Linda Duffett-Leger - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Linda Duffett-Leger

Social Science Research Network, 2022

Journal of Pediatric Nursing, Sep 1, 2021

Information seeking has been observed to be important for the coping and empowerment of parents o... more Information seeking has been observed to be important for the coping and empowerment of parents of children with rare diseases. This study was conducted to better understand the education needs of families of children with pediatric intestinal failure (IF) and how technology might be effectively leveraged to address these needs. We hypothesized families would benefit from an electronic education platform encompassing the aspects of medical and management knowledge required by parents. A qualitative methodology using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was utilized. Purposeful sampling was adopted to recruit 10 parents/caregivers of children with IF who then participated in a 1:1 semi-structured interview. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and themes identified through open and focused coding. Four qualitative themes emerged: (1) reliable electronic or printed information resources relevant to their child's unique needs are lacking; (2) educational program with in-person and hands-on learning is preferred for transition to home; (3) practical and relatable information was valued over medical knowledge as children's needs evolved; and (4) creation of electronic resources would be useful for information seeking and sharing. This study revealed that parents of children with IF have high informational and educational needs and sought information beyond what they received. Participants stressed the importance of their informational needs related to practical day-today management rather than medical knowledge. Although digital resources were considered valuable, a blended approach of care team discussions and electronic tools was preferred for receiving knowledge and skills. Parents' connections with other caregivers was also noted as important for practical day-today management information, as well as supporting their wellbeing. Gaining an understanding of parents' informational needs will assist in the creation of a digital education tool that is accessible, user-friendly, and emphasizes practical information. iii Other practice implications include developing additional strategies to enhance parental coping and resiliency to reduce the stress associated with the uncertainty of their child's diagnosis.

International Journal of Human-computer Interaction, Mar 29, 2019

Understanding the user experience between runners and wearable technology is crucial for designin... more Understanding the user experience between runners and wearable technology is crucial for designing personalized and effective wearable technology features for injury prevention. Therefore, the overall objective of this study was to understand the attitudes and beliefs for competitive and recreational runners towards wearable technology as well as its potential use for preventing injury. Survey data were drawn from 663 respondents. Competitive runners preferred GPS running watches and were interested in tracking personalized data to optimize running efficiency, whereas recreational runners used mobile phones/apps and wristband activity trackers to increase motivation. All runners believed that basic metrics found in wearable technology were most important for injury prevention; however, more advanced metrics had little importance. This paper illustrates the importance of understanding different user experiences for recreational and competitive runners in relation to wearable technology, and encourages the human-computer interaction research community to identify methods in personalizing complex running-related wearable technology data.

Public Health Nursing, Sep 1, 2009

Objective: The purpose of the research was to explore the everyday experiences and responses of s... more Objective: The purpose of the research was to explore the everyday experiences and responses of stakeholders of a university-sponsored nurse-managed clinic (CHC) in regard to how nurses' roles in the clinic changed over time and the factors that influenced this change. Design and Sample: The research used a qualitative interpretive description design to interpret participants' accounts of their experience and perspectives as constructed narratives. The participants (N 5 23) included clients, community members who were volunteers at the CHC, staff of other community agencies or organizations, and nursing or social work students who had a clinical learning experience at the CHC. Measures: Data collection involved two interviews, one semistructured, face-to-face interview at the location selected by the participant, and a group interview held in a boardroom at the CHC. Each interview lasted approximately 60-90 min. Results: The research findings revealed the profound effects of the social, political, and economic context in determining nurses' roles within a nurse-managed primary health care clinic. The evolution of nursing roles occurred in reaction to these effects, causing the nurses within the CHC to juggle their priorities and commitments. Conclusions: The study provides a contemporary example of the political activism work of nurses that is often invisible and illustrates how the commitment of primary health care nurses to social justice contributes in a significant way to the resolution of health inequities experienced by marginalized populations.

The Internet is becoming an increasingly important portal to health information and means for pro... more The Internet is becoming an increasingly important portal to health information and means for promoting health in user populations. As the most frequent users of online health information, young women are an important target population for e-health promotion interventions. Health-related websites have traditionally been generic in design, resulting in poor user engagement and affecting limited impacts on health behaviour change. Mounting evidence suggests that the most effective health promotion communication strategies are collaborative in nature, fully engaging target users throughout the development process. Participatory design approaches to interface development enable researchers to better identify the needs and expectations of users, thus increasing user engagement in, and promoting behaviour change via, online health interventions. This article introduces participatory design methods applicable to online health intervention design and presents an argument for the use of such methods in the development of e-Health applications targeted at young women.

Nursing leadership, Dec 15, 2007

Although nurses make up the largest group of professionals working in th healthcare field, they a... more Although nurses make up the largest group of professionals working in th healthcare field, they are often left out of the decisions that shape the restructuring of healthcare in Canada. A feminist philosophy guided this qualitative study, conducted in New Brunswick, to gain an in-depth knowledge of the impact of restructuring on nurses working in all types of healthcare facilities across the province. Sixty-five nurses were interviewed, and a number of themes, including "having a voice," emerged from the data. While many of the nurses interviewed reported that they were not invited to participate in decisions related to healthcare restructuring, others noted that when they did have an opportunity to participate, they were frequently not heard. However, a number of nurses also reported that they believed they had some influence and could continue to make a positive difference when they were asked to be involved at the outset of a change process.

