Background The negative impact of institutionalization on children's development and well-being has led to a global recommendation for deinstitutionalization. In countries with weak infrastructure and family support, some children in institutional care have been found to have better outcomes, which may be due in part to the family-like environments created by some Charitable Children's Institutions (CCIs). Objective The goal was to examine whether and how alternative kinship structures were reproduced in CCIs. Method Qualitative data from 22 caregivers and 30 orphaned or separated children and adolescents (OSCAs) were collected using participant observation and in-depth interviews, and analysed using a symbolic interactionist theoretical framework. Results Social interaction with caregivers contributed meaning towards the definition of family within some CCIs, particularly those modeled after a village and/or a single family. These CCIs created a family-like care environment, resulting in OSCAs redefining the traditional concept of family based on consanguinity to one composed of non-kin providing care and support. Social interaction through family-related activities produced novel familial identities, and some OSCAs felt they were part of a quasi-family. However, OSCAs lacked autonomy, feared consequences of not following the rules of behaviour, and felt retraumatized and re-abandoned when they exited the CCIs at age 18. Conclusion Some CCIs created an "alternative" kinship structure in which most children focused on their education, were provided with basic needs, and formed long-term positive relationships. Despite a number of challenges, family-like CCIs may be a supportive last resort for children without kin to care for them.
Background The emergence of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has introduced additional pressures on an already fragile mental health care system due to a significant rise in depression, anxiety, and stress among Canadians. Although cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is known to be an efficacious treatment to reduce such mental health issues, few people have access to CBT in an engaging and sustainable manner. To address this gap, a collaboration between the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) developed CBT-based self-led, online, clinician-tested modules in the form of a video game, named Legend of Evelys, and evaluated its usability in the attenuation of a COVID-19–related increase in stress. Objective We here present the conceptualization and design of new self-care modules in the form of a video game, its implementation in a technological infrastructure, and inclusivity and privacy considerations that informed the development. A usability study of the modules was performed to assess the video game’s usability, user engagement, and user perceptions. Methods The development of the video game involved establishment of a technology infrastructure for secure implementation of the software for the modules and a clinician-led assessment of the clinical utility of these modules through two “whiteboard” sessions. The usability study was informed by a mixed methods sequential explanatory design to evaluate the intervention of the mobile app through two distinct phases: quantitative data collection using in-app analytics data and two surveys, followed by qualitative data collection by semistructured interviews. Results A total of 32 participants trialed the app for 2 weeks. They used the video game an average of six times and rated the game as “good” based on the Systems Usability Scale score. In terms of stress reduction, the study demonstrated a significant difference in the participants’ Perceived Stress Scale score at baseline (mean 22.14, SD 6.187) compared with that at the 2-week follow-up (mean 18.04, SD 6.083; t27=3.628, P=.001). Qualitative interviews helped participants identify numerous functionality issues and provided specific recommendations, most of which were successfully integrated into the video game for future release. Conclusions Through this collaboration, we have established that it is possible to incorporate CBT exercises into a video game and have these exercises adopted to address stress. While video games are a promising strategy to help people with their stress and anxiety, there is a further need to examine the real-world effectiveness of the Legend of Evelys in reducing anxiety.
Background COVID-19 and its public health response are having a profound effect on people’s mental health. To provide support during these times, Canada’s largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health [CAMH]) launched the Mental Health and COVID-19 Pandemic website on March 18, 2020. This website was designed to be a nonstigmatizing psychoeducational resource for people experiencing mild to moderate distress due to COVID-19 and the public health response to the pandemic. Objective The aim of this study was to examine the reach, usability, and user perceptions of the CAMH Mental Health and COVID-19 Pandemic website. Methods This study used a mixed methods sequential explanatory design approach, which consisted of the following 2 distinct phases: (1) quantitative data collection and analysis and (2) qualitative semistructured interviews. In phase 1, we analyzed Google Analytics data to understand how many people visited the website and which were the most visited pages. We conducted a survey to identify users’ sociodemographic backgrounds, and assess the usability of the website using the System Usability Scale and users’ subjective stress levels using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). For phase 2, we conducted semistructured interviews to explore user experiences; user motivation, engagement, satisfaction, and perception of the stress reduction strategies; reflections of the website’s functionality, ease of use, navigation, and design; and recommendations for improvement. Results Google Analytics results showed 146,978 unique users from June 2020 to March 2021. Most users were from Canada (130,066, 88.5%). Between February 20, 2021, and June 4, 2021, 152 users completed the survey. Most users identified as white, female, and having at least a college degree. Based on the PSS-10 scores, most participants were experiencing moderate to high stress when they visited the website. Users rated the usability of the website as acceptable. Ten users completed in-depth interviews between May 2021 and June 2021. Positive feedback related to the content was that the website was a trustworthy source of mental health information with helpful evidence-based stress reduction strategies. Areas for improvement included the text heavy design of the website, wider dissemination/marketing, and greater accessibility of the website to meet the needs of diverse populations. Conclusions Adding stress reduction resources to a website from a well-respected institution may be a practical method to increase awareness and access to evidence-based stress reduction resources during times of crisis, where there is severe disruption to usual health care contacts. Efforts to ensure that these resources are more widely accessed, especially by diverse populations, are needed.
