Sandra Gifford - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Sandra Gifford

Refuge Canada S Journal on Refugees, Feb 4, 2015

Cette oeuvre en libre accès fait l'object d'une licence Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercia... more Cette oeuvre en libre accès fait l'object d'une licence Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International.

Journal of Comparative Family Studies

Global Networks, 2016

, I. (forthcoming, accepted 5/4/16). 'Return visits and belonging to countries of origin among yo... more , I. (forthcoming, accepted 5/4/16). 'Return visits and belonging to countries of origin among young people from refugee backgrounds' Global Networks.

Youth Studies Australia, Jun 1, 2010

Participatory media approaches were used as a strategy to provide space for youth with refugee ba... more Participatory media approaches were used as a strategy to provide space for youth with refugee backgrounds to narrate their early settlement experiences. The paper describes the challenges of participatory media approaches as both a research tool and as a strategy. The key ...

Health an Interdisciplinary Journal For the Social Study of Health Illness and Medicine, 2001

This article examines narratives about culture, gender, identity and sexual health amongst Chilea... more This article examines narratives about culture, gender, identity and sexual health amongst Chilean and Salvadorean women living in Melbourne, Australia. We compare women's narratives about gender roles in their home country to make sense of their experiences of migration, the tensions that arise in renegotiating their gender identities and roles in a new country and the ways these changes are experienced in terms of sexual health and well being. In comparing these past and present narratives of Chilean and Salvadorean born women, we raise a number of questions about the assumptions underpinning many of the sexual health promotion and STD prevention programmes targeted at women in migrant communities in Australia. Many of these programmes have targeted specific 'language groups' or 'geographical regions' with little attention paid to variations of cultural or socioeconomic contexts within people's home countries or the specific ways in which these impact on gender roles. Additionally, very few sexual health policies and strategies in Australia take into account the impact of the 'migration and settlement process' and the ways these experiences influence cultural and gender identity of migrants in Australia. We propose that there is a need to build effective and flexible sexual health promotion and STDs, including HIV/AIDS, prevention strategies that build upon a dual strategy which includes men and women.

Community Health Studies, 2010

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1300 J013v38n04_03, Oct 10, 2008

Cultural beliefs, norms and values regarding sexuality and gender roles forge people&... more Cultural beliefs, norms and values regarding sexuality and gender roles forge people's sexual behaviour and understanding of sexual health risk. Acknowledging a person's cultural background is a key challenge for the promotion of sexual health programs and strategies for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV/AIDS. This challenge acquires larger dimensions when health promotion programs are directed towards migrant communities. This article examines narratives about past and present life experiences of Chilean women living in Australia and Chilean women in Chile. We inquire about social changes and exposure to education women experienced in their own country and in Australia and the ways in which migrant women define and articulate their experiences in relation to sexual health prevention. In comparing these experiences, we raise a number of questions about sexual health promotion and programs, including the prevention of STDs and HIV/AIDS targeted to specific migrant communities in Australia. Very few sexual health policies and strategies in Australia take into account the impact that the social and cultural background of migrants, social changes and the 'settlement process' has on the cultural construction of gender identity of migrants in the new country. We propose that these cultural constructs are key in the formulation of migrants' beliefs and attitudes towards sexuality and sexual health. We suggest that there is a need to build effective and culturally appropriate sexual health promotion and prevention strategies that build upon the social and cultural background and the present and past life experiences of migrant women and men.

Faculty of Health Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation School of Public Health Social Work, Aug 13, 2010

Australian Hepatitis Chronicle, 2001

Skip to content. admin login. La Trobe University Research Online, a digital repository holding w... more Skip to content. admin login. La Trobe University Research Online, a digital repository holding works produced by La Trobe University staff and students La Trobe University Research Online, a digital repository holding works produced by La Trobe University staff and students ...

