Assignment #1: personal statement (approx. 250 words) + image with critical analysis (approx. 250 words) Part 1 The first part of this assignment asks you to prepare a brief personal statement (250 words or one double-spaced word-processed page) reflecting on what drew you to Women’s and Gender Studies 303, how you plan to approach your studies (here, you might want to compare your plans with those outlined in the Suggested Study Schedule in the Course Information), and what you expect to gain from your work in this course. Part 2 The second part of this assignment requires that you select an image from the media that depicts some aspect of women’s health. This image can be retrieved from the Internet, a newspaper article, or a magazine. You will need to provide a copy of the image (either cut and paste the image from the Internet into your Word file or, if you are using a print source, provide a scanned image taken from a newspaper or magazine), as well as a reference statement for the image (i.e., URL or print source). Once you have selected the image, in a brief essay, explain what drew you to the picture and then, using resources from Unit 1, develop a critical analysis of how this image might be interpreted in terms of gender, women’s health, and health promotion. This part of the assignment should be approximately 250 words or one double-spaced word-processed page. Assignment #2: A written summary of unit #2 (less than 1 page) In Unit 2 you were asked to read three different chapters/articles and to review one audio recording. This assignment requires you to select and map out the main themes highlighted in one of these resources. In doing so, you should follow these steps: ○ Provide full reference information for the chapter, article, or audio recording you have selected. ○ Use a concept map to identify and link the main themes you have isolated from your review of the chapter, article, or audio recording. You may draw this map by hand or use a free mapping program found on the Internet (e.g., Mindmup, MapsOfMind). ○ Describe, in a brief written summary, the concepts and the links between the concepts you have included in your diagram. This part of the assignment should not exceed one double-spaced word-processed page. Both parts of this assignment should be included in one Word document and submitted using the assignment drop box when complete. If you elected to hand draw your concept map, you will need to create an electronic file (i.e., a scanned PDF) to include in your Word file; if you used a mapping program, the concept map can be saved and embedded in your Word document. Assignment #3: Share a video and have a discussion This forum is a space for you and other students in the course to share and discuss your thoughts in relation to the ideas explored in the third unit. We have been discussing power and empowerment—autonomy and agency. Have you recently watched a YouTube video or visited a website that exemplifies these issues for you? Could you share the link to the video or website with other students in the class and add a brief (one or two sentences) overview explaining why the video or website you chose resonated with you? See how your fellow students interpret your selection, and in turn you can interpret and respond to images and websites posted by others in the course. Be thoughtful (and kind) in your postings and responses. Assignment #4: Share an article/magazine and have a discussion This forum is a space for you and other students in the course to share and discuss your thoughts in relation to the ideas explored in the fourth unit. We have been discussing tobacco and alcohol consumption. Have you recently read a newspaper or magazine article (online or in print) that discusses these issues in a different way? Would you share the article or link to the article with other students in the class and add a brief (one or two sentences) overview explaining what you agreed or disagreed with in the article? See how your fellow students interpret your selection, and in turn you can interpret and respond to the articles posted by others. Be thoughtful (and kind) in your postings and responses. Assignment #5: write a Haiku about unit #6 This forum is a space for you, your tutor, and other students in the course to be creative with the ideas that were explored in this unit. Haiku poetry consists of three lines: the first line has seven syllables; the second has five syllables; and the final line also has seven syllables. Haikus do not rhyme. Only nineteen syllables are required for this exercise. Try your hand at creating a haiku that conveys your understanding of the complex issues and ideas covered in this unit. You may share your haiku with your tutor and others in the class by posting to the online forum. Be thoughtful (and kind) in your postings and responses. Assignment #6: virtual quilt about unit #8 This forum is a space for you, your tutor, and other students in the course to be creative with the ideas that were explored in this unit. You are invited to create a virtual quilt by piecing together words, ideas, images, photographs, and/or drawings that reflect the key concepts you have learned about in this unit. Be creative! You may share an image of your “quilt” with your tutor and others in the class by posting the file to the online forum, and other students can post their feedback in the same forum (only positive feedback is permitted). Assignment #7: Women's health topic that is not covered (approx. 4-5 pages) Length: Four to five double-spaced word-processed pages This assignment asks you to select a health topic that is of interest to you and relevant to women, but has not been covered in the course. It must also be a topic that can be explored from a gender-transformative health promotion perspective. The only other constraint placed on the topic you select is that it should not address health issues related to violence against women (AU offers a whole separate course on this topic). If you are uncertain about choosing a topic, get in touch with your course tutor, either through Internal Mail or by telephone during his or her regular tutor telephone hours, to discuss your ideas. Once you have settled on a topic, this assignment asks you to design a course unit. The unit should be structured in a way that would (hypothetically) allow other students to learn from the materials you have put together. Your unit should follow the same format as those presented in the Study Guide for WGST 303. As such, you should include the following sections in your unit: 1. Unit title—a brief title that describes the focus of the unit. 2. Overview—a brief summary of what the unit will cover. For this section, you should use two or three sources to support your arguments and/or discussions. This section should not exceed one double-spaced word-processed page (approximately 250 words). Sources should appear in a section titled “References” at the end of your unit, and references should be presented in correct APA format. 3. Objectives—develop three or four learning objectives for the unit (i.e., what you would expect students to learn after they have studied the materials in the unit you have designed). 4. Required readings/videos—identify three or four resources (two or three readings and one video; or three or four readings) that you would use to “teach” the topic in your unit. All the resources you select must be drawn from AU’s online library resources (journal articles, e-chapters, videos, films), and you must provide a correct reference statement for each resource you have selected. 5. Review questions—for each learning material, develop and write three or four study questions that will focus other students’ attention on the main points/arguments presented in each of the learning resources. 6. Invitation to Participate or short unit assignment—the final part of your unit will involve creating a brief assignment that could be used to challenge students’ learning/understanding of the materials covered in the unit (be creative, but also be realistic). Alternately, you may wish to create an “Invitation to Participate” activity that would encourage other students to think about the topic in a creative way and to share ideas and thoughts about the topic online (again, be creative, but also realistic). The final product will be relatively short (four or five double-spaced word-processed pages); however, you should expect to spend a fair amount of time reviewing potential resources before carefully selecting the materials you present. Remember, the materials will need to clearly address the unit topic, follow logically from the unit overview, and inform the learning objectives for the unit. As noted above, all references and citations must conform to APA style (see the AU Write Site, the APA Style FAQ page, or the Purdue OWL APA style page for more information on style guides and citing sources). 10/23/22, 6:52 PM Unit 1: “Thinking Women” Study Guide Unit 1 “Thinking Women” Unit 1: “Thinking Women” Overview Unit 1 provides the foundation to analyze issues facing women in relation to health care in Canada. In discussing health care, this unit stresses the importance of both appreciating differences among women and highlighting the need to incorporate gender analysis into any and all discussions about health care promotion and practice. It is important to take into consideration both the biological and behavioural differences between men and women to understand how these can impact both health care choices and health outcomes (Hart, 2014). Women do have unique health concerns, not only as a consequence of their biology, but also in relation to proscribed gender roles and their particular social and economic circumstances (DiGiacomo et al., 2015). Although globally women generally outlive men, they also have higher morbidity rates, are at higher risk for dying as a consequence of some chronic diseases, and have a higher utilization of health care services compared to men (Gleason et al., 2014). All these factors point to the importance of taking gender into consideration when thinking about health care and health care reform. