Rural Areas Of Canada Research Articles

The Impact of Microfinance on Women's Empowerment in Rural Areas in Canada

How to Cite Ali, S. (2024). Effects of Temperature Variations on Solar Cell Efficiency in Tanzania. American Journal of Physical Sciences, 2(1), 50 – 60. https://doi.org/10.47604/ajps.2664

Solutions for Addressing the Dermatologist Shortage in Rural Canada: A Review of the Literature.

In Canada, there is a maldistribution of dermatologists, with as many as 5.6 dermatologists per 100,000 population in urban areas and as low as 0.6 per 100,000 in rural areas. Considering trends of dermatologists to work in group practices in urban areas, and the low number of rural dermatologists, one solution may be to incentivize dermatologists to practice rurally. Several solutions using the following themes are discussed: dermatology program-specific incentives, dermatology practice-specific incentives, and other indirect incentives. The low number of dermatologists in rural areas in Canada is concerning and has negative consequences for access to care for patients in rural areas, ultimately resulting in worse patient outcomes. Future research is needed to evaluate the impact of these initiatives and assess future access to dermatological care.

On older person/place transformations: Towards a more‐than‐representational geography of aging in rural Canada

The spatial variability of population aging in rural areas of Canada, and the demographic processes that underlie these areal patterns, are reasonably well understood. Research to date emphasizes processes of population redistribution (e.g., net out‐migration), regional economic change (e.g., resource‐based economic restructuring), and chronologically‐centred models of bodily decline as the major features of population aging in rural contexts. This literature has informed a wide range of gerontological research and policy, but there is much more to be said about becoming older in rural Canada. In this paper, we present the outline of a post‐representational approach to rural aging. We consider the influence of relational and non‐representational forces acting on the experience of aging in rural Canada. We then draw on reflections of earlier work in a particular geographic setting as a means to tease out “more‐than‐representational” considerations for discussion. We also echo recent calls to address a “blind spot” in geographic scholarship that overlooks the considerable extent to which older persons re‐shape their community environments. We conclude with an invitation for a greater engagement with older person/place transformations, including closer attention to the processes and performances of “aging‐through‐place” in other Canadian settings.

Partnering with survivors & families to determine research priorities for adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership

BackgroundResearch priority setting in health care has historically been done by expert health care providers and researchers and has not involved patients, family or the public. Survivors & family members have been particularly absent from this process in the field of resuscitation research and specifically adult out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). As such, we sought to conduct a priority setting exercise in partnership with survivors, lay responders and their families in order to ensure that their priorities were visible. We partnered with the James Lind Alliance (UK) and used their commonly used consensus methodology for Public Priority Setting Partnerships (PSPs) to identify research priorities that reflected the perspectives of all stakeholders. MethodsWe used two rounds of public and health care professional surveys to create the initial priority lists. The initial survey collected open-ended questions while the second round consolidated the list of initial questions into a refined list for prioritization. This was done by reviewing existing evidence and thematic categorization by the multi-disciplinary steering committee. An in-person consensus workshop was conducted to come to consensus on the top ten priorities from all perspectives. The McMaster PPEET tool was used to measure engagement. ResultsThe initial survey yielded more than 425 responses and 1450 “questions” from survivors and family members (18%), lay responders, health care providers and others. The second survey asked participants to rank a short list of 125 questions. The final top 25 questions were brought to the in-person meeting, and a top ten were selected through the JLA consensus process. The final list of top ten questions included how to improve the rate of lay responder CPR, what interventions used at the scene of an arrest can improve resuscitation and survival, how survival can be improved in rural areas of Canada, what resuscitation medications are most effective, what care patient’s family members need, what post-discharge support is needed for survivors, how communication should work for everyone involved with a cardiac arrest, what factors best predict neurologically intact survival, whether biomarkers/genetic tests are effective in predicting OHCA and more research on the short and long-term psycho-social impacts of OHCA on survivors. The PPEET showed overwhelmingly positive results for the patient and family engagement experience during the final workshop. ConclusionsThis inclusive research priority setting provides essential information for those doing resuscitation research internationally. The results provide a guide for priority areas of research and should drive our community to focus on questions that matter to survivors and their families in our work. In particular the Canadian Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium will be incorporating the top ten list into its strategic plan for the future.

