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The Lived Experiences of Caregivers of Children With Congenital CMV Receiving Healthcare in a Remote and Rural Area of Northern Canada
Abstract Summary
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus where more than half of American adults will likely be infected by age 40 (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). CMV rarely causes concerns in healthy individuals; however, if a baby is born with CMV, known as congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV), a host of mild to severe health and developmental consequences may result which may require life-long healthcare. The remote and northern regions of Ontario, a province in Canada, have poorer access to healthcare and are behind in provincial averages in the quality of health and healthcare largely due to the distance between communities, as well as challenges with the recruitment and retention of health professionals (Health Quality Ontario, 2017; Montour et al., 2009). These combined challenges impact the ability to offer care for those who are affected by many health concerns, which includes the CMV population as awareness and knowledge of cCMV infection in both the medical community and the public are limited (Benou et al., 2022). This session is informed by a qualitative research project that includes in-depth interviews with caregivers who have a child with cCMV living in Northern Ontario. It will include the key findings from the interviews to further comprehend the phenomenon of having a child with cCMV through caregivers sharing their lived experiences, identify what barriers and/or gaps caregivers living in remote and rural areas face when accessing and receiving CMV-related healthcare, and evaluate what CMV-related programs and/or services caregivers would like to have. Although this session has a focus on Northern Ontario, it is widely applicable to other families who reside in different remote and rural geographic areas as they may also face related barriers and/or gaps in accessing, as well as receiving CMV healthcare.
Learning Objectives
- Interpret the phenomenon of having a child with cCMV through caregivers sharing their lived experiences.
- Identity what barriers and/or gaps caregivers from rural and remote areas face when accessing and/or receiving CMV-related healthcare for their child with cCMV.
- Appraise what programs and/or services caregivers living in remote and rural areas would like to have for their child with cCMV.
Presentation
3440589_16054LaijaBeaulieu.pdf
Handouts
Presenters
Laija Beaulieu | Primary Presenter, Author
lbeauli1@lakeheadu.ca;
Laija Beaulieu is a current Master’s student in the Social Justice Studies program at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Thunder Bay is located in Northwestern Ontario and is considered a remote and rural city that serves many surrounding communities.
Laija’s academic career is inspired by her son who is affected by cCMV and has profound deafness bilaterally. Her son is the recipient of cochlear implants that electronically restores his hearing and Laija, as well as her family are incredibly grateful for this amazing technology. However, living in a remote and rural area has made accessing and receiving healthcare difficult for her family.
Laija enjoys taking a qualitative approach to research and focuses on advocating for awareness of CMV and cCMV, as well as advocating for equity in accessing and receiving CMV-related healthcare services in remote and rural communities as these areas have poorer access to quality healthcare.
ASHA DISCLOSURE
Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial - No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE
Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.
Dr. Helle Moller | Author
hmoeller@lakeheadu.ca;
Danish of origin and trained in Denmark and Canada, Dr. Møller is an interdisciplinary health researcher and teacher. Framed within a social justice perspective, her areas of research and teaching span the determinants of health and equity in access to health, healthcare and education in health professions with an emphasis on northern (Northern Canada, Northern Ontario, Denmark and Greenland), rural, remote and Indigenous communities.
ASHA DISCLOSURE
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE
Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.