School of Social Work

Permanent link for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14078/30

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 97

Spirit and self: a holistic approach to Afro-Caribbean Canadian youth mental health care
(2025) Edwards, Fiona
Black youth continually experience stressful environmental conditions that negatively impact their mental health and well-being. Some seek religious and spiritual support to cope with these daily environmental stressors. Although the practice of spirituality through religious activities has allowed Black people and their communities to find meaning and comfort during times of pain, cope with injustices, and find hope for a better tomorrow, most of what is known about the importance of religiosity and spirituality in Black communities originates from research conducted in the United States. Within the Canadian context, the religious and spiritual experiences of Black youth, especially those of Afro-Caribbean background, are rare within the field of social work education and practice. This article presents data from six Afro-Caribbean Canadian youth (ACCY) between the ages of 16 and 18, two parents, and three faith-based leaders drawn from a doctoral youth-centered phenomenological study in Canada. By sharing their perspectives, this article examines the impacts of religious and spiritual support on the lives of ACCY. Recommendations for the use of religiosity and spirituality in social work education and practice are discussed.
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Afro-Caribbean Canadian youth’s mental health and well-being
(2025) Edwards, Fiona
The Black community has been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, both economically and mentally. In addition, Black youth have had the added burden of coping with anti-Black racism (ABR) in conjunction with school closures, social distancing, and isolation — all of which profoundly disrupted their everyday lives. This study investigates, from their own perspectives and experiences, how the pandemic has impacted the mental health and well-being of Afro-Caribbean Canadian youth (ACCY) between the ages of 16 and 18 in urban southern Ontario. The findings from this article are drawn from a doctoral dissertation project which identified the mental health experiences of ACCY and examined the ways in which these experiences shape their use of mental health services. The ACCY in this study lived in urban areas in southern Ontario, were using mental health services, and were accessing spiritual and religious supports. An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach rooted in a Heideggerian hermeneutics was used, based upon six semi-structured interviews with three female and three male ACCY. Analysis of data followed IPA guidelines. The analysis of the interviews led to the identification of three major themes related to ACCY’s sense of mental health: feelings of loneliness and isolation; self-awareness; and race consciousness of systemic anti-Black racism. The information gleaned from this research provides important insight into ACCY’s mental health and the various barriers, including systemic ABR, that maintain disparities in their mental health. This knowledge has implications for mental health policies and practices with Black youth and can be used to reduce systemic inequity, promote good mental health, and better understand the needs of Black youth in future crisis situations.
Resiliency and healing in expressions of Afrocentric education and social work in Canada
(2025) Ouedraogo, Valerie; Ikeorji, Chika
As a team of educators and researchers in Social Work we are exploring through a qualitative study, the existing expressions in the form of ways of thinking and doing one's work as educator, community worker, and government worker that aligns with Afrocentric Education in Canada. Our poster presentation draws from this research project that is in alignment with the United Nations (UN) International Decade for People of African Descent (IDPAD), and the recommendation 94 (e) in the report of the Working Group of Experts on IDPAD who visited Canada from October 17 to 21, 2016 articulating the need for Afrocentric education in Canada. The study covers three provinces in Canada: Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Ontario. Using profiling, we selected portions of the semi-structured interviews that resonate with Resiliency and Healing as a need for Act Now proposed by the conference call. We will focus on sharing the results of our analysis as a poster guided by our interconnectedness to the data on how participants express Afrocentric Education in Canada using Resiliency and Healing. Our poster is about the meanings/stories that they do tie to these words in responding to the 94e UN IDPAD recommendation to strengthen Afrocentric Education in Canada.
Digital learning preferences of Arabic-speaking older immigrants in Canada: a qualitative case study
(2024) Au, Alesia; Siddiqi, Hesham; Sayadi, Ghada; Zhao, Tianqi; Kleib, Manal; Tong, Hongmei; Salma, Jordana
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital inclusion for equitable and healthy aging. Older immigrants experience unique needs and challenges in using information and communication technologies compared to other older adults. Despite the proliferation of digital learning programs for older adults, there is minimal evidence of digital literacy learning needs and strategies relevant to older immigrants. The aim of this study is to explore learning approaches and digital engagement amongst Arabic-speaking older immigrants. This community-based qualitative descriptive study used co-designed group digital learning sessions. Two organizations supporting local ethnocultural communities in a municipality in Alberta, Canada recruited 31 older immigrants who spoke Arabic, Farsi, and Kurdish. Data collection included semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and observations of digital learning sessions. A total of seventeen learning sessions were completed with nineteen participants each attending five to six sessions. Findings highlight the iterative nature of the program sessions, the importance of catering to participants’ interests, the relevance of peer support, and language, sensory and digital variability barriers to learning. Digital literacy programs for immigrant older adults should adjust for language learning needs, maintain a flexible approach, tailor lessons to individual needs, foster social support, and address external factors such as limited digital access and transportation barriers.