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 10413200209339007, Oct 24, 2007

Previous studies looking at the sources of stress in sport have generally overlooked the unique e... more Previous studies looking at the sources of stress in sport have generally overlooked the unique experiences of professional athletes participating in team sports. This paper describes the results of a qualitative study aimed at identifying the sources of stress experienced by a crosssection of professional Australian footballers. Players from two Australian Football League clubs took part in the study involving in-depth, one-to-one interviews and focus group discussions. The results revealed that players identified sources of stress that went beyond those associated with the competitive event (such as poor performances) and included a lack of feedback, difficulty balancing football and study commitments, and job insecurity. The influence of both competition and non-competition sources of stress parallels previous research involving non-professional athletes and indicates that the entire sporting experience needs to be taken into account when developing stress management strategies. Ken Hunter, an ex-professional Australian footballer, recently spoke about the severe social and psychological effects associated with playing the game at the highest level. In mid-1988, after playing in three premiership teams, Ken was relegated to the reserves team for the first time in his career. Unable to regain a permanent position in the senior team, Hunter's physical and emotional health began to suffer: I was training harder and harder to try and exhaust myself. .. doing ridiculous things to my body. On Sundays I would drink to try and drown my sorrows and get to sleep, thinking that if I just got a good sleep it would be fine (Wilson, 1999, p. 1). Soon after the season had ended, Ken was admitted to hospital suffering from physical and mental exhaustion. The club and the player originally intended keeping the story a secret. However, a decade later Hunter himself decided to speak publicly on the matter. His rationale was that little is known about a profession that can be as stressful as it is rewarding. Many stories like Ken's have emerged over the past five years and indicate that stress among professional Australian footballers is a serious issue. While a number of ex-players, current players and coaches have expressed concern regarding the well-being of professional

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 13691050903359265, Nov 1, 2009

Young people with refugee backgrounds face many challenges when making their lives in a resettlem... more Young people with refugee backgrounds face many challenges when making their lives in a resettlement country and their sexual and reproductive health needs are often overlooked. This paper reports on sexual health literacy amongst recently arrived young refugees settling in Melbourne, Australia. Qualitative methods were used to explore how resettled youth access, interpret and implement sexual health information, with a particular focus on how social contexts shape attitudes and understandings. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted with 142 participants aged between 16 and 25 years. Findings reveal that while young people had some knowledge of HIV and AIDS, knowledge of other STIs was limited. Importantly, narratives about risk and protection were informed by concerns for maintenance of social wellbeing. Sexual health promotion should be an explicit component of early resettlement services for youth with refugee backgrounds and strategies need to take account of the pre-migration and resettlement contexts.

Faculty of Health Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation School of Public Health Social Work, 2015

American Journal of Infection Control, Feb 28, 2005

Background: Universal Precautions (UPs) and more recently Standard Precautions have been widely p... more Background: Universal Precautions (UPs) and more recently Standard Precautions have been widely promoted in high-income countries to protect health care workers (HCWs) from occupational exposure to blood and the consequent risk of infection with bloodborne pathogens. In low-income countries, the situation is very different: UPs are often practiced partially, if at all, thereby exposing the HCWs to unnecessary risk of infection. The aim of this study is to describe rural north Indian HCWs knowledge and understanding of UPs and identify predictors of compliance to target intervention programs appropriately. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was undertaken, involving 266 HCWs (response rate, 87%) from 7 rural north Indian health care settings. Information was gathered regarding compliance with UPs and a range of other relevant variables that potentially influence compliance (eg, demographic information, perception of risk, knowledge of bloodborne pathogen transmission, perception of safety climate, and barriers to safe practice). Results: Knowledge and understanding of UPs were partial, and UPs compliance was suboptimal, eg, only 32% wore eye protection when indicated, and 40% recapped needles at least sometimes. After controlling for confounding, compliance with UPs was associated with being in the job for a longer period, knowledge of bloodborne pathogen transmission, perceiving fewer barriers to safe practice and a strong commitment to workplace safety climate. Conclusion: Interventions to improve UPs compliance among HCWs in rural north India need to address not only their knowledge and understanding but also the safety climate created by the organizations that employ them.

Continuum, 2015

In this article we consider the Australian beach as a material, imaginary and social arena in whi... more In this article we consider the Australian beach as a material, imaginary and social arena in which different versions of national belonging are performed and contested. Focusing on two short films produced by young people from refugee backgrounds, we explore the negotiation of national belonging on the beach by people who occupy identity categories that are typically excluded from idealising Australian beach mythologies. We argue that both the production and distribution of these films contribute to a reimagining of the Australian beach that creates new opportunities for people from migrant backgrounds to engage in the co-production of Australian identities in their own terms.

