Locked Up and Locked Out: Client Perspectives on Personal Relationships While in Compulsory Drug Treatment

This qualitative study explores clients’ perspectives on their personal relationships while in compulsory drug treatment. Interviews with 31 participants (14 female and 17 male) were conducted at four compulsory treatment institutions for adults who use drugs in Sweden. Taken together, our study reveals that clients in general had to struggle to maintain social relationships due to strict restrictions on their interpersonal contact and communication. Feelings of isolation and anxiety characterized much of their relationships during the treatment period, with emotional withdrawal commonly described as a way to cope. Moreover, some participants expressed shame and guilt over the pain and suffering they had subjected their family members to through their drug use, feelings that put additional strain on the contact. The emotionally and socially significant relationships described by our interviewees provide links to other personal roles and settings than those prescribed by the institution. At the studied institutions, however, little attention was given to this relational dimension of the clients’ situation. Based on the results of the present study, possibilities for improvement of compulsory drug treatment are discussed.

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Happiness at the end of life: A qualitative study

Palliative & Supportive Care ◽

10.1017/s1478951521000262 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Tan Seng Beng ◽

Wong Ka Ghee ◽

Ng Yun Hui ◽

Ooi Chieh Yin ◽

Khoo Wei Shen Kelvin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Palliative Care ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

End Of Life ◽

Terminal Illness ◽

Terminally Ill ◽

Social Connections ◽

Targeted Interventions ◽

Pain And Suffering ◽

The University ◽

Eudaimonic Happiness

Abstract Objective Dying is mostly seen as a dreadful event, never a happy experience. Yet, as palliative care physicians, we have seen so many patients who remained happy despite facing death. Hence, we conducted this qualitative study to explore happiness in palliative care patients at the University of Malaya Medical Centre. Method Twenty terminally ill patients were interviewed with semi-structured questions. The results were thematically analyzed. Results Eight themes were generated: the meaning of happiness, connections, mindset, pleasure, health, faith, wealth, and work. Our results showed that happiness is possible at the end of life. Happiness can coexist with pain and suffering. Social connections were the most important element of happiness at the end of life. Wealth and work were given the least emphasis. From the descriptions of our patients, we recognized a tendency for the degree of importance to shift from the hedonic happiness to eudaimonic happiness as patients experienced a terminal illness. Significance of results To increase the happiness of palliative care patients, it is crucial to assess the meaning of happiness for each patient and the degree of importance for each happiness domain to allow targeted interventions.

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PÅ FELTARBEJDE BLANDT FOLK

Tidsskriftet Antropologi ◽

10.7146/ta.v0i31.115463 ◽

1995 ◽

Author(s):

Lisanne Wilken

Keyword(s):

Social Relationships ◽

Crucial Role ◽

Personal Relationships ◽

Social Boundaries ◽

Research Project ◽

Field Methods ◽

Cultural Contexts ◽

Personal Experiences ◽

Innate Capacity ◽

Anthropological Fieldwork

Lisanne Wilken: Fieldwork among People Personal relationships between the anthropologist and the informants in a given field plays a crucial role for anthropological fieldwork and for the information the anthropologist gets. With reference to personal experiences from fieldwork in Northern and Central Italy, the author argues that methods of establishing and maintaining personal field relations ought to play a much more prominent role in the discussions of anthropological field methods than is usually the case. In today’s discussions of anthropological methodology one can easily get the impression that field relations are coincidentially automatically, established, or that anthropologists have an innate capacity for the creation of social relationships in a variety of social and cultural contexts. The article discusses how dependence on a few close informants may block the collection of data and suggests ways to establish a broad range of informants. One solution is to establish field relations prior to the commencement of fieldwork. This method not only ensures that informants are available when fieldwork is started but also facilitates the cross-cutting of social boundaries which may otherwise be difficult to crosscut.The article also suggests that questionnaires may be used as a method to attract attention to the research project in the field and to broaden the circle of informants. The focus of the article is not the nature of the data collected during fieldwork, but rather the circumstances for the collection of data.

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Verbal Disclosure and Mental Health Among Gay Latino and Gay White Men

The Counseling Psychologist ◽

10.1177/00110000211051325 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 001100002110513

Author(s):

Kevin Delucio ◽

Adrian J. Villicana ◽

Monica Biernat

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Sexual Orientation ◽

White Men ◽

Mechanical Turk ◽

Gay Identity ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Significant Relationships ◽

Shame And Guilt ◽

Amazon's Mechanical Turk ◽

The Relationship

We examined the relationship between verbal disclosure of sexual orientation and mental health among gay Latino and gay White men. In Study 1, we recruited 164 gay Latino ( n = 81) and gay White ( n = 83) men via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Participants completed measures assessing the degree to which they verbally disclosed their gay identity to others, as well as their depression and anxiety symptoms. Increased verbal disclosure predicted better mental health among gay White men only; no statistically significant relationships emerged among gay Latinos. In Study 2, we recruited 281 gay Latino ( n = 130) and White ( n = 151) men via MTurk, in which feelings of shame and guilt independently mediated the relationship between verbal disclosure and mental health. Among gay White men, increased verbal disclosure predicted less shame and guilt, which predicted better mental health. These relationships did not emerge for gay Latinos.