Penalty versus premium: social disposition differentiates life satisfaction among living-alone immigrant and native-born older adults — findings from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)
(2024) Shen, Jing; Tong, Hongmei; Fuller-Thomson, Esme
Using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, in this study we provide an alternative explanation for the gap of life satisfaction between living-alone immigrants and Canadian-born older adults. Based on the Big-Five personality traits, we use the latent class analysis to generate two types of social dispositions, social independence and social dependence. With social dispositions taken into account, living alone contributes to life satisfaction in opposite ways for immigrant and Canadian-born older adults, by playing a negative role for the former group and a positive role for the latter. The trend of higher life satisfaction among the living-alone Canadian-born are mainly among the socially independent, whereas for immigrants, socially dependent older adults experience the lowest level of life satisfaction when living alone. Therefore, while socially independent Canadian-born older adults gain a “living-alone premium” in life satisfaction; their socially dependent immigrant counterparts experience a “living-alone penalty” in life satisfaction.
Volunteering among culturally diverse older adults before and during the-COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal analyses of the CLSA
(2024) O'Dea, Eireann; Wister, Andrew; Li, Lun; Canham, Sarah L.; Mitchell, Barbara
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented numerous challenges to older adults in Canada, including the ability to volunteer. The purpose of this study is to improve the understanding of the social context surrounding volunteering in Canada, by (a) determining changes in associations between human, social, and cultural capital and volunteering among older adults; and (b) examining the relationship between ethnic minority status and volunteering, using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), collected prior to and during the pandemic. This study utilized data from 24,306 CLSA Baseline, Follow-up 1 (FUP1), and COVID-19 Baseline Survey participants (aged 55+). Results confirm a decrease in volunteering during the early stages of the pandemic. Compared to pre-pandemic associations, volunteers during the early stages of the pandemic were more likely to be young-old, male, employed, and not involved in religious activities. Findings provide evidence of pandemic effects on volunteering among older adults in Canada.
The effect size and nonlinearity of the relationship between cannabis consumption and consumer self‐perceived mental health: a study based on eight national surveys in Canada
(2024) Deng, Qian; Li, Lun
Previous research suggests a negative association between cannabis consumption and consumer mental health, but the magnitude and linearity of this association require further investigation. Therefore, this study analyzed eight suitable national survey datasets from Statistics Canada from 2009 to 2021. In the general population, the mean effect size between cannabis use (yes/no) and self-perceived mental health is negative but very small in magnitude (R= 0.096). Moreover, in the cannabis user sub-population, the mean effect size between cannabis usage frequency and mental health is small in magnitude (R= 0.157). More importantly, among cannabis users, a nonlinear negative relationship between cannabis use frequency and mental health was identified. Specifically, as cannabis use becomes more frequent and people's self-perceived mental health worsens, the association becomes stronger. These findings have significant implications for social marketing and health promotion.
Roles and experiences of informal caregivers of older adults in community and healthcare system navigation: a scoping review
(2023) Kim, Boah; Wister, Andrew; O’dea, Eireann; Mitchell, Barbara A.; Li, Lun; Kadowaki, Laura
Informal caregivers are playing a vital role in improving the degree to which older adults access community and healthcare systems in a more seamless and timely manner, thereby fulfilling their complex needs. It is critical to understand their experiences and perspectives while navigating these systems. This review aimed to identify and organise the research findings on the roles and experiences of informal caregivers of older adults while navigating community and healthcare systems.
