The article aims to provide a step-by-step description of how thematic analysis was applied in a study examining why men choose to undertake social work as an area of study. Participants in the study came from the University of Concepción in Chile and the University of Quebec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue in Canada. The six phases of the thematic analysis are described in detail to provide students and novice social work researchers with a guide to this method of analysis. Thematic analysis offers a flexible, yet rigorous approach to subjective experience that is highly applicable to research in social work as a means of promoting social justice and combating inequalities.

This article provides an overview of published studies on social representations of HIV/AIDS. It argues that, despite changes over time in the peripheral elements of negative social representations, such representations remain present within the health care field and continue to affect populations across various cultures. This underlines the importance of health care that accounts for cultural needs in interventions with people living with HIV/AIDS. A review of the relevant literature suggests that it is necessary to assist caregivers (including social workers) in understanding both the social significance associated with the illness and the concept of cultural competence.

Climate change and natural resource exploitation can affect Indigenous people’s well-being by reducing access to ecosystem services, in turn impeding transmission of traditional knowledge and causing mental health problems. We used a questionnaire based on the Environmental Distress Scale (EDS) and the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) to examine the impacts of environmental changes on 251 members of four Indigenous communities in the eastern Canadian boreal forest. We also considered the potential mitigating effects of sociodemographic characteristics (i.e., age, gender, parenthood, and time spent on the land) and protective factors (i.e., health, quality of life, resilience, life on the land, life in the community, and support from family and friends). Using linear regression, model selection, and multi-model inference, we show that the felt impacts of environmental changes increased with age but were lower for participants with higher quality of life. The effect of resilience was opposite to expectations: more resilient participants felt more impacts. This could be because less resilient individuals ceased to go on the land when environmental changes exceeded a given threshold; thus, only the most resilient participants could testify to the impacts of acute changes. Further research will be needed to test this hypothesis.

Cet article examine les représentations sociales du VIH/sida de 11 étudiants (six femmes et cinq hommes) de l’Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue ayant participé à deux groupes de discussion stratifiés selon le sexe. Cette étude visait deux objectifs : 1) décrire les représentations sociales du VIH/sida des étudiants, et 2) décrire l’incidence des représentations sociales de ces étudiants sur leur façon de comprendre et d’agir par rapport au VIH/sida. Le discours des participants révèle une attitude positive et une ouverture envers les personnes vivant avec le VIH/sida (PVVIH/sida). Celles-ci sont représentées comme étant des personnes résilientes. Ainsi, cette capacité de résilience nous permet d’affirmer l’hypothèse que les PVVIH/sida peuvent aujourd’hui passer à un nouvel état stable plutôt que de mourir de la maladie comme il y a 30 ans. Cela montre le caractère dynamique de la représentation sociale du VIH/sida dans le temps. Nos résultats montrent aussi chez les participants une différence marquée concernant les mécanismes de prévention. Pour les hommes, cela passe par l’utilisation de préservatifs, pour les femmes, par la confiance en leurs partenaires sexuels. L’étude conclut que les représentations sociales du VIH/sida font partie de la vie quotidienne des étudiants. Elles sont culturellement construites et partagées. L’étude montre la nécessité de concevoir des campagnes de prévention plus assidues avec des messages différenciés selon le sexe chez les jeunes qui pourront mieux prendre en compte la dimension culturelle de ce phénomène.This article examines the social representations of HIV/AIDS held by 11 students (six women and five men) attending the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue who participated in two gender-specific discussion groups. The study had two objectives: 1) To describe the social representations of HIV/AIDS held by the students, and 2) To describe the impact of those representations on how the students understand and react toward HIV/AIDS. The participants’ discourse reveals a positive attitude and openness toward people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV/AIDS), who are perceived as resilient. This capacity for resilience confirms the hypothesis that, rather than dying from the illness as was the case 30 years ago, PLHIV/AIDS can now expect to enjoy fairly stable health. It further demonstrates the dynamic nature of the social representations of HIV/AIDS over time. Our results also show marked differences in prevention mechanisms between genders, with men citing condom use as the most important element and women emphasizing confidence in their sexual partners. The study concludes that social representations of HIV/AIDS constitute an integral part of everyday reality, with these representations being culturally constructed and shared. The study demonstrates the need to develop more robust prevention campaigns for youth, with messages that are differentiated by gender and better able to factor in the cultural dimension of this phenomenon

COVID-19 has led to the implementation of various social and sanitary measures, impacting populations' quality of life. Aims: Documenting the spiritual quality of life (SQoL) of university employees and students in Quebec, Canada. A survey of 2,202 employees and students was conducted using health measurement tools, including the short version of the WHOQoL-SRPB. We ran a multiple linear regression to determine which variables promote the SQoL. SQoL was very low (2.92/5). Positive mental health, religion, and age are the main predictors of the SQoL. Some dimensions of spirituality contribute more than others to the respondents' quality of life and health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: The study examines masculinity practices, in both their positive and negative aspects, in terms of their influence on men's help-seeking in the context of a natural disaster, in particular the rejection of psychosocial assistance.Methodology: Qualitative study of a small sample of voluntary participants constituted of male survivors of a major earthquake and tsunami event in 2010 in Chile.Results: It appears that norms of hegemonic masculinity predominated in men's emotional responses to the disaster event, with both positive and negative consequences. Family relationships, mutual assistance in the community, and the passage of time emerge as the principal factors of healing for men since the catastrophe.Discussion: An understanding of men's beliefs and attitudes is, therefore, essential to any inclusive assessment of the efficacy and quality of the various services offered to populations exposed to natural disaster events.

CNCP among Aboriginal people is still a largely unexplored research field. The limited evidence available so far does not allow us to conclude that CNCP affects a higher proportion of Aboriginal than non-Aboriginal people in Canada. However, arthritis, a specific condition associated with chronic pain, is more prevalent in Aboriginal than non-Aboriginal people. Additional research is needed on other CNCP types and conditions. Furthermore, pain assessment tools are not culturally adapted and clinicians should inquire more about the beliefs of Aboriginal patients to make them feel safer and to better target interventions.

Resumen este artículo presenta los resultados de un análisis realizado en cerca de 130 publicaciones científicas, sobre los impactos de los desastres naturales en la salud física y psicológica de personas. el artículo concluye que los efectos negativos de los desastres naturales pueden manifestarse de manera conjunta en varias esferas de la vida, por ejemplo: la salud física, la salud psicológica, la vida personal, familiar y social, así como en lo económico. las consecuencias de los desastres naturales son distintas tanto a nivel de la salud física, la salud psicológica, como sobre el funcionamiento social de los individuos, lo que debe tenerse en cuenta para orientar la labor de los trabajadores sociales que tienen que intervenir en personas siniestradas durante y después de un desastre natural. los desastres naturales influyen tanto en la forma en la que las personas son afectadas como en el tipo de intervención que debe desplegarse.Palabras claves. salud física, salud psicológica, consecuencias de desastres, desastre natural, intervención psicosocial.