Browsing by Author "Reisinger, Deborah"

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    Cajun, Créole, et CODOFIL : La politique et la planification linguistique en Louisiane
    (2023-04-08) Costley, Audrey
    Today, linguists consider there to be two varieties of French in Louisiana: Louisiana French (Cajun) and Louisiana Creole. Both of these languages are classified as endangered, with a continually declining population of speakers. Language change occurs naturally, however, there are policies that impact the nature and rate of change. Through the lens of Critical Language Policy (CLP), the research examines how the decline of the French language in Louisiana has been impacted by policy decisions, while considering the structural and ideological factors that influenced these policies. Further, the project examines more recent policies, institutions, and grassroots movements aimed at revitalizing and maintaining the role of French in Louisiana. The project takes a critical lens in analyzing the successes and shortcomings of current language policy in Louisiana with a focus on education.
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    Examining Health Care Access for Refugee Children and Families in the North Carolina Triangle Area.
    (North Carolina medical journal, 2020-11) Hunter, Kelly; Knettel, Brandon; Reisinger, Deborah; Ganapathy, Pranav; Lian, Tyler; Wong, Jake; Mayorga-Young, Danielle; Zhou, Ailing; Elnagheeb, Maram; McGovern, Melissa; Thielman, Nathan; Whetten, Kathryn; Esmaili, Emily
    BACKGROUND Resettled refugees are at increased risk of poor health outcomes due to acculturation challenges, logistical barriers, experiences of trauma, and other barriers to care that are poorly understood. Refugee children may be particularly vulnerable due to disruptions in health, well-being, education, and nutrition during the resettlement process.METHOD To describe the health care barriers facing refugees in the North Carolina Triangle area (comprised of Durham, Chapel Hill, Raleigh, and their surrounding areas), we conducted three focus group interviews (in Arabic, French, and Swahili) with 25 refugee parents from Syria, Iraq, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Chad. We also administered a survey to nine organizations that provide services for refugees.RESULTS Focus group responses highlighted the multidimensional nature of health care barriers for refugee families and children, encompassing challenges with acculturation, communication, transportation, finances, and health literacy. Organizations emphasized similar challenges and described their efforts to improve access to services through increased communication, coordination, and seeking new financial support for programs.LIMITATIONS Given the geographic focus of the study, results may not be generalizable to other populations and settings. Men spoke more than women in some focus groups, and participants may have been influenced by more vocal contributors. Furthermore, this study is limited by a lack of health outcomes data.CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that the health care needs of refugees living in the North Carolina Triangle area can be better met by providing comprehensive, coordinated, and culturally relevant care. This could include minimizing the number of visits by integrating multiple services under one roof, providing trauma-informed interpreters, and offering accessible transportation services.
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    Maternal and Reproductive Health Experiences of Francophone Refugee Women Living in Durham, North Carolina
    (2018-04-16) Thornton, Madeline
    Maternal and reproductive health experiences of Central African and French-speaking refugee populations in the United States have not been well studied, despite the fact that the United States has resettled 50,000 Congolese refugee during a recent 5-year period. This quantitative case study analysis was conducted to fill a gap in the literature on the health of French-speaking refugee women by qualitatively examining their experiences with maternal and reproductive healthcare across their life course. In addition to presenting the experiences of each participant, this study aims to give voice to an often ignored population of refugee women and to provide agency to each participant to share her story. Although each refugee follows a unique path, the participants in this study all followed a general life course pattern. The experiences of each participant in this study were analyzed and categorized according to the following life course pattern: 1) Living in a conflict area, 2) Living in an asylum-seeking country, 3) Living in the United States. Individual unstructured, conversational interviews were conducted with five French-speaking refugee women recruited through a snowball sample. Interviews were conducted in French in the participant’s home using an interview guide that included questions on general healthcare experiences, maternal and obstetric care and family planning history throughout each stage of the life course. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Analytic memos were created to identify emerging themes. The general healthcare experiences, as well as maternal and reproductive healthcare experiences, of each participant were discussed in the context of each stage of the life course. This presentation will summarize findings, as well as emerging themes related to religion, abortion, and family planning. Furthermore, this presentation will discuss and analyze the implications and importance of this research at a personal, statewide, national and international level.
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    Online Intercultural Exchanges in a French for the Professions Course
    (Global Advances in Business Communication, 2022) Reisinger, Deborah
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    Sustainability across the Curriculum: A Multilingual and Intercultural Approach
    (2021-11-30) Reisinger, Deborah; Valnes Quammen, Sandra; Liu, Yan; Virguez, Edgar
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    Transformative Learning and Critical Consciousness: A Model for Preclerkship Medical School Substance Use Disorder Education.
    (Academic psychiatry : the journal of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and the Association for Academic Psychiatry, 2023-04) Muzyk, Andrew; Mantri, Sneha; Mitchell, Phillip; Velkey, J Matthew; Reisinger, Deborah; Andolsek, Kathryn