A place called home? "Aging out" of care in the housing crisis in Toronto
(2024) Barlow, Amy; Edwards, Fiona
In the midst of the worst housing crisis that our nation has ever experienced, the moratorium on ‘aging out’ of care of the state in Ontario, Canada ended on April 1, 2023. Stemming from the Youth in Care Hearings, the provincial government has instituted the Ready, Set, Go Program. It is designed to provide youth in care with a phased plan for ‘aging out’ of the system and access to much needed services. While we acknowledge the benefits of this program, we believe that it does not go far enough to alleviate the prevalence of mental health challenges experienced by youth ‘aging out’ of care. In an effort to disrupt the settler-colonial neoliberal policies and ideology that fosters the production and reproduction of the oppression of one of the most vulnerable groups in society, that of children in care of the state, this commentary contests the very notion of ‘aging out’ of care. Through a social justice and health equity lens, we examine the concept and argue that the Eurocentric neoliberal notion of ‘aging out’ of the system is an inappropriate measure for determining when a youth is ready to leave care. We argue further that the concept of ‘aging out’ in general, and within the context of the current housing crisis in Toronto, Ontario in particular, will cause significant harm to the mental health and well-being of youth leaving care. Rather, we advocate for a more nuanced approach that centres on a series of indicators that assess individual readiness and mechanisms that can take exogenous factors, such as the housing crisis, into consideration.
Open the doors and let us out: escaping the coloniality of racism
(2020) Edwards, Fiona
Racism is an integral part of racialized groups’ experiences as Whiteness continues to foster the power and privilege it affords to White people. This has resulted in the racialization of Black bodies inflicted by racism. For Black youth, escaping the coloniality of racism may seem to be an impossible task as racism is ubiquitous, and has been deeply embedded in societal structures for hundreds of years. However, a heightened consciousness of racism provides a platform to fight against racial injustice. Instead of being locked in systems of oppression whereby Black bodies are wounded, there is a movement in the youth population to end intergenerational racist ideologies of what it means to be Black. Open the doors and let us out: Escaping the coloniality of racism empowers Black youth to embrace their Blackness, use their bodies and voices to reconstruct their racial identities and positionalities in society with pride and dignity.
Afro-Caribbean Canadian youth mental health: paving the way forward from the margin to the centre.
(2024) Edwards, Fiona; Torres, Rose Ann; Nyaga, Dionisio
Black youth are disadvantaged in Canadian society due to racial inequality. Within dominant institutions, Black youth are often oppressed, marginalized, excluded, controlled, and poorly understood. Research on race and mental health is largely focused on the adult population. Youth mental health, in general, is an understudied area, and critical investigations of Black youth’s mental health are even more limited. In addition, the mental health experiences of Afro-Caribbean Canadian youth (ACCY) are not well established within the Canadian context. The existing data that accounts for their lived experiences is very limited. Moreover, their personal narratives and experiences are too often marginalized in the limited research that does exist. Without data that accurately represents their experiences, it will be challenging, if not impossible, to institute any necessary changes at the structural level. In an effort to address this gap, my doctoral research explores the lived mental health experiences of ACCY between the ages of 16–18 who were born in Canada and reside in the urban areas of Southern Ontario. Using the data from this study, this chapter provides recommendations for practices and policies in the mental health system that are designed to prioritize and address the mental health and well-being of the Afro-Caribbean Canadian and Black youth in general.
Our superior complex shadow is under a microscope
(2021) Edwards, Fiona
From the institution of slavery to current waves of systemic oppression, Black people continue to be negatively impacted. This calls attention to the pervasiveness of racism, specifically the anti-Black racism that contorts and constrains Black peoples’ lives. The magnitude of anti-Black racism punctuated human consciousness on a global scale after the public brutal killing of George Floyd, an African-American man in police custody. This poem is inspired by Floyd’s death and the emotional trauma and pain it ignited in Black people around the world. It illustrates the vulnerability of the Black community in respect to ongoing systemic oppression, the inferiorization of Blackness, and the corresponding suffering Black people must endure.
My life matters: The cost of being a Black youth
(2021) Edwards, Fiona
White supremacy presents Black communities with numerous challenges. We are constantly being injured by the anti-black racism that is deeply entrenched in the policies and practices of dominant institutions. These establishments, including, if not especially, the criminal justice system, purport to be responsible for ensuring the well-being and welfare of all, but only ever protect the rich and white. The recent re-mobilization ofbthe Black Lives Matter movement worldwide has reminded the public of the urgency of tackling anti-black racism, but much work still needs to be done if we want future generations of Black people to live freely. Like Black adults, Black youth are not immune from racist encounters. In such a time of racial crisis, the experiences of Black youth need to be centralized in a movement that opposes racial injustice and white supremacy. Accordingly, this poem adopts the lens of a Black youth to speak to the cost of growing up Black immersed in the dominant anti-black culture of our society, underscoring the troubling realities of what it means to be a Black youth in today’s world.
