A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experience of Roman Catholic Sisters and Successful Aging

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 350-361
Author(s):  
Deborah McManus
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Successful Aging ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
The Body ◽  
Spiritual Practices ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
Catholic Sisters

Purpose: To gain an understanding of how religious and spiritual practices might enable Catholic Sisters to age successfully. Design: A purposive sample of 12 retired Roman Catholic Sisters aged 75 years and older from two convent settings were interviewed. Method: Using a semistructured recorded interview, the Roman Catholic Sisters shared their lived experiences of aging, and practices of religion, spirituality, and meditation. Data analysis utilized thematic analysis of the interview texts. Findings: Thematic analysis identified the following themes: daily engagement in religious and spiritual practice and meditation; self-contentment and positivity regarding the meaning of successful aging; life acceptance; sense of faith and positivity regarding the afterlife; and intersection of meditation, prayer, spirituality, and cognitive engagement. Conclusion: This research contributes to the body of aging research and presents successful aging as understood and more specifically as experientially influenced. The findings of the study provided insight regarding the meaning and experience of successful aging, and the role of everyday religious and spiritual practices in the lives of the Catholic Sisters which influenced their individual life experiences as they age.

Toward a conceptual model for successful transgender aging

2021 ◽  
pp. 147332502199466
Author(s):  
Steffany Sloan ◽  
Jacquelyn J Benson
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Successful Aging ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
The Body ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Resilience Factors

Transgender older adults have been subject to life-long stigma and marginalization, resulting in significant social and health consequences. Despite these challenges, this population commonly reports thriving in later life. In order to attend to nuanced experiences of older transgender adults, theoretical models of successful aging must reflect complexities presented by gender minority status. In order to address theoretical gaps, a systematic qualitative meta-synthesis was conducted to summarize findings across the body of qualitative transgender aging research. Findings indicated that transgender older adults conceptualize successful aging through the process of embracing gender identity. Themes were identified to conceptualize successful transgender aging such as gender expression, shedding internalized stigma, and championing a resilience mindset. Implications for social work practice are provided, suggesting a more comprehensive understanding of both challenges and resilience factors amongst the aging transgender population.

scholarly journals Dancing dress: Experiencing and perceiving dress in movement

Scene ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-80
Author(s):  
Jessica Bugg
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
The Body ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Contemporary Dance ◽  
Embodied Experience ◽  
Clothing Design ◽  
Physical Response ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Global Conference

Clothing design for dance is an area that has been little documented, particularly in relation to the experience and perception of the dancer. Contemporary dance and clothing can both be understood as fundamentally phenomenological and as such there is further potential to investigate the lived experience of wearing clothing in dance. This article approaches dress in the context of the moving and dancing body, and it aims to develop an understanding of the role of dress in dance by focusing on the sensory, embodied experience and perception of the performer. It addresses questions of how clothing is perceived in movement by the performer, how and if clothing’s design intention, materiality and form motivate physical response, and what conscious or unconscious cognitive processes may be at play in this interaction between the active body and clothing. The intention is to propose developed methods for designers across clothing disciplines to contribute in a meaningful way to the overall dance work. The article draws on an analysis of my practice-led research that employs embodied experience of dress to inform the design and development of clothing as communication and performance. The research has involved close collaboration with a dancer, analysis of recorded interviews, and visual documentation of design and movement. The research has produced data on the dancer’s experience and perception of garments in performance and this is discussed here in relation to writings on perception, performance, the body and cognition. The research is approached through theory and practice and draws on interviews, observation and lived experience. This article is developed from an earlier conference paper that investigated the role and developed potential of clothing in contemporary dance that was presented at the 4th Global Conference: Performance: Visual Aspects of Performance Practice, Inter-Disciplinary.Net, held in Oxford on 17–19 September 2013.

scholarly journals More Than Meets the Eye: Explicating the Essence of Gerontology Nursing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Anne Therese Schumacher
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Nursing Practice ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
The Body ◽  
Lived Body ◽  
Negative Image ◽  
Recruitment And Retention ◽  
Hermeneutic Phenomenological ◽  
Personal Knowing

