Toronto Metropolitan University Open Journals
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The Responsibilization of Healthy Eating and the 2019 Canada\u27s Food Guide
No full textHealthy living guidelines shift responsibility for well-being onto individuals from the state. Individuals are asked to make responsible, healthy choices as moral citizens. The healthy eating recommendations in the 2019 Canada\u27s Food Guide contribute to the responsibilization of healthy eating by emphasizing individual choices, encouraging active participation in the market, and promoting self-monitoring of risks using expert knowledge
Government-Assisted Syrian Refugees\u27 Perceptions of Dietary Acculturation in Canada: A Qualitative Study
No full textDiet acculturation is a complicated process where refugees must discover new ways of consuming traditional foods, adopt new foods, or eliminate other foods from their diets in a host country. The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to explore the ways in which Syrian refugees describe diet acculturation since their arrival to a city in Southern Ontario. Individuals eligible to participate were government-assisted Syrian refugees who were at least 18 years old. Purposive and snowball sampling methods were used to recruit participants. Researcher-constructed, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were used to collect data in Arabic. Data were recorded and transcribed verbatim in Arabic and then translated to English. Inductive coding, second-cycle coding and thematic analysis were used to analyze the data. Using the dietary acculturation model as a lens, the study found participants sought to maintain a connection to their Syrian identity through food, yet food prices, access, and quality and perceptions of health, along with children’s peer influence resulting in bicultural eating patterns impacted the participants’ experiences with dietary acculturation. The results of the study will assist food and nutrition professionals in understanding dietary acculturation in the Syrian refugee population
Development and validation of a Religious and Spiritual Support Scale in Sri Lanka: A psychometric study
No full textIntroduction: Religious and spiritual support reduces distress in patients with cancer. Accurate and reliable data on religious and spiritual support received and perceived by patients with cancer would assist health authorities in planning health promotion strategies targeted at patients with cancer. In this study, a new measurement tool of religious and spiritual support for patients with cancer in Sri Lanka was developed and validated. Methods: A new tool, the Religious and Spiritual Support Scale (RSSS) was developed based on the previous questionnaire and evaluated using 40 patients with cancer. Cross-cultural adaptation was made using WHO guidelines. Reliability was checked using Cronbach’s alpha. Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to examine the test-retest reliability of the tool. Convergent and divergent validity of the tool was examined using the World Health Organization-Quality of Life-Brief scale (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Centre for Epidemiological Studies–Depression scale (CES-D). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to test the construct validity of the RSSS. Results: The RSSS showed a high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha-0.874). The test-retest reliability of the scale was good (ICC = 0.981). As expected, the overall RSSS score correlated negatively with CES-D (r= - 0.338, p<0.05) and positively with overall QoL scores of the WHOQOL-BREF; (r=0.421, p<0.001), confirming satisfactory divergent and convergent validity of the RSSS. EFA revealed a structure comprised of two factors: Religious practice and religious support. Conclusions: The RSSS is a reliable and valid scale to assess religious and spiritual support received and perceived by patients with cancer in Sri Lanka
Prevention and control of mosquito-borne diseases across Toronto and Brasília: A document-based descriptive analysis
No full textThe present study analyzed documents by health departments in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Brasília, Federal District, Brazil that address strategies for prevention and control of mosquito-borne diseases (MBDs) between 2012 and 2022. Nineteen documents were fully read and analyzed. Results suggest both Toronto and Brasília base their strategies on Integrated Vector Management, performing entomological, environmental, vector and epidemiological surveillance; source reduction; public education and mobilization; and chemical control as an ultimate resource. In addition, results indicate many documents lacked references lists with scientific evidence, although the most recent ones usually follow international protocols and national experiments results. Most do not teach workers on how to verify the effectiveness of the executed measures. Further research investigating people’s perceptions and behaviors towards MBDs can provide a more solid ground for effective health policy development, especially in cases of major public health concern, such as dengue and other neglected tropical diseases epidemics
Inequalities in the reported impacts of COVID-19 on child health: A narrative review