BACKGROUND COVID 19 and its public health response are having a profound effect on people’s mental health. In order to provide supports during these times Canada’s largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital (CAMH) launched the Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic website on March 18, 2020. This website was designed to be a non-stigmatizing psycho-educational resource for people experiencing mild to moderate distress due to COVID-19 and the public health response to the pandemic. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine the reach, usability and user perceptions of the CAMH Mental Health and COVID-19 Pandemic website. METHODS This study utilized a mix-method sequential explanatory design approach, which consisted of two distinct phases: 1) quantitative data collection and analysis followed by, 2) qualitative semi structured interviews. In phase 1, we analyzed google analytics data to understand how many people visited the website, and which were the most visited pages. We conducted a survey to identify users’ socio-demographic background, and assess the usability of the website using the System Usability Scale (SUS) tool, and users subjective stress levels using the perceived stress scale (PSS-10). For phase 2, we conducted semi-structured interviews to explore user experiences, their motivation, engagement, satisfaction and perception of the stress reduction strategies, and reflections of the website’s functionality, ease of use, navigation, design, and recommendations for improvement. RESULTS Google analytic results showed 146,978 unique users from June 2020 to March 2021. Most users were from Canada (88.5 %). Between February 20, 2021 and June 4, 2021, 152 users completed the survey. Most users identified as white, female, and having at least a college degree. Based on the PSS-10 scores, most participants were experiencing moderate to high stress when they visited the website. Users rated the usability of the website as acceptable. Ten users completed in-depth interviews between May 2021 and June 2021. Positive feedback related to the content was that the website was a trustworthy source of mental health information with helpful evidence-based stress reduction strategies. Areas for improvement included the text heavy design of the website, wider dissemination/marketing, and greater accessibility of the website to meet the needs of diverse populations. CONCLUSIONS Adding stress reduction resources in a website from a well-respected institution may be a practical method to increase awareness and access to evidence-based stress reduction resources during times of crisis where there is severe disruption to usual health care contacts. Efforts are still needed to ensure that these resources are more widely accessed especially by diverse populations.
BACKGROUND The emergence of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has introduced additional pressures on an already fragile mental healthcare system due to significant rise in depression, anxiety and stress among Canadians. While Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is known to be an efficacious treatment to reduce such mental health issues, few people have access to it in an engaging and sustainable manner. To address this gap, a collaboration between The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) developed CBT based self-led, online, clinician-tested modules in the form of a videogame, Legend of Evelys, and evaluated its usability in the attenuation of COVID-19 related increase in stress. OBJECTIVE We discuss the conceptualization and design of new self-care modules in form of a videogame, its implementation in a technological infrastructure, and inclusivity and privacy considerations that informed the development of the videogame. A usability study of the modules was conducted to assess the videogame’s usability, user engagement and user perceptions of the videogame. METHODS The development of the videogame involved establishment of a technology infrastructure for secure implementation of the software for the videogame modules and a clinician-led assessment of the clinical utility of these modules through two “whiteboard” sessions. The usability study was informed by a mix-method sequential explanatory design to evaluate the intervention of the mobile application through two distinct phases including a quantitative data collection analysis using in-application analytics data and two surveys followed by a qualitative data collection by semi-structured interviews. RESULTS A total of 32 participants trialed the app for two weeks. They used the videogame an average of six times and rated the game as good based on the Systems Usability Score. In terms of stress reduction, the study demonstrated a significant difference in the participants’ Perceived Stress Score at baseline (mean 22.14, SD 6.187) compared to the two week follow-up (mean 18.04, SD 6.083); t(27)=3.628, P=.001. Qualitative interviews helped participants identify numerous functionality issues and provided specific recommendations, most of which were successfully integrated into the videogame for future release. CONCLUSIONS Through this collaboration, we have established that it is possible to incorporate CBT exercises into a videogame and have these exercises adopted, to address stress. While videogames are a promising strategy to help people with their stress and anxiety, there is a further need to examine the real-world effectiveness of the Legend of Evelys in reducing anxiety.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.