Archives: News

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Justice for Residential School Survivors

On CBC's The Sunday Edition, Michael Enright interviews Lee Maracle and Taiaiake Alfred, Aboriginal scholars who do not think forgiveness and reconciliation are a priority. Restitution is needed to achieve social justice and to heal communities.  Listen on... More

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Indigenous Populations: Health & Social Care

Each month Routledge Health and Social Care Arena identifies a thematic area in which it draws together a collection of articles and provides free access. The May theme is Indigenous Health.  You can get free access to its collection of 50 articles through to December 31,... More

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Reducing burnout by crafting social identity

It is well known that work demands can result in burnout.  But what is known about how this outcome is shaped by social experiences.  Nick Steffens, Alex Haslam, and their colleagues published a recent report  on how leaders' identity entrepreneurship impacts group performance by diminishing burnout and increasing engagement. Steffens, N. et... More

Friday, April 18, 2014

Connecting social identity theory to practice

Why does belonging and identification with social groups matter?  Alex Haslam's landmark article in the British Journal of Social Psychology addresses this question by examining applications in clinical, organizational, and health contexts. He concludes interventions are always political because they involve some form of social identity... More

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Deriving benefit from pain

In a recent review article, Brock Bastian, Jolanda Jetten and colleagues explore the social, psychological, and biological consequences of pain.  They note that pain may have some positive consequences by presenting a negative contrast, augmenting self-regulation, and motivating social connections through... More

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Policy silences: Why Canada needs an Aboriginal health policy framework

In Canada, there is a 'policy patchwork' of provisions for health issues specific to First Nations, Inuit, and Metis.  This paper in the International Journal of Circumpolar Health evaluates existing federal, provincial, and territorial policies to determine whether they address current inequities in healthcare, and provides insights regarding... More

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Psychosocial factors affect emergency response effectiveness

One doesn't always think about psychosocial factors as relevant to public compliance in the face of an emergency.  Research by Holly Carter, John Drury and colleagues demonstrated that a communications strategy that increased first responder legitimacy and identification with responders increased compliance and willingness to help in the face of... More

Friday, April 4, 2014

Addressing Culture: 5th Wave of Public Health

A new policy paper has come out in Lancet making the case that to address the current social inequalities and rising burden of health, public health models need to work towards a achieving a cultural shift that emphasizes a society characterized by individual dependence and social interdependence, and which embeds engagement so that personal... More

Saturday, March 29, 2014

CBC Interview with Chair, Truth & Reconciliation Commission

The final hearings of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission took place this week regarding the Indian Residential Schools (IRSs) that operated in Canada up until the mid-1990s. CBC interviews the Chair, Justice Murray Sinclair. Hardest to hear was high death toll of over 6000 children in the IRSs, and families never told their child had... More

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Belonging to social groups reduces depression

Tegan Cruwys, Alex Haslam and colleagues provide evidence that an important aspect of social relationships that alleviates depression is the sense that we "are in it together". This prepublication summary comes on the heels of their meta-analysis demonstrating the relation between belonging social groups and diminished depressive... More

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Public health key to improving health equity

National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health Let's Talk series presented a report on Public Health Roles for Improving Health Equity. Provides a framework to enable all people to reach full health potential regardless of socially determined... More

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

When social identities might make us vulnerable…

A recent meta-analysis of the relation between perceived discrimination and well-being suggests that when individuals encounter pervasive discrimination there are harmful effects on their well-being. These effects are especially strong for children, disadvantaged groups and stigma based on illness and disability. Schmitt, M., Branscombe, N.R.,... More

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