Perinatal issues for women with high functioning autism spectrum disorder.

PROBLEM: Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is an increasingly commonly diagnosed disability. People with ASD commonly report challenges in social interaction and a heightened sensory perception. These challenges may be particularly difficult for women during pregnancy, birthing and beyond. BACKGROUND: Very little is known about the experiences and needs of birthing women who have ASD. There is a large body of literature about women who have autistic children, but almost nothing about women who may have this disability themselves. Internet blogs provide some insights and suggest that birthing women with ASD may have particular challenges related to communication, decision making and sensory overload. QUESTION: This study explores the particular issues and experiences of birthing women who have ASD, through pregnancy, birth and early mothering. METHOD: This qualitative research used a case study approach, with in-depth interviewing and email exchange providing the data for the study. This data was verified, transcribed and analysed thematically. FINDINGS: The findings of this case study identified three key issues: communication and service difficulties; sensory stress and parenting challenges. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that women with ASD may face particular challenges during pregnancy, birthing and early mothering. These challenges evolve from perceptions of the woman about her midwives and other caregivers. If a woman perceives that her midwife is judgemental about her, then she may withdraw from the care and support she and her baby need.

Can We Predict Burnout among Student Nurses? An Exploration of the ICWR-1 Model of Individual Psychological Resilience.

The nature of nursing work is demanding and can be stressful. Previous studies have shown a high rate of burnout among employed nurses. Recently, efforts have been made to understand the role of resilience in determining the psychological adjustment of employed nurses. A theoretical model of resilience was proposed recently that includes several constructs identified in the literature related to resilience and to psychological functioning. As nursing students are the future of the nursing workforce it is important to advance our understanding of the determinants of resilience in this population. Student nurses who had completed their final practicum were invited to participate in an online survey measuring the key constructs of the ICWR-1 model. 422 students from across Australia and Canada completed the survey between July 2014 and July 2015. As well as several key demographics, trait negative affect, mindfulness, self-efficacy, coping, resilience, and burnout were measured. We used structural equation modeling and found support for the major pathways of the model; namely that resilience had a significant influence on the relationship between mindfulness, self-efficacy and coping, and psychological adjustment (burnout scores). Furthermore, as predicted, Neuroticism moderated the relationship between coping and burnout. Results are discussed in terms of potential approaches to supporting nursing students who may be at risk of burnout.

Critical ethnography: An under-used research methodology in neuroscience nursing.

Critical ethnography is a qualitative research method that endeavours to explore and understand dominant discourses that are seen as being the 'right' way to think, see, talk about or enact a particular 'action' or situation in society and recommend ways to re-dress social power inequities. In health care, vulnerable populations, including many individuals who have experienced neurological illnesses or injuries that leave them susceptible to the influence of others, would be suitable groups for study using critical ethnography methodology. Critical ethnography has also been used to study workplace culture. While ethnography has been effectively used to underpin other phenomena of interest to neuroscience nurses, only one example of the use of critical ethnography exists in the published literature related to neuroscience nursing. In our "Research Corner" in this issue of the Canadian Journal of Neuroscience Nursing (CJNN) our guest editors, Dr. Cheryl Ross and Dr. Cath Rogers will briefly highlight the origins of qualitative research, ethnography, and critical ethnography and describe how they are used and, as the third author, I will discuss the relevance of critical ethnography findings for neuroscience nurses.

Exploring Environmental Factors in Nursing Workplaces That Promote Psychological Resilience: Constructing a Unified Theoretical Model.

Building nurses' resilience to complex and stressful practice environments is necessary to keep skilled nurses in the workplace and ensuring safe patient care. A unified theoretical framework titled Health Services Workplace Environmental Resilience Model (HSWERM), is presented to explain the environmental factors in the workplace that promote nurses' resilience. The framework builds on a previously-published theoretical model of individual resilience, which identified the key constructs of psychological resilience as self-efficacy, coping and mindfulness, but did not examine environmental factors in the workplace that promote nurses' resilience. This unified theoretical framework was developed using a literary synthesis drawing on data from international studies and literature reviews on the nursing workforce in hospitals. The most frequent workplace environmental factors were identified, extracted and clustered in alignment with key constructs for psychological resilience. Six major organizational concepts emerged that related to a positive resilience-building workplace and formed the foundation of the theoretical model. Three concepts related to nursing staff support (professional, practice, personal) and three related to nursing staff development (professional, practice, personal) within the workplace environment. The unified theoretical model incorporates these concepts within the workplace context, linking to the nurse, and then impacting on personal resilience and workplace outcomes, and its use has the potential to increase staff retention and quality of patient care.

Infant feeding practices among Sudanese women now living in regional south east Queensland, Australia.

The purpose of this research was to highlight and compare immigrant Sudanese women's infant feeding choices and patterns before and after moving to a regional city in Queensland, Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 Sudanese mothers who had birthed and breastfed babies both in Africa and Toowoomba. This qualitative research project supported previous research indicating a trend for immigrant women's breastfeeding duration to decline when they moved to another country. The outcomes of this research suggest that the reasons for this decline are complex. The authors conclude that a lack of social support, language difficulties and wanting to fit in with particular Western practices are contributing factors.