    Objective

    Preparing medical students to provide compassionate person-centered care for people with substance use disorders (SUD) requires a re-envisioning of preclerkship SUD education to allow for discussions on stigma, social determinants of health, systemic racism, and healthcare inequities. The authors created a curricular thread that fosters the development of preclerkship medical students' critical consciousness through discussion, personal reflection, and inclusion of lived experiences.

    Methods

    The authors used transformative learning theories to design and implement this thread in the 2021-2022 academic year in the Duke University School of Medicine preclerkship curriculum. Content included lectures, person-centered workshops, case-based learning, motivational interviewing of a standardized patient, and an opioid overdose simulation. Community advocates and people with SUD and an interdisciplinary faculty were involved in the thread design and delivery and modeled their lived experiences. Students wrote a 500-word critical reflection essay that examined their personal beliefs in the context of providing care for people with SUD.

    Results

    One hundred and twenty-two students submitted essays and 30 (25%) essays were randomly selected for a qualitative analysis. Seven major themes emerged: race/racism, systemic barriers, bias and stigma, personal growth/transformation, language or word usage, future plans for advocacy, and existing poor outcomes. Students were able to link material with prior knowledge and experiences, and their attitudes towards advocacy and goals for future practice were positively influenced.

    Conclusion

    By aligning the thread design with the principals of transformative learning, students developed their critical consciousness toward people with SUD and cultivated a holistic understanding of SUD.
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    Une exploration neuro-génétique de l’évolution de l’épilepsie non traitée dans La Tentation de Saint Antoine de Gustave Flaubert
    (2023-04-20) Bernier, Gwyneth
    Nineteenth century French author Gustave Flaubert's La Tentation de Saint Antoine is a complex and enigmatic work that underwent many revisions over twenty-five years, resulting in multiple versions with different narrative structures and themes. One recurring motif in these various versions is the depiction of Saint Anthony's epileptic episodes--which I cross-reference with Flaubert's description of his own untreated presumed epileptic seizures. In this undergraduate thesis, I analyze the evolution of untreated epilepsy in Flaubert's La Tentation de Saint Antoine and other selected works. Drawing on Flaubert's personal experiences with epilepsy and his extensive correspondence, I examine the different manifestations of epilepsy in various versions of La Tentation de Saint Antoine, including the published 1849, 1856, 1872, and 1874 versions. I also explore how Flaubert's depiction of untreated epilepsy in other works, such as Madame Bovary and Un Coeur Simple compares to the portrayal in La Tentation de Saint Antoine. Using a combination of literary analysis and historical research, I investigate how Flaubert's understanding of epilepsy evolved over time and how it influenced his portrayal of Saint Anthony's epileptic episodes. I also explore the cultural and societal attitudes towards epilepsy during Flaubert's time and how these attitudes may have shaped his depiction of the condition in his works. Through my research, I aim to shed light on the ways in which Flaubert's portrayal of untreated epilepsy in his different versions of La Tentation de Saint Antoine and other works reflects his evolving understanding of the condition and its cultural context. This thesis contributes to the existing scholarship on Flaubert's works and provides insights into the portrayal of epilepsy in literature, shedding light on the intersection of literature, history, and medical humanities.