No full textBackground: The world battled with children’s needs during the pre-COVID-19 era, and their health and educational needs were amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article highlights the reported impact of the pandemic on child health, the inequalities observed, the lessons learnt, and the way forward in the post-COVID era. Method: A narrative literature review was conducted. Articles from Google Scholar and PubMed were searched from 2015 upward. The reference lists of the included articles were also searched for more relevant studies. A descriptive analysis of the included studies was conducted to highlight the reported impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child health. Results: During the pandemic, every child was not affected equally. Inequalities in child physical, mental and social health were observed more in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Similarly, child nutrition was adversely affected as school feeding programs were disrupted. Although the education of children was adversely affected globally, the impact was more in LMICs, where digital learning was not well-developed. This was also worse in insurgent countries with many out-of-school children. Conclusion: Efforts should be geared towards meeting children\u27s physical, mental and social needs during pandemics, with a strong focus on children from developing countries. Similarly, the education of children should not be neglected. As efforts are directed towards meeting the needs of adults post-COVID, inequalities observed in child health during the pandemic should be addressed such that no child is left behind
Evaluating a sexual and reproductive health education program in Mozambique: A mixed method study
No full textBackground: Early and inappropriate messages regarding sexuality and marriage taught during adolescent initiation rituals teachings in Mozambique are considered a determinant of high rates of early marriage, adolescent pregnancy, and maternal mortality. The Alert Community for a Prepared Hospital implementation research project in Natikiri, Nampula, Mozambique (2016-2020) identified adolescent initiation rituals counsellors and traditional authorities as pertinent agents to provide sexual and reproductive health education to adolescents during the initiation rituals. Objective: Develop, apply, evaluate, and disseminate a modern, transformative education tool, about sexual and reproductive health and rights, for counselors to use with adolescents during initiation rituals in Northern Mozambique. Methods: This is an exploratory descriptive and intervention study, using mixed method approaches. Findings: Results suggest, the education tool was well accepted by rituals counsellors, community leaders and the adolescents who attended the initiation rituals. It was shown to improve adolescent’s knowledge and lead to a positive behaviour change in sexual and reproductive health and rights. Conclusions: This intervention may be replicated at a national level with a low cost and significantly contribute to reducing adolescent pregnancy and early marriages and improving maternal and child health
Complexity in Postmigrant Narratives of I-Docs
No full textWhat epistemological potential do participatory organized web documentaries offer in comparison to \u27conventional\u27 documentaries? Does a closer analysis reveal differences between different participatory approaches? And what role does the construction of complexity play in terms of emancipatory effects?
These are the initial questions of my contribution which deals with an epistemology of participatory web documentaries in relation to the construction of complex knowledge worlds. It starts with a theoretical deconstruction of different notions of participation and their application in web documentaries. In doing so, the constructed frames of reference and narratives, the functioning of the developed self-designs as well as the negotiation processes of design are also examined with respect to their epistemological potential. Still, the concept of participation calls for differentiation and clarification in general and its use in individual cases; all too often the term "participation" has been used vaguely and turned into an umbrella term under which medial interactivity and participation, social and political participation, and cultural perception and recognition are conflated. It is precisely the equation of media participation with social and political participation that seems problematic here.
From the perspective of a critique of dividuation inspired by Gilles Deleuze and presented for example by Michaela Ott, participation seems to make sense only if it critically reflects the passivization imposed by digital communication and the entanglement of individuals in a complex network of social, cultural, and technological references – hence also normalized, stereotypical patterns of perception and cognition. Ultimately, this requires an examination of antagonistic, polyphonic, multi-perspectival and multi-media, thus also media self-reflexive forms of expression on different levels, which must be negotiated in their interplay. In short, this requires an examination of the medial construction of relational forms of complexity, which is the prerequisite for participation to have an emancipatory effect at all.
The paper will fathom this theoretical context by an analysis of paradigmatically selected participatory web documentaries, examining different forms of complexity with regard to their epistemological and emancipatory potential. Thus, I will argue for a methodological shift of perspective that leads from an analysis of works to an analysis of their processuality. This – in the end, makes it necessary to recognize that it is also a question of how the various notions of participation – ranging from strategies of voice-giving realized in web-documentaries to dimensions of engaged listening – can contribute in their own respect to the development of polyphonic, multifaceted perspectives and make doing documentary a medium for negotiating positions and a means for self-empowerment of the stakeholders involved in these processes
“We had to care, we knew no one else would.”: Fostering Affect and Care Through Collaborative Interactive Documentary
No full textDomestic violence and gender-based violence are being reported in increasing numbers throughout the world. The statistics, as well as the headlines, are brutal and heart-breaking but little is being done to address the issues in a rigorous and decisive way. This shows not only that our societies are still a long way from accomplishing gender equality, but that the increasing polarization in attitudes and information exchange, possibly contribute to the decrease in humanism and care. In Portugal for instance, most homeless women have previously been the victims of domestic violence. Which makes this vulnerable group even more excluded and marginalized.
