Kaysi Eastlick Kushner

Publications of Kaysi Eastlick Kushner

• Where there is smoke, there is stress: low-income women identify support needs and preferences for smoking reduction.

  Authors: Miriam J Stewart, Lorraine Greaves, Kaysi Eastlick Kushner, Nicole L Letourneau, Denise L Spitzer, Madeline Boscoe

  Health care for women international. 05/2011; 32(5):359-83.

  Efforts to assist low-income women with tobacco reduction and cessation have typically not been informed by assessment of their needs and wishes. This multi-site qualitative study focused onEfforts to assist low-income women with tobacco reduction and cessation have typically not been informed by assessment of their needs and wishes. This multi-site qualitative study focused on assessing 64 low-income women's support needs and intervention preferences. These women were interested in smoking cessation, but identified many barriers and needed appropriate supports. However, available smoking cessation programs did not address underlying conditions, such as income instability and stress. The support recommended was psychosocial (e.g., buddy and group support), included self-care (e.g., nutrition, activity, and personal time), and reflected their social-economic circumstances (e.g., free cessation aids and child care).

• Finding a balance: toward a substantive theory of employed mothers' personal and family health decision making.

  Authors: Kaysi Eastlick Kushner, Margaret J Harrison

  Journal of holistic nursing : official journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association. 03/2011; 29(1):7-17; quiz 18-20.

  We investigated how mothers employed in support staff positions make personal and family health decisions. We used a critical feminist grounded theory design. Twenty women employed at a largeWe investigated how mothers employed in support staff positions make personal and family health decisions. We used a critical feminist grounded theory design. Twenty women employed at a large Canadian institution participated over two years in repeat interactive interviews. "Finding a balance" was the emergent core process of health decision making in response to the basic social problem of multiple demands and uncoordinated, sometimes conflicting ideologies. Women emphasized recursive movement within a continuous process of four action phases: cueing in, figuring out, generating solutions, and assessing results. Two distinct views of finding a balance were revealed: weighing competing interests or harmonizing multiple interests. These distinctive views contributed to variation in women's approaches to decision making and to their personal and family health experiences. Women's experiences suggest a capacity for reflective practice in health decision making that provides an excellent basis for holistic, emancipatory nursing practice.

• 'Health equity through action on the social determinants of health': taking up the challenge in nursing.

  Authors: Linda Reutter, Kaysi Eastlick Kushner

  Nursing inquiry. 09/2010; 17(3):269-80.

  Reducing health inequities is a priority issue in Canada and worldwide. In this paper, we argue that nursing has a clear mandate to ensure access to health and health-care by providing sensitiveReducing health inequities is a priority issue in Canada and worldwide. In this paper, we argue that nursing has a clear mandate to ensure access to health and health-care by providing sensitive empowering care to those experiencing inequities and working to change underlying social conditions that result in and perpetuate health inequities. We identify key dimensions of the concept of health (in)equities and identify recommendations to reduce inequities advanced in key global and Canadian documents. Using these documents as context, we advocate a 'critical caring approach' that will assist nurses to understand the social, political, economic and historical context of health inequities and to tackle these inequities through policy advocacy. Numerous societal barriers as well as constraints within the nursing profession must be acknowledged and addressed. We offer recommendations related to nursing practice, education and research to move forward the agenda of reducing health inequities through action on the social determinants of health.

• Impacts of a support intervention for low-income women who smoke.

  Authors: Miriam J Stewart, Kaysi Eastlick Kushner, Lorraine Greaves, Nicole Letourneau, Denise Spitzer, Madeline Boscoe

  Social science & medicine (1982). 09/2010; 71(11):1901-9.

  The objective of this pilot study was to implement and evaluate the impact of a support intervention tailored to the assessed support needs, resources and preferences of low-income women who smoke inThe objective of this pilot study was to implement and evaluate the impact of a support intervention tailored to the assessed support needs, resources and preferences of low-income women who smoke in three Canadian cities. The support intervention, informed by theoretical foundations, provided holistic one-to-one and group support over 14 weeks. The support intervention was facilitated by trained professional and peer facilitators. The impact was evaluated through analysis of qualitative and quantitative data collected at pre-, post-, and delayed post-test contacts. This analysis revealed that the intervention exerted positive impacts on smoking reduction/cessation, social networks, coping, and health behaviors. Participants reported satisfaction with the intervention.