Reconstructive Social Innovation Cycles in Women-Led Initiatives in Rural Areas

Social innovations can tackle various challenges related to gender equity in rural areas, especially when such innovations are initiated and developed by women themselves. We examine cases located in rural areas of Canada, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, and Serbia, where women are marginalized by gender roles, patriarchal values, male dominated economy and policy, and lack of opportunities for education and employment. Our objective is to analyze five case studies on how women-led social innovation processes can tackle gender equity related challenges manifested at the levels of everyday practice, institutions, and cognitive frames. The analyses are based on interviews, workshops, literature screening, and are examined via the qualitative abductive method. Results summarize challenges that rural women are facing, explore social innovation initiatives as promising solutions, and analyze their implications on gender equity in the five case studies. Based on our results we propose a new concept: reconstructive social innovation cycle. It refers to is defined as cyclical innovation processes that engage women via civil society initiatives. These initiatives reconstruct the existing state of affairs, by questioning marginalizing and discriminative practices, institutions, and cognitive frames that are often perceived as normal. The new concept helps with to assessing the implications that women-led social innovations have for gender equity.

GB-InSAR monitoring of vegetated and snow-covered slopes in remote mountainous environments

As a member of the International Consortium on Landslides, the University of Alberta is actively working to improve technologies for monitoring natural hazards. Though ground-based, interferometric, synthetic aperture radar (GB-InSAR) has been successfully implemented for near real-time monitoring of natural and man-made slopes, it has seen limited use in Canada outside of the mining industry. This lack of adoption in the rural areas of Canada is due to difficulties associated with providing continuous power to remote sites, other logistical challenges, and concerns with the impact of snow cover on the data collected. This paper presents the results of a project to install a GB-InSAR system to monitor a 2 to 3 million m3 bedrock landslide with a measured average rate of displacement of ~ 10 mm/year. The site is characterized by long periods of deep snow cover, cold temperatures, no connection to the electrical grid, and a location within a steep valley that limits hours of daylight for solar power. Challenges with, and solutions developed for, the deployment of GB-InSAR equipment at this site are described, and the results of the monitoring program are validated with existing geotechnical instrumentation.

Roots and STEMS? Examining field of study choices among northern and rural youth in Canada

ABSTRACT Despite several decades of postsecondary expansion, new research finds youth from northern and rural areas in Canada still experience difficulties making the transition to postsecondary education, and those who do attend take longer to do so. Proximity, we argue, may also have a considerable impact on one’s field selection, as many of Canada’s larger universities and colleges, who offer considerably more program and degree options, tend to be concentrated in large, urban centers, and in the southern regions of Canada’s provinces. This study draws on Cycles 1–4 of Statistics Canada’s Youth in Transition Survey – Cohort A to examine regional inequalities in accessing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related fields at both the university and non-university levels. Indeed, our findings suggest that location of residence does impact field choices, as students from northern and rural areas were less likely to enter STEM as well as non-STEM, university programs.

CURRENT SITUATION OF AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES FINANCING IN UKRAINE: ECONOMIC AND LEGAL ANALYSIS

