The payday lending industry has been characterized as predatory, which has led to tougher governm... more The payday lending industry has been characterized as predatory, which has led to tougher government interventions. However, research on how stricter consumer protection regulations affect actual vulnerable consumers' lived experiences remains seriously underdeveloped. Following in-depth interviews with financially excluded and therefore vulnerable payday loan consumers, this study finds that increased payday loan industry regulations are perceived by consumers as either empowering, disempowering, or simultaneously (dis)empowering. Accordingly, practical implications are developed to help public policy makers navigate vulnerable consumers' ambivalent relationship with consumer protection regulations.
Canadian journal on aging = La revue canadienne du vieillissement, 2021
We identified quality indicators (QIs) for care during transitions of older persons (≥ 65 years o... more We identified quality indicators (QIs) for care during transitions of older persons (≥ 65 years of age). Through systematic literature review, we catalogued QIs related to older persons' transitions in care among continuing care settings and between continuing care and acute care settings and back. Through two Delphi survey rounds, experts ranked relevance, feasibility, and scientific soundness of QIs. A steering committee reviewed QIs for their feasible capture in Canadian administrative databases. Our search yielded 326 QIs from 53 sources. A final set of 38 feasible indicators to measure in current practice was included. The highest proportions of indicators were for the emergency department (47%) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) quality domain of effectiveness (39.5%). Most feasible indicators were outcome indicators. Our work highlights a lack of standardized transition QI development in practice, and the limitations of current free-text documentation systems in capturin...
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement
Public representations of long-term residential care (LTRC) facilities have received limited focu... more Public representations of long-term residential care (LTRC) facilities have received limited focus in Canada, although literature from other countries indicates that public perceptions of LTRC tend to be negative, particularly in contexts that prioritize aging and dying in place. Using Manitoba as the study context, we investigate a question of broad relevance to the Canadian perspective; specifically, what are current public perceptions of the role and function of long-term care in the context of a changing health care system? Through critical discourse analysis, we identify four overarching discourses dominating public perceptions of LTRC: the problem of public aging, LTRC as an imperfect solution to the problem, LTRC as ambiguous social spaces, and LTRC as a last resort option. Building on prior theoretical work, we suggest that public perceptions of LTRC are informed by neoliberal discourses that privilege individual responsibility and problematize public care.
The mental health of resettled refugees is not only affected by the trauma they experience before... more The mental health of resettled refugees is not only affected by the trauma they experience before and while fleeing persecution, but also by experiences during the resettlement process. Drawing on a qualitative study of refugees' experiences of mental wellbeing in a small Canadian city this paper documents participants' experiences of microaggression and everyday resistance. In our analysis, we refer to the metaphor of uprooting that is often used to describe the totality of refugee displacement. In our expansion of the metaphor, microaggression re-uproots resettled refugees by challenging their right to be where they are. Using acts of everyday resistance, participants in our sample attempted to set down roots in the resettlement context despite microaggressions. Participants' acts of everyday resistance are captured under five themes: rejecting victimhood, rejecting burden narratives, ignorance as an explanation , the transience of vulnerability, and setting down roots. This study contributes to the literature that de-emphasizes the vulnerability narrative of refugee mental health by demonstrating the role of personal agency in refugees' experiences of their own wellbeing.
For refugees who undergo permanent resettlement, characteristics of the resettlement context infl... more For refugees who undergo permanent resettlement, characteristics of the resettlement context influence their ability to heal from pre-migration persecution and achieve a sense of wellbeing. This ethnographic study examines the impact of place-related determinants on the sense of wellbeing experienced by refugees resettled in a small urban center. The paper reports on the results of in-depth interviews that were conducted with ten former refugees in St. John's, Canada. We found that challenges and coping resources both emerged from the same aspects of the city, including its built environment, natural environment, history, culture, and low ethnic diversity. Future research should attend to how aspects of the resettlement context can simultaneously challenge and support refugees’ sense of wellbeing.
Although globalization has created ample opportunities and spaces to share experiences and inform... more Although globalization has created ample opportunities and spaces to share experiences and information, the diffusion of ideas, especially in global health, is primarily influenced by the unequal distribution of economic, political and scientific powers around the world. These ideas in global health are generally rooted in High-Income Countries (HICs), and then reach Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). We argue that acknowledging and addressing this invisible trend would contribute to a greater degree of open discussions in global health. This is expected to favor innovative, alternative, and culturally sound solutions for persistent health problems and reducing inequities.
Canadian national identity is based on a self-image of humanitarianism and liberality governed by... more Canadian national identity is based on a self-image of humanitarianism and liberality governed by ethical and moral principles of social justice, universal health care and equity for all. However, recent changes to the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) demonstrate that the current discourse on refugee policy in Canada is built on a socially constructed image of “the refugee.” Drawing on contemporary refugee literature we look at how refugees are constructed as the ‘Other,’ both nationally and internationally. Using the recent changes to the IFHP as a case example, we demonstrate that the construction of “the refugee” as an Other has informed the cuts to refugee care in Canada. Exposing Othering in Canadian refugee policy is necessary for providing helpful and equitable treatment to refugees in Canada
The payday lending industry has been characterized as predatory, which has led to tougher governm... more The payday lending industry has been characterized as predatory, which has led to tougher government interventions. However, research on how stricter consumer protection regulations affect actual vulnerable consumers' lived experiences remains seriously underdeveloped. Following in-depth interviews with financially excluded and therefore vulnerable payday loan consumers, this study finds that increased payday loan industry regulations are perceived by consumers as either empowering, disempowering, or simultaneously (dis)empowering. Accordingly, practical implications are developed to help public policy makers navigate vulnerable consumers' ambivalent relationship with consumer protection regulations.
