UBC is about to launch a free eight-week pilot program that brings together new and expectant fathers for a variety of activities specifically for men, aimed at fathering, exercise and tobacco reduction.

Dads in Gear (DIG), which starts in late October, is a program about communicating with men in a way they relate to — so they feel inspired to make positive lifestyle changes for themselves and their new child, says Joan Bottorff, Director of the Institute for Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention at UBC’s Okanagan campus.

“We want to support men in becoming engaged, confident fathers through interactive sessions that not only encourage healthy living but help them become the kind of fathers they want to be,” she says.

“New fathers face a unique set of circumstances, which is why it is important to create a program that is directed specifically to them, and addresses issues that are important to their health and supports their involvement with their babies.”

The sessions, which run for 2.5 hours once a week, are conducted in partnership with community groups including Building Healthy Families, Global Fitness Centre and Interior Health Authority. In addition to discussions and activities focusing on exercise and fathering, a significant component of the course addresses the issue of tobacco reduction.

“Previous research suggests one of the things that motivate men to reduce or quit smoking is becoming a father,” says Bottorff, “but there are factors that come with parenthood that can also make it difficult to quit smoking, such as the additional stress of becoming a provider.”

One of the resources that will be used for the DIG program is a booklet developed by UBC researchers called The right time…The right reasons, which is based on the real-life thoughts and experiences of new dads who have — or are currently trying to — quit smoking.

“We released the booklet in June and had a very positive response from across Canada,” says Bottorff. “This booklet is not a ‘how to quit smoking’ guide. Rather, it focuses on supporting and strengthening men’s motivation to take the first step to reducing and stopping smoking, and it links fathers who smoke to free smoking-cessation services in BC.”

The DIG pilot program is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. If successful in Kelowna, Bottorff says they will look into further funding options with the goal of bringing the program to other Okanagan communities.

Expectant or new fathers, with children up to five years of age, who are interested in participating in the Dads in Gear pilot program should contact Gayl Sarbit at 250-807-8054. During the sessions, free childcare will be provided.

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On October 13 the community is invited to UBC’s Okanagan campus to take part in an informative, interactive symposium exploring issues surrounding healthy aging while managing chronic disease.

“This symposium provides an opportunity to build networks, explore partnerships and engage with UBC faculty members who are conducting forward-looking research in the areas of chronic disease and healthy aging,” says Joan Bottorff, Director, Institute for Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention.

“We are also encouraging community agencies in Kelowna that support people living with chronic disease to share information about their local services and the issues they face.”

The Healthy Aging and Chronic Disease Symposium is presented by The Institute for Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention at UBC’s Okanagan campus. Keynote speaker, Dr. Anne Martin-Matthews, Scientific Director of the Canadian Institute of Health Research, will provide a national overview of research directions and new evidence related to healthy aging in chronic disease.

Also featured at the symposium is a UBC expert panel presentation on New Directions for Enabling Health within the Context of Chronic Disease.

The goals of the symposium are to:

• profile regional research and initiatives leading to improvements in healthy living with chronic disease
• explore advances and challenges related to improving healthy living with chronic disease
• foster knowledge translation by sharing emerging strategies that enable healthy aging in the context of chronic disease
• promote networking and collaborate engagement across a wide range of sectors interested in supporting healthy aging
• support capacity-building for collaborative community-based research in healthy aging

“These are important topics of conversation for the Okanagan,” says Bottorff. “We have a higher proportion of older adults living in our community than most, and unfortunately as people age a significant proportion will be impacted by chronic disease. It is important that as a community we find ways to enhance the quality of life and increase the health of people living within the context of chronic disease.”

The symposium runs from 8:30 a.m. to noon in the University Centre ballroom (UNC 200). Admission is free.

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UBC researchers have partnered with members of local healthcare organizations on a research initiative that aims to strengthen cultural safety and effect organizational change for aboriginal healthcare in the Okanagan Valley.

Principal investigators in the project, which is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, include UBC researchers Lawrence Berg, Rachelle Hole, Mike Evans and Joan Bottorff.