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Power Dynamics in Doctor-Patient Relationships: A Qualitative Study Examining How Cultural and Personal Relationships Facilitate Medication Requests in a Minority with collectivist attributes

Patient Education and Counseling ◽

10.1016/j.pec.2021.11.023 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Maram Khazen

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Study ◽

Personal Relationships ◽

Power Dynamics ◽

Patient Relationships

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How Ghanaian, African-Surinamese and Dutch patients perceive and manage antihypertensive drug treatment: a qualitative study

Journal of Hypertension ◽

10.1097/hjh.0b013e3282f4d20b ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 648-656 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

Erik JAJ Beune ◽

Joke A Haafkens ◽

Charles Agyemang ◽

John S Schuster ◽

Dick L Willems

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Study ◽

Drug Treatment ◽

Antihypertensive Drug ◽

Antihypertensive Drug Treatment

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Exploring the mental health and psychosocial problems of Congolese refugees living in refugee settings in Rwanda and Uganda: a rapid qualitative study

Conflict and Health ◽

10.1186/s13031-020-00323-8 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Anna Chiumento ◽

Theoneste Rutayisire ◽

Emmanuel Sarabwe ◽

M. Tasdik Hasan ◽

Rosco Kasujja ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Social Relationships ◽

Poor Mental Health ◽

Gender Based Violence ◽

Free List ◽

Psychosocial Wellbeing ◽

Key Informant ◽

Gender Based ◽

And Gender

Abstract Background Refugees fleeing conflict often experience poor mental health due to experiences in their country of origin, during displacement, and in new host environments. Conditions in refugee camps and settlements, and the wider socio-political and economic context of refugees’ lives, create structural conditions that compound the effects of previous adversity. Mental health and psychosocial support services must address the daily stressors and adversities refugees face by being grounded in the lived reality of refugee’s lives and addressing issues relevant to them. Methods We undertook a rapid qualitative study between March and May 2019 to understand the local prioritisation of problems facing Congolese refugees living in two refugee settings in Uganda and Rwanda. Thirty free list interviews were conducted in each setting, followed by 11 key informant interviews in Uganda and 12 in Rwanda. Results Results from all interviews were thematically analysed following a deductive process by the in-country research teams. Free list interview findings highlight priority problems of basic needs such as food, shelter, and healthcare access; alongside contextual social problems including discrimination/inequity and a lack of gender equality. Priority problems relating to mental and psychosocial health explored in key informant interviews include discrimination and inequity; alcohol and substance abuse; and violence and gender-based violence. Conclusions Our findings strongly resonate with models of mental health and psychosocial wellbeing that emphasise their socially determined and contextually embedded nature. Specifically, findings foreground the structural conditions of refugees’ lives such as the physical organisation of camp spaces or refugee policies that are stigmatising through restricting the right to work or pursue education. This structural environment can lead to disruptions in social relationships at the familial and community levels, giving rise to discrimination/inequity and gender-based violence. Therefore, our findings foreground that one consequence of living in situations of pervasive adversity caused by experiences of discrimination, inequity, and violence is poor mental health and psychosocial wellbeing. This understanding reinforces the relevance of feasible and acceptable intervention approaches that aim to strengthening familial and community-level social relationships, building upon existing community resources to promote positive mental health and psychosocial wellbeing among Congolese refugees in these settings.

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Psychological Problems Derived from Mastectomy: A Qualitative Study

International Journal of Surgical Oncology ◽

10.1155/2011/132461 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2011 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

José Manuel García Arroyo ◽

María Luisa Domínguez López

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Surgical Treatment ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Social Relationships ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Psychological Problems ◽

The Feminine ◽

Psychological Reaction

Advances in treatment of breast cancer have not avoided using mastectomy in all cases, and when this happens, we are dealing with a woman who is suffering from psychological problems. In order to study this issue we have carried out a research with the collaboration of The Andalusian Association of Women with Mastectomies (AMAMA) in Seville, which provided us with a sample of 46 mastectomized women. The objective of this study is to analyze in depth the psychological reaction of women to mastectomy through its different stages from diagnosis to surgical treatment. We chose a cualitative method so as to explore the subjective components of psicologycal respons. As a result, we found in studied women: (a) The “fracture” of the “corporal imaginary” related to the disappearance of a valuable organ, linked to the feeling of loss of personal attractiveness, low self-esteem and avoidance of social relationships. (b) The problem with “femininity” has been linked to the issue of “desirability”, something innate in the “feminine position”. (c) Many of them keep in mind the idea of mutilation, as a “hole” which is impossible to integrate. (d) Finally, we demonstrate how certain features of personality made them especially vulnerable to the explained phenomena.

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