Important Source Of Support Research Articles

Comfort Level in Caregivers of Palliative Care Patients and Affecting Factors: What Should We Know?

Caregivers are an important source of support for patients in palliative care. Comfort is an important concept in nursing care for both patients and their families, and nurses aim to increase comfort. The aim of the study was to determine the comfort level and influencing factors in caregivers of palliative care patients. The research sample consisted of 102 caregivers related to palliative care patients. The data were obtained with an Individual Information Form, the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) and the End of Life Comfort Scale (Caregiver/Family). The study was conducted in the palliative care clinic of Aksaray University Training and Research Hospital between October 2018 and April 2019. There was a significant relationship between the total comfort score of the caregivers and the patient's performance status, the caregivers' age, their economic situation, the length of the caregiving period and receiving help in care (social support) (p < 0.05). Providing comfort is an important function and challenge for holistic nursing care, as comfort is a lifelong need in health and disease. Caregivers in the risk group should be aware of this issue and necessary precautions should be taken.

The Influence of Parents, Coaches, and Peers in the Long-Term Development of Highly Skilled and Less Skilled Volleyball Players.

The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of highly skilled and less skilled volleyball players about the influences that parents, coaches, and peers had on their sport development and performance achievement. Highly skilled (n = 30) and less skilled (n = 30) volleyball players participated in semi-structured retrospective interviews to explain how parents, coaches and peers may have influenced their sport participation. Data was analyzed through a process of content analysis. Results indicated that parents, coaches, and peers had an important influence in player's sport development but differing according to players' expertise level. Concerning to parental influences, tangible support during the early years of development was mentioned by all players. However, parents' level of involvement and parenting styles revealed interesting differences between highly skilled and less skilled players. Highly skilled players perceived a moderate parental involvement and an autonomy-supportive parenting style, while less skilled players referred a excessive parental involvement in players' sport participation. Coaches influences showed to have some similarities in the early years with all players mentioning coaches as caring and recognizing their value as an athlete. However, highly skilled players described a different training environment characterized by a demanding coach, individualized instruction, and specific goal setting. Regarding peers' influence, all players recognized that friends were not only one of the main reasons to start playing volleyball, but also an important source of support to remain engaged and staying motivated to do sport. Highly skilled players, however, mentioned the importance of teammates' positive push and critiques during practice for enhancing their motivation, team cohesion and friendship. They also highlighted the importance of friends outside of sport in the later years of their career by acting as an escape from all the pressure that emerged from volleyball training and competition demands. Overall, these findings highlight different social influences according to the players' expertise level suggesting the need to examine more extensively the nature of significant others' support on athlete and talent development.

Using daily diary methods to understand how college students in recovery use social support

Collegiate Recovery Communities (CRCs) are important sources of support for college students building and maintaining recovery from substance use disorders. The current study used daily diary data from members of a CRC to examine with which sources of social support students engaged daily, and whether students connected with these sources more on days when they indicated higher-than-usual recovery difficulty, negative affect, and/or school stress. Results indicate that on days when students reported having greater difficulty with recovery maintenance than usual, they had higher odds of being in contact with family members and were expected to talk or spend time with family for longer than usual. Students also had higher odds of having recovery-focused conversations with both 12-step sponsors and CRC peers on days of greater-than-usual recovery maintenance difficulty. Recovery maintenance difficulty was uniquely associated with longer duration of family contact, above and beyond negative affect and school stress. Thus, the occurrence, amount, and nature of CRC members' interactions with important social network members varied in relation to perceived recovery challenges that same day. Findings highlight the importance of providing college students with multiple sources of support that they can use to maintain their recoveries despite daily challenges.

