Elise Catherine Davis, Elizabeth T. Arana, John S. Creel, Stephanie C. Ibarra, Jesus Lechuga, Rachel A. Norman, Hannah R. Parks, Ali Qasim, David Y. Watkins and Bita A. Kash
The purpose of this article is to provide a general review of the health-care needs in Kenya which focuses on the role of community engagement in facilitating access and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to provide a general review of the health-care needs in Kenya which focuses on the role of community engagement in facilitating access and diminishing barriers to quality care services. Health-care concerns throughout Kenya and the culture of Kenyan’s health-care practices care are considered.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive review covered studies of community engagement from 2000 till present. Studies are collected using Google Scholar, PubMed, EBSCOhost and JSTOR and from government and nongovernment agency websites. The approach focuses on why various populations seek health care and how they seek health care, and on some current health-care delivery models.
Findings
Suggestions for community engagement, including defining the community, are proposed. A model for improved health-care delivery introduces community health workers (CHWs), mHealth technologies and the use of mobile clinics to engage the community and improve health and quality of care in low-income settings.
Practical implications
The results emphasize the importance of community engagement in building a sustainable health-care delivery model. This model highlights the importance of defining the community, setting goals for the community and integrating CHWs and mobile clinics to improve health status and decrease long-term health-care costs. The implementation of these strategies contributes to an environment that promotes health and wellness for all.
Originality/value
This paper evaluates health-care quality and access issues in Kenya and provides sustainable solutions that are linked to effective community engagement. In addition, this paper adds to the limited number of studies that explore health-care quality and access alongside community engagement in low-income settings.
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This study is a radical interactionist analysis of family conflict. Drawing on both a negotiated order perspective and Athen's theory of complex dominative encounters, this study…
Abstract
This study is a radical interactionist analysis of family conflict. Drawing on both a negotiated order perspective and Athen's theory of complex dominative encounters, this study analyzes the role that domination plays in conflicts among intimates. As the family engages in repeated conflicts over roles, the family also engages in negotiations over the family order, what role each party should play, interpretations of past events, and plans for the future. These conflicts take place against a backdrop of patriarchy that asymmetrically distributes power in the family to determine the family order. The data from this study come from a content analysis of mothers with substance use problems as depicted in the reality television show Intervention. The conflicts in these families reveal that these families develop a grinding family order in which families engaged in repeated conflict but also continued to operate as and identify as a family. These conflicts are shaped by and reinforce patriarchal expectations that mothers are central to family operation. The intervention at the end of each episode offered an opportunity for the family to engage in a concerted campaign to try to force the mother into treatment and reestablish the family order.
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Ronald J. Berger, Carla Corroto, Jennifer Flad and Richard Quinney
Medical uncertainty is recognized as a critical issue in the sociology of diagnosis and medical sociology more generally, but a neglected focus of this concern is the question of…
Abstract
Medical uncertainty is recognized as a critical issue in the sociology of diagnosis and medical sociology more generally, but a neglected focus of this concern is the question of patient decision making. Using a mixed methods approach that draws upon autoethnographic accounts and third-party interviews, we aim to illuminate the dilemmas of patient decision making in the face of uncertainty. How do patients and supportive caregivers go about navigating this state of affairs? What types of patient–doctor/healthcare professional relationships hinder or enhance effective patient decision making? These are the themes we explore in this study by following patients through the sequence of experiencing symptoms, seeking a diagnosis, evaluating treatment protocols, and receiving treatments. In general, three genres of culturally available narratives are revealed in the data: strategic, technoluxe, and unbearable health narratives.
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This interpretive biography of Norman K. Denzin traces some of the important turns and moments of his intellectual development and prodigious publication. One focus includes his…
Abstract
This interpretive biography of Norman K. Denzin traces some of the important turns and moments of his intellectual development and prodigious publication. One focus includes his editorial role for the first 52 volumes of Studies in Symbolic Interaction (1978–2020), and how his vision for an inclusive community of qualitative researchers and interpretive scholars emerged and changed.
