Dr. Megan Aston is a Professor and Associate Director of Research and International Affairs at the School of Nursing Dalhousie University and has a scientific affiliate position at the IWK Health Centre and Nova Scotia Health Authority. Her program of research focuses on maternal, child and newborn health both in the community and in the hospital, locally and globally. She uses feminist poststructuralism informed by discourse analysis to examine how nurses and clients negotiate beliefs, values and practices that have been socially and institutionally constructed through relations of power.
OBJECTIVE INTRODUCTION:: Sexual and reproductive health is a critical component of women's we... more OBJECTIVE INTRODUCTION:: Sexual and reproductive health is a critical component of women's well-being and quality of life. Refugee and refugee-claimant women have demonstrated a lower level of sexual health knowledge and reduced usage of sexual and reproductive health services after resettling in high-income countries. This has led to negative outcomes among resettled refugee populations, including unwanted pregnancies and abortion, lower than recommended rates of cervical cancer screening, high rates of sexually transmitted infections, and non-consensual sex. Despite these negative outcomes, no review has been conducted to understand access to and use of sexual and reproductive health services among resettled refugee women in high-income countries. INCLUSION CRITERIA This scoping review will seek to identify studies that describe access to and use of sexual and reproductive health services among refugee and refugee-claimant women who have resettled in a high-income country. Evidence from qualitative, quantitative, mixed method studies, and gray literature will be included. METHODS This review will be conducted in accordance with JBI methodology for scoping reviews. A comprehensive search strategy, developed with a librarian scientist, will be used to identify relevant sources. Titles, abstracts, and full texts will be evaluated against inclusion criteria. Information will be extracted by two independent reviewers using a screening tool. Data will be synthesized and presented narratively, with tables and figures where appropriate.
Children with intellectual disabilities spend more time in the health-care system than mainstream... more Children with intellectual disabilities spend more time in the health-care system than mainstream children. Parents have to learn how to navigate the system by coordinating appointments, understanding the referral process, knowing what services are available, and advocating for those services. This places an incredible amount of responsibility on families. This article is one mother's personal story and reflection about her journey through the Canadian health-care system in Nova Scotia, with her daughter who has an intellectual disability. The reflection identifies moments of tension experienced by a mother and how she was expected to be a medical system navigator, doctor-educator, time manager, and care coordinator and the roles that led to feelings of repression, extreme frustration, and fear. A final discussion offers an analysis of her experience, using concepts from feminist post-structuralism.
Abstract Objective To explore the postpartum health information seeking behaviour of women, ident... more Abstract Objective To explore the postpartum health information seeking behaviour of women, identifying the health information sources used and valued as well as topics of uncertainty in the first six-months. Methods A cross-sectional online survey of women living in Eastern Canada who had given birth to an infant within last six months between October 2019–January 2020. Descriptive statistics were used. Results 561 women participated, 56.5% primiparous. Women used Internet searches (93.4%), parenting websites (84.0%), family (79.3%), and friends (77.9%). Highest valued sources were Internet searches (86.5%), family (83.1%), parenting websites (82.9%), and physicians (74.3%). Women reported feeling concerned most about sleep, breastfeeding, developmental milestones, feeding, and illnesses including colds and fevers. Conclusion Most women used and valued online sources and family. Sleep, breastfeeding, developmental milestones, feeding, and illnesses were areas where women are seeking additional information. Further work is needed to understand whether mothers are receiving evidence-based information on these topics from these sources.
Compassion can be seen as a necessary, but often lacking, concept and practice in healthcare. Due... more Compassion can be seen as a necessary, but often lacking, concept and practice in healthcare. Due to the cis-heteronormative nature of societies, people who identify as Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (2SLGBTQ+) often experience health disparities and disparities in accessing compassionate healthcare. We aimed to explore the meanings of compassion in healthcare for Canadian 2SLGBTQ+ people. Using a poststructuralist framework, 20 self-identifying 2SLGBTQ+ participants were interviewed. Data was analyzed through discourse analysis. Three main discursive considerations are discussed, including (1) meanings and expectations of compassion in healthcare, (2) compassionate healthcare is not guaranteed, and (3) prescription for care: self-compassion for healing and health. The results provide insights into how compassionate healthcare is framed for 2SLGBTQ+ participants and how compassion is often lacking for them due to discourses of cis-heteronormativity and health...