2022 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC)

Annual Review of Psychology, 2002

▪ Socioeconomic status (SES) is one of the most widely studied constructs in the social science... more ▪ Socioeconomic status (SES) is one of the most widely studied constructs in the social sciences. Several ways of measuring SES have been proposed, but most include some quantification of family income, parental education, and occupational status. Research shows that SES is associated with a wide array of health, cognitive, and socioemotional outcomes in children, with effects beginning prior to birth and continuing into adulthood. A variety of mechanisms linking SES to child well-being have been proposed, with most involving differences in access to material and social resources or reactions to stress-inducing conditions by both the children themselves and their parents. For children, SES impacts well-being at multiple levels, including both family and neighborhood. Its effects are moderated by children's own characteristics, family characteristics, and external support systems.

Sleep, Apr 1, 2020

B. Clinical Sleep Science and Practice VII. Pediatrics Conclusion: Initial data shows high occurr... more B. Clinical Sleep Science and Practice VII. Pediatrics Conclusion: Initial data shows high occurrence of SDB in patients pre and post ITB placement leading to medical or surgical intervention in 35%. Post ITB PSGs showed worsened oAHI and CAI and lower oxygen saturation nadir. Possible mechanisms include depression of central respiratory drive and decreased pulmonary reserves. This study may help stratify and address risks of ITB for those with refractory spasticity and SDB.

The Protecting Against Injury in Nurses (PAIN) project aimed to design a wearable technology appr... more The Protecting Against Injury in Nurses (PAIN) project aimed to design a wearable technology approach to improve posture and prevent back injuries among Nursing Students (NS). This involved conducting predesign activities to understand the context of Lower Back Pain (LBP) in nursing practice and develop a prototype over a 4-month university semester.

Canadian Journal of Nursing Research Archive, May 15, 2023

Background Supportive parenting programs can promote parent-child interactions and children's... more Background Supportive parenting programs can promote parent-child interactions and children's development. However, families experiencing vulnerability (e.g., low socioeconomic status) report barriers (e.g., transportation, distrust of researchers) to research participation, and attrition rates of 40% and higher have been reported in parenting research. In response, we conducted a longitudinal evaluation of a digital parenting program in a major metropolitan centre in western Canada and retained 99% of our sample. Aim Review recruitment and retention strategies employed in the First Pathways study and evaluate associations between sociodemographic (e.g., income) and psychosocial (e.g., parental depression) factors with recruitment and retention strategies. Methods and Findings In collaboration with community agencies, we commenced recruitment of 100 families experiencing vulnerability (e.g., low-income) in June 2021. We utilized strategies to engage staff (e.g., presentations, gift cards, updates) and employed snowball sampling. Families recruited through community agencies were significantly more likely to experience vulnerability (e.g., low income and education, high adverse experiences) compared to families in the snowball sample. We incorporated strategies to minimize participant burden (e.g., choice of online or in-person meetings), promoted rapport (e.g., holiday texts, nonjudgmental environment), incorporated trauma-informed practices (e.g., sensitive inquiry), and demonstrated appreciation for participants’ contributions (i.e., honorarium). Family experiences of vulnerability (i.e., low income, depressive symptoms, adversity) were correlated with higher participant rescheduling. Conclusion Nurses need knowledge of strategies to promote equitable access to research for families experiencing vulnerability. Digital programs with protocols designed to establish rapport, include trauma-informed practices, and minimize participant burden will likely optimize participation and retention.

Health technology, Nov 1, 2021

Parent's use of apps to support their parenting is on the rise. The purpose of this narrative rev... more Parent's use of apps to support their parenting is on the rise. The purpose of this narrative review of the literature is to explore the characteristics of research on parents' app use in the first year of parenthood, types of apps available to parents, and the factors that encourage or discourage parents' app use. A narrative review of the literature and thematic analysis of the full-text English language articles between January 2000 and December 2019 relating to parents' use of apps in the first year of parenthood was conducted to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing literature using seven academic databases: CINAHL Plus with Full Text, MEDLINE, SocINDEX with Full Text, PsychINFO, Academic Search Complete, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Forty-one articles were included based on prespecified eligibility criteria. The majority (n=30) discussed a parenting app or mHealth intervention that included an app. Most studies (n=15) recruited women as participants and were conducted in Australia (n=10). Thematic analysis of the eligible articles (n=41) revealed four themes: (I) increased app use related to shifts in parenting trends; (II) types of apps available to parents; (III) apps to overcome the digital divide; and (IV) factors encouraging or discouraging app use. Although numerous literature reviews have been conducted to explore parents' use of online resources, none of the reviews specifically focus on mobile apps developed to support parents in the first year of parenthood. This research advocates that health professionals and researchers should find alternatives to standardized means of delivering and developing parenting social support to fulfill contemporary parents' needs.

