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Using Foresight to develop eHealth intervention implementation strategy
Get PDFOne of the key focus areas of the National Dementia Strategy, released by the Canadian government in 2019, is improving informal caregivers' quality of life through better support. While an array of services are available to support them, it’s usually up to caregivers to find them and navigating through a fragmented health and social support system can be challenging, time-consuming, frustrating, and often ineffective.
Innovative approaches and eHealth interventions that can provide easy, timely, and need-based access to knowledge resources, enhances and safeguards care capacity among informal caregivers, reducing stress and depression levels, delaying nursing home placements, improving mood and their quality of life (Brodaty & Donkin, 2009). Innovations in technology are becoming a crucial element in improving support for and the well-being of family caregivers but
a number of social, cultural, ethical, and technical issues complicate the rapid emergence of new technologies which affects its adoption, implementation, and scalability.
Using a participatory foresight approach, this research project speculates futures, 15 years from now, to explore and envision an implementation model for eHealth services for informal Dementia caregivers in Ontario. At a time when technology innovations present significant challenges and opportunities, the purpose is to identify leverage points that will inspire and inform organizations, developers, researchers, healthcare providers, and innovators interested in translating knowledge into practice by designing sustainable and resilient eHealth interventions. This has been accomplished by understanding the needs of informal caregivers, implications of emerging technologies, and factors affecting implementation of eHealth solutions that support informal caregivers
How to make a city fall in love with an animal: Communication Strategies for Urban Wildlife Inclusion and, A Case Study on Opossums in Toronto, Ontatio.
Get PDFAs humans continue to encroach upon wildlife habitats, conflicts between humans and wild animals have steadily increased. The current practices of urban wildlife management are ineffective, unsustainable, and have a demonstrated history of dangerous consequences. These practices operate from a deeply anthropocentric worldview which looks at nature as a resource, and animals as objects to regulate. The decisions taken under this mindset, have led to devastating consequences for the planet, the wildlife and humans themselves.
This paper employs an inclusive design philosophy, as an alternative and ecocentric approach, to urban wildlife management. It defines this practice of aiming for a peaceful co-existence as urban wildlife inclusion. It argues that wildlife management should no longer cater only to humans, but it must consider the agency and autonomy of animals and treat them as equal stakeholders of the planet.
Along with that, it also makes a case for expanding the sphere of inclusive design to include urban wildlife in it, effectively creating a new area of inclusive design research that expands the system of inclusion beyond humans.
The paper then goes on to propose an urban wildlife inclusion framework and a communication model, which will assist in designing communication strategies for gaining and sustaining community participation for urban wildlife. This is followed by a documentation of an on-going project which utilizes the proposed framework to raise social awareness about Virginia opossum population in Toronto, Ontario. During this documentation, it also discusses the concept of “co-designing with animals”.
The paper concludes that there is a need to steer ourselves towards social inclusion of wildlife and ecocentrism. It also hopes that the framework and model designed during the course of this research can act as starting points for building further models of inclusion
Barriers Experienced by Individuals with IDD when Interacting with Digital Technology and Online Content
Get PDFPrior to the pandemic there was clear evidence that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) had less access to digital technologies and services than other groups of individuals with disabilities, and mainstream users. The expectation seemed to be that the transition to online delivery would be relatively seamless and that essential (e.g., e-health services like online appointments and therapy sessions) services would be easy to access. However, that is not the experience of all individuals with disabilities, particularly individuals with IDD, as that population retains a preference for face-to-face delivery of certain services during the pandemic.
There are existing accessibility guidelines that designers can use to create content or software, for example, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. These guidelines focus primarily on the needs of a population of individuals with a single disability and most often those with a sensory (e.g., visual, hearing) or mobility issue. Relying solely on standards like the WCAG 2.1 seems unlikely to address the needs of people with IDD, a very heterogeneous population.
The first stage of this research project was a scoping review of literature published between 2007 and the present that dealt barriers that individuals with IDD had using Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The second part involved consultations with six individuals with an IDD around their ICT use. The third part of the project involved the creation of a decision tree. The decision tree is intended to act as a tool that can be used by designers and others when they make decisions about how to create ICT that supports users with IDD
The Measure of Han
Get PDFHan is an untranslatable Korean affect associated with historical unresolved grief, separated families, and loss of collective identity. Han is an accumulation of intergenerational trauma, which in the North American context has been sustained by suspended assimilation and dislocation/migration. Through relational methodology, the in/visible limits of its translatability are revealed/concealed. The Measure of Han, exhibited at Ignite Gallery, Toronto, brought inherited and copied objects, ritual in repetition, sound/video, and daily artist activations together in a temporal installation as the outcomes of the MFA research-creation
Considerations for the design of overdose education and naloxone distribution interventions: results of a multi-stakeholder workshop
Get PDFThe sustainable transport planning index: A tool for the sustainable implementation of public transportation
Get PDFFuture Play: Exploring a Futures Thinking Toolkit for Elementary Education
Get PDFThe rapidly changing needs and expectations of society are driving contextual, technological, and pedagogical shifts in education. This research project emphasizes the importance of equipping young learners in Ontario’s Public Education System with skills to adapt to an evolving world and to navigate uncertainty. It highlights the importance to prepare students for future challenges and emerging careers. By incorporating Futures Thinking into elementary education, students can develop an early understanding of continuous change and learn the skills needed to anticipate and shape that future.