ObjectiveTo determine the effectiveness of the Essential Coaching for Every Mother program on mat... more ObjectiveTo determine the effectiveness of the Essential Coaching for Every Mother program on maternal self-efficacy, perceived social support, postpartum anxiety, and postpartum depression at six-weeks postpartum.MethodsParticipants from Nova Scotia were randomized, stratified by parity, to receive either the Essential Coaching for Every Mother postpartum text-message program or usual care, from birth to six-weeks postpartum. Participants completed surveys at enrollment (after birth) and at 6 weeks. Differences between groups were analyzed using analysis of covariance, considering parity and group allocation.ResultsOf the 171 participants recruited (53% primiparous), 150 completed the baseline survey (intervention n = 78, control n = 72). At baseline, newborns were on average 4.4 days old (SD: 3.9) and mothers 31.4 years old (SD: 4.5). Controlling for maternal age, primiparous women in the intervention group had a greater increase in maternal self-efficacy than primiparous women in...
The ways gay men navigate socially constructed body tensions are explored through a post-structur... more The ways gay men navigate socially constructed body tensions are explored through a post-structural lens. Nine self-identifying gay men in Canada used photovoice to create images that expressed their beliefs, values and practices about their bodies. Participants took part in semi-structured interviews to discuss the meanings of their images. Three discursive considerations were created from the analysis of both interviews and the photographs. Participants attempted to create bodies aligned with the dominant body ideals for gay men but, in doing so, often suffered from emotional harm that negatively shaped their health and well-being. Some participants, however, through the process of creating their bodies were able to find new connections and new understanding of their bodies. They were able to find new ways of being outside the rigid body ideals set before them. Through the post-structural lens of the research, participants’ bodies can be conceptualized as bodies becoming art.
This scoping review protocol seeks to understand refugee women's experiencing accessing or at... more This scoping review protocol seeks to understand refugee women's experiencing accessing or attempting to access formal services and informal supports during the postnatal period in resettlement countries.
OBJECTIVE INTRODUCTION:: Sexual and reproductive health is a critical component of women's we... more OBJECTIVE INTRODUCTION:: Sexual and reproductive health is a critical component of women's well-being and quality of life. Refugee and refugee-claimant women have demonstrated a lower level of sexual health knowledge and reduced usage of sexual and reproductive health services after resettling in high-income countries. This has led to negative outcomes among resettled refugee populations, including unwanted pregnancies and abortion, lower than recommended rates of cervical cancer screening, high rates of sexually transmitted infections, and non-consensual sex. Despite these negative outcomes, no review has been conducted to understand access to and use of sexual and reproductive health services among resettled refugee women in high-income countries. INCLUSION CRITERIA This scoping review will seek to identify studies that describe access to and use of sexual and reproductive health services among refugee and refugee-claimant women who have resettled in a high-income country. Evidence from qualitative, quantitative, mixed method studies, and gray literature will be included. METHODS This review will be conducted in accordance with JBI methodology for scoping reviews. A comprehensive search strategy, developed with a librarian scientist, will be used to identify relevant sources. Titles, abstracts, and full texts will be evaluated against inclusion criteria. Information will be extracted by two independent reviewers using a screening tool. Data will be synthesized and presented narratively, with tables and figures where appropriate.
Children with intellectual disabilities spend more time in the health-care system than mainstream... more Children with intellectual disabilities spend more time in the health-care system than mainstream children. Parents have to learn how to navigate the system by coordinating appointments, understanding the referral process, knowing what services are available, and advocating for those services. This places an incredible amount of responsibility on families. This article is one mother's personal story and reflection about her journey through the Canadian health-care system in Nova Scotia, with her daughter who has an intellectual disability. The reflection identifies moments of tension experienced by a mother and how she was expected to be a medical system navigator, doctor-educator, time manager, and care coordinator and the roles that led to feelings of repression, extreme frustration, and fear. A final discussion offers an analysis of her experience, using concepts from feminist post-structuralism.