Sitting in the dark: COVID-19 and mental well-being
(2021) Edwards, Fiona
COVID-19 has created a new reality for countries worldwide as leaders are tasked with the responsibility of enacting safety measures to stop the rate of infection. Social distancing is promoted as one of the main ways of curbing the spread of the virus. Such measures limit social interaction and the spaces people are free to occupy. The following poem, entitled “Sitting in the dark: COVID-19 and mental well-being” speaks to the mental health impacts of such closures on the youth population, highlighting that no one is immune from the virus. This poem also explores the interconnectedness of a person’s physical and mental health and the subsequent need to pay attention to both realities during times of global crisis. Despite the challenges the pandemic presents, it is imperative that youth find an outlet to cope, one that will help them develop resiliency and a sense of hope.
Toward holistic and community-based interventions in the mental health of Black and Filipino youth
(2022) Ticar, Jessica Ellen; Edwards, Fiona
The field of social work needs critical education on how colonialism and oppression have impacted the mental health experiences of Black and Filipino youth. The psychological and socio-political factors impacting these particular youth have been examined in the literature, and we highlight the need for transformative change within service provision and interventions. Our article proposes an alternative model based on culturally relevant, decolonial, intersectional, holistic, and community-based interventions within the Region of Peel, Ontario, Canada. Situated within a settler colonial nation-state, we maintain that our proposed interventions have the potential to engage in decolonization and the building of solidarities with other marginalized groups, specifically other racialized communities and Indigenous Nations, going beyond the dominant clinical models in youth mental health. We propose that these interventions centre the particular and respective experiences of Black and Filipino youth in this geographical location, dismantling settler colonialism using intersectional and decolonial frameworks.
The true north strong and free? Casting shadows on whose history students learn in Canadian universities
(2021) Barlow, Amy; Edwards, Fiona
Race-based discrimination in Canada exists at the institutional and structural level. While acknowledging its existence is a crucial first step in eradicating this particular form of discrimination, an essential second step includes implementing structural changes at the institutional level in Canadian universities. In an effort to disrupt the Eurocentricity of knowledge production this commentary argues that the Canadian government’s official historical narrative that depicts Canada as being born of the pioneering spirit of British and French white settlers fails to capture the actual history of the country. Rather, it fosters the continuation of the supremacy of whiteness thereby causing significant harm through the perpetuation of racial bias. We argue that the history and contributions of Indigenous, Black, and Chinese Canadians, all of whom were in this country prior to confederation, should be told in a mandatory university course. Our findings indicate that while a number of universities have individual courses, usually electives and some graduate degrees on Indigenous, Black, and Chinese history, there is little offered from the Canadian context and certainly nothing that is a mandatory course requirement. In addition, we suggest compulsory university staff-wide anti-racism training; the ongoing hiring of professors and sessional instructors who are racially representative of the population of Canada; and community outreach, mentorship, and counselling programs that are designed to help students who are underrepresented in Canadian universities. In our opinion, we believe that these changes have the potential to provide a lens to disrupt settler colonial spaces, mobilize race in academic curricula, and encourage social justice actions that can offer a more inclusive learning environment.
Black youth mental health: reconstructing identity through art-based research
(2025) Edwards, Fiona
This article presents data from a creative art-based activity conducted as part of an ongoing youth-centered phenomenological study with Afro-Caribbean Canadian youth (ACCY) aged 16-18 in Canada. The youth in this study were asked to create identity maps to explore what it means to be Black and Canadian and how their identity affects their mental health and well-being at home, school, and in Canadian society. The art-based activity of this study was informed by Fine and Sirin’s (2007) concept of the hyphenated selves defined as “the social and developmental psychologies of youths living in bodies infused with global and local conflict, as they strive to make meaning, speak back, incorporate and resist the contradictory messages that swirl through them” (p. 17). It is well-established in the literature that Black youth are grossly underrepresented in research within the Canadian context, meaning that their perspectives are often missing. Therefore, it is significant to gain their perspectives on issues that impact their overall mental health and well-being. The art-based activity empowered ACCY to become knowledge producers, allowing them to construct their own narratives about their identity and how it shapes their mental health experience. A theoretical analysis of the identity maps produced by ACCY using post-colonial theory, critical race theory (CRT) and the concept of anti-Black racism (ABR) reveals that being Black and Canadian are two separate and distinct identities Black youth embody with varied outcomes on their mental health and well-being. This article emphasizes the importance of using art-based research with Black youth as a decolonizing approach to gain their perspectives on race and mental health in order to better understand and respond to their mental health needs.
