Purpose: This concept analysis aims to address the gap in knowledge regarding the concept of successful refugee cohabitation with host families. It seeks to develop a conceptual model that integrates holistic nursing and healthcare practices into refugee cohabitation settings to enhance refugee well-being. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted using Walker and Avant's methodology for concept analysis. Findings: Successful refugee cohabitation with host families concept characterized by peaceful coexistence, power dynamics, hospitality, and cultural tolerance. Antecedents include refugee shelter needs, societal acceptance, humanitarian solidarity, and legal support. Consequences include refugee inclusion and integration, societal cohesion, psychological well-being, and refugee–host acceptance. Conclusions: Successful refugee cohabitation is defined as a private hosting arrangement that embodies shared living spaces and peaceful coexistence amid conflict or crises, fostering resilience and support for displaced individuals by local citizens. It combines hospitality, balanced power, and cultural tolerance, driven by refugee needs for shelter and a commitment to successful refugee settlement and integration. This hosting arrangement promotes societal development and cohesion, economic growth, psychological well-being, and foster inclusion and intergroup tolerance. The integration of holistic nursing principles into refugee cohabitation practices can foster more inclusive and healthy communities.

Background:Homestay accommodations aim to support a smoother transition for refugees; yet, the intricate nature of relationships between refugees and their hosting families can make this process complex, which, in turn, can affect their health and well-being. It is crucial to grasp the experiences of both refugees and their host families in order to foster effective settlement, integration, and well-being.

Objective:The purpose of this scoping review is to explore the dynamics of homestay or hosting with a focus on understanding the experiences of both refugees and their hosting families to identify gaps in the literature and propose directions for future research.

Methods:We used the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and followed the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) checklist to guide this scoping review. Searches were conducted in MEDLINE via EBSCO, Scopus via OVID, CINAHL, SOCIndex, Web of Science Core Collection, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, the SciELO Citation Index, and APA PsycInfo. Literature written in English and published from 2011 to 2024 that focused on homestay hosting contexts for refugees was included.

Results:The results of this review illuminate the multifaceted and dynamic nature of homestay hosting for refugees. The findings include motivations and barriers for homestay hosting, factors influencing host-refugee relations, and psychological and social outcomes of homestay hosting.

Conclusions:The results of this scoping review demonstrated the need for tailored support for refugees to improve homestay programs for the benefit of both refugees and host families and highlighted the need of more inclusive, supportive, and effective strategies for the hosting, resettlement, and integration of refugees.

This study explores the experiences of Ukrainian refugee women hosted by Canadian families in the Greater Toronto Area, focusing on the dynamics of this unique living arrangement amidst Toronto’s challenging housing situation. Using Feminist Standpoint Theory and a research-creation approach through Photovoice, eighteen Ukrainian refugee women shared and reflected on their experiences via photo elicitation interviews. The analysis, combining visual and narrative elements, highlights three key themes: Host-Guest Dynamics in Shared Spaces, which sheds light on the complexities of navigating interpersonal relationships within shared living environments; Adaptation through Coexistence, emphasizing the mutual adjustments and cultural exchanges between hosts and guests; and Refining the Path of Refugee Hosting, which reflects on the evolving practices and lessons learned from these hosting arrangements. These findings underscore the importance of centering refugee women’s voices to better understand the social, cultural, and political factors shaping their hosting experiences and contribute to advancing the discourse on refugee hosting practices.

Parenting is a demanding undertaking, requiring continuous vigilance to ensure children's emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. It has become even more challenging in the context of COVID-19 restrictions that have led to drastic changes in family life. Based on the results of a qualitative interpretive descriptive study that aimed to understand the experiences of immigrants living in apartment buildings in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada, this paper reports the experiences of 50 immigrant parents. During the summer and fall of 2020, semi-structured interviews were conducted by phone or virtually, audio-recorded, then translated and transcribed. The transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results revealed that parenting experiences during the pandemic entailed dealing with changing relationships, coping with added burdens and pressures, living in persistent fear and anxiety, and rethinking lifestyles and habits. Amid these changes and challenges, some parents managed to create opportunities for their children to improve their diet, take a break from their rushed lives, get in touch with their cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and spend more quality time with their family. While immigrant parents exhibit remarkable resilience in dealing with the pandemic-related meso and macro-levels restrictions, funding and programs are urgently needed to support them in addressing the impact of these at the micro level.

[para. 1]: " The COVID-19 pandemic brought to the forefront the detrimental health and social consequences of social isolation (Hosseinzadeh et al., 2022). For many older immigrant adults, these consequences are all too familiar. The loss of familiar social networks that resulted from immigrating to and settling in a new country coupled with systemic racism, language discordance, financial precarity, acculturation stress, limited mobility during winter months, costs of or lack of (accessible) transportation, and a lack of access to information and community resources, among other factors, contribute to their social isolation (Guruge et al., 2019; Sidani et al., 2022). Even though COVID-related public health restrictions have been lifted and there is return to ‘normalcy,’ older immigrant adults continue to experience social isolation. In this paper, opportunities, and challenges of reaching out to socially-isolated older immigrant adults in a research context are presented."