When Culture Impacts Health, 2013

Refuge Canada S Journal on Refugees, Feb 4, 2015

Cette oeuvre en libre accès fait l'object d'une licence Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercia... more Cette oeuvre en libre accès fait l'object d'une licence Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International.

Journal of Comparative Family Studies

Global Networks, 2016

, I. (forthcoming, accepted 5/4/16). 'Return visits and belonging to countries of origin among yo... more , I. (forthcoming, accepted 5/4/16). 'Return visits and belonging to countries of origin among young people from refugee backgrounds' Global Networks.

Youth Studies Australia, Jun 1, 2010

Participatory media approaches were used as a strategy to provide space for youth with refugee ba... more Participatory media approaches were used as a strategy to provide space for youth with refugee backgrounds to narrate their early settlement experiences. The paper describes the challenges of participatory media approaches as both a research tool and as a strategy. The key ...

Health an Interdisciplinary Journal For the Social Study of Health Illness and Medicine, 2001

This article examines narratives about culture, gender, identity and sexual health amongst Chilea... more This article examines narratives about culture, gender, identity and sexual health amongst Chilean and Salvadorean women living in Melbourne, Australia. We compare women's narratives about gender roles in their home country to make sense of their experiences of migration, the tensions that arise in renegotiating their gender identities and roles in a new country and the ways these changes are experienced in terms of sexual health and well being. In comparing these past and present narratives of Chilean and Salvadorean born women, we raise a number of questions about the assumptions underpinning many of the sexual health promotion and STD prevention programmes targeted at women in migrant communities in Australia. Many of these programmes have targeted specific 'language groups' or 'geographical regions' with little attention paid to variations of cultural or socioeconomic contexts within people's home countries or the specific ways in which these impact on gender roles. Additionally, very few sexual health policies and strategies in Australia take into account the impact of the 'migration and settlement process' and the ways these experiences influence cultural and gender identity of migrants in Australia. We propose that there is a need to build effective and flexible sexual health promotion and STDs, including HIV/AIDS, prevention strategies that build upon a dual strategy which includes men and women.

Community Health Studies, 2010

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1300 J013v38n04_03, Oct 10, 2008

Cultural beliefs, norms and values regarding sexuality and gender roles forge people&... more Cultural beliefs, norms and values regarding sexuality and gender roles forge people's sexual behaviour and understanding of sexual health risk. Acknowledging a person's cultural background is a key challenge for the promotion of sexual health programs and strategies for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV/AIDS. This challenge acquires larger dimensions when health promotion programs are directed towards migrant communities. This article examines narratives about past and present life experiences of Chilean women living in Australia and Chilean women in Chile. We inquire about social changes and exposure to education women experienced in their own country and in Australia and the ways in which migrant women define and articulate their experiences in relation to sexual health prevention. In comparing these experiences, we raise a number of questions about sexual health promotion and programs, including the prevention of STDs and HIV/AIDS targeted to specific migrant communities in Australia. Very few sexual health policies and strategies in Australia take into account the impact that the social and cultural background of migrants, social changes and the 'settlement process' has on the cultural construction of gender identity of migrants in the new country. We propose that these cultural constructs are key in the formulation of migrants' beliefs and attitudes towards sexuality and sexual health. We suggest that there is a need to build effective and culturally appropriate sexual health promotion and prevention strategies that build upon the social and cultural background and the present and past life experiences of migrant women and men.

Faculty of Health Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation School of Public Health Social Work, Aug 13, 2010

Australian Hepatitis Chronicle, 2001

Skip to content. admin login. La Trobe University Research Online, a digital repository holding w... more Skip to content. admin login. La Trobe University Research Online, a digital repository holding works produced by La Trobe University staff and students La Trobe University Research Online, a digital repository holding works produced by La Trobe University staff and students ...