Abstract Objective To explore the postpartum health information seeking behaviour of women, ident... more Abstract Objective To explore the postpartum health information seeking behaviour of women, identifying the health information sources used and valued as well as topics of uncertainty in the first six-months. Methods A cross-sectional online survey of women living in Eastern Canada who had given birth to an infant within last six months between October 2019–January 2020. Descriptive statistics were used. Results 561 women participated, 56.5% primiparous. Women used Internet searches (93.4%), parenting websites (84.0%), family (79.3%), and friends (77.9%). Highest valued sources were Internet searches (86.5%), family (83.1%), parenting websites (82.9%), and physicians (74.3%). Women reported feeling concerned most about sleep, breastfeeding, developmental milestones, feeding, and illnesses including colds and fevers. Conclusion Most women used and valued online sources and family. Sleep, breastfeeding, developmental milestones, feeding, and illnesses were areas where women are seeking additional information. Further work is needed to understand whether mothers are receiving evidence-based information on these topics from these sources.
Compassion can be seen as a necessary, but often lacking, concept and practice in healthcare. Due... more Compassion can be seen as a necessary, but often lacking, concept and practice in healthcare. Due to the cis-heteronormative nature of societies, people who identify as Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (2SLGBTQ+) often experience health disparities and disparities in accessing compassionate healthcare. We aimed to explore the meanings of compassion in healthcare for Canadian 2SLGBTQ+ people. Using a poststructuralist framework, 20 self-identifying 2SLGBTQ+ participants were interviewed. Data was analyzed through discourse analysis. Three main discursive considerations are discussed, including (1) meanings and expectations of compassion in healthcare, (2) compassionate healthcare is not guaranteed, and (3) prescription for care: self-compassion for healing and health. The results provide insights into how compassionate healthcare is framed for 2SLGBTQ+ participants and how compassion is often lacking for them due to discourses of cis-heteronormativity and health...
ObjectiveTo determine the effectiveness of the Essential Coaching for Every Mother program on mat... more ObjectiveTo determine the effectiveness of the Essential Coaching for Every Mother program on maternal self-efficacy, perceived social support, postpartum anxiety, and postpartum depression at six-weeks postpartum.MethodsParticipants from Nova Scotia were randomized, stratified by parity, to receive either the Essential Coaching for Every Mother postpartum text-message program or usual care, from birth to six-weeks postpartum. Participants completed surveys at enrollment (after birth) and at 6 weeks. Differences between groups were analyzed using analysis of covariance, considering parity and group allocation.ResultsOf the 171 participants recruited (53% primiparous), 150 completed the baseline survey (intervention n = 78, control n = 72). At baseline, newborns were on average 4.4 days old (SD: 3.9) and mothers 31.4 years old (SD: 4.5). Controlling for maternal age, primiparous women in the intervention group had a greater increase in maternal self-efficacy than primiparous women in...
The ways gay men navigate socially constructed body tensions are explored through a post-structur... more The ways gay men navigate socially constructed body tensions are explored through a post-structural lens. Nine self-identifying gay men in Canada used photovoice to create images that expressed their beliefs, values and practices about their bodies. Participants took part in semi-structured interviews to discuss the meanings of their images. Three discursive considerations were created from the analysis of both interviews and the photographs. Participants attempted to create bodies aligned with the dominant body ideals for gay men but, in doing so, often suffered from emotional harm that negatively shaped their health and well-being. Some participants, however, through the process of creating their bodies were able to find new connections and new understanding of their bodies. They were able to find new ways of being outside the rigid body ideals set before them. Through the post-structural lens of the research, participants’ bodies can be conceptualized as bodies becoming art.
This scoping review protocol seeks to understand refugee women's experiencing accessing or at... more This scoping review protocol seeks to understand refugee women's experiencing accessing or attempting to access formal services and informal supports during the postnatal period in resettlement countries.
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