Modern agriculture is developed in the direction of increasing the efficiency of agricultural production. This requires a stable combination of financial and economic, legal and organizational factors with the mandatory introduction of the innovative component.Scientific research is based on the current information and scientific base which contains a methodology for assessing the effectiveness of raising funds, the use of which allows systematizing a number of phenomena in the process of agricultural development, unifying the procedure for determining the nominal volumes and effectiveness of welfare payment using direct methods.The paper deals with some problematic legal issues of legal regulation of financial relations with the participation of agricultural enterprises; it is determined and justified the necessity of allocation of agricultural enterprises financial support, providing the administrative assistance and control over the target use of the given funds. The main articles of agricultural enterprises support in Ukraine were identified and the main generators of these enterprises financing were determined from the position of financial and credit institutions.The conceptual models of state support for the development of rural areas in Canada, Australia, Italy and the United States of America are analyzed. The main reasons for the unsatisfactory state of agricultural enterprises development, in particular, economic, social, infrastructural, administrative, problems that restrain the development of the agrarian sector as a whole are outlined. The necessary conditions for the development of agricultural enterprises in Ukraine are determined. On the basis of the analysis of world experience of rural development policy, a list of directions of agrarian sector enterprises support necessary for activation of rural areas development in Ukraine has been formed.The actuality and necessity of activation and harmonization using qualitatively new methodological dimensions of agricultural enterprises financing of various forms of ownership outlined the purpose of scientific search, its contour, tasks and architectonics.

Artificial Sweeteners Reveal Septic System Effluent in Rural Groundwater.

It has been widely documented that municipal wastewater treatment plant effluents are a major source of artificial sweeteners to surface waters. However, in rural areas, the extent to which septic systems contribute these same compounds to groundwater aquifers is largely unknown. We examined the occurrence of four commonly used artificial sweeteners in an unconfined sand aquifer that serves as a water supply for rural residents, as a receptor of domestic wastewater from septic systems, and as a source of baseflow to the Nottawasaga River, ON, Canada. Groundwater from the Lake Algonquin Sand Aquifer in the southern Nottawasaga River Watershed was collected from private domestic wells and as groundwater seeps discharging along the banks of the Nottawasaga River. Approximately 30% of samples had detectable levels of one or more artificial sweeteners, indicating the presence of water derived from septic system effluent. Using acesulfame concentrations to estimate the fraction of septic effluent in groundwater samples, ∼3.4 to 13.6% of the domestic wells had 1% or more of their well water being derived from septic system effluent. Similarly, 2.0 to 4.7% of the groundwater seeps had a septic effluent contribution of 1% or more. No relationship was found between the concentration of acesulfame and the concentration of nitrate, ammonium, or soluble reactive phosphorus in the groundwater, indicating that septic effluent is not the dominant source of nutrients in the aquifer. It is expected that the occurrence of artificial sweeteners in shallow groundwater is widespread throughout rural areas in Canada.

Exploring the Transitory Experiences of Immigrants in Rural Ontario

Immigration has been an important characteristic of the Canadian society for hundreds of years as it has often been used as a tool to maintain the demographic trends in the country. Historically, most immigrants have chosen to migrate to urban areas, especially the three metropolitan cities: Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Immigrants make this choice due to a variety of reasons including job opportunities, social networks, family etc., all of which are perceived as abundant in urban centres. However, the current state of rural areas in Canada has created a need for attracting and retaining immigrants. I would like to focus in rural Ontario which, like most rural areas in the country, is experiencing a relative decline in population due to out-migration of youth and an ageing cohort of baby-boomers. With continuing low birth rates, rural Ontario will have to rely on transforming communities to become more attractive for immigrants. Through my research I present an exploratory case of immigrants who are currently living in Bruce and Grey county. The research delves into unique stories of individuals- their successes and challenges by painting a picture of the life of an immigrant in a rural Canadian town.

Rural Homelessness in Western Canada: Lessons Learned from Diverse Communities

Until recently, there was little acknowledgement that homelessness existed in rural areas in Canada. Limited research and scarce data are available to understand the scope and dynamics of rural homelessness in Canada. As suggested in our previous work, there is a need for rural homelessness research to examine themes from a provincial perspective. The aim of this research was to contribute to expanding the knowledge base on the nature of rural homelessness at a provincial level in the Canadian province of Alberta. In order to understand the dynamics of homelessness in rural Alberta, we conducted interviews with service providers and other key stakeholders across Alberta. We examined homelessness dynamics and responses to rural homelessness in 20 rural communities across the province. Across all of the communities in the study, homelessness was reported however, the magnitude of the issue and its dynamics were distinct depending on the local contexts. We also identified several themes which serve as descriptors of rural homelessness issues. We note a number of recommendations emerging from this data which are aimed at building on the experiences, capacities, and strengths of rural communities.