Background:The process of refugee resettlement and integration into new communities is a complex and multifaceted challenge, not only for the refugees themselves but also for the host families involved in homestay housing arrangements. While these homestay arrangements are designed to facilitate smoother transitions and enhance the well-being of refugees, the nuanced dynamics of these interactions and their overall impact on both refugees and their host families remain underexplored. Understanding the experiences of refugees and their host families is vital for effective refugee settlement, integration, and well-being. However, the intricacies of homestay refugee hosting, their interactions with host families, and the impact on their well-being are still unclear and ambiguous.

Objective:The aim of this scoping review is to examine the breadth of literature on the experiences of refugees living in homestay arrangements with their host families. This review seeks to understand how these dynamics influence refugee well-being, including their integration, social connections, and mental health. Additionally, this scoping review aims to synthesize existing literature on homestay hosting dynamics, focusing on the experiences of refugees and their host families, to identify gaps in knowledge and suggest areas for future research.

Methods:This scoping review follows Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and will search databases such as CINAHL, SOCIndex, MEDLINE through EBSCO; APA PsycInfo, Scopus through OVID; and Web of Science Core Collection, ProQuest Dissertations, and Theses, and SciELO Citation Index, focusing on literature from 2011 onward, in English, in relation to refugee groups in different host countries, including all types of literature. Literature will be screened by 2 independent reviewers, with disagreements resolved by consensus or a third reviewer. A custom data extraction tool will be created by the research team.

Results:The results will be organized in tables or diagrams, accompanied by a narrative overview, emphasizing the main synthesized findings related to the dynamics of homestay hosting with host families and refugee well-being. No critical appraisal will be conducted. This scoping review is expected to identify research gaps that will inform the development of homestay refugee hosting models, policies, and practices. It will also offer insights into best practices and policy recommendations to improve homestay hosting programs, ultimately contributing to more effective refugee settlement and integration strategies.

Conclusions:Understanding the intricate dynamics of homestay hosting arrangements is crucial for developing policies and programs that support the well-being of refugees and the families that host them. This scoping review will shed light on the current knowledge landscape, identify research gaps, and suggest ways to enhance the homestay hosting experience for all parties involved. Through this work, we aim to contribute to the development of more inclusive, supportive, and effective approaches to refugee hosting, resettlement, and integration.

Background

Exposure to armed conflict and/or war have been linked to an increase in intimate partner violence (IPV) against women. A substantial body of work has focused on non-partner rape and sexual violence in war and post-war contexts, but research about IPV is limited, particularly in Asian settings. This paper presents the finding of a study conducted in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. The study explored women’s experiences of and responses to IPV as well as how health and social service providers perceive the problem. It also explored the IPV-related services and supports available after the end of a 30-year civil war.

Method

We conducted in-depth, qualitative interviews with 15 women who had experienced IPV and 15 service providers who were knowledgeable about IPV in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. Interviews were translated into English, coded and organized using NVivo8, and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.

Results

Participants described IPV as a widespread but hidden problem. Women had experienced various forms of abusive and controlling behaviours, some of which reflect the reality of living in the post-war context. The psychological effects of IPV were common, but were often attributed to war-related trauma. Some men used violence to control women and to reinstate power when their gender roles were reversed or challenged due to war and post-war changes in livelihoods. While some service providers perceived an increase in awareness about IPV and more services to address it, this was discordant with women’s fears, feelings of oppression, and perception of a lack of redress from IPV within a highly militarized and ethnically-polarized society. Most women did not consider leaving an abusive relationship to be an option, due to realistic fears about their vulnerability to community violence, the widespread social norms that would cast them as outsiders, and the limited availability of related services and supports.

Implications

These findings revealed the need for more research about IPV in post-war contexts. Women’s experiences in such contexts are influenced and may be masked by a complex set of factors that intersect to produce IPV and entrap women in violence. A more nuanced understanding of the context-specific issues that shape women’s experiences of IPV- and community responses to it—is needed to develop more comprehensive solutions that are relevant to the local context.

Background: The three-month health insurance waiting period in Ontario reinforces health inequities for newcomer women and their babies. Little is known about the systemic factors that shape newcomer women's experiences during the OHIP waiting period.

Purpose: To examine the factors that shaped newcomer women's experiences with perinatal care during the three-month health insurance waiting period in Ontario, Canada.

Methods: This qualitative study was informed by an intersectional framework, and guided by a critical ethnographic method. Individual interviews were conducted with four newcomer women and three perinatal healthcare professionals. Participant observations at recruitment and interview sites were integral to the study design.