Canadian journal on aging = La revue canadienne du vieillissement, 2021
We identified quality indicators (QIs) for care during transitions of older persons (≥ 65 years o... more We identified quality indicators (QIs) for care during transitions of older persons (≥ 65 years of age). Through systematic literature review, we catalogued QIs related to older persons' transitions in care among continuing care settings and between continuing care and acute care settings and back. Through two Delphi survey rounds, experts ranked relevance, feasibility, and scientific soundness of QIs. A steering committee reviewed QIs for their feasible capture in Canadian administrative databases. Our search yielded 326 QIs from 53 sources. A final set of 38 feasible indicators to measure in current practice was included. The highest proportions of indicators were for the emergency department (47%) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) quality domain of effectiveness (39.5%). Most feasible indicators were outcome indicators. Our work highlights a lack of standardized transition QI development in practice, and the limitations of current free-text documentation systems in capturin...
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement
Public representations of long-term residential care (LTRC) facilities have received limited focu... more Public representations of long-term residential care (LTRC) facilities have received limited focus in Canada, although literature from other countries indicates that public perceptions of LTRC tend to be negative, particularly in contexts that prioritize aging and dying in place. Using Manitoba as the study context, we investigate a question of broad relevance to the Canadian perspective; specifically, what are current public perceptions of the role and function of long-term care in the context of a changing health care system? Through critical discourse analysis, we identify four overarching discourses dominating public perceptions of LTRC: the problem of public aging, LTRC as an imperfect solution to the problem, LTRC as ambiguous social spaces, and LTRC as a last resort option. Building on prior theoretical work, we suggest that public perceptions of LTRC are informed by neoliberal discourses that privilege individual responsibility and problematize public care.
The mental health of resettled refugees is not only affected by the trauma they experience before... more The mental health of resettled refugees is not only affected by the trauma they experience before and while fleeing persecution, but also by experiences during the resettlement process. Drawing on a qualitative study of refugees' experiences of mental wellbeing in a small Canadian city this paper documents participants' experiences of microaggression and everyday resistance. In our analysis, we refer to the metaphor of uprooting that is often used to describe the totality of refugee displacement. In our expansion of the metaphor, microaggression re-uproots resettled refugees by challenging their right to be where they are. Using acts of everyday resistance, participants in our sample attempted to set down roots in the resettlement context despite microaggressions. Participants' acts of everyday resistance are captured under five themes: rejecting victimhood, rejecting burden narratives, ignorance as an explanation , the transience of vulnerability, and setting down roots. This study contributes to the literature that de-emphasizes the vulnerability narrative of refugee mental health by demonstrating the role of personal agency in refugees' experiences of their own wellbeing.
For refugees who undergo permanent resettlement, characteristics of the resettlement context infl... more For refugees who undergo permanent resettlement, characteristics of the resettlement context influence their ability to heal from pre-migration persecution and achieve a sense of wellbeing. This ethnographic study examines the impact of place-related determinants on the sense of wellbeing experienced by refugees resettled in a small urban center. The paper reports on the results of in-depth interviews that were conducted with ten former refugees in St. John's, Canada. We found that challenges and coping resources both emerged from the same aspects of the city, including its built environment, natural environment, history, culture, and low ethnic diversity. Future research should attend to how aspects of the resettlement context can simultaneously challenge and support refugees’ sense of wellbeing.
Although globalization has created ample opportunities and spaces to share experiences and inform... more Although globalization has created ample opportunities and spaces to share experiences and information, the diffusion of ideas, especially in global health, is primarily influenced by the unequal distribution of economic, political and scientific powers around the world. These ideas in global health are generally rooted in High-Income Countries (HICs), and then reach Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). We argue that acknowledging and addressing this invisible trend would contribute to a greater degree of open discussions in global health. This is expected to favor innovative, alternative, and culturally sound solutions for persistent health problems and reducing inequities.
Canadian national identity is based on a self-image of humanitarianism and liberality governed by... more Canadian national identity is based on a self-image of humanitarianism and liberality governed by ethical and moral principles of social justice, universal health care and equity for all. However, recent changes to the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) demonstrate that the current discourse on refugee policy in Canada is built on a socially constructed image of “the refugee.” Drawing on contemporary refugee literature we look at how refugees are constructed as the ‘Other,’ both nationally and internationally. Using the recent changes to the IFHP as a case example, we demonstrate that the construction of “the refugee” as an Other has informed the cuts to refugee care in Canada. Exposing Othering in Canadian refugee policy is necessary for providing helpful and equitable treatment to refugees in Canada
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