mHealth, Sep 1, 2019

Background: Parenting can be challenging, and in this digital age, first-time parents actively ac... more Background: Parenting can be challenging, and in this digital age, first-time parents actively access mobile applications or "apps" to adjust to their new roles. Apps are now technologically-savvy parents' go-to tool for accessing information, tracking their babies' development, editing and sharing photos, and much more. While apps have the potential to make parenting easier, the abundance of low-quality apps makes the process of finding a reliable one arduous for parents. Therefore, the objective of this app review paper was to provide a list of quality parenting apps that parents can use. Methods: The Google Play Store was searched on June 1st, 2018 for available parenting apps using 18 search terms: mum, mom, mommy, mama, mother, father, dad, daddy, papa, newborn, baby, infant, kid, child, children, family, parent, and parenting. The eligible apps (n=16) were evaluated on engagement, functionality, aesthetics, and information domains using Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS). Results: The authors identified 4,300 free apps on the initial search, of which n=16 apps were included in the review. All 16 apps were freely available to the public on Google Play Store. Most apps (n=13) were also available on the iOS platform. All eligible apps had a privacy policy, and half of the apps contained advertisements. Most apps (n=12) were updated within the last year and received 4.5 or above ratings from users. Babybrains app, developed by a neuroscientist, had the lowest number of downloads (one thousand) whereas, BabyCenter, a commercial app, had the highest number of downloads (ten million). A majority of apps (n=11) received MARS scores between 4.2 and 4.4/5, with four apps received highest MARS score of 4.5/5, and one app received the lowest MARS rating of 4/5. Conclusions: Apps play an increasingly important role in supporting new parents in their first year of parenthood due to convenience and ease of accessibility. Health care professionals are in an ideal position to support technologically savvy parents in locating good quality apps; therefore, they should support the evaluation of existing parenting apps to ensure that the parents are presented with the up to date and best options.

Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, Nov 1, 2011

Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) reduces maternal–infant interaction quality, stresses inf... more Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) reduces maternal–infant interaction quality, stresses infants and mothers, and is linked to adverse child social–emotional and cognitive developmental outcomes. Objectives: A hypothesised mechanism for these observed relationships is the stress-related over-activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and resultant altered cortisol patterns. While cortisol levels of mothers and infants are strongly correlated, environmental, maternal, infant and maternal–infant

Western Journal of Nursing Research, Aug 1, 2010

Maternal depression, especially in the early years of child development, affects parenting behavi... more Maternal depression, especially in the early years of child development, affects parenting behaviors that have been repeatedly linked to poor outcomes in children. However, recurrent maternal depression may be a more potent predictor of parenting than depression that only occurs in the early years. Longitudinal population data were used to examine the influence of depression in the first 2 years postpartum alone or in combination with recurrent episodes of depression on self-reported parenting behaviors known to influence children’s development. Growth curve hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the relationships among depression in the early years, recurrent depression, and parenting during children’s first 12 years of life. Findings revealed that 63% of the depressed mothers reported recurrent episodes of depression. Self-reported parenting behaviors characterized by positive forms of discipline, firmness, and consistency were related to recurrent episodes of depression, whereas warmth and nurturant parenting behaviors were unaffected by recurrent episodes.

Current Women's Health Reviews, Aug 14, 2016

Clinical medicine insights, 2019

BACkgRounD/oBjeCTIve: Postpartum depression is linked to decreased quality mother-infant interact... more BACkgRounD/oBjeCTIve: Postpartum depression is linked to decreased quality mother-infant interactions and long-term negative impacts on children's behavior and health. Infant care competence may be reduced by postpartum depression and other maternal or environmental variables. Thus, the objective of this study was to explain factors that contribute to perceived infant care competence among mothers with postpartum depression. MeThoDS: Multiple regression analysis and correlational analysis were conducted to study associations between the predictors (depression severity, social support, child development, family functioning) and the outcome of perceived infant care competence among a peer support intervention study for mothers with postpartum depression (n = 55). ReSulTS: Child development, specifically communication (P = .04), gross (P = .00) and fine (P = .00) motor skills, problem solving (P = .00), and personal-social development (P = .01), explained maternal perceptions of responsiveness, an aspect of infant care competence. The best-fit model was obtained for the responsiveness subscale, in which 37% of the variance was explained by mothers' reports of infants' fine motor skills (P = .000) and nurturance (P = .039) as an aspect of social support and family functioning (P = .078). ConCluSIonS: Recognition of the importance of infant development to perceived infant care competence, particularly mothers' perceptions of infant responsiveness, may offer targets for intervention. Helping mothers identify infant cues and milestones that signal infant responsiveness may be beneficial. Moreover, social support and family functioning may be targets for intervention to promote perceived infant care competence in mothers affected by postpartum depression.

Issues in Mental Health Nursing, Apr 4, 2023