Working Together in a PhamilySpace

Studies have shown that interpersonal relationships such as families and friends are an important source of support and encouragement to those who seek to engage in healthier habits. However, challenges related to geographic distance may hinder those relationships from fully collaborating and engaging in healthy living together. To explore this domain, we developed and deployed a lightweight photo-based application called PhamilySpace with a week-long intervention. Our goal is to examine family members' and friends' engagement and awareness on healthy behaviors while living apart. Our analysis of the semi-structured interviews, pre/post-intervention instruments, and application logs suggests three main benefits of interventions for health promotion in this context: (1) increased awareness on acts of health; (2) reciprocal sharing of health information supports social accountability over distance; and (3) positive dialogue around health enhances support on healthy living. By providing insights into distributed family/friends interactions and experiences with the application, we identify benefits, challenges, and opportunities for future design interventions that promote healthy behaviors.

Aging in Place with Age-Related Cognitive Changes: The Impact of Caregiving Support and Finances

In the United States, aging in place is a common concept that refers to older adults’ desire to remain in their homes as they age. However, this ability to age in place is a complex process that is not only impacted by the home’s accessibility or individual functional abilities. This paper aims to examine different factors, such as home environment and home modification, caregivers, finances, and other supports present in the participants’ lives, that impact older adults with age-related cognitive changes (ARCC) (in)ability to age in place. Qualitative interviews with older adults with ARCC (n = 5) and their caregivers (n = 5) were conducted. The participants’ experiences while aging in place indicate that finances and caregiving support greatly impacted their lives at home and ability to age in place. Personal finances dictated where some of the participants could age and the support, they could afford from home health aides. Additionally, informal and formal caregivers were an important source of support that aided in the older adults’ ability to remain home. As researchers, we need to continue to address personal finances and the support that the individual has in their lives to most effectively promote aging in place and their life at home.

Broadening the perspective on youth's systems of support: An ecological examination of supportive peer and adult relationships during adolescence.

This study applies the theory of positive youth development (Lerner et al., 2010) and the youth systems framework (Varga & Zaff, 2018) to the examination of supportive peer and adult relationships across multiple contexts in which youth develop. Results of egocentric social network analysis indicated that high school-aged youth nominated significantly more adults than middle school-aged youth. Peers and adults both acted as important sources of support, although often the types of support they offer differ. Outdegree centrality of peers was a significant predictor of character. The size of a participant's youth system, measured as the number of contexts accessed, along with average closeness in adult relationships, was a significant predictor of contribution. Thematic analysis of interview data identified four themes, aligned with the five actions of developmental relationships, as contributing factors to youth-adultcloseness and youth perceptions of support (Pekel et al., 2018). Implications for youth-adultrelationships are discussed.

Enabling first and second year doctors to negotiate ethical challenges in end-of-life care: a qualitative study

ObjectiveTo understand the unique ethical and professional challenges confronting first and second year doctors in caring for people who are dying, and to learn what factors help or hinder them...

Outsiders-insiders-in between: Punjabi international students in Canada navigating identity amid intraethnic tensions

ABSTRACT This study explores the experiences of Punjabi international undergraduate students (PIS) at a Canadian university (KPU). Many PIS choose to study at KPU because of its proximity to one of the largest Punjabi communities in the Indian diaspora. By drawing on the concept of ‘intraethnic othering’, the article demonstrates that while the proximity of an ethnic community of the same origin was an important source of support, the large influx of PIS created new tensions with the older, more established community. It highlights the need for universities to move beyond business models when recruiting international students in order to consider the ways in which international students’ intraethnic relations might impact their academic trajectory and adjustment to the host country.

A diabetes peer support intervention: Patient experiences using the Mmogo-method®.

