Family Psychosocial Well-being Research Articles

Parenting and pandemic pressures: Examining nuances in parent, child, and family well-being concerns during COVID-19 in a Canadian sample.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused vast disruptions in family life for Canadian parents since early 2020. While numerous environmental stressors have been identified, including job loss and the demands of balancing work-life conflicts and at-home schooling, relatively less is known about the areas of family life parents are most concerned about and how these worries relate to well-being across the family system. Canadian parents (n = 29,831, 90.29% mothers, 57.40% Ontario residents) of children aged 0-14 were surveyed about their concerns related to child, parent, and family well-being in June 2020. Structural equation modelling was used to model the relationship between concerns about children, parenting, and the whole family, in association with several sociodemographic variables including child disability status, parent sex and education, job loss during COVID-19, and caregiver employment. Parenting, child, and family concerns were positively correlated. Higher child and family concerns were reported by parents who had not attended university, those who had experienced employment loss or reduced hours, and families with all adults working outside the home. Parents of children with a disability reported higher concerns across all three domains: child, parenting, and family psychosocial well-being. These results showcase distinct associations between social determinants of health and the types of worries caregivers exhibited across multiple areas of family life during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Findings are interpreted in relation to clinical intervention and public policy targets for families.

Three Clinical Experiences with SNP Array Results Consistent with Parental Incest: A Narrative with Lessons Learned

Single nucleotide polymorphism microarrays have the ability to reveal parental consanguinity which may or may not be known to healthcare providers. Consanguinity can have significant implications for the health of patients and for individual and family psychosocial well-being. These results often present ethical and legal dilemmas that can have important ramifications. Unexpected consanguinity can be confounding to healthcare professionals who may be unprepared to handle these results or to communicate them to families or other appropriate representatives. There are few published accounts of experiences with consanguinity and SNP arrays. In this paper we discuss three cases where molecular evidence of parental incest was identified by SNP microarray. We hope to further highlight consanguinity as a potential incidental finding, how the cases were handled by the clinical team, and what resources were found to be most helpful. This paper aims to contribute further to professional discourse on incidental findings with genomic technology and how they were addressed clinically. These experiences may provide some guidance on how others can prepare for these findings and help improve practice. As genetic and genomic testing is utilized more by non-genetics providers, we also hope to inform about the importance of engaging with geneticists and genetic counselors when addressing these findings.

Psychosocial Well-Being of Families in a South African Context: A Prospective Multifactorial Model

This study investigated the psychosocial well-being of a group of South African families by determining the prevalence of psychosocial well-being indicators. A cross-sectional survey design and a purposive, voluntary sampling technique were used. Data on family well-being were collected from 772 youths attending five secondary schools located in the Northern province of South Africa (females = 64%, majority ethnicity = African: 67%). Data were captured and statistically analysed utilising the PASW 18.0 program (PASW, 2010). Structural equation modelling (SEM) methods implemented in AMOS (Arbuckle, 2009), were used to test the measurement models. The results supported a two-factor model of family psychosocial well-being consisting of family functioning and family feelings. Family functioning included family relational patterns, family functioning style and family hardiness, while the second factor, family feelings, included family satisfaction and attachment.

A Model for Psychosocial Well-Being of Families in a South African Context

This study applied the approach of Dickoff, James, and Wiedenbach (1968) to construct a conceptual framework and a model for the psychosocial well-being of families from diverse cultures in a South African context. Findings from previous qualitative research served as the empirical data base for the conceptual framework and model while relevant literature was used as theoretical evidence in the formulation of the conceptual framework and model. The proposed model indicates the interaction and interrelatedness between the family, family strengths and family functioning. The family makes use of family strengths, as well as family functioning to interact. If the interaction is successful it can influence or generate contributing factors that can enhance the psychosocial well-being of families. The model's structure and process illustrate the complexity of the process of family psychosocial well-being, the uniqueness of South African families and the potential for growth.