• Employed mothers' worker ideology and social support network composition.

  Authors: Tanya Mudry, Kaysi Eastlick Kushner, Anne Neufeld

  Qualitative health research. 03/2010; 20(7):905-21.

  The purpose of this ethnographic study was to examine employed mothers' social support network composition in relation to their orientation to worker ideology. A reanalysis of data from twoThe purpose of this ethnographic study was to examine employed mothers' social support network composition in relation to their orientation to worker ideology. A reanalysis of data from two longitudinal, interview studies was conducted. Ecomaps were developed to depict women's social support network composition, revealing five types of support sources: household family, nonhousehold family, friends and neighbors, workplace, and formal services. A typology of diverse, restricted, and mixed networks, reflecting patterns in availability, consistency, and types of support sources, was identified and analyzed in relation to women's orientation to worker ideology. Women with innovator or conformist orientations to worker ideology tended to have mixed or diverse networks. Women with a conformist orientation did not utilize formal services but tended to have a supportive workplace. Most of the women who transitioned into an innovator orientation had available, consistent support, most notably from household family.

• Men Family Caregivers' Experience of Nonsupportive Interactions: Context and Expectations.

  Authors: Anne Neufeld, Kaysi Eastlick Kushner

  Journal of family nursing. 04/2009;

  Men's involvement as family caregivers has grown as the prevalence of dementia has increased. Men rely on support from others for caregiving but also experience nonsupportive interactions. TheMen's involvement as family caregivers has grown as the prevalence of dementia has increased. Men rely on support from others for caregiving but also experience nonsupportive interactions. The purpose of this ethnographic study of 34 men (24 spouses and 10 sons) caring for a relative with dementia, 5 assisting caregivers, and 15 professionals was to identify primary caregivers' perceptions of nonsupportive and supportive interactions in relationships with kin and friends as well as professionals. Thematic analysis of transcribed data generated from interviews, diaries, and focus group discussions revealed the nature of men's caregiving journeys, the characteristics of their social networks, and their expectations of supportive interactions. The non-supportive interactions men caregivers experienced included a lack of orientation to the caregiving situation, an unsatisfactory linkage to support sources, insufficient support, and hurtful interactions. Information about nonsupportive interactions can sensitize kin and friends as well as professionals to the complexity of men's experience and potentially avoid unintended negative consequences of support efforts.

• Interactive use of genograms and ecomaps in family caregiving research.

  Authors: Gwen R Rempel, Anne Neufeld, Kaysi Eastlick Kushner

  Journal of family nursing. 12/2007; 13(4):403-19.

  This article argues for the concurrent and comparative use of genograms and ecomaps in family caregiving research. A genogram is a graphic portrayal of the composition and structure of one's familyThis article argues for the concurrent and comparative use of genograms and ecomaps in family caregiving research. A genogram is a graphic portrayal of the composition and structure of one's family and an ecomap is a graphic portrayal of personal and family social relationships. Although development and utilization of genograms and ecomaps is rooted in clinical practice with families, as research tools they provide data that can enhance the researcher's understanding of family member experiences. In qualitative research of the supportive and nonsupportive interactions experienced by male family caregivers, the interactive use of genograms and ecomaps (a) facilitated increased understanding of social networks as a context for caregiving, (b) promoted a relational process between researcher and participant, and (c) uncovered findings such as unrealized potential in the participant's social network that may not be revealed with the use of the genogram or ecomap alone, or the noncomparative use of both.

• Meaning and action in employed mothers' health work.

  Authors: Kaysi Eastlick Kushner

  Journal of family nursing. 03/2007; 13(1):33-55.

  The purpose of this critical feminist study was to examine employed mothers' meanings of family and personal health as they frame the context of daily experience in caring for their families' andThe purpose of this critical feminist study was to examine employed mothers' meanings of family and personal health as they frame the context of daily experience in caring for their families' and their own health. Twenty mothers employed in support staff positions with a large institution in Western Canada participated in repeat interviews over 2 years. Women considered individual family members and the family group as they emphasized everyday function and satisfaction, and the presence or absence of various attributes of health as a multifaceted and dynamic experience. Women's health work included keeping track, constructing routines, facing challenges, setting priorities, being there for each other, finding joy and fulfillment, and fostering personal development. A preliminary typology of four orientations to family health work is suggested. Common themes between women's and family health and congruence between women's health meanings and actions provide guidance to nurses in family health promotion practice.