“When we say cultural safety, it really means having an awareness of your own cultural realities and attitudes and being open-minded and flexible in your attitude toward people from other cultures,” says Rachelle Hole, assistant professor of Social Work.

“Cultural safety involves re-orienting the training of health professionals, incorporating ethnic sensitivity, and actively seeking critical understanding of colonial structures, racism and their impact on contemporary Indigenous populations.”

The research team includes representatives from the Okanagan Nation Alliance, Interior Health (IH), First Nations Friendship Centre, Métis Community Services of British Columbia and Eastern Institute of Technology Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.

Specific goals for the three-year project include:

• collaborating with local Aboriginal groups, community service providers and Interior Health to assess current practices for cultural safety, both on a system-wide basis and in two specific hospital units;
• collaborating with local Aboriginal groups, community service providers and Interior Health to develop cultural safety programs fostering new practices in these two hospital units;
• re-assessing the efficacy of these innovations in improving health outcomes for urban Aboriginal people in the valley; and,
• refining these cultural safety programs, and developing a model of best practices for dissemination to other healthcare settings and Aboriginal communities in Canada.

One of the first community partners to engage in the initiative is Vernon Jubilee hospital.

“Our maternal child and medical units welcome the opportunity to participate in this research initiative with the UBC Okanagan research team,” says Yolanda Short, IH Maternal Child Manager.

“We are excited to experience research in action in our clinical settings,” adds Sandra Tully, Medical Manager for IH. “By increasing our awareness and sensitivity about cultural safety we will respectfully enhance our current care practices for our Indigenous patients and their family members.”

For more information about this project, contact Michelle Smith, Project Coordinator at 250-807-8771 or by email: michelle.smith@ubc.ca.

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The post UBC focuses on cultural safety in local healthcare appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

UBC researchers have partnered with members of local healthcare organizations on a research initiative that aims to strengthen cultural safety and effect organizational change for aboriginal healthcare in the Okanagan Valley.

Principal investigators in the project, which is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, include UBC researchers Lawrence Berg, Rachelle Hole, Mike Evans and Joan Bottorff.

“When we say cultural safety, it really means having an awareness of your own cultural realities and attitudes and being open-minded and flexible in your attitude toward people from other cultures,” says Rachelle Hole, assistant professor of Social Work.

“Cultural safety involves re-orienting the training of health professionals, incorporating ethnic sensitivity, and actively seeking critical understanding of colonial structures, racism and their impact on contemporary Indigenous populations.”

The research team includes representatives from the Okanagan Nation Alliance, Interior Health (IH), First Nations Friendship Centre, Métis Community Services of British Columbia and Eastern Institute of Technology Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.

Specific goals for the three-year project include:

• collaborating with local Aboriginal groups, community service providers and Interior Health to assess current practices for cultural safety, both on a system-wide basis and in two specific hospital units;
• collaborating with local Aboriginal groups, community service providers and Interior Health to develop cultural safety programs fostering new practices in these two hospital units;
• re-assessing the efficacy of these innovations in improving health outcomes for urban Aboriginal people in the valley; and,
• refining these cultural safety programs, and developing a model of best practices for dissemination to other healthcare settings and Aboriginal communities in Canada.

One of the first community partners to engage in the initiative is Vernon Jubilee hospital.

“Our maternal child and medical units welcome the opportunity to participate in this research initiative with the UBC Okanagan research team,” says Yolanda Short, IH Maternal Child Manager.

“We are excited to experience research in action in our clinical settings,” adds Sandra Tully, Medical Manager for IH. “By increasing our awareness and sensitivity about cultural safety we will respectfully enhance our current care practices for our Indigenous patients and their family members.”

For more information about this project, contact Michelle Smith, Project Coordinator at 250-807-8771 or by email: michelle.smith@ubc.ca.

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Four research grants of $10,000 each have been awarded by the Institute for Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention (IHLCDP) at UBC’s Okanagan campus to support collaborative community research projects aimed at improving the health and well-being of Okanagan residents.