A population based study of drowning in Canada.

BackgroundAlthough water-related fatality rates have changed over time, the epidemiology of drowning in Canada has not recently been examined. In spite of the evidence supporting varying drowning death rates by age, information on how characteristics of drowning incidents differ by age group remains limited. The primary objective of this study was to examine the epidemiology of drowning in Canada. A secondary objective was to describe the characteristics of these drowning incidents as they vary by age group.MethodsA retrospective descriptive analysis was conducted using data that were collected for incidents occurring in Canada between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2012. The main outcome variable was a water-related fatality, in the majority of cases (94 %) the primary cause of death was drowning. Age specific frequencies, proportions and rates per 100,000 population were calculated and compared among six age groups.ResultsThere were 2392 unintentional water-related fatalities identified in Canada between 2008 and 2012. Death rates (per 100,000) varied by age group 0–4 (1.05), 5–14 (0.57), 15–19 (1.27), 20–34 (1.70), 35–64 (1.44), 65+ (1.74). The male to female ratio was 5:1. Differences in the characteristics of drowning by age group were identified across: sex, body of water, urban versus rural location, time of year, activity type, purpose of activity, alcohol involvement, personal flotation device use, accompaniment, and whether a rescue was attempted.ConclusionsThe study results suggest that there may be a need for drowning prevention strategies that are tailored to specific age groups. Rural areas in Canada may also benefit from targeted drowning prevention.

Pain and Anxiety in Rural Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients Awaiting Diagnostic Cardiac Catheterization.

In rural areas of Canada, people with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) can wait up to 32 hours for transfer for diagnostic cardiac catheterization (CATH). While awaiting CATH, it is critical that pain and anxiety management be optimal to preserve myocardial muscle and minimize the risk of further deterioration. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between clinical management, cardiac pain intensity, and state anxiety for rural ACS patients awaiting diagnostic CATH. In a prospective, descriptive-correlational repeated-measures design involving 121 ACS rural patients, we examined the associations of analgesic and nitroglycerin administration with cardiac pain intensity (numeric rating scale) and state anxiety (Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory) and also nurses' pain knowledge and attitudes (Toronto Pain Management Inventory-ACS Version and Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain) using linear mixed models. The mean age of patients was 67.6 ± 13, 50% were men, and 60% had unstable angina and the remainder had non-ST-elevated myocardial infarction. During follow-up, cardiac pain intensity scores remained in the mild range from 1.1 ± 2.2 to 2.4 ± 2.7. State anxiety ranged from 44.0 ± 7.2 to 46.2 ± 6.6. Cumulative analgesic dose was associated with a reduction in cardiac pain by 1.0 points (numeric rating scale, 0-10) (t108 = -2.5; SE, -0.25; confidence interval, -0.45 to -0.06; P = .013). Analgesic administration was not associated with state anxiety. Over the course of follow-up, ACS patients reported consistently high anxiety scores. Whereas cardiac pain declines in most patients in the early hours after admission, many patients experience a persistent anxious state up to 8 hours later, which suggest that development and testing of protocols for anxiety reduction may be needed. More urgently, the development and examination of a treatment intervention, early on in the ACS trajectory, are warranted that targets pain and anxiety for those for whom immediate angioplasty is not possible and who continue to experience cardiac pain and persistent high levels of anxiety. Moreover, a larger prognostic study is required to determine whether high levels of anxiety in rural ACS patients are predictive of major adverse cardiac events.

