Vandenberg, Shannon

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https://opus.uleth.ca/handle/10133/5606

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Browsing Vandenberg, Shannon by Author "Magnuson, Morgan"

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    Exploring icebreakers in nursing education through a mixed-methods design: helpful or harmful?
    (Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing, 2025) Vogelsang, Laura; Vandenberg, Shannon; Magnuson, Morgan; Walstra, Samantha
    Background: Icebreakers share the common goal of promoting interaction. Despite the overwhelming positive regard for icebreakers in nursing education, they may have unintended consequences, such as highlighting inequities or perpetuating microaggressions. This research project incorporated the concept of microaggressions to explore how undergraduate nursing students experienced icebreakers within the classroom setting. Methods: This mixed-methods exploratory sequential design study used a quantitative survey followed by a semi-structured focus group using interpretive description thematic analysis. Results: A total of 43 students completed the quantitative survey, and three students participated in the follow-up focus group. The findings demonstrate that although well intentioned, icebreakers can also cause harm. Three themes were generated: revealing inequities, unveiling multiple tensions, and identifying conflict between purpose and outcome. Conclusion: Through our small study, we found that icebreakers can detract from content delivery, reveal inequities, and be divisive rather than contribute to a greater sense of belonging for students.
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    Striving for health equity through nursing education: a critical examination of non-traditional community health placements
    (School of Nursing, York University, 2024) Magnuson, Morgan; Vandenberg, Shannon; Vogelsang, Laura
    The use of non-traditional community health placements is common in undergraduate nursing programs; however, we know little about how these initiatives impact partner organizations or equity-denied communities. Based on our experiences as nursing faculty who facilitate these placements, we critically reflect on whether students can advance the health equity agendas of our partner organizations. Using the political economy of health inequities, we discuss how biomedicalism and neoliberalism shape and constrain our students’ work and identify potential harms created by this approach. Furthermore, we link non-traditional community health placements to our current political economy to determine who benefits from this model of nursing education. Finally, we identify strategies to mitigate these harms by critically reflecting on our practice and committing to more equitable partnerships
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    "We’ve lost a lot of lives:” the impact of the closure of North America’s busiest supervised consumption site on people who use substances and the organizations that work with them
    (Springer Nature, 2025) Magnuson, Morgan; Vandenberg, Shannon; Oosterbroek, Tracy; Dey, Kevin
    Background Supervised Consumption Sites (SCS) are an evidence-based harm reduction intervention that reduces the risk of fatal drug poisonings. However, these approaches have faced political opposition in Canada, resulting in the closures of SCS in some provinces. Our study examines the aftermath of the closure of what was once North America’s busiest SCS, located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, offering a contextualized exploration of regressive drug policies. Methods Our study adopts a descriptive qualitative design to explore the Lethbridge SCS closure and the city’s current state of harm reduction service provision. We conducted 37 interviews to understand the perspectives of people who use substances (PWUS) and staff members of organizations that provide harm-reduction services in Lethbridge. We chose to use reflexive thematic analysis, which allows for a critical realist and contextual approach to data analysis. Results We developed three themes based on our analysis. Our first theme speaks to the harms of SCS closures on PWUS and organizations that provide harm reduction services. Next, our second theme highlights participants’ perspectives on the political motivations behind the SCS closure. Our last theme explores how PWUS and organizations navigate the political opposition to harm reduction approaches while responding to the worsening unregulated drug poisoning crisis. Conclusions Our findings speak to the dangers of political decisions that restrict access to harm reduction services within the context of the current unregulated drug poisoning crisis.