The projects address community issues such as:

• Preventing marijuana and tobacco use among middle school students
• Improving the quality of life for obese people awaiting laparoscopic gastric banding surgery
• Enhancing mobility of older adults in rural communities
• Improving the health and well-being of men who have sex with men in the B.C. Interior

The money was given as part of the IHLCDP Research Interest Group (RIG) Grant Initiative.

“I think that it’s really a win-win,” says IHLDCP Director Joan Bottorff. “The university provides people who have particular skills, knowledge and research interests that are to the advantage of community members who have issues or questions they want to explore.

“And people in the community have extensive knowledge and expertise about community issues — specifically in regards to what’s needed, what’s relevant and what’s possible — that can feed into that research. So both groups have important strengths that in collaboration can lead to some incredible projects.”

The objectives of the IHLCDP RIG grants are to strengthen existing collaborations between researchers and individuals while stimulating the development of new collaborations between academic researchers and individuals based in the community.

In addition, they aim to build capacity for community-based health promotion research, foster the use of knowledge in ways that benefit individuals, families and communities, and reduce the burden of chronic disease.

“In many ways research on healthy living and chronic disease prevention isn’t the kind of research that can be done in a lab on campus,” says Bottorff. “The community is our laboratory, and collaborations are essential if we want to address relevant community issues and make the research applicable.”

Bottorff says information is more likely to be used when community members are involved in the research in a meaningful way.

“This allows us the best chance of having our research actually make a real difference in health and well-being.”

For more information contact the Institute for Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention at 250-807-8072 or visit the Institute’s website: www.ubc.ca/okanagan/ihlcdp.

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Four research grants of $10,000 each have been awarded by the Institute for Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention (IHLCDP) at UBC’s Okanagan campus to support collaborative community research projects aimed at improving the health and well-being of Okanagan residents.

The projects address community issues such as:

• Preventing marijuana and tobacco use among middle school students
• Improving the quality of life for obese people awaiting laparoscopic gastric banding surgery
• Enhancing mobility of older adults in rural communities
• Improving the health and well-being of men who have sex with men in the B.C. Interior

The money was given as part of the IHLCDP Research Interest Group (RIG) Grant Initiative.

“I think that it’s really a win-win,” says IHLDCP Director Joan Bottorff. “The university provides people who have particular skills, knowledge and research interests that are to the advantage of community members who have issues or questions they want to explore.

“And people in the community have extensive knowledge and expertise about community issues — specifically in regards to what’s needed, what’s relevant and what’s possible — that can feed into that research. So both groups have important strengths that in collaboration can lead to some incredible projects.”

The objectives of the IHLCDP RIG grants are to strengthen existing collaborations between researchers and individuals while stimulating the development of new collaborations between academic researchers and individuals based in the community.

In addition, they aim to build capacity for community-based health promotion research, foster the use of knowledge in ways that benefit individuals, families and communities, and reduce the burden of chronic disease.

“In many ways research on healthy living and chronic disease prevention isn’t the kind of research that can be done in a lab on campus,” says Bottorff. “The community is our laboratory, and collaborations are essential if we want to address relevant community issues and make the research applicable.”

Bottorff says information is more likely to be used when community members are involved in the research in a meaningful way.

“This allows us the best chance of having our research actually make a real difference in health and well-being.”

For more information contact the Institute for Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention at 250-807-8072 or visit the Institute’s website: www.ubc.ca/okanagan/ihlcdp.

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Researchers from the University of British Columbia have partnered with Aboriginal communities in northwestern B.C. to create a community report meant to foster conversations about secondhand smoke and the importance of creating smoke-free spaces.

The report specifically addresses tobacco reduction for pregnant Aboriginal women, mothers and their children. Due to numerous factors — for example, lack of child care services and affordable housing — these groups are often exposed to secondhand smoke.

Let’s Talk About Secondhand Smoke

“The awareness that was raised by doing the interviews and surveys for this study was a big part of the impetus for making changes in our communities,” says Debbie Sullivan, a community health nurse at the Gitsegukla Health Centre in Hazelton, B.C. “We are very excited that all our community halls are now smoke-free and we think it is a result of bringing this topic to people’s attention through this research.”