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 10413200209339007, Oct 24, 2007

Previous studies looking at the sources of stress in sport have generally overlooked the unique e... more Previous studies looking at the sources of stress in sport have generally overlooked the unique experiences of professional athletes participating in team sports. This paper describes the results of a qualitative study aimed at identifying the sources of stress experienced by a crosssection of professional Australian footballers. Players from two Australian Football League clubs took part in the study involving in-depth, one-to-one interviews and focus group discussions. The results revealed that players identified sources of stress that went beyond those associated with the competitive event (such as poor performances) and included a lack of feedback, difficulty balancing football and study commitments, and job insecurity. The influence of both competition and non-competition sources of stress parallels previous research involving non-professional athletes and indicates that the entire sporting experience needs to be taken into account when developing stress management strategies. Ken Hunter, an ex-professional Australian footballer, recently spoke about the severe social and psychological effects associated with playing the game at the highest level. In mid-1988, after playing in three premiership teams, Ken was relegated to the reserves team for the first time in his career. Unable to regain a permanent position in the senior team, Hunter's physical and emotional health began to suffer: I was training harder and harder to try and exhaust myself. .. doing ridiculous things to my body. On Sundays I would drink to try and drown my sorrows and get to sleep, thinking that if I just got a good sleep it would be fine (Wilson, 1999, p. 1). Soon after the season had ended, Ken was admitted to hospital suffering from physical and mental exhaustion. The club and the player originally intended keeping the story a secret. However, a decade later Hunter himself decided to speak publicly on the matter. His rationale was that little is known about a profession that can be as stressful as it is rewarding. Many stories like Ken's have emerged over the past five years and indicate that stress among professional Australian footballers is a serious issue. While a number of ex-players, current players and coaches have expressed concern regarding the well-being of professional

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 13691050903359265, Nov 1, 2009

Young people with refugee backgrounds face many challenges when making their lives in a resettlem... more Young people with refugee backgrounds face many challenges when making their lives in a resettlement country and their sexual and reproductive health needs are often overlooked. This paper reports on sexual health literacy amongst recently arrived young refugees settling in Melbourne, Australia. Qualitative methods were used to explore how resettled youth access, interpret and implement sexual health information, with a particular focus on how social contexts shape attitudes and understandings. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted with 142 participants aged between 16 and 25 years. Findings reveal that while young people had some knowledge of HIV and AIDS, knowledge of other STIs was limited. Importantly, narratives about risk and protection were informed by concerns for maintenance of social wellbeing. Sexual health promotion should be an explicit component of early resettlement services for youth with refugee backgrounds and strategies need to take account of the pre-migration and resettlement contexts.

Faculty of Health Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation School of Public Health Social Work, 2015

American Journal of Infection Control, Feb 28, 2005

Background: Universal Precautions (UPs) and more recently Standard Precautions have been widely p... more Background: Universal Precautions (UPs) and more recently Standard Precautions have been widely promoted in high-income countries to protect health care workers (HCWs) from occupational exposure to blood and the consequent risk of infection with bloodborne pathogens. In low-income countries, the situation is very different: UPs are often practiced partially, if at all, thereby exposing the HCWs to unnecessary risk of infection. The aim of this study is to describe rural north Indian HCWs knowledge and understanding of UPs and identify predictors of compliance to target intervention programs appropriately. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was undertaken, involving 266 HCWs (response rate, 87%) from 7 rural north Indian health care settings. Information was gathered regarding compliance with UPs and a range of other relevant variables that potentially influence compliance (eg, demographic information, perception of risk, knowledge of bloodborne pathogen transmission, perception of safety climate, and barriers to safe practice). Results: Knowledge and understanding of UPs were partial, and UPs compliance was suboptimal, eg, only 32% wore eye protection when indicated, and 40% recapped needles at least sometimes. After controlling for confounding, compliance with UPs was associated with being in the job for a longer period, knowledge of bloodborne pathogen transmission, perceiving fewer barriers to safe practice and a strong commitment to workplace safety climate. Conclusion: Interventions to improve UPs compliance among HCWs in rural north India need to address not only their knowledge and understanding but also the safety climate created by the organizations that employ them.

Continuum, 2015

In this article we consider the Australian beach as a material, imaginary and social arena in whi... more In this article we consider the Australian beach as a material, imaginary and social arena in which different versions of national belonging are performed and contested. Focusing on two short films produced by young people from refugee backgrounds, we explore the negotiation of national belonging on the beach by people who occupy identity categories that are typically excluded from idealising Australian beach mythologies. We argue that both the production and distribution of these films contribute to a reimagining of the Australian beach that creates new opportunities for people from migrant backgrounds to engage in the co-production of Australian identities in their own terms.

When Culture Impacts Health, 2013