The Interpersonal Skills of Community-Engaged Scholarship: Insights From Collaborators Working at the University of Saskatchewan’s Community Engagement Office

Perhaps more clearly than other research approaches, community-based research or engaged scholarship involves both technical skills of research expertise and scientific rigor as well as interpersonal skills of relationship building, effective communication, and moral ways of being. In an academic age concerned with scientific precision, cognitive skills, quantification, and reliable measurements, the interpersonal skills required for research—and particularly community-based research and engaged scholarship—demand growing importance and resources in contemporary discourse and practice. Focused around the University of Saskatchewan’s Community Engagement Office located in the inner city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the authors draw on over 50 years of collective experience to offer critical reflections on the notion of interpersonal skills in community-engaged scholarship that manifest particularly in place-based contexts of Indigenous community partnerships. Overall, we argue that discourse and practice involving community-engaged scholarship must pay attention to the notion of interpersonal skills in various aspects and across multiple dimensions and disciplines. This approach is crucial to ensure that research is done effectively and ethically, that good quality data are produced from such research, that subtle, systematic forms of micro-aggression and oppression are minimized, and that community voices and knowledge have a meaningful and significant place in scholarship activities

Social disparities in food preparation behaviours: a DEDIPAC study

BACKGROUND: The specific role of major socio-economic indicators in influencing food preparation behaviours could reveal distinct socio-economic patterns, thus enabling mechanisms to be understood that contribute to social inequalities in health. This study investigated whether there was an independent association of each socio-economic indicator (education, occupation, income) with food preparation behaviours. METHODS: A total of 62,373 adults participating in the web-based NutriNet-Santé cohort study were included in our cross-sectional analyses. Cooking skills, preparation from scratch and kitchen equipment were assessed using a 0-10-point score; frequency of meal preparation, enjoyment of cooking and willingness to cook better/more frequently were categorical variables. Independent associations between socio-economic factors (education, income and occupation) and food preparation behaviours were assessed using analysis of covariance and logistic regression models stratified by sex. The models simultaneously included the three socio-economic indicators, adjusting for age, household composition and whether or not they were the main cook in the household. RESULTS: Participants with the lowest education, the lowest income group and female manual and office workers spent more time preparing food daily than participants with the highest education, those with the highest income and managerial staff (P < 0.0001). The lowest educated individuals were more likely to be non-cooks than those with the highest education level (Women: OR = 3.36 (1.69;6.69); Men: OR = 1.83 (1.07;3.16)) while female manual and office workers and the never-employed were less likely to be non-cooks (OR = 0.52 (0.28;0.97); OR = 0.30 (0.11;0.77)). Female manual and office workers had lower scores of preparation from scratch and were less likely to want to cook more frequently than managerial staff (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001). Women belonging to the lowest income group had a lower score of kitchen equipment (P < 0.0001) and were less likely to enjoy cooking meal daily (OR = 0.68 (0.45;0.86)) than those with the highest income. CONCLUSION: Lowest socio-economic groups, particularly women, spend more time preparing food than high socioeconomic groups. However, female manual and office workers used less raw or fresh ingredients to prepare meals than managerial staff. In the unfavourable context in France with reduced time spent preparing meals over last decades, our findings showed socioeconomic disparities in food preparation behaviours in women, whereas few differences were observed in men

A multilevel intervention to increase physical activity and improve healthy eating and physical literacy among young children (ages 3-5) attending early childcare centres: the Healthy Start-Départ Santé cluster randomised controlled trial study protocol