BackgroundSelf-management is the backbone of diabetes care. For the patient with type 2 diabetes, this implies making decisions about a healthy diet, regular exercise and taking treatment appropriately. Some patients may experience barriers to the self-management of diabetes, such as lack of support. In this respect, peer support has been identified as a promising strategy in the self-management of diabetes.AimThe study aimed to explore the experiences of adults with type 2 diabetes who took part in a diabetes peer support intervention in the Free State, South Africa. Such information may lead to the development of practical methods for diabetes self-management and control.MethodsTwelve purposively sampled Sesotho-speaking women (aged 51–84 years) participated in the Mmogo-method®, a visual-based narrative enquiry. Textual data from audio recordings of discussions, visual data from photographs of constructions and field notes were triangulated and analysed thematically.ResultsParticipants described the peer support intervention as very valuable. They regarded community health workers as an important source of support. Three themes emerged from the intervention: positive lifestyle changes, continuous support, and improved confidence and sense of connectedness. This was a significant finding reported in patients with diabetes, as it will contribute to successfully sustaining effective self-management behaviour.ConclusionsPeer support for patients with type 2 diabetes appeared to be a valued intervention, as participants related well to community health workers, who are ideally positioned in the healthcare system to provide the service.

Credit Cards and the Receipt of Financial Assistance from Friends and Family

Exchanges of assistance among kin are a common and important source of support for families; however, people are often hesitant to seek such assistance and broader economic contexts influence these exchange relationships. Existing studies overlook the potential role of credit cards in shaping exchanges of assistance among kin, which is surprising given the potential for credit to serve as a substitute for assistance from kin and the potential for credit to shape the economic contexts that influence exchange decisions. Drawing on social exchange theories and data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we find that having a credit card is associated with a decreased likelihood of borrowing money from close social ties and that this relationship is conditional on marital status and income. These findings contribute to understandings of how exchanges of support are shaped by economic contexts and suggest the need for further research on how credit influences exchanges of assistance among family and friends.

Mobile Media and Young Children's Cognitive Skills: A Review.

Though the use of mobile devices (eg, tablets, smartphones) by young children is pervasive and increasing, research relating children's use of mobile devices to their development is only beginning to emerge. Learning, language development, and self-regulation skills among children aged 0 to 5 are of particular interest to pediatric clinicians, researchers, parents, and policymakers, as these skills foreshadow important outcomes across the lifespan. Experimental research reviewed herein suggests that the interactivity allowed by mobile devices has benefits over passive viewing (for example, of television) for young children's learning and self-regulation, but studies of naturalistic use suggest increased use of mobile devices is associated with poorer language and self-regulation. Pediatric clinicians can be important sources of support for families endeavoring to navigate their children's use of mobile devices by providing advice and resources, such as communicating reasonable time limits and sharing sources of developmentally appropriate content. Future research should implement innovative, rigorous research designs and methods to clarify mechanisms underlying potential negative effects of naturalistic use of mobile devices by young children and investigate how content and context of young children's mobile-device use may influence relations between such use and children's skills.

"We Feel Good": Daily Support Provision, Health Behavior, and Well-Being in Romantic Couples.

Intimate partners are an important source of support when pursuing health goals. A vast amount of literature documents the role of social support in alleviating recipients’ distress and facilitating health behaviors. Less studied is the phenomenon that providing support may entail a benefit for the provider, particularly in the context of health behavior change. In the present study, we investigated whether providing social support in daily life would be associated with more health behavior, and emotional and relational well-being that same day, using a sample of romantic couples aiming to become more physically active. Ninety-nine inactive and overweight heterosexual romantic couples (=198 individuals) participated in this dyadic daily diary study. Both partners reported on the provision of social support, positive and negative affect, and relationship satisfaction in electronic end-of-day diaries across 14 consecutive days. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was objectively assessed via triaxial accelerometers (Actigraph GT3X+). Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM), dyadic data analyses indicated that providing support to the partner was associated with higher own MVPA, more own positive affect, less own negative affect, and more own relationship satisfaction (actor effects), over and above the effect of support provision on outcomes in the other partner (partner effects). The present findings suggest that the provision of daily social support in couples is strongly associated with enhanced well-being not only at a personal level but also at a relational level. Providing social support may also serve the function of relationship maintenance. Thus, shifting the focus away from the recipient to examine beneficial effects of social support in providers is highly relevant. Future research should address the question of when, why, and how giving support is beneficial.