The Physical Activity-Related Barriers and Facilitators Perceived by Men Living in Rural Communities.

Men, especially those living in rural areas, experience chronic disease at higher rates than the general population. Physical activity is a well-established protective factor against many chronic diseases; however, only a small fraction of men are meeting national guidelines for physical activity. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived physical activity-related barriers and facilitators experienced by men living in rural areas in Canada. Participants completed a paper-and-pencil or online survey and asked to select personally relevant physical activity-related barriers and facilitators from a list of 9 and 10 choices, respectively. A total of 149 men completed the survey (50.3% between the ages of 18 and 55 years; 43.0% older than 55 years). Participants were predominantly from rural areas and smaller communities. Overall, the response options "I'm too tired," "I don't have enough time," and "I think I get enough exercise as work" were the three most frequently cited barriers to regular physical activity. The response options "Personal motivation to be healthy," "I enjoy it," and "Support from family and/or friends" were the three most often cited facilitators to physical activity. Results are similar to those shown in other populations. Results can be used to inform the development of policies and programs that aim to increase the physical activity levels of men living in rural areas and small communities.

Work locations in 2014 of medical graduates of Memorial University of Newfoundland: across-sectional study.

Part of the mandate for social accountability of medical schools is to address physician needs at the local, regional and national levels. We determined the work locations in 2014 of medical graduates of Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) and identified the characteristics and predictors of working in urban and rural areas of Canada and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). We linked data from class lists, and alumni and postgraduate databases with data from the Scott's Medical Database to determine work locations in 2014 of MUN medical graduates from 1973 to 2008. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of working in urban and rural areas of Canada and NL. Of the 1864 graduates in our study, 1642 (88.1%) were working in Canada, 638 (34.2%) in NL, 217 (11.6%) in rural Canada and 92 (4.9%) in rural NL in 2014. Predictors of physicians working in Canada included having a rural background, being from NL and graduating in the 1980s, 1990s or 2000s. Predictors of physicians working in NL included having a rural background, being from NL, graduating in the 2000s and having done some or all of their residency training at MUN. Having a rural background and being a family physician were predictors of working in rural Canada. Having a rural background, being from NL, having done some or all residency training at MUN and being a family physician were predictors of working in rural NL. Most MUN graduates were working in Canada in 2014, with about one-third remaining in NL and much smaller percentages working in rural communities, especially in rural NL. These findings have implications for the physician supply in NL.

A qualitative study of the work environment in obstetrical nursing in northeastern Ontario, Canada

Background: Nurses work environment is inherent with stressors that impact their quality of work life (QWL). Moreover, there is a dearth of evidence examining occupational stressors and QWL in nurses working in northern and rural areas of Canada. Objective: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and understand the work environment of registered nurses working in obstetrics at four hospitals in northeastern Ontario, Canada. Methods: This qualitative study used thematic analytic approach to describe the work environment of nurses as it pertained to their occupational stress and QWL. During the analysis, themes and subthemes emerged relating to their underlying factors that influenced the nurses’ work environment and QWL. Results: Five key themes that emerged from the semi-structured qualitative interviews were: workplace stress, relationships with colleagues (in and out of the workplace), quality of work life of obstetrical nurses, changes in care delivery and model of care (cross-training) and limited resources in the workplace. The nurses discussed both the positive aspects and challenges of their work environment. Conclusions: The study focuses the importance of understanding the work environment of nurses and its relationship to work stress, QWL and location of cross-training. Ameliorating nurses work environments is crucial to fostering better client care and bolstering recruitment and retention strategies, especially in rural and northern regions.

