Ashley Ruiz

Women experiencing homelessness who are also survivors of violence require uniquely tailored programs to accommodate complex needs. To understand how violence shaped the lives of formerly homeless African American women, an instrumental case study design and community-based participatory research approach was utilized in this qualitative study. Focus group interviews with graduates ( N = 40) from a long-term transitional housing program were conducted. Using thematic analysis, identified themes included: cycles of violence, violence in the community, relationships with children, and coping with violence. These themes illustrated survivors’ growth through supportive programming and highlighted services dedicated to empowering women who have experienced violence.

BACKGROUND One of the poorest countries in the world, Malawi's palliative care system is under-resourced, and one-third of the population is food-insecure. AIMS This study describes the lived experience of female palliative care patients, and their caregivers, and aimed to: (1) analyse their physical, spiritual and mental health needs; and (2) analyse best palliative nursing practice for patients at the end of life. An unexpected finding was the impact of food insecurity on the women and their caregivers. METHODS We conducted interviews with 26 women who at the end of life and 14 of their caregivers. All were participating in a community palliative care programme offered by an AIDS support organisation in Kasungu, Malawi. We used deductive qualitative analysis to organise identified themes using the four pillars of food security: availability, access, utilisation and stability. FINDINGS All study participants experienced challenges with food security. CONCLUSIONS We offer policy...

The purpose of this theoretical article is to analyze the utility of postcolonial, Black, and Chicana feminist frameworks to inform nursing research and practice specific to mental health needs of Latina women migrant farmworkers. Twentieth-century Western feminist narratives overlooked the intersecting systems of oppression experienced by women of color, including Latina women. Feminist epistemologies are useful in understanding the complex sociopolitical contexts that have impacted women's health outcomes and well-being. This analysis is critical to shaping nursing care that meets the unique health needs of migrant farmworker women while considering their sociopolitical realities.

Intersectionality theory has been used by nursing scholars to offer insight into how multiple systems of oppression mutually interact to impact health and to examine how multiple social modes of existence shape individual and group experiences of health inequality. The application of intersectionality theory, however, requires a reflexive critical lens to more effectively inform nursing science and practice. We draw on a comprehensive integrative literature review to offer a critical reflection by considering the semantic and structural consistency, generalizability, simplicity and complexity, and the utility and value of intersectionality theory to nursing science and practice. If nurses are to effectively utilize intersectionality theory, it is essential that we are able to analyze and speak to the multiple modes of existence based on historical, social, economic, and political processes that impact the health of those we serve. Critical examination of intersectionality enables nurses to further consider its value and usefulness when applied to nursing science and practice, particularly when addressing health and social inequalities.

The health of refugee women after settlement in a new country, can be adversely or positively affected by individual, interpersonal, community, and organizational factors. While much of the previous literature highlights these factors individually, there is a lack of comprehensive synthesis regarding how the factors interact to influence the health of refugee women. We conducted a thematic analysis in our literature review to elucidate how providers can work with refugee women to prevent adverse health outcomes and intervene at multiple levels to improve their health outcomes after resettlement. We reviewed peer-reviewed literature from 2009 to 2019 from Google Scholar, JSTOR, Global Health, PubMed, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts, and Social Service Abstracts, and also used citation chaining, to identify relevant information pertaining to refugee women’s health. The key terms used for our literature review were, health care, violence, social support, and mental health. In total, we ...

Women's experiences of sexual assault are rooted in and informed by a history that nurses need to understand in order to provide meaningful and effective care. In this article, we present a comprehensive literature review guided by intersectionality theory to deepen our understanding of the historical role that hegemonic masculinity plays in shaping ethnic minority women's experiences of sexual assault. Final sources included were analyzed using thematic analysis. On the basis of our analyses, we identified 4 themes: social order hierarchies, “othering” dynamics, economic labor divisions, and negative media/mass communication depiction. Our findings contribute to our understanding of these important histories that speak to the trauma of sexual violence inflicted upon the bodies of ethnic minority women, which we can incorporate into nursing education curricula. Incorporating this knowledge would equip nurses and allied health professionals with the necessary knowledge and skills that would enable them to help patients navigate multiple systems of oppression as they engage in help seeking following a sexual assault experience. This knowledge also acknowledges rather than dismisses the historically acceptable use of sexual violence against ethnic minority women. In addition, acknowledging these histories enables us to move forward as a society in engaging in an urgently needed cultural shift to address the hegemonic masculinities that perpetuate violence against women in the United States.

The purpose of this theoretical article is to analyze the utility of postcolonial and Indigenous feminist frameworks in informing nursing research and practice specific to addressing intimate partner violence (IPV) in the lives of Indigenous women. Prevailing feminist narratives of the 20th century focused overwhelmingly on patriarchy as the sole source of oppression against women and root cause of IPV. These narratives failed to consider the complex historical ways in which patriarchy intersected with colonialism and racism to produce violence, affecting the contemporary realities of Indigenous women. In contrast, postcolonial and Indigenous feminist frameworks consider the colonial history that has disempowered Indigenous women and their nations over centuries of settler occupation. Situating IPV within historical, legal, social, and political contexts can unmask how current research and health care discourses may continue to constrain, rather than improve, access, care, and servi...