Random Effects Dynamic Panel Models for Unequally Spaced Multivariate Categorical Repeated Measures: An Application to Child–Parent Exchanges of Support

AbstractExchanges of practical or financial help between people living in different households are a major component of intergenerational exchanges within families and an increasingly important source of support for individuals in need. Using longitudinal data, bivariate dynamic panel models can be applied to study the effects of changes in individual circumstances on help given to and received from non-coresident parents and the reciprocity of exchanges. However, the use of a rotating module for collection of data on exchanges leads to data where the response measurements are unequally spaced and taken less frequently than for the time-varying covariates. Existing approaches to this problem focus on fixed effects linear models for univariate continuous responses. We propose a random effects estimator for a family of dynamic panel models that can handle continuous, binary or ordinal multivariate responses. The performance of the estimator is assessed in a simulation study. A bivariate probit dynamic panel model is then applied to estimate the effects of partnership and employment transitions in the previous year and the presence and age of children in the current year on an individual’s propensity to give or receive help. Annual data on respondents’ partnership, employment status and dependent children, and data on exchanges of help collected at 2- and 5-year intervals are used in this study.

New mothers and social support: A mixed-method study of young mothers in Australia

Motherhood can bring joy and enrichment but may also be associated with stress leading to poor health outcomes and low life satisfaction. Young mothers are a group particularly at risk of adverse outcomes, including increased social, economic, and health disadvantage following early entry to motherhood. This article reports results from a mixed-method study examining variations in levels of social support reported by mothers. Cross-sectional analyses of survey data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children showed that young mothers (aged less than 25 years when their child was born) generally reported higher levels of social support, but poorer family relationships than older mothers. In-depth interviews with nine young mothers provided insights into how they perceived support under these circumstances. Our research shows that young mothers often experienced difficult childhoods and strained relationships with parents, but many reconnected with their mothers after pregnancy and saw them as important sources of support.

Abstract PO-043: Understanding the perception of health and cancer in the Rohingya community

Abstract Refugees in the United States, specifically the Rohingya, have emigrated from areas with large health disparities. Because of the government-authorized ethnic cleansing, the Rohingya have been fleeing to nearby countries for safety and survival. In the last 4 years, over 1,000 Rohingya families have resettled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Considering the impact of the trauma and disparities experienced by the Rohingya, we sought to identify the health needs and perceptions of the Rohingya community in Milwaukee. This project consisted of 10 in-depth key informant interviews with community health workers and stakeholders from voluntary refugee resettlement agencies, healthcare clinics, and community-based organizations that serve the Rohingya community. The interviews included questions related to the definition and understanding of health, challenges in achieving a healthy community, perception of healthcare institutions, available health resources, and knowledge about cancer. All interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed to identify themes. The following themes were identified: 1) health is defined as being able to meet basic needs (i.e., financial stability, housing, safety, well-being) of the family/community and is prioritized over individual concerns; 2) prior and existing mistrust for healthcare institutions and fear of systems of authority (i.e., workplace, government) impact healthcare-seeking behavior; 3) past trauma is common and negatively impacts physical and mental health; 4) religion and spirituality influence beliefs about illness, recovery and wellbeing; 5) linguistic, cultural, and educational barriers impact healthcare access and quality, as well as an understanding of disease leading to fatalistic attitudes. These findings provide insight into the assets and barriers associated with the health needs and beliefs of the Rohingya community in Milwaukee. Barriers including historical trauma leading to mistrust, limited knowledge and understanding of prevention and early detection of cancer and other diseases, and low access to linguistically and culturally tailored health resources must be addressed. Additionally, collectivism, religious devotion, and spirituality should be acknowledged as important sources of support and connection. These can potentially be leveraged to promote health and self-care. While the voices of stakeholders are valuable, understanding more about the beliefs and experiences of community members themselves is critical. These findings will inform our next steps, which include focus groups and interviews with Rohingya members to gain their perspectives. We will then partner with stakeholders and community members to co-design and evaluate a health promotion intervention tailored to the needs of the community. These efforts will be grounded in a model that leverages community strengths to implement sustainable interventions that can build trust, improve health outcomes, and support the efforts of our Rohingya neighbors. Citation Format: Shabi Haider, Aniya Maheen, Moiz Ansari, Kathleen Jensik, Melinda Stolley. Understanding the perception of health and cancer in the Rohingya community [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: Thirteenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2020 Oct 2-4. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(12 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-043.