• Embodied context: social institutional influences on employed mothers' health decision making.

  Authors: Kaysi Eastlick Kushner

  Health care for women international. 02/2005; 26(1):69-86.

  The purpose of this critical ethnographic study was to explicate the ways that employed mothers' personal and family health decision making were socially organized through the institutions ofThe purpose of this critical ethnographic study was to explicate the ways that employed mothers' personal and family health decision making were socially organized through the institutions of motherhood, the family, the workplace, and the health care, education, and social systems in Canada. Data were analyzed from individual interviews, a focus group, workplace policy documents, and popular media articles. Twenty women participated over 2 years. Family, workplace, and social contexts were external influences on women's choices and were embodied through internal influences such as personal expectations that framed decision making. Strategies are suggested to promote the health and well-being of employed mothers and their families.

• Women's satisfaction with their involvement in health care decisions during a high-risk pregnancy.

  Authors: Margaret J Harrison, Kaysi Eastlick Kushner, Karen Benzies, Gwen Rempel, Cathy Kimak

  Birth (Berkeley, Calif.). 07/2003; 30(2):109-15.

  BACKGROUND: Increasingly, women seek involvement in decisions about their health care. The purpose of this study was to examine women's experience of, and satisfaction with, their involvement inBACKGROUND: Increasingly, women seek involvement in decisions about their health care. The purpose of this study was to examine women's experience of, and satisfaction with, their involvement in health care decisions during a high-risk pregnancy. METHODS: Forty-seven women with hypertension or threatened preterm delivery (including multiple births) were interviewed after the birth of their child. They received prenatal care at home from nurses in a community program or were hospitalized. The in-depth interviews were audiotaped and transcribed; data were analyzed using constant comparative methods. RESULTS: Women identified an increased feeling of responsibility for the health of their baby and themselves, but differed in choosing active or passive involvement in health care decisions. Women who wanted active involvement achieved it through one of three processes: struggling for, negotiating, or being encouraged. Women who wanted passive involvement and women facing health crises used the process of trusting in the expertise of nurses and physicians. Women were satisfied if the care from health care professionals was congruent with how they wanted to be involved in decision-making. CONCLUSIONS: Although most women want to be actively involved in health decision-making during a high-risk pregnancy, some prefer a passive role. The setting of prenatal care, community-based or in-hospital, was less important than the ability of nurses and physicians to support the woman in her preferred role in decision-making.

• Employed mothers: stress and balance-focused coping.

  Authors: Kaysi Eastlick Kushner, Margaret J Harrison

  The Canadian journal of nursing research = Revue canadienne de recherche en sciences infirmières. 07/2002; 34(1):47-65.

  This critical feminist grounded theory study examined how employed mothers coped with the stress of managing multiple responsibilities in family, health, and paid work. Over a 2-year period, 20This critical feminist grounded theory study examined how employed mothers coped with the stress of managing multiple responsibilities in family, health, and paid work. Over a 2-year period, 20 mothers employed as support staff in a large, publicly funded institution participated in repeated individual in-person and telephone interviews and in a focus group. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using constant comparative methods. The women experienced stress from continuous demands in paid and family health work compounded by time constraints, inflexible expectations, conflicting demands, compromised personal resources, and inadequate support. Most of their coping strategies were individual, such as focusing on priorities, but some women used shared family decision-making. Findings support both individual and family stress and coping theory, yet underscore the need to explicate social-ecological influences such as relational power. Strategies that can enhance coping and reduce stress are described for nurses who work with women and families.

• Grounded theory, feminist theory, critical theory: toward theoretical triangulation.

  Authors: Kaysi Eastlick Kushner, Raymond Morrow

  ANS. Advances in nursing science. 26(1):30-43.

  Nursing and social science scholars have examined the compatibility between feminist and grounded theory traditions in scientific knowledge generation, concluding that they are complementary, yet notNursing and social science scholars have examined the compatibility between feminist and grounded theory traditions in scientific knowledge generation, concluding that they are complementary, yet not without certain tensions. This line of inquiry is extended to propose a critical feminist grounded theory methodology. The construction of symbolic interactionist, feminist, and critical feminist variants of grounded theory methodology is examined in terms of the presuppositions of each tradition and their interplay as a process of theoretical triangulation.