As part of a practice-based research for the PhD, I started a collaboration with a Lisbon based organization that advocates housing first strategies in dealing with the problem of homelessness in general, but the project is focused on women particularly. Throughout 2022 we have been building foundations for a women’s association run and organized by the women who are or have been homeless, and whose main goal is to approach and care for Lisbon’s homeless women based on peer support.
A collaborative interactive documentary is an important part of this process. Its production is being used as both a tool for empowerment, and at the same time, as a part of an outreach strategy aimed at the wider Lisbon public and their cognizance about women’s homelessness, drawing attention to a series of specific problems that homeless women face.
The baseline question is if and how the interactive documentary can contribute and serve for the voices of these women to enter the debate, to show various points of view and sensibilize the community for their issues, as well as to display the lack of policies and propose the bottom-up approaches and joint strategies, offer feasible solutions and build collective action to seriously address women’s homelessness.
Theoretically and methodologically, the constructs of polyphony and co-creation are very important factors here. This approach helps in building trust among different actors, where the authorial role vanishes, and the narrative is controlled and shaped by several participants. Our hypothesis is that it could also help in producing affect and care, firstly among peers, which is already being observed, and then among the documentary’s audience.
The promise for social change often gets intertwined with documentary filmmaking, and the discussions around impact and change did grow in the last couple of decades, in industry, in marketing, at festivals and around funding opportunities, and coming from different filmmakers, activists, NGOs and other stakeholders. It is often talked and written about, but rarely proved. This paper does not aim at establishing the proof of the direct link between impact and documentary, but it will, through one case study, explore the affordances of collaborative interactive documentary in raising awareness, building hope, fortifying personal relationships, and fostering affect and care.
‘Conversations with Men’: Co-creation for Effective Media Practice in Southern Africa
No full textThis research on the Gender Conversations with Men media project in Southern Africa investigates the significance of collaboration in promoting effective and sustainable media practices on gender issues using the partnership between STEPS and their partner organizations as a case study.
STEPS, established in 2000, is a non-profit media organization based in South Africa that uses film and video as tools for social change. It has longstanding relationships with 9 partner organizations in 7 different Southern Africa countries. This case study offers a wholly Global South example of a collaborative, multi-country media advocacy program centered on gender issues. Additionally, the researchers are based in and/or from the region from which they both have practice-based participatory video backgrounds.
The varied types and levels of collaboration found within the ‘web’ of project relationships was considered from the framework of co-creation to assess questions of power, equity and reciprocity. The nature of the collaboration was then considered in terms of assessing its relevance to indicators of project success and efficacy.
Data was collected through document and media gathering and analysis - including Gender Conversations with Men program documentation, the STEPS films used in the first 2 phases of the program, and the participatory ‘change story’ videos created as part of the project. Research visits were conducted with onsite focus groups and semi-structured interviews with program coordinators and facilitators with 6 of the partner organizations in 4 countries. Of most relevance to this paper, the various collaborative relationships within the network were explored in these research interactions as well as change stories at facilitator and community participant level.
This paper argues that the specific type of collaboration that took place within the Gender Conversations with Men project was co-creation and that this contributed significantly to the high levels of ownership of the process at local project level. The locally based partner organizations were able to develop and run programs they deemed most appropriate to their needs, which enabled highly engaged conversations at community-level screenings as well as authentic participatory video storytelling. The first-hand ‘change stories’ collected from the research suggest a high level of impact at facilitator (and community) level on attitude and behavior change specifically on young men through their participation in virtual interactive workshops, facilitation of (or participation in) community screenings and the making of the participatory ‘change story’ videos.
This research highlights the critical role of interrogating pervasive claims of ‘collaboration’ to consider authentic co-creation as a more effective and sustainable way in which to address sensitive topics, such as gender issues, through media advocacy practices. Co-creation allows for diverse perspectives and expertise to come together based on principles of equity and reciprocity to foster engagement, motivation, and ownership among participants. The case study provides insights for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers interested in using collaborative approaches in their media interventions
An Excessively Fat Introduction
No full textIn this article, co-managing editors Ramanpreet Annie Bahra and Dr. Kelsey Ioannoni introduce the inaugural issue of the new open-access journal Excessive Bodies: A Journal of Artistic and Critical Fat Praxis and Worldmaking.