Help-Seeking Behaviors of Transition-Aged Youth for Mental Health Concerns: Qualitative Study.

BackgroundTransition-aged youth are particularly vulnerable to mental health problems, yet they are one of the least likely demographic groups to seek help.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to explore the influences on and patterns in help-seeking for mental health concerns among transition-aged youth who attend postsecondary schools in Canada.MethodsA qualitative research design was used, involving 12 semistructured focus groups with transition-aged youth (17-29 years) who attended postsecondary schools in Canada. A thematic analysis was conducted to code the transcripts and develop themes.ResultsFour main themes and subthemes regarding the process and experience of help-seeking were generated: (1) the influence of formal service providers (accessibility and experiences), (2) the influence of social factors (system navigation and stigma), (3) the influence of health literacy (symptom recognition, acting on symptoms, digital tools and the internet, and mental health awareness campaigns), and (4) the influence of low-intensity sources of support, namely, self-help.ConclusionsTransition-aged youth seek help for mental health problems in different ways. Despite efforts to improve access to mental health services, transition-aged youth continue to face barriers to accessing these services, especially formal sources of support. The factors identified in this study that either hinder or facilitate help-seeking have pragmatic implications for developing help-seeking interventions and delivering mental health services for this population. In addition to other facilitators, family physicians are an important resource in the help-seeking process. Furthermore, digital help-seeking tools have unique characteristics that may make them an important source of support for transition-aged youth.

The power of culture: the gendered impact of family structures and living arrangements on social networks of Chinese older adults

AbstractMost of the extant literature on the fertility history and social networks of older adults has focused on advanced societies. Nevertheless, a limited number of studies have explored how culturally preferred family structures or living arrangements are related to older adults’ social networks in developing societies. This study examined these issues in the Chinese context and paid particular attention to the filial piety and preference for sons dominating Chinese society. Using nationally representative data of adults aged 60 and over from China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey in 2016, we constructed family and friend network scores following previous studies and developed linear models using multiple imputation for the missing data. The results suggested that childless older adults were the most disadvantaged in receiving support from family networks. Despite China's patrilineal culture, daughters were important sources of support. In terms of friend networks, older men who had no sons were least likely to receive support while co-residing with a partner and a son(s) might benefit them. Further analysis revealed that older rural women, but not older urban women, also had more support from friend networks if living with sons, implying urban–rural differences. Given the impact of social networks on older adults’ health and wellbeing, older Chinese people with no sons might need more support from other sources, such as aged-care programmes from public institutions, to achieve healthy ageing.

Campus Support Providers' Discussion of Consent in Response to Sexual Assault Disclosure Situations: Understanding of Consent Linked to Resource Referrals.

College sexual assault is a widespread issue and the responses of support providers can greatly affect sexual assault survivors' wellbeing after a disclosure. Although "consent" (or, more precisely, the lack thereof) is the defining feature of sexual assault, little is known about how support providers understand consent and draw from this knowledge in their responses to disclosures. This is particularly important in the wake of evolving consent policies in institutions of higher education. University resident assistants (RAs) are an important source of support for students in crisis, functioning as a "first responder" and providing support. Using a sample of 305 RAs, the current study employs a critical discourse analysis to examine how RAs engage with the concept of consent in response to sexual assault disclosure situations. Four types of consent discourses were identified: (a) affirming nonconsent, (b) validating right to consent, (c) questioning nonconsent, and (d) dictating how to consent. Findings provide a novel examination of how consent is understood, communicated, and reinforced in the campus community, and the implications of these discourses for survivors. Results suggest there may be benefit in additional training for support providers around the conceptualization of consent and how to discuss consent with survivors.

