommendations and considerations for applying the SSGM within graduate-level research and beyond are described, including the importance of connecting AYAs’ current (and desired) skills to specific tasks within the research project and resulting outputs. Conclusions The SSGM has possible relevance in a variety of settings given its broadly applicable structure. Future research could explore the adaptation, application, and evaluation of the SSGM across research contexts to determine its feasibility and ease of implementation. Patient or public contribution This article was conceived of and co-authored by five young adult research partners. The YARP co-designed the SSGM presented in this article, the figures, and substantially contributed to the preparation of the article.
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    Sharing Stories, Building Bridges, Moving Mountains: An Action-Oriented Inquiry with Children of Incarcerated Parents
    (2020-04-30) Pickering, Barbara Jane; Strong, Tom; Walsh, Christine Ann; Sitter, Kathleen C.
    Most people rarely think about children of incarcerated parents (COIPs) and when they do, these children are usually dismissed as not worth the effort. However, in Canada there are likely more than 400,000 children affected by parental incarceration. This became apparent to me when I was working with women recently out of prison, most of them mothers, who mentioned the hardest part of their experience was being separated from their children and the lack of support. There is a body of predominantly quantitative research that tells a bleak story of how COIPs are destined to have trouble in school, misuse substances, be gang involved, have contact with the justice system, and likely be incarcerated themselves. I was curious about a different, and less problem-saturated, life story that COIPs might tell. In this research I invited seven adult COIPs to share their experiences in a collaborative relationship that would privilege strength and resilience with the hope that we could turn toward some type of advocacy through action-oriented practices. Informed by Collaborative Therapy and Allan Wade’s Response-Based Practice, and the ethical guideposts of Vikki Reynolds, I joined participants in creating safe spaces for their stories to emerge. The research design unfolded in three stages. Stage I included two individual interviews and a focus group: Seven participants engaged in at least one interview, five completed a second interview, and four joined together for the focus group. The four participants who agreed to join the focus group chose to engage in discussion around ways to engage in advocacy for COIPs. Consequently, Stage II consisted of 10 group meetings that culminated in the planning and filming for a documentary. Stage III became the editing processes with the eventual release of the documentary Bonds that Hurt; Bonds that Heal to the public. This is the story of our journey.
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    “They go hand in hand”: a patient-oriented, qualitative descriptive study on the interconnectedness between chronic health and mental health conditions in transition-age youth
    (2023-01-02) Allemang, Brooke; Samuel, Susan; Pintson, Karina; Patton, Megan; Greer, Katelyn; Farias, Marcela; Schofield, Keighley; Sitter, Kathleen C.; Patten, Scott B.; Mackie, Andrew S.; Dimitropoulos, Gina
    Abstract Background Transition-age youth (TAY) with chronic health conditions frequently experience co-occurring mental health conditions. However, little is known about the perspectives of TAY with co-occurring diagnoses preparing to exit pediatric health and mental health services. Research is needed to understand the impact of a mental health condition on transition readiness and self-management in TAY with chronic health conditions. Methods TAY (aged 16–20 years) with co-occurring chronic health and mental health conditions were recruited in Alberta, Canada. Nine semi-structured individual interviews were completed by phone or videoconference, and transcribed verbatim. Guided by qualitative description, we analyzed the data using thematic analysis in partnership with five young adults with lived experience in the health/mental health systems. Results Participants shared their experiences living with simultaneous physical and mental health concerns and preparing for transition to adult care. Our analysis revealed three overarching themes: 1) “they’re intertwined”: connections between chronic health and mental health conditions in TAY, 2) impact of mental health on transition readiness and self-management, and 3) recommendations for service provision from the perspectives of TAY. Conclusions Our findings highlighted the myriad ways in which physical and mental health are connected as TAY prepare for service transitions using specific examples and powerful metaphors. TAY endorsed the importance of providers discussing these connections in routine clinical care. Future research should involve co-designing and evaluating educational material addressing this topic with diverse TAY, caregivers, and service providers.