Biomedical subjects

Nora Jacobson

Publications and source records attributed to Nora Jacobson.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Dignity and health: a review.

Attention to dignity is thriving in health. However, much of this recent discourse ignores the broader scholarship pertaining to dignity. The purpose of this review is to synthesize a wide range of multidisciplinary writing in order to put recent discussions of dignity and health into a broader context. The review explicates two main meanings of dignity-human dignity and social dignity, and looks at how these two ideas are used in the arenas of human rights, law, social justice, bioethics, and clinical care, and suggests some implications of these meanings and uses for health research and advocacy.

Bioethics↗

PubMed2005

Consulting as a strategy for knowledge transfer.

Academic researchers who work on health policy and health services are expected to transfer knowledge to decision makers. Decision makers often do not, however, regard academics' traditional ways of doing research and disseminating their findings as relevant or useful. This article argues that consulting can be a strategy for transferring knowledge between researchers and decision makers and is effective at promoting the "enlightenment" and "interactive" models of knowledge use. Based on three case studies, it develops a model of knowledge transfer-focused consulting that consists of six stages and four types of work. Finally, the article explores how knowledge is generated in consulting and identifies several classes of factors facilitating its use by decision makers.

Data Collection↗

PubMed2005

Recovery in community: using participatory action research to explore recovery with alternatives.

In Ontario, many people are calling for recovery to become the overarching philosophy and goal of the mental health system. Mental health service organizations are key to promoting recovery, but relatively little has been done to understand what recovery means at the organizational level. This paper describes the context, conduct, and findings of a participatory action research project designed to explore recovery in Alternatives, an organization in Toronto providing mental health services.

Community Mental Health Services↗

PubMed2003

Defining recovery: an interactionist analysis of mental health policy development, Wisconsin 1996-1999.

The author examines how, as part of a reform of Wisconsin's public mental health system, a workgroup of system stakeholders defined and operationalized the concept of recovery. Based on participant observation, document analysis, and interviews, with an analytic framework drawn from symbolic interactionism, the author finds that although individual members held a range of definitions of recovery, the workgroup was able to reach consensus in its policy recommendations through processual means and by tacitly agreeing on a set of overarching values that were flexible enough to accommodate many definitions.

Data Collection↗

PubMed2003

Development of a framework for knowledge translation: understanding user context.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a framework that researchers and other knowledge disseminators who are embarking on knowledge translation can use to increase their familiarity with the intended user groups. METHODS: The framework was derived from a review and analysis of the knowledge translation literature and from the authors' own experience with a variety of user groups. RESULTS: The framework consists of five domains: the user group, the issue, the research, the knowledge translation relationship, and dissemination strategies. Within each domain, the framework includes a series of questions. The questions provide the researcher with a way of organizing what he or she already knows about the user group and the knowledge translation project, of identifying what still is unknown, and of flagging what is important to learn. CONCLUSIONS: Most researchers wishing to engage in knowledge translation are moving out of their own familiar contexts. By using this framework, researchers will learn about the new contexts in which they find themselves. The insights they gain will increase their familiarity with the user group, thus aiding in the implicit goal of the interactive model of knowledge translation: making the researcher a part of the user group context.

Evidence-Based Medicine↗

PubMed2003

Linkage and exchange at the organizational level: a model of collaboration between research and policy.

This paper describes an organization-level initiative designed to promote linkage and exchange between a research unit and the mental health policy branch of Ontario's provincial government. Using a framework that conceptualizes four tiers--inter-organizational relationship, interactive research projects, dissemination and policy formation--in the application of linkage and exchange to the research and policy development processes, we present an example in order to explore the issues that arise in each tier. We conclude that while such initiatives enhance the relevance of research in the policy development process, they also present challenges that must be recognized and managed.

Cooperative Behavior↗

PubMed2003

Guided reflection: a participatory evaluation and planning process to promote recovery in mental health services agencies.

This brief report describes a participatory evaluation and planning process--a "guided reflection"--that mental health services agencies can use to examine the state of recovery awareness and implementation in their organizations. The process revolves around structured small group discussions, identification of agency strengths and weaknesses, and the formation of an agency "recovery action team" to set priorities and plan for change.

Community Health Planning↗

PubMed2003

Turnover reinterpreted CNAs talk about why they leave.

This study's purpose was to contribute to the development of a theory of turnover by understanding how CNAs employed in long-term care facilities conceptualize the factors that cause them to leave their jobs. Using grounded dimensional analysis, the authors conducted in-depth interviews with CNAs currently and formerly employed by three nursing homes. The CNAs' perception that they are unappreciated and undervalued by the organizations for which they work contributes significantly to turnover. The origins of this perception lie in policies and practices that lead, CNAs to feel personally and professionally dismissed. The authors suggest how long-term care facilities might change their staffing and personnel policies to better demonstrate respect and appreciation, thus reducing turnover and enhancing the quality of work and care.

Aged↗