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Despite the emerging body of literature on the benefits of youth peer support, there is also evidence that peer support can have unintended negative impacts on peers themselves. It is important to explore what aspects of the peer role contribute to these difficulties in order to mitigate risks. This paper uses a participatory approach to examine the unique attributes of youth peer practice and the related challenges. We conducted semi-structured interviews and focus groups with both peer and non-peer staff from a community-based youth mental health program that provides peer support services (N = 29). Thematic analyses were completed using QSR NVivo. Analyses capture the defining features and related challenges of the peer support role (self-disclosure, boundaries, role confusion and dynamic recovery), and risk factors that affect peers (stigma, exposure to harm and burnout). This paper contributes to the literature on peer support as well as youth participatory evaluation. The findings will be useful to support the development of improved organizational contexts for peer practice and more effective peer support programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to add to the research literature and begin to fill the gap in knowledge about shared parenting arrangements for women with young children and who have experienced domestic violence (DV), in three Canadian provinces; Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. Method: This paper reports on the qualitative findings from a mixed methods study on shared parenting from women with children ages 4 and under. Twenty women participated in one-on-one individual interviews through electronic platform utilizing Zoom. Thematic analysis is used to analyze the data. Results: Despite efforts to not exclusively recruit women who had experienced domestic violence (DV) from their former partner, all participants identified as survivors of DV and ongoing survivors of DV, specifically, coercive controlling behaviours. Five themes describe the women's experiences of shared parenting with young children: 1) walking a tight-rope; 2) navigating post-separation relationships; 3) emotional realities of shared parenting; 4) shared parenting outcomes; and, 5) structural challenges. Conclusions: This paper not only adds to the significant and longstanding gap in knowledge directly from women with children ages 4 and under in shared parenting relationships, and who have experienced DV, and also helps to inform social service and legal actors. It is timely with the amendments to the Divorce Act in Canada which now includes DV as a factor in determining the best interests of the child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The military lifestyle can be defined by a triad of unique stressors: frequent relocation, parental absence, and risk of injury, illness and/or death of a serving member. Research has suggested that this unique triad of stressors can impact the mental health of children and youth living in military families. However, research focusing on the mental health of children and youth living in military families overwhelmingly focuses on the American context. Due to key contextual differences, it is unclear to what extent the American findings are representative of military-connected children and youth living in other geographical contexts, such as Canada. A large qualitative study was conducted to explore the mental health of military-connected children in Canada from three perspectives: child, parent, and service provider. This paper reports on the service provider findings. Using individual semi-structured interviews, data were collected from 11 service providers. Data analysis was guided by qualitative content analysis. Two main themes emerged: (1) the mental health of children living in military families may be impacted by the military lifestyle stressors, and (2) the mental health of children living in military families can be impacted by the accessibility and availability of mental health services. While this qualitative study builds upon recent Canadian work that has considered the service provider perspective, additional research is needed to better understand the experiences of service providers who support military-connected children and youth. Highlights: American research shows that the military lifestyle factors can impact the mental health of military-connected children. The mental health of military-connected children has yet to be extensively explored in Canada. The mental health of children living in Canadian military families may be impacted by the military lifestyle stressors. The mental health of Canadian military-connected children can be impacted by the accessibility and availability of mental health services. Our findings can help build capacity and knowledge for service providers who support Canadian military-connected children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Healthcare administrative (claims) data are commonly utilized to estimate drug effects. We identified considerable heterogeneity in fracture outcome definitions in a scoping review of 57 studies that estimated osteoporosis drug effects on fracture risk. Better understanding of the impact of different fracture definitions on study results is needed. Purpose: Healthcare administrative (claims) data are frequently used to estimate the real-world effects of drugs. Fracture incidence is a common outcome of osteoporosis drug studies. We aimed to describe how fractures are defined in studies that use claims data. Methods: We searched MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), and gray literature for studies published in English between 2000 and 2020 that estimated fracture effectiveness (hip, humerus, radius/ulna, vertebra) or safety (atypical fracture of the femur, AFF) of osteoporosis drugs using claims data in Canada and the USA. Literature searches, screening and data abstraction were completed independently by two reviewers. Results: We identified 57 eligible studies (52 effectiveness, 3 safety, 2 both). Hip fracture was the most common fracture site studied (93%), followed by humerus (66%), radius/ulna (59%), vertebra (61%), and AFF (9%). Half (n = 29) of the studies did not indicate specific data sources, codes, or cite a validation paper. Of the papers with sufficient detail, heterogeneity in fracture definitions was common. The most common definition within each fracture site was used by less than half of the studies that examined effectiveness (12 definitions in 29 hip fracture papers, 8 definitions in 17 humerus papers, 8 definitions in 13 radius/ulna papers, 9 definitions in 15 vertebra papers), and 3 definitions among 4 AFF papers. Conclusion: There is ambiguity and heterogeneity in fracture outcome definitions in studies that leverage claims data. Better transparency in outcome reporting is needed. Future exploration of how fracture definitions impact study results is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the experiences during COVID-19 of mothers who have young children, are survivors of domestic violence and who share parenting to highlight the further unsafe situations survivors of violence and their children were placed in during the pandemic. Part of a larger mixed methods study, these participants (n = 19) from three Canadian provinces, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario, engaged in virtual individual one-on-one interviews via zoom. Using thematic analysis, four themes emerged from the data: 1) increased use of coercive controlling behaviors; 2) fear of the unknown; 3) lack of supports; and, 4) finding balance. Direct quotes are used to highlight the meaning of each theme. We outline the challenges these women have that are in addition to those experienced by many during COVID-19 times (increased stress, isolation, disconnect from supports, financial challenges). These include managing the shared parenting arrangements with a former abusive partner who used the pandemic as a further opportunity for coercive controlling behaviors under the guise of the public health order. The mothers were left to manage the difficult exchanges with a former abusive partner and unknown circumstances of the pandemic without guidance and support from legal actors. There will need to be a prioritization of the safety of mothers and their children in post-divorce parenting arrangements both during times of a community lockdown such as during the pandemic and also during non-pandemic times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]