Cultural Models of Well-Being Implicit in Four Ghanaian Languages.

This contribution to the collection of articles on “African Cultural Models” considers the topic of well-being. Reflecting modern individualist selfways of North American and European worlds, normative conceptions of well-being in hegemonic psychological science tend to valorize self-acceptance, personal growth, and autonomy. In contrast, given the embedded interdependence of everyday life in many West African worlds, one can hypothesize that cultural models of well-being in many Ghanaian settings will place greater emphasis on sustainability-oriented themes of material sufficiency and successful navigation of normative obligations. To explore this hypothesis, we interviewed local cultural experts who function as custodians of religion and an important source of support for well-being in many Ghanaian settings. We asked participants to identify and explain models of well-being implicit in four Ghanaian languages (Akan, Dagbani, Ewe, and Ga). Participants were 19 men and 15 women (age range 32–92 years; Mean = 59.83; SD: 14.01). Results reveal some features of local models, including good health and positive affective states, that appear to resonate with standard understandings of well-being in hegemonic psychological science. However, results also provide evidence for other features of local models – specifically, good living (including moral living, material success, and proper relationality) and peace of mind – associated with a sustainability or maintenance orientation to well-being.

Public Attitudes Regarding Hospitals and Physicians Encouraging Donations From Grateful Patients

Philanthropy is an increasingly important source of support for health care institutions. There is little empirical evidence to inform ethical guidelines. To assess public attitudes regarding specific practices used by health care institutions to encourage philanthropic donations from grateful patients. Using the Ipsos KnowledgePanel, a probability-based sample representative of the US population, a survey solicited opinions from a primary cohort representing the general population and 3 supplemental cohorts (with high income, cancer, and with heart disease, respectively). Web-based questionnaire. Descriptive analyses (with percentages weighted to make the sample demographically representative of the US population) evaluated respondents' attitudes regarding the acceptability of strategies hospitals may use to identify, solicit, and thank donors; perceptions of the effect of physicians discussing donations with their patients; and opinions regarding gift use and stewardship. Of 831 individuals targeted for the general population sample, 513 (62%) completed surveys, of whom 246 (48.0%) were women and 345 (67.3%) non-Hispanic white. In the weighted sample, 47.0% (95% CI, 42.3%-51.7%) responded that physicians giving patient names to hospital fundraising staff after asking patients' permission was definitely or probably acceptable; 8.5% (95% CI, 5.7%-11.2%) endorsed referring without asking permission. Of the participants, 79.5% (95% CI, 75.6%-83.4%) reported it acceptable for physicians to talk to patients about donating if patients have brought it up; 14.2% (95% CI, 10.9%-17.6%) reported it acceptable when patients have not brought it up; 9.9% (95% CI, 7.1%-12.8%) accepted hospital development staff performing wealth screening using publicly available data to identify patients capable of large donations. Of the participants, 83.2% (95% CI, 79.5%-86.9%) agreed that physicians talking with their patients about donating may interfere with the patient-physician relationship. For a hypothetical patient who donated $1 million, 50.1% (95% CI, 45.4%-54.7%) indicated it would be acceptable for the hospital to show thanks by providing nicer hospital rooms, 26.0% (95% CI, 21.9%-30.1%) by providing expedited appointments, and 19.8% (95% CI, 16.1%-23.5%) by providing physicians' cell phone numbers. In this survey study of participants drawn from the general US population, a substantial proportion did not endorse legally allowable approaches for identifying, engaging, and thanking patient-donors.