British Columbia boasts one of the lowest smoking rates in the country, however, First Nations communities in B.C. are estimated to have smoking rates of 50 to 60 per cent, and in Inuit populations the rate increases to 60 to 70 per cent — well above the average smoking percentage of non-Aboriginal communities.

The community report, titled Let’s Talk About Secondhand Smoke, was created through a collaboration involving UBC researchers from the Okanagan and Vancouver campuses, the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch of Health Canada, Gitsegukla Health Programs and Services, and members of the First Nations communities in the Hazelton and Gitxsan areas.

“It was very important to us to work within the communities, as partners, and listen to the people who live there to gain a better understanding of secondhand smoke exposure in order to find meaningful solutions to the problem,” says Joan Bottorff, director for the Institute for Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention at UBC’s Okanagan campus.

“People in these communities were very concerned about secondhand smoke, particularly in regards to the effects on children and elders.”

The community report was created using information compiled from interviews with community workers as well as two community surveys that gathered people’s attitudes and opinions on secondhand smoke. More than 450 people took part in the surveys.

The report addresses many complex factors contributing to secondhand smoke exposure, and highlights the strong desire of many to create smoke-free spaces. It also identifies influential people — such as elders, found to be highly respected and valued members of the community — who may be able to act as advocates for change.

“What the community report really does is provide a tool to guide future conversations,” says Bottorff. “It helps identify where people are exposed to secondhand smoke, creates awareness about factors influencing the issue, and identifies that there is a desire to change.”

And although the report was done specifically for people in the Hazelton and Gitxsan areas, Bottorff believes it could be used by other First Nations communities concerned about the impact of secondhand smoke exposure.

“I suspect there are some other First Nations reserve communities that face similar challenges, obstacles and desires when it comes to secondhand smoke,” she says. “They may be able to see themselves in this report, identify similarities and differences, and begin to identify strategies for their own communities.

“Structural changes are needed to make First Nations communities smoke-free, but one thing this research showed us is that when people act together they can bring change.”

Over the course of the project, Bottorff says she actually witnessed this change, with an increasing number of communal places becoming smoke-free in Hazelton and Gitxsan.

“I don’t think our research can take all the credit for that,” says Bottorff, “although perhaps raising the topic of secondhand smoke and helping the conversation unfold may have helped in some small way.”

The Let’s Talk About Secondhand Smoke community report for the Hazelton and Gitxsan areas can be found online at circle.ubc.ca/handle/2429/36622

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The post UBC research helps Aboriginal community talk about smoke-free spaces appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

Researchers from the University of British Columbia have partnered with Aboriginal communities in northwestern B.C. to create a community report meant to foster conversations about secondhand smoke and the importance of creating smoke-free spaces.

The report specifically addresses tobacco reduction for pregnant Aboriginal women, mothers and their children. Due to numerous factors — for example, lack of child care services and affordable housing — these groups are often exposed to secondhand smoke.

Let’s Talk About Secondhand Smoke

“The awareness that was raised by doing the interviews and surveys for this study was a big part of the impetus for making changes in our communities,” says Debbie Sullivan, a community health nurse at the Gitsegukla Health Centre in Hazelton, B.C. “We are very excited that all our community halls are now smoke-free and we think it is a result of bringing this topic to people’s attention through this research.”

British Columbia boasts one of the lowest smoking rates in the country, however, First Nations communities in B.C. are estimated to have smoking rates of 50 to 60 per cent, and in Inuit populations the rate increases to 60 to 70 per cent — well above the average smoking percentage of non-Aboriginal communities.

The community report, titled Let’s Talk About Secondhand Smoke, was created through a collaboration involving UBC researchers from the Okanagan and Vancouver campuses, the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch of Health Canada, Gitsegukla Health Programs and Services, and members of the First Nations communities in the Hazelton and Gitxsan areas.

“It was very important to us to work within the communities, as partners, and listen to the people who live there to gain a better understanding of secondhand smoke exposure in order to find meaningful solutions to the problem,” says Joan Bottorff, director for the Institute for Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention at UBC’s Okanagan campus.