Results: The key systemic factors that shaped newcomer women's experiences with perinatal care included social identity, migration, and the healthcare system. Social identities related to gender, race, and socio-economic status intersected to form a social location, which converged with newcomer women's experiences of social isolation and exclusion. These experiences, in turn, intersected with Ontario's problematic perinatal health services. Together, these factors form systems of oppression for newcomer women in the perinatal period.

Conclusions: Given the health inequities that can result from these systems of oppression, it is important to adopt an upstream approach that is informed by the Human Rights Code of Ontario to improve accessibility to and the experiences of perinatal care for newcomer women.

Introduction: Older adults are the fastest growing age group in Canada. Elder abuse has significant individual and societal implications, so it is critical to address. While interest in this topic is increasing, little is known about the risk factors for elder abuse in immigrant communities in Canada, or about culturally relevant strategies to address these risk factors.

Methods and analysis: This mixed-methods study is guided by the intersectionality and ecological frameworks. We will include two long-term (ie, established) and two recent immigrant communities from East Asian and South Asian communities in the Greater Toronto Area: Chinese, Korean, Punjabi and Tamil. Through structured group interviews, we will first identify factors that contribute to elder abuse within and across each of the immigrant communities and then explore culturally relevant strategies to address those risk factors. Group interviews will be conducted separately with five stakeholder groups in each of the four languages: older women, older men, family members, community leaders and service providers. Quantitative and qualitative data will be analysed at the level of the particular interview groups, subgroups and communities, and will be integrated across communities to identify common and unique risk factors and strategies to address elder abuse.

Ethics and dissemination: The study protocol has received ethics approval from the two universities associated with the research team. Given the comprehensive approach to incorporate local knowledge and expert contributions from multi-level stakeholders, the empirical and theoretical findings will facilitate practice change and improve the well-being of older men and women in immigrant communities.

Existing literature documents how older refugees are at risk of social exclusion and isolation, yet few researchers have investigated the social inclusion of recently (re)settled older Syrian refugees in Canada. Here we apply the social inclusion model to older migrants to analyze the social inclusion of 360 Syrian refugee older adults (51+ years) in Canada. Results indicate that older Syrian refugees tend to have good health, a strong sense of belonging, regular communication with others, and supportive relationships; therefore, they are likely to experience social inclusion, despite education and language challenges. We conclude by discussing the positive structural elements in their resettlement experiences.

This article reviews the qualitative research on men’s self-management of mental and physical chronic diseases, with emphasis on strategies for dealing with risks and promoting wellness. Using Bardin’s method of document analysis, it was focused on the findings of Canadian qualitative studies published in French or English from 2005 to 2011. Boltanski’s theory on social uses of the body inspired the analysis. Living with a chronic disease threatens men’s sense of masculinity and self-image, as well as their perceived ability to fulfill expected social roles. Social images of men’s bodies influence how men express their emotions, attributes, and attitudes, or acknowledge the need for and seek social affirmation. Self-management has been documented in Canadian qualitative literature as a complex phenomenon influenced by the social environment, personal capacities, feelings, perceptions, and potentials. The extent of how all these features interact within the scope of men’s mental and physical health and illness experiences was partially revealed in this study. The findings underscore the social invisibility of men’s bodies, especially those of men facing social inequities. Attending to principles of social justice can ensure that future research on men’s health will amplify the range of men’s voices and allow them to be heard. Recommendations address also the international scientific community interested in advancing men’s health research, especially in those countries that lack a national men’s health policy.

This book examines the intersections of aging and immigration in Canada, examining the unique challenges faced by older immigrants. Section 1 introduces critical issues related to aging and immigration, highlighting health disparities shaped by social determinants such as gender, racism, and access to services. Chapters 1 and 2 explore how these structural barriers affect the health and well-being of older immigrants, with a focus on social exclusion and systemic inequities. Section 2 discusses the health statuses of older immigrant women and men, emphasizing the need for culturally tailored services. Section 3 addresses socioeconomic factors like social isolation and housing insecurity, illustrating how older immigrants navigate these challenges in Canada. Section 4 focuses on caregiving, examining family care partners' roles and the mismatches between caregiver needs and available support. Section 5 tackles service access, identifying key barriers and exploring potential interventions for improving elder care in immigrant communities. Section 6 concludes by addressing research and policy considerations, particularly the importance of inclusive, community-based research and the role of social infrastructure in promoting well-being. Together, these sections provide a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted experiences of older immigrants in Canada, urging for systemic change and more equitable support structures.

Many Ukrainian refugees have been hosted in the homes of Canadian families. But this hosting model, as generous as it is, brings with it a complexity that requires further exploration. Through the lens of photovoice, a method that empowers women to capture their hosting experiences through photography, we have endeavored to unravel these complexities.