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It is widely recognized by scholars that superhero stories tend to glorify vigilante justice; after all, these stories often maintain that extralegal acts of violence are…
Abstract
It is widely recognized by scholars that superhero stories tend to glorify vigilante justice; after all, these stories often maintain that extralegal acts of violence are necessary for combatting existential threats to personal and public safety. This scholarly common sense fosters a widespread dismissal of superhero stories as uncomplicated apologia for an authoritarian politics of law and order that is animated by hatred of unpopular people and ideas. However, some prominent contemporary Batman stories, including those told in the graphic novels of Grant Morrison and in the blockbuster movies of Christopher Nolan, are ambivalent: in their portraits of Batman and Joker as dark twins and secret colleagues, these stories both legitimize and challenge the countersubversive politics of American law and order.
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This paper aims to compare the findings from a survey of a cohort of students at an Australian regional university across two time points: immediately on commencing their first…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to compare the findings from a survey of a cohort of students at an Australian regional university across two time points: immediately on commencing their first semester of study and at the end of their final semester of study to determine whether, and in what ways, these students’ views concerning sustainability appear to have changed. This paper reports on a longitudinal study of the attitudes, beliefs and perceptions of undergraduate business students regarding a range of sustainability issues.
Design/methodology/approach
A paper-based questionnaire was delivered to approximately 250 first year and 150 third year students.
Findings
A factor analysis shows small but statistically different positive differences, which indicate that the revised curriculum has been successful in raising student awareness and achieving behaviour change.
Research limitations/implications
The study focussed on Australian undergraduate university business students, which reduced generalizability of the findings.
Practical implications
The findings of this study can inform instructors in higher education of student attitudes towards sustainability and climate change adaption and in turn inform changes to tertiary curriculum in sustainability and climate change adaption.
Originality/value
The authors confirm that the research is original and that all of the data provided in this paper is real and authentic. As the paper reports on the third phase of the longitudinal study, some parts of the methodology have been previously published but differ as they reflect the third phase of the study. The results of this study have not been previously published.
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Rachael Lindsay, Thomas W. Jackson and Louise Cooke
In light of a growing trend towards mobile information management and a UK governmental drive for police forces to implement mobile technologies and realise significant benefits…
Abstract
Purpose
In light of a growing trend towards mobile information management and a UK governmental drive for police forces to implement mobile technologies and realise significant benefits, it is important to examine the factors affecting officer acceptance. There appears to be little understanding of the key factors, yet this is critical to the success of the initiative. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the main factors that influence the usage of mobile technologies amongst police officers.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative, partially ethnographic design was followed to allow an in‐depth exploration of this issue. The study was based on a mixed‐methods longitudinal evaluation study of the implementation of mobile technologies within a UK police force over a nine‐month period. The technology acceptance model (TAM) and the subsequent TAM2 and TAM3, were then reengineered to provide a suitable theoretical model for a mobile policing context.
Findings
In total, four main categories of officer acceptance factors were identified: officer performance, security/reliability, management style and cognitive acceptance. Evidence from the study showed a key shortfall in all three versions of the TAM in that they focus on the user perspective and did not confirm the broader organisational factors within the implementation and social contexts of mobile policing.
Originality/value
Consequently, an adapted mobile‐TAM (m‐TAM) was produced that incorporated these factors into the existing TAM elements. The high‐level nature of the adapted model for mobile policing means it could be applied by other police forces and potentially other organisations, regardless of the type of mobile device implemented, to address the barriers to acceptance. The m‐TAM addresses the need for a more relevant and robust model to the mobile policing paradigm, which goes beyond the static technology environment in which the TAM2 and TAM3 were built.
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Amongst other actions the Care Act 2014 emphasised the duties of local authorities (LA) to assess the needs of carers, as well as those they care for and to meet all eligible…
Abstract
Purpose
Amongst other actions the Care Act 2014 emphasised the duties of local authorities (LA) to assess the needs of carers, as well as those they care for and to meet all eligible needs for support. This paper aims to report the findings of a study which explored the experiences of older carers of people with learning disabilities as they navigated LA assessment processes and personnel.
Design/methodology/approach
Using an explorative design, 21 older carers were interviewed about their experiences. Interview transcripts were qualitatively analysed.
Findings
Three main themes were identified, namely, needs assessments as ambitions, not outcomes; the effects of funding-cuts projected onto carers; and challenges with social care personnel.
Originality/value
The study findings attracted a high level of engagement with public awareness and mainstream news and social media. The LA also immediately responded with interventions to address some of the findings, including carer “drop-in” sessions. They are also adapting their carer’s needs assessment processes as a result of the study. It is hoped that the issues raised will be of interest to other social care providers and practitioners.