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10491 3/13 10/23/22, 6:52 PM Unit 1: “Thinking Women” Clockwise from top left: Senior women, Adam Coppola, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Muslim women, © Gabriel White/Flickr, CC BY-SA. Teenage girls, James Emery, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Mother and child, Bill Branson, CC0, Wikimedia Commons. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10491 4/13 10/23/22, 6:52 PM Unit 1: “Thinking Women” Study Guide Unit 1 “Thinking Women” Objectives When you have completed Unit 1, you should be able to understand how sex and gender affect health and health care; understand the ways in which gender informs health promotion; describe the role of intersectionality in transforming health care policy; and explain the relationship between feminism and promoting women’s health and health care needs. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10491 5/13 10/23/22, 6:52 PM Unit 1: “Thinking Women” Study Guide Unit 1 “Thinking Women” Required Viewing Cho, K. (Director), & Din, R. (Producer). (2012). Status quo? The unfinished business of feminism in Canada [Motion picture]. Canada: National Film Board. Green, L. (2014, April 23). Why I'm a . . . feminist *gasp* [Video file]. As you watch the videos noted above, focus your attention on the following questions: 1. What has changed with regards to women’s issues and women’s health in the 50 years since the Royal Commission? What has stayed the same? Do you think the Royal Commission made a difference for Canadian Women? 2. What connections exist between violence/victimhood and women’s health? What are the links between reproductive rights, child care, and women’s health? 3. Compare and contrast the two Winnipeg conferences (1967 vs. 2010). 4. The film ends on a message of what is next—what do you think is next in the feminist movement as it relates to women’s health? 5. Following Laci Green’s video about feminism, what are the reasons you do (or do not) consider yourself a feminist? https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10491 6/13 10/23/22, 6:52 PM Unit 1: “Thinking Women” Study Guide Unit 1 “Thinking Women” Required Readings Please read the materials in the order presented below. Read the following chapter from Thinking Women: Chapter 1: Theory and Methods for Thinking Women (pp. 15–36) Read the following chapter from Making It Better: Introduction: Raising the Bar on Women’s Health Promotion (pp. 1–13) Read the following online journal article: “Exploring the Promises of Intersectionality for Advancing Women’s Health Research Hankivsky, O., Reid, C., Cormier, R., Varcoe, C., Clark, N., Benoit, C., & Brotman, S. (2010). Exploring the promises of intersectionality for advancing women’s health research. International Journal for Equity in Health, 9, 1–15. doi:10.1186/1475-9276-9-5 Here and in the remaining units of the course, the journal articles assigned as required readings, as well as the audio and video materials, can be accessed through the course’s DRR. If you have difficulty accessing these resources, please get in touch with the librarians at the AU Library. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10491 7/13 10/23/22, 6:52 PM Unit 1: “Thinking Women” Study Guide Unit 1 “Thinking Women” Review Questions From your reading of Chapter 1 in Thinking Women, prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. According to Jackson, what is the primary concern of a feminist political economy? How does a feminist political economy understand the relationships between gender and systems of power? Why is this an important concept for discussing health care reform? 2. What makes feminist epistemologies different from other ways of knowing? Why is this feminist focus important in understanding women’s health care needs? 3. How do sex and gender affect health and health care, and how do these constructs inform health care analyses? 4. Discuss the concept of intersectionality, and describe its relationship to inequality and social justice. Why is this an important concept in thinking about women’s health care and health care reform? From your reading of the introduction in Making It Better, prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. Why is it important to look at both sex and gender when thinking about health and health promotion? From a health-promotion perspective, what makes gender a particularly challenging construct? 2. Elaborate on what Greaves means when she says that “gender cross-cuts all of the other biological and social determinants that construct human health” (p. 2). 3. What specific health issues does Greaves identify as important to women? 4. Greaves identifies several global documents that “frame and inform the field of health promotion” (p. 4). What were some of the major omissions the review uncovered in relation to the incorporation of gender into health promotion and practice? In your own words, explain why these omissions might have a critical impact on understanding women’s health needs. From your reading of the journal article “Exploring the Promises of Intersectionality for Advancing Women’s Health Research,” prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. What issues do Hankivsky and her colleagues highlight that call into question advancements made in Canada in regards to women’s health? 2. In your own words, explain the concept of intersectionality and methods defining intersectionality scholarship. 3. Describe examples of intersectionality research. What various factors make each of the projects highlighted by Hankivsky and her colleagues intersectional? What challenges do these projects face in regards to their intersectionality? https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10491 8/13 10/23/22, 6:52 PM Unit 1: “Thinking Women” 4. From your review of this article, would you agree or disagree with Hankivsky et al.’s statement that “intersectionality has the potential to transform mainstream women’s health and research policy” (p. 12)? In your own words, describe why you agreed or disagreed with this statement. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10491 9/13 10/23/22, 6:52 PM Unit 1: “Thinking Women” Study Guide Unit 1 “Thinking Women” Assignment 1: Reflection Now that you have reviewed the readings and video and answered all the related study questions, you are ready to work on the first course assignment. You will find instructions for the assignment in the Assignment 1: Reflection drop box on the course home page. Once you have completed the assignment, please submit it to the course assignment drop box. If you have any questions about the assignment or anything else in the course to date, please do not hesitate to either call you tutor during her or his regular telephone hours or send a note to your tutor using Internal Mail. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10491 10/13 10/23/22, 6:52 PM Unit 1: “Thinking Women” Study Guide Unit 1 “Thinking Women” Invitation to Participate: Share Your Image An online forum has been set up for Unit 1. This forum is a space for you and other students in the course to share and discuss the images that were explored in Assignment 1. Once you have received feedback from your tutor, and if you feel comfortable sharing, you need only to upload the image—not the personal reflection or the critical analysis portion of the assignment. See how your fellow students interpret your image, and in turn, you can interpret and respond to the images submitted by others. Only positive feedback is acceptable. Although this is not a graded exercise, your participation may contribute to your overall online participation grade. Also, participation in this exercise is a way for you to further explore concepts presented in this unit and to enjoy your time engaging with other images and other students in the course. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10491 11/13 10/23/22, 6:52 PM Unit 1: “Thinking Women” Study Guide Unit 1 “Thinking Women” In the Next Unit You will be introduced to distinctions between “primary care” and “primary health care.” You will also learn why it is important to keep these models separate in order to best meet women’s health care needs. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10491 12/13 10/23/22, 6:52 PM Unit 1: “Thinking Women” Study Guide Unit 1 “Thinking Women” References DiGiacomo, M., Green, A., Rodrigues, E., Mulligan, K., & Davidson, P. (2015). Developing a gender-based approach to chronic conditions and women’s health: A qualitative investigation of community-dwelling women and service provider perspectives. BMC Women’s Health, 15, 1–11. Gleason, H., Hobart, M., Bradley, L., Landers, J., Langenfeld, S., Tonelli, M., & Kolodziej, M. (2014). Gender differences of mental health consumers accessing integrated primary and behavioral care. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 19(2), 146–152. Hart, J. (2014). Gender differences in health care choices. Alternative and Complementary Therapies, 20(4), 180–182. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10491 13/13 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 2: Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women Study Guide Unit 2 Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women Unit 2: Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women Overview In Unit 2 you will be introduced to distinctions between “primary care” and “primary health care” and the importance of keeping these two models separate to best understand and meet women’s health care needs. Building on the previous unit, which stressed the need for health-promotion strategies to embrace gender considerations, you will be provided with the framework for gender-transformative health promotion. You will also be exposed to some of the disparities women face in terms of accessing health care services in Canada. Although Canada’s universal health care coverage can be seen as an effective strategy toward removing financial barriers to access, access to health care services is still a major concern for many Canadians, even with the research and policy focus that has been in effect in this country for four decades (Lombardo et al., 2014). As such, there remains much work to do in this area to ensure equity. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10494 3/13 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 2: Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women Woman undergoes mammogram. Rhoda Baer, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10494 4/13 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 2: Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women Study Guide Unit 2 Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women Objectives When you have completed Unit 2, you should be able to describe the factors informing a women-centered approach to primary care; discuss the impact of changing gender roles on women’s health; discuss the meaning and implications of gender-transformative health promotion; and explain the relationships between gender and unmet health care needs. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10494 5/13 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 2: Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women Study Guide Unit 2 Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women Required Listening CBC Radio. (2011). Women's health and patients' rights game changer: "Our bodies, ourselves" [Radio series episode]. In Game changer. Toronto, ON: CBC Radio-Canada. Reproduced with permission of CBC Licensing.          0:00 / 26:14    Speed: 1x Stopped Our Bodies, Ourselves was first published in 1969 by the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective after a group of white middle-class American female college graduates got together to discuss personal health issues around their kitchen tables. As they and other North American women began to recognize the commonalties in their health-related experiences, they discovered that they knew as much as, or more than, their doctors about their personal health issues. They also recognized that shared knowledge is power, and thus Our Bodies, Ourselves was eventually published. Over the years this popular book has incorporated the perspectives of women of colour, lesbians, and women living in poverty. It has been translated and adapted for use around the world. (For more information, visit the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective website.) https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10494 6/13 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 2: Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women This episode first aired on CBC Radio’s program Game Changer on October 24, 2011. “Women’s Health and Patients’ Rights Game Changer: ‘Our Bodies, Ourselves’” tells us that women hid their copies of Our Bodies, Ourselves, libraries banned it, and critics referred to it as pornography. It includes information about homosexuality, abortions, and masturbation, as well as other women’s health issues that male doctors ignored. It has sold four million copies, been printed in nine editions, been translated into twenty-five languages, and is considered the book that most changed women’s health and patients’ rights. As you listen to this program, focus your attention on answering the following questions: 1. At the outset of this project, what factors inspired the group’s focus on women’s health? 2. What was the intention of the Boston Women’s Health Collective in initiating the project? 3. What was the impact of this project on women and their health concerns? 4. Describe the ways this project could be considered transformative. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10494 7/13 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 2: Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women Study Guide Unit 2 Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women Required Readings Please read the materials in the order presented below. Read the following chapter from Thinking Women: Chapter 2: Primary Health Care for Women in Canada (pp. 37–63) Read the following chapter from Making It Better: Chapter 1: Envisioning Gender-Transformative Health Promotion (pp. 17–41) Read the following online journal article: “Gender Inequalities in Access to Health Care among Adults Living in British Columbia, Canada” Socías, M. E., Koehoorn, M., & Shoveller, J. (2016). Gender inequalities in access to health care among adults living in British Columbia, Canada. Women’s Health Issues, 26(1), 74–79. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10494 8/13 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 2: Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women Study Guide Unit 2 Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women Review Questions From your reading of Chapter 2 in Thinking Women, prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. What differences are implied by the terms primary care and primary health care? Why is it important to think about these terms as concepts that are distinct from one another? 2. In what ways has primary health care reform been constrained in Canada? 3. Describe, in your own words, three areas that reflect recent developments in primary care reform in Canada. Why are these areas of particular relevance when discussing women’s health care needs? 4. Using specific examples, describe, in your own words, what a women-centered approach to primary care means. What principles should be used to guide this approach? From your reading of Chapter 1 in Making It Better, prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. Pederson and colleagues suggest the need not only to integrate gender into health-promotion practices, but also to advocate for larger changes in relation to gender roles. What kinds of changes are they suggesting? What advantages would these changes offer? How might gender-transformation be accomplished? 2. Describe the authors’ framework for “gender-transformative health promotion” (p. 18). 3. How did the authors translate the framework into practice? Describe the key principles identified in this framework for health-promotion interventions. 4. This chapter (as do others in the text) talks about “the continuum of approaches to actions on gender and health” (see diagram on p. 22). What are the implications for women’s health and health promotion at each of the points along this continuum? From your reading of the journal article “Gender Inequalities in Access to Health Care among Adults Living in British Columbia, Canada,” prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. What evidence does Socías and colleagues use to show that “many Canadians face barriers when trying to access health services” (p. 74) in Canada? What is the relationship between “perceived unmet health care needs” (p. 75) and barriers to access? 2. According to the literature reviewed by these authors, how is gender related to unmet health care needs? What other factors are associated with unmet health care needs, and how are these related to gender? 3. In your own words, describe the authors’ primary research question, and describe the methods used to answer this question. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10494 9/13 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 2: Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women 4. What were the main findings of the study? (Note: If you are unfamiliar with the statistical analysis used in this paper, the results of this study can be summarized from the authors’ “Discussion” section.) 5. What are the implications of the findings for policy and practice as presented by these authors? https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10494 10/13 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 2: Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women Study Guide Unit 2 Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women Assignment 2: Mapping Concepts Now that you have done all the work required of you in the second unit, you are ready to work on the next course assignment. You will find instructions for the assignment in the Assignment 2: Mapping Concepts drop box on the course home page. This assignment is designed to give you the opportunity to carefully review and summarize a scholarly article in two different ways. You will be able to express your understanding about important concepts presented in the article both visually and in a written format. Once you have completed the assignment, please submit it using the course assignment drop box. If you have any questions about the assignment or anything else in the course to date, please do not hesitate to send a note to your tutor using Internal Mail. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10494 11/13 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 2: Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women Study Guide Unit 2 Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women In the Next Unit You will be introduced to the concepts of empowerment and power and their relationship to understanding the important role each plays in informing the quality of health care for women. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10494 12/13 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 2: Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women Study Guide Unit 2 Health Care/Health Promotion with and for Women References Lombardo, A., Angus, J., Lowndes, R., Cechetto, N., Khattak, S., Ahmad, F., & Bierman, A. (2014). Women’s strategies to achieve access to healthcare in Ontario, Canada: A meta-synthesis. Health and Social Care in the Community, 22(6), 575–587. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10494 13/13 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 3: Power and Empowerment Study Guide Unit 3 Power and Empowerment Unit 3: Power and Empowerment Overview Feminists have long recognized that “autonomy is best achieved where the social conditions that support it are in place” (Sherwin, 1998; cited in MacDonald, 2002, p. 283). Identifying the difference between women’s limited agency or empowerment and their autonomy and power is critical if the quality of health care is to be improved. Agency can also be conceptualized as an effective resource women use to develop strategies to improve access to health care (Lombardo, et al., 2014). However, as Lombardo and colleagues also note, agency as a resource can be constrained by structural factors that include, but are not necessarily limited to, levels of income, geographic location, immigration status, ethnic-racial membership, and health status. In other words, while autonomy and agency are both important considerations that mitigate problems with access and women’s unmet health care needs, both interact with social conditions that can create barriers for some women and not for others. In this unit you are invited to consider the differences between empowerment and power and how each contributes to gender-transformative health promotion for women. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10496 3/11 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 3: Power and Empowerment Inuit women and children. © Spencer & Carole/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10496 4/11 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 3: Power and Empowerment Study Guide Unit 3 Power and Empowerment Objectives When you have completed Unit 3, you should be able to identify barriers women face in accessing and receiving health care; discuss how women’s empowerment works to promote health care; describe the relationship between power and empowerment; and analyze the consequences of women’s power and empowerment on gender-transformative health promotion. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10496 5/11 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 3: Power and Empowerment Study Guide Unit 3 Power and Empowerment Required Video Din, R. (Producer), & Pool, L. (Director). (2011). Pink ribbons, inc. [Documentary]. Canada: National Film Board of Canada. The National Film Board of Canada’s film Pink Ribbons, Inc. is a documentary that illustrates how the tragic reality of breast cancer has been overshadowed and marketed as a “dream cause.” As you view this program, focus your attention on answering the following questions: 1. What benefits does the Pink Ribbon campaign offer women? Which organizations also benefit? 2. What does the campaign take away from women? 3. How does the language used in the campaign empower or, conversely, disempower women? 4. What contribution has the campaign made in terms of cancer prevention and cures? 5. After watching this film, what do you see when you see the Pink Ribbon? https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10496 6/11 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 3: Power and Empowerment Study Guide Unit 3 Power and Empowerment Required Readings Please read the materials in the order presented below. Read the following chapter from Thinking Women: Chapter 9: Woman-Defined Quality Care (pp. 215–232) Read the following chapter from Making It Better: Chapter 2: Power and Empowerment in Health Promotion for Women (pp. 42–57) Read the following online journal article: “Politics and Patriarchy: Barriers to Health Screening for Socially Disadvantaged Women” Peters, K. (2012). Politics and patriarchy: Barriers to health screening for socially disadvantaged women. Contemporary Nurse, 42(2), 190–197. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10496 7/11 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 3: Power and Empowerment Study Guide Unit 3 Power and Empowerment Review Questions From your reading of Chapter 9 in Thinking Women, prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. According to the authors, what made their research question “both complex and simple” (p. 216)? 2. In your own words, describe the primary factors guiding the research project. How do these factors align with what you have already learned about intersectionality? 3. Describe the research methods used in this study. In your view, were the methods appropriate in aiding evidence-informed decision making? 4. What were the major findings from the study? How might these findings inform policy documents? From your reading of Chapter 2 in Making It Better, prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. Why is power an important concept when thinking about health care promotion? How do these authors define power? 2. Ponic and colleagues state, “Empowerment is central to health promotion” (p. 47). What evidence do they use to support this statement? 3. What is the relationship between power and empowerment? 4. In your own words, describe the implications of the ideas presented in this chapter for the “creation of gendertransformative health promotion for women” (p. 49). From your reading of the journal article “Politics and Patriarchy: Barriers to Health Screening for Socially Disadvantaged Women,” prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. What does Peters describe as the main purpose of her research study? 2. In her literature review, what factors did the author identify as major barriers women face in accessing and receiving health care services? 3. In your own words, describe the methodology Peters used to address her research interests. 4. What were the major findings that Peters reported from the study? What were the implications of her findings in terms of screening services for socially disadvantaged women? 5. Do these findings have relevance for women in Canada? Why or why not? https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10496 8/11 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 3: Power and Empowerment Study Guide Unit 3 Power and Empowerment Invitation to Participate: Share a YouTube Video or Website An online forum has been set up for Unit 3. This forum is a space for you and other students in the course to share and discuss your thoughts in relation to the ideas explored in the third unit. We have been discussing power and empowerment—autonomy and agency. Have you recently watched a YouTube video or visited a website that exemplifies these issues for you? Could you share the link to the video or website with other students in the class and add a brief (one or two sentences) overview explaining why the video or website you chose resonated with you? See how your fellow students interpret your selection, and in turn you can interpret and respond to images and websites posted by others in the course. Be thoughtful (and kind) in your postings and responses. Although this is not a graded exercise, your participation may contribute to your overall online participation grade. Also, participation in this exercise is a way for you to further explore concepts presented in the third unit and to enjoy your time engaging with other information and students in the course. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10496 9/11 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 3: Power and Empowerment Study Guide Unit 3 Power and Empowerment In the Next Unit Health concerns related to tobacco and alcohol consumption will be addressed. Women’s biological sex and their roles as potential mothers will be reviewed in looking at gender-exploitative and gender-accommodating strategies to address the health risks associated with smoking and drinking. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10496 10/11 10/23/22, 6:53 PM Unit 3: Power and Empowerment Study Guide Unit 3 Power and Empowerment References Lombardo, A., Angus, J., Lowndes, R., Cechetto, N., Khattak, S., Ahmad, F., & Bierman, A. (2014). Women’s strategies to achieve access to healthcare in Ontario, Canada: A meta-synthesis. Health and Social Care in the Community, 22(6), 575–587. MacDonald, C. (2002). Relational professional autonomy. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 11(3), 282–289. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10496 11/11 10/23/22, 6:54 PM Unit 4: Women’s Health Issues—Tobacco and Alcohol Study Guide Unit 4 Women’s Health Issues—Tobacco and Alcohol Unit 4: Women’s Health Issues—Tobacco and Alcohol Overview In Unit 4 health concerns related to tobacco and alcohol consumption are addressed. Cigarette smoking, a habit initially taken up by men in industrialized nations, was adopted by women in the early 1920s. Since that time women’s consumption has steadily increased. Data shows that the “mortality of women who smoke is elevated by 90% or more compared with mortality among those who do not smoke” (WHO, 2010, p. 51). The risks for women who smoke have been identified as those not unlike those affecting men (e.g., lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). However, other risks that impact women and infants have been identified related to women’s biological sex and their socially prescribed roles as mothers (e.g., menstruation, reproduction, neonatal care). Similarly, in terms of alcohol consumption, while both men and women can face similar health risks from excessive drinking, factors related to women’s biological sex have been highlighted to suggest that women may be more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol (Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, 2014). As well, women’s biological roles in pregnancy and breastfeeding, as well as in looking out for the welfare of offspring, tend to include infant well-being as a risk factor when discussing women and alcohol consumption. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10498 3/11 10/23/22, 6:54 PM Unit 4: Women’s Health Issues—Tobacco and Alcohol Woman smoking cigarette. ferobanjo/Pixabay, CC0. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10498 4/11 10/23/22, 6:54 PM Unit 4: Women’s Health Issues—Tobacco and Alcohol Study Guide Unit 4 Women’s Health Issues—Tobacco and Alcohol Objectives When you have completed Unit 4, you should be able to describe the risks for women associated with tobacco and alcohol consumption; describe gender-exploitative and gender-accommodating approaches to tobacco and alcohol control; analyze the role that gendered marketing has played in promoting tobacco and alcohol consumption; and discuss the benefits of gender-transformative education and health promotion in relation to having a positive impact on reducing women’s tobacco and alcohol consumption. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10498 5/11 10/23/22, 6:54 PM Unit 4: Women’s Health Issues—Tobacco and Alcohol Study Guide Unit 4 Women’s Health Issues—Tobacco and Alcohol Required Video Danish Broadcasting Corporation (Producer). (2006). Cozy killer: The history of cigarettes [Documentary]. Denmark: Danish Broadcasting Corporation. The brief documentary Cozy Killer: The History of Cigarettes, produced by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, was released in 2006. The film delves into the history of research into smoking, as well as how tobacco companies have repeatedly and continuously blocked public scrutiny of their products. As you watch this film, focus your attention on answering the following questions: 1. What factors contributed to the rise in tobacco use in the early 1900s? 2. In the 1920s women were targeted as a potential new market for tobacco products. In what ways could these campaigns be described as gender-exploitative? 3. Beginning in the early 1950s and up to the early 2000s, how did tobacco companies respond to concerns about the health risks of tobacco use? 4. Describe some of the campaigns that have been successful in reducing tobacco consumption in Western markets. 5. Given that there has been an overall reduction in tobacco consumption in the Western world, why has the WHO now defined smoking as an epidemic? https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10498 6/11 10/23/22, 6:54 PM Unit 4: Women’s Health Issues—Tobacco and Alcohol Study Guide Unit 4 Women’s Health Issues—Tobacco and Alcohol Required Readings Please read the materials in the order presented below. Read the following chapters from Making It Better: Chapter 4: Igniting Global Tobacco Control (pp. 73–92) Chapter 5: Recalculating Risk: An Opportunity for Gender-Transformative Alcohol Education for Girls and Women (pp. 93–110) Read the following online journal article: “Healthy Adults and Maternal Bodies: Reformulations of Gender in Australian Alcohol Guidelines” Keane, H. (2013). Healthy adults and maternal bodies: Reformulations of gender in Australian alcohol guidelines. Health Sociology Review, 22(2), 151–161. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10498 7/11 10/23/22, 6:54 PM Unit 4: Women’s Health Issues—Tobacco and Alcohol Study Guide Unit 4 Women’s Health Issues—Tobacco and Alcohol Review Questions From your reading of Chapter 4 in Making It Better, prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. Discuss the history of tobacco control and its relationship to gender. 2. Describe gender-exploitative and gender-accommodating approaches to tobacco control. 3. What gender and equity issues are involved in tobacco control? 4. “What can be done to improve health promotion and tobacco control” (p. 82)? 5. Hemsing and Greaves open their chapter by asking the question, “What has been the health promotion response to both incipient female smoking and well-established trends and patterns” (p. 73)? As a follow-up question, these authors also ask, “And how do these efforts fit into the wider project of tobacco control” (pp. 73–74)? Following your reading of this chapter, how would you answer these questions? From your reading of Chapter 5 in Making It Better, prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. What are the specific risk factors associated with alcohol consumption for women? 2. What are the gendered influences that account for women’s drinking habits? 3. What role does gender-exploitative marketing play in women’s alcohol consumption? And how have healthpromotion efforts mirrored this sort of marketing? 4. How do you interpret “gender-transformative alcohol education and health promotion” (p. 103)? What would be the benefits of such an approach? From your reading of the journal article “Healthy Adults and Maternal Bodies: Reformulations of Gender in Australian Alcohol Guidelines,” prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. According to Keane, what changes were made to the Australian alcohol guidelines from 2001 to 2009? How do these changes reflect changing norms about the effects of social drinking? For men and for women? 2. What is the main purpose of Keane’s article? 3. What factors informed the shift in discourse about alcohol consumption from that of female vulnerability to equal risk? 4. How do these new discourses and alcohol guidelines inform the social construction of gender? https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10498 8/11 10/23/22, 6:54 PM Unit 4: Women’s Health Issues—Tobacco and Alcohol Study Guide Unit 4 Women’s Health Issues—Tobacco and Alcohol Invitation to Participate: What Does the Popular Media Have to Say? An online forum has been set up for Unit 4. This forum is a space for you and other students in the course to share and discuss your thoughts in relation to the ideas explored in the fourth unit. We have been discussing tobacco and alcohol consumption. Have you recently read a newspaper or magazine article (online or in print) that discusses these issues in a different way? Would you share the article or link to the article with other students in the class and add a brief (one or two sentences) overview explaining what you agreed or disagreed with in the article? See how your fellow students interpret your selection, and in turn you can interpret and respond to the articles posted by others. Be thoughtful (and kind) in your postings and responses. Although this is not a graded exercise, your participation may contribute to your overall online participation grade. Also, participation in this exercise is a way for you to further explore concepts presented in the fourth unit and to enjoy your time engaging with other information and students in the course. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10498 9/11 10/23/22, 6:54 PM Unit 4: Women’s Health Issues—Tobacco and Alcohol Study Guide Unit 4 Women’s Health Issues—Tobacco and Alcohol In the Next Unit You will be invited to explore the ways in which gender-transformative health promotion can make a difference in the well-being of immigrant women, women living with housing instability, and women in the paid workforce. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10498 10/11 10/23/22, 6:54 PM Unit 4: Women’s Health Issues—Tobacco and Alcohol Study Guide Unit 4 Women’s Health Issues—Tobacco and Alcohol References Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. (2014). Women and alcohol. Retrieved 1 January 2016 from http://www.ccsa.ca/Resource%20Library/CCSA-Women-and-Alcohol-Summary-2014-en.pdf World Health Organization (WHO). (2010). 