Differential Relationships Between Work-Life Interface Constructs and Intention to Stay in or Leave the Profession: Evidence From Midwives in Canada.

This paper investigates how positive and negative work-personal life interface constructs are differentially associated with intentions to stay in or leave the profession. The findings help map work-personal life interface constructs on the typology of determinants of intention to stay and intention to leave (disengagers, retainers, criticals, and neutrals). The ordered logistic regression (ologit) modelling of cross-sectional data from a representative sample (n = 601) of midwives in Canada shows that work interference with personal life is a disengager, which has a stronger association with intention to leave than with intention to stay in the profession. Among the work-personal life interface constructs, work enhancement of personal life seems to be the most critical determinant, showing the most substantive association with both intention to stay and intention to leave. This finding suggests that interventions to increase midwives' intention to stay and decrease their intention to leave should focus on amplifying the enhancing effects of working on midwives' personal lives. Interventions that aim to reduce work interference with personal life might be more effective in decreasing intention to leave the profession than increasing intention to stay.

Work-life interface and intention to stay in the midwifery profession among pre- and post-clinical placement students in Canada.

BACKGROUND: Midwifery students' intention to stay in the profession can be influenced by how the interface of their work and personal life is affected by their clinical placement experience. The purpose of this study is to compare the intention to stay in the midwifery profession and its association with three work/personal life interface constructs among pre- and post-clinical placement midwifery students in Canada. The constructs investigated are work interference with personal life, personal life interference with work, and work/personal life enhancement. METHODS: Quantitative cross-sectional data were collected through two separate online surveys completed by pre- and post-clinical placement students. In total, 456 midwifery students attending six different midwifery education programs responded to the surveys. RESULTS: Compared to pre-clinical placement students, post-clinical placement students had significantly lower intention to stay in the profession. For pre-clinical placement students, higher personal life interference with work was significantly associated with lower intention to stay in the profession. For post-clinical placement students, higher work interference with personal life was associated with lower intention to stay in the profession. We did not find any significant relationships between work/personal life enhancement and intention to stay in the profession in pre- or post-clinical placement students. CONCLUSION: Pre- and post-clinical placement students have different intentions to stay in the profession. For pre-clinical placement students, those who report that their personal lives highly interfere with work are less likely to want to stay in the midwifery profession. Post-clinical placement students reported that when working interfered with their personal lives they were less likely to want to stay in the profession. Our findings highlight the importance of offering students a realistic preview of the required commitment, workload, and personal involvement in the midwifery profession prior to applying or accepting a spot in a midwifery education program. Furthermore, facilitating the development of skills to better manage the expectations in midwifery work and personal lives might help with maintaining positive intentions to stay in the profession.

Forecheck, backcheck, health check: the benefits of playing recreational ice hockey for adults in Canada.

More than 1 million Canadian adults play recreational ice hockey. Compared to elite players, very little is known about the physical and health characteristics of people who play the game for fun. Analyzing data from Statistics Canada's 2011/12 Canadian Community Health Survey, the paper found that there is an association between physically active males age 35 or over who play ice hockey regularly (at least once a week) and enhanced health more so than other physically active males. While these players are larger in body size, they have significantly lower rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease and report significantly higher rates of self-assessed health. Given the potential health benefits associated with this high intensity sport, the paper discusses ways in which participation can be promoted among less physically active adults and people who are new to the game or who have historically lower levels of participation including women and recent immigrants. Finally, the paper argues that compared to the very high costs associated with child and youth hockey, participation in adult recreational ice hockey is quite affordable.

Health and disability as determinants for involuntary retirement of people with disabilities.

The association of health and disability factors on the perception of involuntary retirement in Canada was investigated with a multivariate logistic regression analysis of the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey data. The study investigated the role that choice or control plays in the decision to retire. Study participants were adults, with disabilities, aged 45 to 74 and who retired during the period 2001-2006. The analysis revealed that health at the time of retirement was not significantly associated with the perception of involuntary retirement, whereas disability characteristics were strongly associated with the type of retirement when health and other characteristics were controlled. Further, persons with disabilities who had to permanently retire because of their condition were eight times more likely to retire involuntarily than those whose conditions did not force involuntary retirement, suggesting the importance that control over the retirement decision has on the perception of involuntary retirement.

Walking to work in Canada: health benefits, socio-economic characteristics and urban-regional variations.

BACKGROUND: There is mounting concern over increasing rates of physical inactivity and overweight/obesity among children and adult in Canada. There is a clear link between the amount of walking a person does and his or her health. The purpose of this paper is to assess the health factors, socio-economic characteristics and urban-regional variations of walking to work among adults in Canada. METHODS: Data is drawn from two cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey: 2001 and 2005. The study population is divided into three groups: non-walkers, lower-duration walkers and high-duration walkers. Logistic regression modeling tests the association between levels of walking and health related outcomes (diabetes, high blood pressure, stress, BMI, physical activity), socio-economic characteristics (sex, age, income, education) and place of residence (selected Census Metropolitan Areas). RESULTS: In 2005, the presence of diabetes and high blood pressure was not associated with any form of walking. Adults within the normal weight range were more likely to be high-duration walkers. Females and younger people were more likely to be lower-duration walkers but less likely to be high-duration walkers. There was a strong association between SES (particularly relative disadvantage) and walking to work. In both 2001 and 2005, the conditions influencing walking to work were especially prevalent in Canada's largest city, Toronto, as well as in several small to medium sized urban areas including Halifax, Kingston, Hamilton, Regina, Calgary and Victoria. CONCLUSION: A number of strategies can be followed to increase levels of walking in Canada. It is clear that for many people walking to work is not possible. However, strategies can be developed to encourage adults to incorporate walking into their daily work and commuting routines. These include mass transit walking and workplace walking programs.

Television and the behaviour of adolescents: does socio-economic status moderate the link?

This paper examines the relationship between adolescent behaviour, television viewing and family socio-economic status (SES) using the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY). The effect of television viewing on adolescents' behaviour, ranging from pro-social to aggressive, and whether this effect is moderated by family socio-economic status is investigated. An adolescent fixed effects model is used to estimate the effect of television viewing on behaviour. The results indicate that the effect of television viewing varies between males and females. Family SES has a role in the effect of television on adolescents' behaviour, although the results do not distinguish between the two proposed hypotheses.