“People in these communities were very concerned about secondhand smoke, particularly in regards to the effects on children and elders.”

The community report was created using information compiled from interviews with community workers as well as two community surveys that gathered people’s attitudes and opinions on secondhand smoke. More than 450 people took part in the surveys.

The report addresses many complex factors contributing to secondhand smoke exposure, and highlights the strong desire of many to create smoke-free spaces. It also identifies influential people — such as elders, found to be highly respected and valued members of the community — who may be able to act as advocates for change.

“What the community report really does is provide a tool to guide future conversations,” says Bottorff. “It helps identify where people are exposed to secondhand smoke, creates awareness about factors influencing the issue, and identifies that there is a desire to change.”

And although the report was done specifically for people in the Hazelton and Gitxsan areas, Bottorff believes it could be used by other First Nations communities concerned about the impact of secondhand smoke exposure.

“I suspect there are some other First Nations reserve communities that face similar challenges, obstacles and desires when it comes to secondhand smoke,” she says. “They may be able to see themselves in this report, identify similarities and differences, and begin to identify strategies for their own communities.

“Structural changes are needed to make First Nations communities smoke-free, but one thing this research showed us is that when people act together they can bring change.”

Over the course of the project, Bottorff says she actually witnessed this change, with an increasing number of communal places becoming smoke-free in Hazelton and Gitxsan.

“I don’t think our research can take all the credit for that,” says Bottorff, “although perhaps raising the topic of secondhand smoke and helping the conversation unfold may have helped in some small way.”

The Let’s Talk About Secondhand Smoke community report for the Hazelton and Gitxsan areas can be found online at circle.ubc.ca/handle/2429/36622

— 30 —

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KELOWNA, B.C. — A new UBC study suggests that stereotypes of masculinity can influence the habits of new fathers who continue to smoke, despite knowing the risks associated with first- and second-hand smoke.

“The findings revealed the uncomfortable dilemma new dads experience in relation to smoking and their role as providers and protectors for their families, and highlight the importance of understanding the contexts in which men continue to smoke,” says John Oliffe, associate professor in the School of Nursing at UBC’s Vancouver campus.

The study, “Fathers: Locating Smoking and Masculinity in the Postpartum,” examined the relationship between being a new dad who smokes and the places fathers continue to light up.

“Men’s health practices have been closely linked to their male identities, especially tobacco use,” says Joan Bottorff, director for the Institute for Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention at UBC’s Okanagan campus in Kelowna. “For instance, in the past, the image of the Marlboro Man appealed to men because it represented freedom, confidence, independence and strength.”

Twenty new fathers from B.C.’s Lower Mainland participated in the study through interviews and contributed a total of 308 photographs to illustrate smoking through their own eyes.

There were three dominant places where fathers found they could comfortably smoke: on the job, at home and in private spaces.

Many of the men’s photographs showed male-oriented workplaces, such as the construction and trades industries. Smoking on the job was seen as a strategy to reduce stress, kill time and reward success. As well, smoking was often thought to be less of a risk to some men than the everyday dangers in their jobs.

There were also examples where workplace smoking was promoted as a normal and acceptable way to bond with male co-workers, and for the boss to control aggression and to provide a calm work environment.

The second place many new fathers found refuge to smoke was at home, although mostly in places such as the garage or patio. Many participants believed they were practicing responsible smoking by physically separating themselves from their families to smoke on their balconies, porches and decks.

“Acknowledging that the inside of the family home was a non-smoking area — borders marking the inside and the outside — forced many men to chose between smoking and direct fathering, which in turn, led some men to choose between their need to smoke and their desire to be with their child,” says Oliffe.

Finally, the study showed a significant number of fathers who smoked alone. Smoking in solitude provided a means to manage the competing identities of father and smoker. In other words, smoking alone was justified as an individual choice that could be taken up without harming others. Typically the best opportunities for solitary smoking are travelling back and forth from work in their car.