Distribution and sharing of Palliative Care Costs in Rural areas of Canada

Few data are available on the costs occurring during the palliative phase of care and on the sharing of these costs in rural areas. This study aimed to evaluate the costs related to all resources used by rural palliative care patients and to examine how these costs were shared between the public healthcare system (PHCS), patients' families, and not-for-profit organizations (NFPOs). A prospective longitudinal study was undertaken of 82 palliative care patients and their main informal caregivers in rural areas of four Canadian provinces. Telephone interviews were completed at two-week intervals. The mean total cost per patient for a six-month participation in a palliative care program was CA$31,678 +/- 1,160. A large part of this cost was attributable to inpatient hospital stays and was assumed by the PHCS. The patient's family contributed less than a quarter of the mean total cost per patient, and this was mainly attributable to caregiving time.

The unfunded costs incurred by patients accessing plastic surgical care in Northern Saskatchewan

The Canadian health care system was designed to ensure that all Canadian citizens would receive equal access to health care. However, in rural areas of Canada, patients are required to travel long distances and pay significant out-of-pocket expenses to access health care. The present study attempted to quantify the added out-of-pocket costs that rural Saskatchewan residents must pay to receive plastic surgical specialist care compared with urban residents of Saskatoon. A cost analysis was performed to generate a numerical value that would represent a minimum cost for patients travelling from three different locations within the province. The cost analysis performed in the present study approximated that the unfunded costs for common plastic surgical procedures are, at a minimum, 30 times greater for rural patients in La Ronge compared with their urban counterparts in Saskatoon. The fundamental principle of the Canadian health care system is equal access to necessary health care for all Canadians. Despite this, inequalities persist. The present cost-analysis study demonstrated that the unfunded (out-of-pocket) expenses for rural Saskatchewan patients seeking plastic surgical treatment is significantly higher than for their urban counterparts. These unfunded costs represent a significant barrier to health care access in Canada and serve to propagate inequalities in the nation's heath care system.

Drinking Water Quality Guidelines across Canadian provinces and territories: jurisdictional variation in the context of decentralized water governance.

This article presents the first comprehensive review and analysis of the uptake of the Canadian Drinking Water Quality Guidelines (CDWQG) across Canada’s 13 provinces and territories. This review is significant given that Canada’s approach to drinking water governance is: (i) highly decentralized and (ii) discretionary. Canada is (along with Australia) only one of two Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member states that does not comply with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation that all countries have national, legally binding drinking water quality standards. Our review identifies key differences in the regulatory approaches to drinking water quality across Canada’s 13 jurisdictions. Only 16 of the 94 CDWQG are consistently applied across all 13 jurisdictions; five jurisdictions use voluntary guidelines, whereas eight use mandatory standards. The analysis explores three questions of central importance for water managers and public health officials: (i) should standards be uniform or variable; (ii) should compliance be voluntary or legally binding; and (iii) should regulation and oversight be harmonized or delegated? We conclude with recommendations for further research, with particular reference to the relevance of our findings given the high degree of variability in drinking water management and oversight capacity between urban and rural areas in Canada.

Career Satisfaction Among General Surgeons in Canada

To understand what influences career satisfaction among general surgeons in urban and rural areas in Canada in order to improve recruitment and retention in general surgery. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 32 general surgeons in 2010 who were members of the Canadian Association of General Surgeons and who currently practice in either an urban or rural area. Interviews explored factors contributing to career satisfaction, as well as suggestions for preventive, screening, or management strategies to support general surgery practice. Findings revealed that both urban and rural general surgeons experienced the most satisfaction from their ability to resolve patient problems quickly and effectively, enhancing their sense of the meaningfulness of their clinical practice. The supportive relationships with colleagues, trainees, and patients was also cited as a key source of career satisfaction. Conversely, insufficient access to resources and a perceived disconnect between hospital administration and clinical practice priorities were raised as key "systems-level" problems. As a result, many participants felt alienated from their work by these systems-level barriers that were perceived to hinder the provision of high-quality patient care. Career satisfaction among both urban and rural general surgeons was influenced positively by the social aspects of their work, such as patient and colleague relationships, as well as a perception of an increasing amount of control and autonomy over their professional commitments. The modern general surgeon values a balance between professional obligations and personal time that may be difficult to achieve given the current system constraints.