The outcome of this research was a proposed hypothetical toolkit for educators, as a means of exploring Futures Thinking. The toolkit would assist educators in developing various activities and supply them with resources to teach and support the learning. Through this toolkit, learners would develop their own creative confidence, inspire others, take risks, have the agency to imagine, craft narratives and co-create their futures, through a facilitated approach
Addressing Health Inequities in Cannabis Research: Developing an Inclusion Tool to Support the Production of Gender-Inclusive Public Health Research
Get PDFUsing a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) corporate reports, infographics, reports, and report summaries, the research examines the relationship between gender and cannabis consumption among Canadian youth. The CDA evaluates gender inclusion supported by the application of the gender inclusion scale (GIS). A total of 44 CCSA publications focused on cannabis consumption were scored on the GIS to assess the gender inclusion of CCSA research. The data highlighted apparent gender differences supporting the recognized need for gender inclusion in public health research. Gender plays a significant role in cannabis consumption; the CCSA research concludes that male cannabis consumers face elevated susceptibility to adverse health risks and detrimental harms associated with cannabis consumption. The heightened susceptibility to harm and risk correlated with male cannabis consumers is the product of (masculine) drug cultures, drug-taking risk behaviour influenced by gender roles, and gendered perceptions of risks related to drugs. The research recognizes the critical value of gender inclusion in public health research, developing a GIS Tool to provide a resource to employ gender-inclusive research production, GIS score identification, and identify areas where gender inclusion could be improved in effective incorporation within public health research. The GIS Tool is not limited to cannabis research but can be transferred to all public health research environments. The research proposes gender inclusion as a means to better safeguard Canadians, specifically Canadian youth, from cannabis-related disadvantageous risks and harms, calling for comprehensive gender-inclusive work to inform guiding Canadian policies and practices
Understanding youths' lived experience of digital mental health interventions through a photovoice approach
Get PDFYouth can face mental health challenges in the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Web-based programs, apps, and websites for mental health are increasingly developed for youth due to their consistent use of online and mobile technologies. These resources have several benefits including easy access to information, anonymity, and low cost. This study sought to develop an understanding of youth’s experiences with web-based programs, apps, and websites for mental health. Nine participants between the ages of 15-21 with lived experience of a mental health concern from British Columbia and Ontario were recruited for this study. The photovoice method was used to aid participants in exploring their experiences with digital mental health interventions through photography. Group workshops and individual interviews allowed youth to reflect on their photographs.
Data analysis was conducted through open inductive coding applied to transcripts from workshops and interviews. Themes related to youths’ digital mental health intervention use journeys were identified as (1) Searching for support, (2) Individual needs unmet, and (3) Finding relief. Photovoice provided a suitable research method for prioritizing youth lived expertise due to its flexible and adaptable approach. Mental health researchers and service providers should readily consider the experiences of youth when designing, selecting, and assessing digital mental health interventions as part of an integrative approach to mental health care
Panjabi-Centred Design: Embracing Transgressive Liberation and Fostering Accessibility in Healthcare and Social Welfare for the Panjabi Communities
Get PDFThis Major Research Paper (MRP) critically investigates the inadequate relationships between healthcare and social welfare organizations and Panjabi communities in Canada, exposing the colonial foundations that continue to perpetuate systemic marginalization. Present services fail to adequately address the long-standing presence of intergenerational trauma, community-driven practices, and language and access barriers. The provision of translated materials in Panjabi (Gurmukhi) constitutes a reactive approach that perpetuates the illusion of liberation, rather than offering comprehensive care. Despite strategic plans that profess to provide equitable healthcare for all, the Canadian healthcare and social welfare systems remain entrenched in deeply rooted colonial practices that oppress marginalized voices.
This MRP presents the Panjabi-Centred Design (PCD) Framework, a culturally-responsive approach that confronts the unique needs and experiences of the Panjabi diaspora within the Canadian healthcare and social welfare systems. By fusing traditional Panjabi values and practices with contemporary design methodologies, the PCD Framework strives to cultivate equity, inclusivity, and well-being for Panjabi communities. The research emphasizes the importance of contemplating factors such as intergenerational trauma, generational family structures, and language barriers in devising proactive solutions while advocating for the dismantling of prevailing reactive and half-measured approaches.
The PCD Framework ultimately aspires to achieve transgressive liberation for Panjabi communities and other marginalized populations by contesting colonial practices, holding healthcare authorities accountable, and nurturing community engagement and empowerment