Seattle University Collaborative Projects - International Academy of ...

PTSD disrupts the dynamics of home and family. In this presentation I will discuss some of thesewomen and family’s stories, as well as the insights and recommendations gleaned from them.Health PIES for Disadvantaged ChildrenMary Lou Batty, University of New Brunswick (mbatty@unb.ca)It is well documented that health professionals and educators often work intimately with childrenwhile ironically being oblivious to the adverse circumstances these children live with at home orwithin other parts of their lives. Their ability to learn at school may be diminished by chronicstress and self-care deficits (e.g. poor hygiene and nutrition); they may be unable to self-regulateor establish healthy friendships. Because many of their situations will never be identified, theywill miss access to support and resources that could change the course of their health. Thesubsequent costs to the children and to the health care system cannot be ignored. Therefore andby way of reaching out to these children, the Health Promotion in Elementary Schools (HealthPIES) initiative was developed. Using a strength-based universal approach to build relational andhealth promotion capacity, Health PIES provides a cost-effective way to help children, and byextension, their families. Within this initiative, nursing students engage with children, staff, andthe school community in classroom work, and also work with children in small groups who havebeen identified as “at-risk” for developing health challenges. Activities conducted by the nursingstudents are inclusive of family structure and describe community supports which are accessibleto families regardless of income level, culture, learning style, and family circumstances. Thisenables the children to draw on the information to meet their own needs. Children who receivelittle support at home tend to build skills in resilience and independence. Such children havereported learning the connection between hygiene and infection prevention and that materialpossessions do not equate to happiness. The children acknowledged that the activities theylearned through participating in Health PIES helped them through difficult times at home.Hallowed Be Thy Name: Women’s Stories of Surname ChangeKathryn Weaver, University of New Brunswick (kweaver@unb.ca)A name is a symbol of self and a large part of the construction of one’s identity; however, littleattention has been given to the topic of women’s surname change. Thus, women whocontemplate entering or leaving marital relationships can experience a quandary as to whetherthey will take their husbands’ surnames or retain their birth surnames. To understand women’sexperiences with surname change or retention and the meanings women draw from theseexperiences, a narrative approach was used to elicit women’s stories and explore individualperspectives within the broader beliefs and values of family, culture, and society. Fourteenwomen in the process of surname change were interviewed. In addition, collateral interviewswith 14 family members were conducted to add validity and richness to the developing core427