4. Impact of tobacco use on women’s health. Gender, women and the tobacco epidemic, pp. 51–62. Retrieved 1 January 2016 from http://www.who.int/tobacco/publications/gender/women_tob_epidemic/en/ https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10498 11/11 10/23/22, 6:54 PM Unit 5: Health Issues in the Community, the Workplace, and the Home Study Guide Unit 5 Health Issues in the Community, the Workplace, and the Home Unit 5: Health Issues in the Community, the Workplace, and the Home Overview The term environment broadly encompasses women’s communities, their places of work, and their homes. It is everything around us indoors and outdoors: the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the ground we walk on (Office on Women’s Health, 2009). Environmental stressors contribute to a decline in women’s physical and mental health, and these stressors can impact different groups of women in different ways. For pregnant women, for example, exposure to some toxic substances can increase risks of miscarriages, preterm births, or other pregnancy complications (Di Renzo et al., 2015); for older women, pollution can aggravate cardiovascular and lung diseases (Office on Women’s Health, 2009); and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups of women in Canada become more susceptible to environmental stressors because of the tendency toward riskier health behaviours (e.g., smoking, poor nutrition) (Chan et al., 2015). In this unit you are invited to explore the ways in which gender-transformative health promotion can make a difference in the well-being of three different groups of women. Immigrant women often find themselves in unfamiliar and new environments, which can challenge mental health and well-being. Women living within environments defined by housing instability also face socially determined health challenges. And finally, the paid workplace presents an influential environment that affects women’s mental and physical well-being. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10500 3/11 10/23/22, 6:54 PM Unit 5: Health Issues in the Community, the Workplace, and the Home Spanish-speaking immigrant women at a demonstration. (© matti keltanen/Flickr, CC BY-NC.) https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10500 4/11 10/23/22, 6:54 PM Unit 5: Health Issues in the Community, the Workplace, and the Home Study Guide Unit 5 Health Issues in the Community, the Workplace, and the Home Objectives When you have completed Unit 5, you should be able to understand how different populations are impacted by environmental toxins; discuss the particular environmental challenges faced by immigrant women; analyze the impact of housing instability on women’s health and well-being; and describe strategies for gender-transformative mental health promotion in the workplace. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10500 5/11 10/23/22, 6:54 PM Unit 5: Health Issues in the Community, the Workplace, and the Home Study Guide Unit 5 Health Issues in the Community, the Workplace, and the Home Required Video Poitras, D. (Producer), & Dauphinais, S. (Director). (2001). Something in the air [Documentary]. Canada: National Film Board of Canada. The National Film Board of Canada’s film Something in the Air was released in 2001. It is a short documentary concerning dangerous pesticides used on potato farms in Prince Edward Island, which caused health problems for young, elderly, and ill individuals and caused major environmental repercussions. As you watch this film, focus your attention on answering the following questions: 1. The opening images in this film juxtapose the beauty of Prince Edward Island’s geography with scenes from World War I. What facts about PEI’s environment does the filmmaker use to justify this imagery? 2. What factors contributed to the environmental problems PEI was facing at the time the film was produced? 3. Which specific populations on the island were most vulnerable to the effects of pollution? 4. What solutions were proposed? Keeping in mind that this film was produced over a decade ago, are the concerns expressed relevant to the health of PEI citizens today? https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10500 6/11 10/23/22, 6:54 PM Unit 5: Health Issues in the Community, the Workplace, and the Home Study Guide Unit 5 Health Issues in the Community, the Workplace, and the Home Required Readings Please read the materials in the order presented below. Read the following chapters from Making It Better: Chapter 6: Promoting the Mental Health of Immigrant Women by Transforming Community Physical Activity (pp. 111–128) Chapter 8: Housing, Violence, and Women’s Health: Addressing the Social Determinants of Health in Health Promotion (pp. 148–165) Chapter 9: Illuminating Gender-Transformative Mental Health Promotion in the Workplace (pp. 166–177) https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10500 7/11 10/23/22, 6:54 PM Unit 5: Health Issues in the Community, the Workplace, and the Home Study Guide Unit 5 Health Issues in the Community, the Workplace, and the Home Review Questions From your reading of Chapter 6 in Making It Better, prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. Why do the authors of this chapter focus on immigrant women in their discussions of mental health? How are mental health and migration gendered? 2. What rationales do Lee, Frisby, and Ponic provide for their focus on “community physical activity” (p. 113)? 3. Describe the study conducted by these authors. What was the main research question? Sample? Methods? 4. What were the main findings from this research study? 5. What recommendations did participants make that were consistent with gender-transformative health promotion? From your reading of Chapter 8 in Making It Better, prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. Describe the gendered housing patterns discussed by Ponic and Atkey. What role does intimate partner violence play in women’s housing instability? 2. How is housing related to social determinants of health? How might “housing interventions” (p. 151) promote health and well-being? 3. What were the primary questions asked by the Shedding Light Project? Who were the key players? What methods did the project use? 4. What were the main findings from the study? According to the authors, how did these barriers to housing exacerbate the health effects of violence? 5. In what ways does this chapter address gender-transformative health promotion for women? From your reading of Chapter 9 in Making It Better, prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. How do Ardiles, GermAnn, and Mawani define mental well-being and mental health promotion? Why do these authors focus on gender as a critical determinant of mental well-being? 2. In discussing a gendered approach to mental health promotion, why do these authors focus on the workplace? 3. What are the key social determinants isolated by Ardiles and colleagues that impact mental well-being? 4. What do these authors describe as the key elements of a “gender-transformative workplace mental health promotion” (p. 174)? https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10500 8/11 10/23/22, 6:54 PM Unit 5: Health Issues in the Community, the Workplace, and the Home Study Guide Unit 5 Health Issues in the Community, the Workplace, and the Home Assignment 3: Midterm Take-Home Review Now that you have done all the work required in Units 1 through 5, you are ready to work on the third course assignment. You will find instructions for the assignment in the Assignment 3: Midterm Take-Home Review drop box on the course home page. This assignment is a take-home review exercise. If you have any questions about the assignment or anything else in the course to date, please do not hesitate to send a note to your tutor using Internal Mail. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10500 9/11 10/23/22, 6:54 PM Unit 5: Health Issues in the Community, the Workplace, and the Home Study Guide Unit 5 Health Issues in the Community, the Workplace, and the Home In the Next Unit Some of the issues surrounding preconception care, as well as the medicalization of pregnancy and childbirth, will be explored. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10500 10/11 10/23/22, 6:54 PM Unit 5: Health Issues in the Community, the Workplace, and the Home Study Guide Unit 5 Health Issues in the Community, the Workplace, and the Home References Chan, E., Serrano, J., Chen, L., Stieb, D., Jerrett, M., & Osornio-Vargas, A. (2015). Development of a Canadian socioeconomic status index for the study of health outcomes related to environmental pollution. BMC Public Health, 15(1), 714–722. Di Renzo, G., Conry, J., Blake, J., DeFrancesco, M., DeNicola, N., Martin, J., . . . Giudice, L. (2015). Special communication: International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics opinion on reproductive health impacts of exposure to toxic environmental chemicals. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 131(3), 219–225. Office of Women’s Health, US Department of Health and Human Services. (2009). The environment and women’s health. Retrieved 1 January 2016 from http://womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/factsheet/environment-womens-health.pdf https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10500 11/11 10/23/22, 6:55 PM Unit 6: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Care Study Guide Unit 6 Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Care Unit 6: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Care Overview Unit 6 addresses some of the issues surrounding preconception care, as well as the medicalization of pregnancy and childbirth. In the United Kingdom, for example, Cahill (2001), in exploring the historical impact of medicine’s appropriation of pregnancy and childbirth, noted how it led to an increase in hospital birth rates, a reduction in midwifery services, and perhaps most importantly how policies promoting hospital births resulted in “an almost complete medicalization of pregnancy” (p. 334). In North America 95 percent of women give birth in conditions that could be described as medicalized (Shaw, 2013). Medicalization, with its resultant medical frames of reference and knowledge, contributes to an “erosion of maternal choice, control and satisfaction in relation to many aspects of pregnancy and labour” (Cahill, p. 335). Parry (2008; cited in Shaw, 2013) defines medicalization as the “biomedical tendency to pathologize otherwise normal bodily processes” (p. 523). Preconception and maternity care, often the targets of medicalization, are discussed in this unit as exemplars of gender-exploitative health promotion, but also as important areas of health care that need improvement and present opportunities for both disempowering and empowering women. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10502 3/11 10/23/22, 6:55 PM Unit 6: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Care Pregnant woman undergoing ultrasound. (Scott, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.) https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10502 4/11 10/23/22, 6:55 PM Unit 6: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Care Study Guide Unit 6 Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Care Objectives When you have completed Unit 6, you should be able to understand how maternity care is affected by social constructions of “normal”; discuss the consequences of the medicalization of pregnancy on women’s health and health care; discuss the impact of gender-exploitative health-promotion campaigns on the well-being of pregnant women; and understand why conceptions of health change for women who are pregnant compared to those who are not. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10502 5/11 10/23/22, 6:55 PM Unit 6: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Care Study Guide Unit 6 Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Care Required Video McCrea, G. (Executive producer), Krepakevich, J. (Producer), & Whiting, G. (Director). (1996). The sterilization of Leilani Muir [Documentary]. Canada: National Film Board of Canada. The National Film Board of Canada’s film The Sterilization of Leilani Muir first aired in 1996. This short film documents how, as a fourteen-year-old girl, Leilani Muir’s life was changed because of an IQ test and erroneous “science.” The film follows as Muir searches for justice, as well as delving into how and why eugenics—controlling reproduction to try to improve hereditary qualities—became acceptable in the early 1900s. As you watch this film, focus your attention on answering the following questions: 1. What factors collided to allow this violation of a basic human right to occur? 2. At the time, how were these violations justified by the state? 3. What role did power and/or lack of power play in the events that transpired? 4. In your opinion, could this (or a similar situation) happen today? Why or why not? https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10502 6/11 10/23/22, 6:55 PM Unit 6: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Care Study Guide Unit 6 Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Care Required Readings Please read the materials in the order presented below. Read the following chapter from Thinking Women: Chapter 4: Maternity Care (pp. 85–106) Read the following chapter from Making It Better: Chapter 10: Rethinking Preconception and Maternal Health: A Prime Opportunity for Gender Transformative Health Promotion (pp. 178–192) Read the following online journal article: “‘Gaining the Right Amount for My Baby’: Young Pregnant Women’s Discursive Constructions of Health” Harper, E. A., & Rail, G. (2012). “Gaining the right amount for my baby”: Young pregnant women’s discursive constructions of health. Health Sociology Review, 21(1), 69–81. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10502 7/11 10/23/22, 6:55 PM Unit 6: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Care Study Guide Unit 6 Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Care Review Questions From your reading of Chapter 4 in Thinking Women, prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. Haworth-Brockman, Clow, and Beck identified a number of factors responsible for creating a “new normal” in maternity care in 2008. Describe each of these issues, and discuss their impacts on maternity care. 2. The authors discuss change and continuity of those factors identified earlier as creating a “new normal” for maternity care. What are the consequences of demographics and shifting fertility trends on health outcomes? 3. How has maternity care changed in recent years? What impact have these changes had on women’s health? 4. Have medical interventions increased or decreased in recent years? What are the consequences to women and health care providers of medicalization of pregnancy and childbirth? 5. What health care reforms are ongoing, and what still needs to change in regards to maternity care in Canada? From your reading of Chapter 10 in Making It Better, prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. Bialystok, Greaves, and Poole discuss public health campaigns targeted at prenatal care as examples of “some of the most gender-exploitative types of health promotion” (p. 178). Why? 2. What do these authors describe as “preconception care”? Why is it an important concept in thinking about women’s physical well-being? 3. In Canada, what efforts have been made to promote preconception care? 4. What are the challenges facing effective delivery of preconception care? 5. What can we learn from the United States about successful programs promoting preconception health? From your reading of the journal article “‘Gaining the Right Amount for My Baby’: Young Pregnant Women’s Discursive Constructions of Health,” prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. What do Harper and Rail describe as the main purpose of their research study? What theoretical and methodological choices did these researchers make to conduct their study? 2. In your own words, describe the methodology Harper and Rail used to address their research questions. 3. What were the major themes in response to the question “What is health” (p. 73), as identified by Harper and Rail? How did these themes differ for women speaking about their “health during pregnancy” (p. 73)? 4. What recommendations do Harper and Rail make in regards to “normalized and medicalized understandings of pregnancy” (p. 79)? https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10502 8/11 10/23/22, 6:55 PM Unit 6: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Care Study Guide Unit 6 Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Care Invitation to Participate: Haiku It! An online forum has been set up for Unit 6. This forum is a space for you, your tutor, and other students in the course to be creative with the ideas that were explored in this unit. Haiku poetry consists of three lines: the first line has seven syllables; the second has five syllables; and the final line also has seven syllables. Haikus do not rhyme. Only nineteen syllables are required for this exercise. Try your hand at creating a haiku that conveys your understanding of the complex issues and ideas covered in this unit. You may share your haiku with your tutor and others in the class by posting to the online forum. Be thoughtful (and kind) in your postings and responses. Although this is not a graded exercise, your participation may contribute to your overall online participation grade. Also, participation in this exercise is a way for you to further explore concepts presented in this unit and to enjoy your time engaging with other haiku poems and other students in the course. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10502 9/11 10/23/22, 6:55 PM Unit 6: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Care Study Guide Unit 6 Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Care In the Next Unit You will explore two related and important issues relevant to women’s health: aging and unpaid caregiving. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10502 10/11 10/23/22, 6:55 PM Unit 6: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Care Study Guide Unit 6 Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum Care References Cahill, H. (2001). Male appropriation and medicalization of childbirth. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 33(3), 334–342. Shaw, J. (2013). The medicalization of birth and midwifery as resistance. Health Care for Women International, 34(6), 522–536. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10502 11/11 10/23/22, 6:56 PM Unit 8: Obesity and Heart Disease Study Guide Unit 8 Obesity and Heart Disease Unit 8: Obesity and Heart Disease Overview In this unit you will explore two health risks, both of which have reached epidemic proportions. Since 1980 obesity has more than doubled; in 2014, worldwide, more than 1.9 billion adults eighteen years and older were overweight and 600 million were obese (WHO, 2015a). The health consequences of being overweight or obese include heart disease and stroke, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders, and some cancers (WHO, 2015a). For women, being overweight or obese not only increases the risk of the diseases noted above, but it can also include negative effects on conception and fertility, as well as complications in pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding (Kulie et al., 2011). Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are, according to the World Health Organization (2015b), the number-one cause of death globally, with more people dying of CVDs than from any other cause. Not only is the risk of cardiovascular (heart) disease related to an unhealthy diet, diabetes, and a high body mass index (i.e., being overweight or obese) (Washington Post, 2011), but also to physical inactivity, tobacco use, and the harmful use of alcohol (WHO, 2015b). https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10505 3/12 10/23/22, 6:56 PM Unit 8: Obesity and Heart Disease Study Guide Unit 8 Obesity and Heart Disease Objectives When you have completed Unit 8, you should be able to describe the causes and correlates of being overweight or obese; discuss the implications overweight and obesity has on women’s health statuses; describe the causes, correlates, and consequences of cardiovascular disease for women; and analyze gender-transformative health-promotion strategies that will have positive impacts on reducing obesity and cardiovascular diseases for women. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10505 4/12 10/23/22, 6:56 PM Unit 8: Obesity and Heart Disease Study Guide Unit 8 Obesity and Heart Disease Required Video BBC (Producer). (2013). The men who made us thin: Episode 2 [Documentary]. United Kingdom: BBC. The British Broadcasting Company film The Men Who Made Us Thin: Episode 2 was released in 2014. It is a short documentary in which Jacques Peretti looks into how obesity and weight loss are connected and confronts the men who make money off people’s wish to be thin. He examines how weight loss and exercise are linked, as well as why the food industry promotes exercise. Peretti also studies the available pharmaceutical solutions for weight loss. As you watch this film, focus your attention on answering the following questions: 1. Is exercise an effective way to lose weight? Why or why not? 2. What is the relationship between the fast food industry, their sponsorship of sports events, and contemporary weight loss discourse? Is the relationship problematic? Why or why not? 3. Similarly, what is the relationship between the fast food industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and contemporary weight loss discourse? Is the relationship problematic? Why or why not? https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10505 5/12 10/23/22, 6:56 PM Unit 8: Obesity and Heart Disease Study Guide Unit 8 Obesity and Heart Disease Required Readings Please read the materials in the order presented below. Read the following chapter from Thinking Women: Chapter 11: Overweight, Obesity, and Health Care (pp. 265–283) Read the following chapter from Making It Better: Chapter 7: Pioneering Women-Centred Heart Health Promotion (pp. 129–147) Read the following online journal article: “Improving Women’s Cardiovascular Health: A Position Statement from the International Council on Women’s Issues” Davidson, P., Meleis, A., McGrath, S., DiGiacomo, M., Dharmendra, T., Puzantian, H., Song, M., & Riegel, B. (2012). Improving women’s cardiovascular health: A position statement from the International Council on Women’s Issues. Health Care for Women International, 33(10), 943–955. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10505 6/12 10/23/22, 6:56 PM Unit 8: Obesity and Heart Disease Study Guide Unit 8 Obesity and Heart Disease Study Questions From your reading of Chapter 11 in Thinking Women, prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. Why does Grant focus on overweight and obesity as a new health and health care reform issue? 2. Describe the causes and correlates of (or factors strongly related to) obesity. What patterns of obesity does Grant identify in Canada? 3. Specifically, why are overweight and obesity women’s issues? 4. Grant concludes her article by suggesting that we need to develop a better understanding of factors contributing to overweight and obesity and stresses the need for “doing so through a gender lens” (p. 279). In your own words, what would this “lens” look like, and what would the advantages be for women (and men) by doing so? From your reading of Chapter 7 in Making It Better, prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. Pederson and colleagues note that women, compared to men, “have a greater risk of mortality and rehospitalization following” (p. 130) an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack). What are the risk factors, and what is their association with gender? 2. Describe the sex/gender influences on the “pathway to cardiovascular disease” (p. 130). 3. Describe the project of heart health promotion discussed by Pederson and colleagues. In your own words, discuss how this project fits into a gender-transformative framework. 4. Overall, what advantages do you see for women’s heart health using the approach described in this chapter? From your reading of the journal article “Improving Women’s Cardiovascular Health: A Position Statement from the International Council on Women’s Issues,” prepare brief responses to the following questions: 1. In your opinion, why have Davidson and colleagues focused their article on cardiovascular disease rather than on some of the other prevalent and potentially serious illnesses women are exposed to? 2. What is the main purpose of the article? 3. From your reading of the article, how does a gender analysis interact with policy? Practice? Research? Education? https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10505 7/12 10/23/22, 6:56 PM Unit 8: Obesity and Heart Disease Study Guide Unit 8 Obesity and Heart Disease Invitation to Participate: Design a Conceptual Quilt An online forum has been set up for Unit 8. This forum is a space for you, your tutor, and other students in the course to be creative with the ideas that were explored in this unit. You are invited to create a virtual quilt by piecing together words, ideas, images, photographs, and/or drawings that reflect the key concepts you have learned about in this unit. Be creative! You may share an image of your “quilt” with your tutor and others in the class by posting the file to the online forum, and other students can post their feedback in the same forum (only positive feedback is permitted). Although this is not a graded exercise, your participation may contribute to your overall online participation grade. Also, participation in this exercise is a way for you to creatively explore concepts presented in this unit and to enjoy your time engaging with other creative “quilts” and “quilters.” https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10505 8/12 10/23/22, 6:56 PM Unit 8: Obesity and Heart Disease Study Guide Unit 8 Obesity and Heart Disease Assignment 4: Design a Course Unit Now that you have done all the work required of you in Units 1 through 8, you are ready to start planning work on your fourth course assignment. If you have not already done so, carefully review the instructions for Assignment 4: Design a Course Unit in the assignment drop box on the course home page. This assignment asks you to construct a unit, similar to the ones you have been following in this course. The Study Schedule provides ample time for you to complete this project after you have finished the work in Unit 9; however, you may want to start thinking about a topic now and perhaps begin exploring online resources that will inform your work in the assignment. If you have any questions about the assignment or anything else in the course to date, please do not hesitate to send a note to your tutor using Internal Mail. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10505 9/12 10/23/22, 6:56 PM Unit 8: Obesity and Heart Disease Study Guide Unit 8 Obesity and Heart Disease Final Exam If you have not already done so, you will need to make arrangements to write your final exam. See the Examinations and Grades section of the Learner Support Services website for detailed instructions on how to request and take this exam, including important deadlines. The final invigilated exam is worth 25 percent of your final grade. The exam should be taken when you have completed all the materials assigned for Units 1 through 9. The format of the questions on the final exam are very much like that of those you answered in the midterm take-home review. You will not be permitted to bring any textbooks, workbooks, notes, or electronic devices (e.g., cell phones, laptop computers) into the exam. Three hours have been allocated for the examination. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10505 10/12 10/23/22, 6:56 PM Unit 8: Obesity and Heart Disease Study Guide Unit 8 Obesity and Heart Disease In the Next Unit The final unit will look at some concrete strategies to promote health and well-being for women and lasting change. Topics to be covered include the power that advocacy holds for affecting positive change, tools that can be used for gender-transformative change, and the creation of women’s hospitals. https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10505 11/12 10/23/22, 6:56 PM Unit 8: Obesity and Heart Disease Study Guide Unit 8 Obesity and Heart Disease References Kulie, T., Slattengren, A., Redmer, J., Counts, H., Eglash, A., & Schrager, S. (2011). Obesity and women’s health: An evidence-based review. Journal of American Board of Family Medicine, 24(1), 75–85. The Washington Post. (2011). A global look at cardiac risk factors. Retrieved 1 January 2016 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/health/weight-of-the-world-bmi/ (Note: This website provides an interactive timeline that will allow you to explore changes in population BMI and diabetes from 1980 to 2008 for a number of different countries. Data provided by the Global Burden of Metabolic Risk Factors of Chronic Diseases Collaborating Group.) World Health Organization (WHO). (2015a). Obesity and overweight. Fact Sheet N° 311. Retrieved 1 January 2016 from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/ World Health Organization (WHO). (2015b). Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Fact Sheet N° 317. Retrieved 1 January 2016 from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs317/en/ https://wcs.lms.athabascau.ca/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=10505 12/12 
Purchase answer to see full attachment