An Exploration of Families' Psychosocial Well-Being in a South African Context

The aim of this study was to explore and describe aspects that contribute to the psychosocial well-being of families from diverse cultures in a South African context by analysing data obtained through narratives, drawings and interviews with families. Participant families took part voluntarily in family interviews (N=36), written narratives (N=23) and drawings (N=14). These different methods of data collection provided rich data on family psychosocial well-being in a South African context with culturally diverse families, as well as on those aspects that influence family psychosocial well-being. The findings suggest that communication, mutual support, togetherness as a family and spirituality are the most prominent contributing factors, while financial difficulties and interpersonal conflicts or arguments are the most prominent hindering factors with regard to family psychosocial well-being in this group of participants.

Quality of life assessment between laparoscopic appendectomy at presentation and interval appendectomy for perforated appendicitis with abscess: analysis of a prospective randomized trial

Purpose The current study examined the impact of immediate laparoscopic surgery vs nonoperative initial management followed by interval appendectomy for appendicitis with abscess on child and family psychosocial well-being. Methods After obtaining Internal Review Board approval, 40 patients presenting with a perforated appendicitis and a well-formed abscess were randomized to surgical condition. Parents were asked to complete child quality of life and parenting stress ratings at presentation, at 2 weeks postadmission, and at approximately 12 weeks postadmission (2 weeks postoperation for the interval appendectomy group). Results Children in the interval arm experienced trends toward poorer quality of life at 2 and 12 weeks postadmission. However, no group differences in parenting stress were observed at 2 weeks postoperation. At 12 weeks postadmission, participants in the interval condition demonstrated significant impairment in both frequency and difficulty of problems contributing to parenting distress. Conclusion Families experience significant parenting distress related to the child's functioning and disruption in the child's quality of life that may be because of the delay in fully resolving the child's medical condition. In addition, parents experience negative consequences to their own stress as a result of the delay before the child's appendectomy.

The quality of life and health utility burden of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis in children

ObjectiveIn this study we 1) measured the impact of juvenile-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis on health-related quality of life, voice-related quality of life, and family psychosocial well-being; and 2) compared these different measures, exploring their intercorrelation and their correlation with clinical disease severity. Study DesignCross-sectional qualitative study. SettingTertiary academic pediatric hospital. Subjects and MethodsTwenty consecutive children with active juvenile-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (JoRRP) were included. Standardized interviews were performed on parents and children with the use of four validated tools: the Health Utilities Index version 3; the Pediatric Voice-Related Quality of Life survey; the Impact on Family Scale; and a visual analogue health preference measure. Clinical disease severity and demographic data also were collected. ResultsSubjects (13 male, 7 female) had a median age of 9.2 years, median age of JoRRP onset of 3.8 years, and averaged four procedures per year of disease. Mean health utility was 0.76 (95% confidence interval 0.68-0.84) on a scale of 0 (death) to 1 (perfect health). Marked impact on voice-related quality of life and family psychosocial health also was identified. Health burden correlated poorly with existing methods of severity scoring. ConclusionThis is the first study to use validated measures of health utility, voice-related quality of life, and psychosocial impact. This information has public health implications, providing essential parameters for accurate modeling studies and cost-utility analysis of future interventions, including different human papilloma virus vaccination strategies.

Developing a nursing outcomes measurement tool.

In an era of rapidly shifting resources and changing models of care, healthcare providers must demonstrate quality and cost-effective patient care. Historically, quality of care has been described using administrative variables such as mortality, morbidity, length of stay, readmissions, and cost. Methods have not been readily available to define quality in terms of the effect of care delivery on the health of patients. Combined administrative and health-related databases are foundational to outcome infrastructures evolving with the electronic medical record. Nursing leaders in a large health maintenance organization sponsored the development of the Health Status Outcome Dimensions (HSOD) instrument. The HSOD instrument includes measures of functional status, knowledge, and engagement in healthcare and the patient and family psychosocial well-being. This article describes the processes used and the challenges faced in the development of the HSOD instrument. The current status of the HSOD instrument is described, as well as its planned future development.