<p><b>The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore the essence of gerontology nursing. This project sought to look beyond the practical tasks and skills of gerontology nursing to reveal what is more than meets the eye and thereby explicate the essence of gerontological nursing practice.</b></p> <p>Gerontology nursing is troubled by its unpopular status and negative image that in turn has serious implications for the recruitment and retention of nurses who are both willing and able to work in this field of nursing. The purpose for doing this study was to unveil a deeper meaning and understanding of gerontology nursing, thus contributing to its value and worth as a speciality area of nursing.</p> <p>Conversations with four gerontology nurses were taped, transcribed and then analysed using van Manen’s (1990) approach to researching lived experience. From the analysis, four cardinal elements emerged: true acceptance, personal knowing, being present, and being alive. Those four cardinal elements were reworked and further analysed to reveal three central aspects or essences of gerontology nursing. These essences were the centrality of temporality, the interconnectedness of human relationships, and the significance of the lived body. Temporality is demonstrated by nursing application of objective, or clock time, as well as subjectively in regards to the lived time of the clients. Interconnectedness is the lived human relationship between nurse and client and is represented by commitment, presencing/giving of self, connecting, and knowing the client holistically. The third essence is corporeality, which is portrayed by the gerontology nurses’ distinguishing characteristics and their perception of the lived body of the nursed. The final analysis unveiled caring for the body, the act of seeing, and the joy of care as emergent essences of gerontology nursing. Language of nursing in relationship to ‘basic nursing care’ is critiqued for its potential to devalue gerontology nursing and, by association, old people.</p> <p>The significance of these findings is that there is more than meets the eye in gerontology nursing, however, it is not widely known. To balance the abundance of literature about the science of gerontology nursing practice more research needs to be focused on the art. Establishing and disseminating a clearer, complete picture of gerontology nursing would go toward not only changing its negative image, but may also address recruitment and retention issues. Furthermore, this study has highlighted the need to recruit nurses who possess the necessary personal attributes to ensure they ‘fit’ into gerontology nursing.</p>

The Interoceptive Mind

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Philosophy Of Mind ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Mental Life ◽  
Traditional Role ◽  
Philosophical Perspective ◽  
Cognitive Neurosciences ◽  
Affect And Cognition

This volume focuses on the role of interoception for mental life and lived experience, from the perspectives of neurosciences, psychological sciences, and philosophy. Interoception is the body-to-brain axis of signals originating from the internal body and visceral organs (such as gastrointestinal, respiratory, hormonal, and circulatory systems), and plays a unique role in ensuring homeostasis. This volume goes beyond the traditional role of interoception for homeostasis and offers a state-of-the-art overview of and new insights into the role of interoception for mental life, awareness, subjectivity, affect, and cognition. Structured across three parts, this multidisciplinary volume highlights the role that interoceptive signals and awareness thereof play in our mental life (Part I), considers deficits in interoceptive processing and awareness in various mental health conditions but also the equally important role of interoception for well-being (Part II), and approaches interoception from a theoretical and philosophical perspective, representing a highly novel departure for philosophy of mind and subjectivity (Part III). The chapters share a common concern for what it means to experience oneself, for the crucial role of emotions, and for issues of health and well-being, discussed on the joint basis of our bodily existence and interoception. The research presented here will hopefully accelerate the much-anticipated coming of age of interoceptive research in psychology, cognitive neurosciences, and philosophy.

scholarly journals Body in Drama Class: The Role of Body in Learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Necla Köksal
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
English Language ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
The Body ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Main Theme ◽  
Faculty Of Education

The aim of this study is to examine the perceptions of preservice teachers about the body in drama classes and to identify the views of preservice teachers about the role of the body on learning. As a phenomenological study, the participants consisted of 20 preservice teachers attending the English Language Teaching Department and Psychological Guidance and Counselling Department at the Faculty of Education at Pamukkale University. The data was collected via semi-structured interview form. According to the content analysis, the views of preservice teachers on the body in drama classes were categorized as a theme named "body and learning in drama class". Two sub-themes were identified under the main theme as the impending and supportive factors for learning. As a result, preservice teachers indicated that after the drama experiences their perceptions of the body has changed, they interpreted the relation of body and mind in a different way in the learning process, and comprehend the role of the body on learning better.  

Passé or a time to pause? A phenomenological study of family physicians’ experiences of physical examination

2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (suppl 1) ◽  
pp. bjgp18X696797
Author(s):  
Martina Kelly ◽  
Lisa Freeman
Keyword(s):  
Physical Examination ◽  
Family Practice ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Family Physicians ◽  
The Body ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Qualitative Phenomenological

BackgroundOnce the cornerstone of clinical family practice, the role of physical examination is changing. Patients and physicians alike express concern that emphasis on evidence-based medicine and increasing reliance of technology has relegated the role of physical examination in clinical practice.AimTo understand the role of physical examination in contemporary family practice.MethodQualitative phenomenological study, interpreted through the writings of Merleau-Ponty. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of sixteen family physicians; men, women, recent graduates and experienced physician working in urban, rural and academic practices. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and examined using template analysis, complimented with researcher reflexivity.ResultsStudy participants described physical examination as core to practice, to diagnose, to communicate, and to validate patient and practitioner concerns. Performance of physical examination became routine over time but a disruption to the expected caused physicians to pause. Participants described this as a slowing of time where they became conscious of the body of the patient and their own body, intertwined in a moment. Physicians experienced affective, intellectual, and physical phenomena, which integrated to guide their behaviour, diagnosis, and management of the patient. The role of physical examination was to not only diagnosis as an evidence-based medical expert, but was experienced as a form of embodied, nonverbal communication, which expressed care.ConclusionPhysical examination plays an important role to reassure and communicate trust in the doctor–patient relationship, enacted through the body of the physician. Complimenting diagnosis, the laying on of hands remains an essential element of patient care.

Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Lived Experience

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 7512505093p1-7512505093p1
Author(s):  
Emily Mahoney ◽  
Diane Long ◽  
Tina Caswell
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Adolescents With Autism ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Equine Assisted

Abstract Date Presented 04/13/21 The purpose of this phenomenological study was to highlight the lived experience of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder who participated in equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAA/T) using semistructured interviews and thematic analysis. Research questions explored the client's perception of skills learned and whether clients recognized the generalization of skills. Implications for OT and conceptualizing the links between OT and EAA/T will be presented. Primary Author and Speaker: Emily Mahoney Additional Authors and Speakers: Elizabeth Torrez, Mekenzie Keenportz, Kelly Maki, Tara Rudkoski, and Katie Hawk

scholarly journals The value of ‘bearing witness’ to desistance

2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 408-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah E. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Probation Officers ◽  
The Body ◽  
Bearing Witness ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Moral Space ◽  
Political Dimensions ◽  
Bear Witness

This paper aims to contribute to the debate on making probation practice ‘desistance-focused’. It does this through considering the body of knowledge on responding to trauma through ‘bearing witness’ to the person’s story – attending to their values and lived experience – and applying this to probation practice. It addresses why the literature on trauma has relevance to work with people who have offended. Then it explores the epistemological, performative, moral and political dimensions of ‘bearing witness’ and the relevance of each of these to desistance. It highlights the potentially critical role of the audience (in this case the probation practitioner) in the co-construction of the desistance narrative. Additionally, the paper argues that insufficient attention has been paid to the moral space in which such narratives are co-constructed. In a context where the voices of people who have offended are silenced and their experiences of victimisation or structural violence are written out, I suggest that ‘being present and being with another’ (Naef, 2006: 146) enacts a moral responsibility to support a transition from object to subject and to recognise and endorse the humanity of those who have committed crimes. The paper provides a practice example of ‘bearing witness’ to desistance. Finally, it addresses potential challenges in asking probation officers to ‘bear witness’ to desistance.

scholarly journals When Values and Ethics of Care Conflict: A Lived Experience in the Roman Catholic Church

2021 ◽  
pp. 095001702199055
Author(s):  
Krystin Zigan ◽  
YingFei G Héliot ◽  
Alan Le Grys
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Ethics Of Care ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
Individual Agency ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Institutional Values ◽  
Leadership Approaches

This article investigates contemporary understandings of the ethics of care. While the ethics of care is predominantly known as showing empathy and support to others, analysing the complex relationship between institutional and personal values of clerical leaders and the congregation in the Roman Catholic Church in England reveals very different understandings. The sociological and psychological concepts of authority, pastoral care and identity are used to analyse the role of a female youth work leader in a Roman Catholic parish who is exposed to different (conservative and liberal) leadership approaches. She explains how her views on care, gender and participation differ from those of three clerical leaders and powerfully illustrates the resulting conflicts between the priests but also towards the congregation. This story shows that individual agency influences strong conservative institutional values and that leadership in faith-based organisations needs to embrace the complex interplay between institutional and personal dynamics.

scholarly journals What is the lived experience of anxiety for people with Parkinson’s? A phenomenological study

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0249390
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Lovegrove ◽  
Katrina Bannigan
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Sampling Strategy ◽  
Motor Symptom ◽  
Pharmacological Intervention ◽  
Pharmacological Interventions ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Face To Face

Purpose Anxiety is a common non-motor symptom of Parkinson’s and there is no specific pharmacological intervention for people with Parkinson’s who experience anxiety. Yet there is little specific research documenting how individuals with this condition experience anxiety. It is important to explore the experiences of people with Parkinson’s to identify potential issues in developing future non-pharmacological interventions. This study explored the lived experience of anxiety for people with Parkinson’s. Materials and methods Six participants were recruited into a descriptive phenomenological study, through the charity Parkinson’s UK, using a maximum variation sampling strategy. Face to face interviews were conducted. Data analysis employed thematic analysis. Results Three key themes encapsulated the data: Finding ways to cope to “Try not to let it rule your life”, Amplifies symptoms “It’s emotionally draining it it’s also physically draining” and “Anxiety is a funny thing” experienced in myriad ways. A model of the experience of PWP experience of anxiety is proposed. Conclusions Anxiety is a complex experience constructed of interlinked parts affecting people with Parkinson’s in myriad ways. Researchers and healthcare professionals should take these findings into account when designing future studies and interventions.

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