Instructor led rotational model: An innovative approach to social work practicums in hospital environments
(2024) Dube, Kealey; Grant, Stephanie; Fulton, Amy; Judge-Stasiak, Angela; Oiffer, Andrea
With the saturation of student practicum placements requests in urban centres, job vacancies, budgetary restraints, and social workers’ intensive workloads, field education coordination teams are increasingly challenged to find social workers who are able to supervise student practicums and secure educational partnerships with organizations willing to support their staff in doing so. This is especially true in hospital settings, where social workers are still feeling the effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in their daily work lives. Hospital practicums are highly sought out by social work students and yet there are few practicum opportunities for students compared to the demand. Social workers are employed in various practice settings, including hospital social work. As social workers are Canada's largest group of mental health professionals within the hospital system, having robust and sustainable practicum opportunities is critical to the training and development of future social workers. To address these ongoing challenges in social work field education, the University of Calgary, MacEwan University, and Alberta Health Services worked together to develop and pilot a new practicum model at the Bachelor of Social Work level. This practicum model, titled the ‘Instructor Led Rotational Model’, was implemented as a pilot project during the winter 2023 semester. This article provides an overview of this initiative, including a description of innovative practice education components and discussion of the challenges in field education that the model aims to address. Considerations for revisions and future offerings of the instructor led practicum model are also identified.
A web-based training module in geriatric depression for future health and allied health professionals
(2024) Azulai, Anna; Tong, Hongmei; Saleh, Nagam; Brown, Ellen; Vihos, Jill; Pawliuk, Brandi; Zhang, Chunyan; Leung, Mevis; Feist, Lynn
Study rational and purpose: Web-based education has been proven effective in enhancing knowledge and confidence of health professionals in addressing mental health conditions. However, no web-based training, specific to geriatric depression, exists to date in Canada for educating future health and allied health professionals. The goal of this study was to develop, implement and evaluate a web-based learning module, Depression Assessment Training in Elderly (DATE), to enhance knowledge and confidence in screening for geriatric depression among social work, psychiatric nursing, and nursing students in an undergraduate Canadian university. Design/methodology/approach: This cross-sectional study utilized a set of quantitative surveys of undergraduate students in three different health and mental health disciplines in Canada. Findings: Findings suggest that the DATE module significantly improves confidence of all students in recognizing geriatric depression. Also, it increases clinical knowledge of geriatric depression in social work and psychiatric nursing students. Practical implications: The DATE module is now available for Canadian and international community of clinicians. Further research is needed to test the DATE in a larger sample of Canadian students of social work, psychiatric nursing, and nursing as well as among practicing clinicians. What is original/value of paper: The DATE is the first web-based learning module in Canada that contains clinical simulation case studies on the screening of geriatric depression.
Knowledge and attitudes of undergraduate social work students about inter-professional collaboration in Canada
(2023) Azulai, Anna; Vipond, Celina
Although interprofessional collaboration is a common expectation in social work employment, interprofessional education has not been a robust feature of baccalaureate social work preparation in Canada. There is also a dearth of research on the topic. These gaps are problematic because social workers with baccalaureate degrees are often employed in interprofessional teams in various health care settings in Canada. To address this gap in knowledge, this mixed methods study explores attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration of social work students in a Canadian undergraduate university. Also, the study evaluates the students’ knowledge acquisition of interprofessional competencies after a single interprofessional education event. Findings indicate a positive change in students’ attitudes and enhanced knowledge of the interprofessional care competencies. The study contributes to the limited body of research on interprofessional education of baccalaureate-level social work students in Canada. It also shows the power of a single interprofessional experiential event in benefiting professional education of future social work professionals.

Browse

Recent Submissions