“The research showed that most men are interested in reducing and stopping smoking as well as being ‘good’ fathers,” says Oliffe.

A national survey reports 29 per cent of Canadian men continue to smoke during their child-rearing years, 15 per cent of households have at least one person who smokes inside the house every day, and almost 10 per cent of children under the age of 12 are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke.

“The challenge for us is to find effective ways to assist expectant and new fathers to reduce or quit smoking,” says Bottorff. “We have conducted consultations with fathers, their partners, and health care providers to seek their advice.”

Suggestions include:

• finding ways that men can help each other to stop smoking
• offering assistance or resources at times when men are thinking about quitting
• supporting men’s engagement in fathering
• supporting men’s independence in decisions about how they will approach quitting

“We are currently developing new resources and programs based on this information to support expectant and new fathers who want to quit,” says Bottorff.

— 30 —

The post Smokin’ dads wrestle with fatherhood and manly expectations appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

KELOWNA, B.C. — A new UBC study suggests that stereotypes of masculinity can influence the habits of new fathers who continue to smoke, despite knowing the risks associated with first- and second-hand smoke.

“The findings revealed the uncomfortable dilemma new dads experience in relation to smoking and their role as providers and protectors for their families, and highlight the importance of understanding the contexts in which men continue to smoke,” says John Oliffe, associate professor in the School of Nursing at UBC’s Vancouver campus.

The study, “Fathers: Locating Smoking and Masculinity in the Postpartum,” examined the relationship between being a new dad who smokes and the places fathers continue to light up.

“Men’s health practices have been closely linked to their male identities, especially tobacco use,” says Joan Bottorff, director for the Institute for Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention at UBC’s Okanagan campus in Kelowna. “For instance, in the past, the image of the Marlboro Man appealed to men because it represented freedom, confidence, independence and strength.”

Twenty new fathers from B.C.’s Lower Mainland participated in the study through interviews and contributed a total of 308 photographs to illustrate smoking through their own eyes.

There were three dominant places where fathers found they could comfortably smoke: on the job, at home and in private spaces.

Many of the men’s photographs showed male-oriented workplaces, such as the construction and trades industries. Smoking on the job was seen as a strategy to reduce stress, kill time and reward success. As well, smoking was often thought to be less of a risk to some men than the everyday dangers in their jobs.

There were also examples where workplace smoking was promoted as a normal and acceptable way to bond with male co-workers, and for the boss to control aggression and to provide a calm work environment.

The second place many new fathers found refuge to smoke was at home, although mostly in places such as the garage or patio. Many participants believed they were practicing responsible smoking by physically separating themselves from their families to smoke on their balconies, porches and decks.

“Acknowledging that the inside of the family home was a non-smoking area — borders marking the inside and the outside — forced many men to chose between smoking and direct fathering, which in turn, led some men to choose between their need to smoke and their desire to be with their child,” says Oliffe.

Finally, the study showed a significant number of fathers who smoked alone. Smoking in solitude provided a means to manage the competing identities of father and smoker. In other words, smoking alone was justified as an individual choice that could be taken up without harming others. Typically the best opportunities for solitary smoking are travelling back and forth from work in their car.

“The research showed that most men are interested in reducing and stopping smoking as well as being ‘good’ fathers,” says Oliffe.

A national survey reports 29 per cent of Canadian men continue to smoke during their child-rearing years, 15 per cent of households have at least one person who smokes inside the house every day, and almost 10 per cent of children under the age of 12 are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke.

“The challenge for us is to find effective ways to assist expectant and new fathers to reduce or quit smoking,” says Bottorff. “We have conducted consultations with fathers, their partners, and health care providers to seek their advice.”

Suggestions include:

• finding ways that men can help each other to stop smoking
• offering assistance or resources at times when men are thinking about quitting
• supporting men’s engagement in fathering
• supporting men’s independence in decisions about how they will approach quitting

“We are currently developing new resources and programs based on this information to support expectant and new fathers who want to quit,” says Bottorff.

— 30 —

The post Smokin’ dads wrestle with fatherhood and manly expectations appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.