Abstract: Background: Childhood obesity is a growing concern for public health. Given a majority of children in many countries spend approximately 30 h per week in early childcare centers, this environment represents a promising setting for implementing strategies to foster healthy behaviours for preventing and controlling childhood obesity. Healthy Start-Départ Santé was designed to promote physical activity, physical literacy, and healthy eating among preschoolers. The objectives of this study are to assess the effectiveness of the Healthy Start-Départ Santé intervention in improving physical activity levels, physical literacy, and healthy eating among preschoolers attending early childcare centers. Methods/Design: This study follows a cluster randomized controlled trial design in which the childcare centers are randomly assigned to receive the intervention or serve as usual care controls. The Healthy Start-Départ Santé intervention is comprised of interlinked components aiming to enable families and educators to integrate physical activity and healthy eating in the daily lives of young children by influencing factors at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, community, physical environment and policy levels. The intervention period, spanning 6-8 months, is preceded and followed by data collections. Participants are recruited from 61 childcare centers in two Canadian provinces, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan. Centers eligible for this study have to prepare and provide meals for lunch and have at least 20 children between the ages of 3 and 5. Centers are excluded if they have previously received a physical activity or nutrition promoting intervention. Eligible centers are stratified by province, geographical location (urban or rural) and language (English or French), then recruited and randomized using a one to one protocol for each stratum. Data collection is ongoing. The primary study outcomes are assessed using accelerometers (physical activity levels), the Test of Gross Motor Development-II (physical literacy), and digital photography-assisted weighted plate waste (food intake). Discussion: The multifaceted approach of Healthy Start-Départ Santé positions it well to improve the physical literacy and both dietary and physical activity behaviors of children attending early childcare centers. The results of this study will be of relevance given the overwhelming prevalence of overweight and obesity in children worldwide. Trial registration: NCT02375490 (ClinicalTrials.gov registry)

Mastectomy Versus Breast-Conservation Therapy: An Examination of How Individual, Clinicopathologic, and Physician Factors Influence Decision-Making

Background: The choice of mastectomy compared with breast-conservation therapy (BCT) in early-stage breast cancer (BSBCA) is a complicated decision-making process. Interprovincially, Canada’s mastectomy rates vary from 25% to 68%, with Saskatchewan reporting the nation’s second-highest mastectomy rate at 63%. The aim of our research was to better understand why women with esbca choose mastectomy rather than bct in Saskatchewan. Methods: We created a survey based on a previously developed framework that organizes influencing factors into 3 constructs: clinicopathologic, physician, and individual belief factors. Results: Treatment choice was found to be influenced by disease stage and multiple individual belief factors. Compared with their counterparts having stage i disease, women with stage ii disease were significantly more likely to undergo mastectomy [odds ratio (OR): 7.48]. Patients rating “worry about cancer recurrence” and “total treatment time” as more influential in their choice were also more likely to undergo mastectomy (or: 3.4 and 1.8 respectively). Conversely, women rating “wanting to keep own breast tissue,” “tumour size,” and “surgeon’s opinion” as influential in their choice were more likely to undergo bct (or: 0.17, 0.66, and 0.69 respectively). Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that treatment choices for Saskatchewan women with esbca are influenced primarily by disease stage and individual belief factors. Those findings suggest that women are making their treatment choices predominantly based on individual values and preferences. The use of rates of mastectomy and bct as indicators of quality of care might be misleading. Instead, a shift in attention toward patient-centred care might be more appropriate

Mastectomy Versus Breast-Conservation Therapy: An Examination of How Individual, Clinicopathologic, and Physician Factors Influence Decision-Making

Background: The choice of mastectomy compared with breast-conservation therapy (BCT) in early-stage breast cancer (BSBCA) is a complicated decision-making process. Interprovincially, Canada’s mastectomy rates vary from 25% to 68%, with Saskatchewan reporting the nation’s second-highest mastectomy rate at 63%. The aim of our research was to better understand why women with esbca choose mastectomy rather than bct in Saskatchewan. Methods: We created a survey based on a previously developed framework that organizes influencing factors into 3 constructs: clinicopathologic, physician, and individual belief factors. Results: Treatment choice was found to be influenced by disease stage and multiple individual belief factors. Compared with their counterparts having stage i disease, women with stage ii disease were significantly more likely to undergo mastectomy [odds ratio (OR): 7.48]. Patients rating “worry about cancer recurrence” and “total treatment time” as more influential in their choice were also more likely to undergo mastectomy (or: 3.4 and 1.8 respectively). Conversely, women rating “wanting to keep own breast tissue,” “tumour size,” and “surgeon’s opinion” as influential in their choice were more likely to undergo bct (or: 0.17, 0.66, and 0.69 respectively). Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that treatment choices for Saskatchewan women with esbca are influenced primarily by disease stage and individual belief factors. Those findings suggest that women are making their treatment choices predominantly based on individual values and preferences. The use of rates of mastectomy and bct as indicators of quality of care might be misleading. Instead, a shift in attention toward patient-centred care might be more appropriate.</jats:p