scholarly journals Factors That May Continue to Impact a Mother’s Emotional Well-Being Once Her Child’s Treatment for Cancer Has Completed and Their Implications for Ongoing Support

2020 ◽  
pp. 105413732091991
Author(s):  
Lynda Hill ◽  
Peter M. Gubi

This research explores factors that may continue to impact a mother’s emotional well-being once her child’s treatment for cancer has completed. Research indicates that, contrary to a general expectation of experiencing joy as treatment ends, some families experience very mixed emotions, with fear playing a large part, both leading up to treatment completion and, for some, continuing posttreatment. However, there is no literature that explores a mother’s emotional well-being after a number of years’ posttreatment. This research is a contribution toward addressing that deficit. Five mothers were interviewed using semistructured questions to gather data relating to their specific lived experiences. These were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results indicate that although end of treatment was longed for, there continues to be much uncertainty and fear posttreatment, and this can continue years after treatment has ended. Mothers described changes within themselves (e.g., new attitudes to living) and a need to adapt to a new normal. There were elements of grief for the loss of family life with which they were once so familiar. There was also a strong sense of wanting to support others, so that their own experiences were not wasted. All participants recognized that further counseling support for themselves would be beneficial.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily McGlinchey ◽  
Catherine Hitch ◽  
Sarah Butter ◽  
Laura Mccaughey ◽  
Emma Berry ◽  
...  

Background: Little research has examined mental health and well-being in the context of healthcare professionals (HCP) working during the COVID-19 pandemic within the UK. To our knowledge, no research has employed qualitative methodologies in order to examine this. We therefore aim to address this gap in research by qualitatively examining the lived experiences of HCPs in Northern Ireland, working during the early stages of the pandemic and lockdown period (14.04.20 and 29.04.20).Method: Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to qualitatively examine the lived experiences of healthcare professionals, who were working during the COVID-19 outbreak. Ten HCPs were recruited via a social media campaign and snowball sampling. All interviews were conducted via telephone and transcribed verbatim. Results: Three superordinate themes with subordinate themes were elicited through the analysis. Theme one broadly captured present and future challenges of HCPs working during the pandemic. Theme two captured the mental health and wellbeing of HCPs and theme three captured HCPs’ perceptions of the attitudes of the general public towards HCPs. Conclusions: To the authors’ knowledge this is the first study to explore in depth, the unique experiences of frontline HCPs in Northern Ireland, offering a detailed account of the challenges confronted in these unprecedented circumstances and highlighting support needs within this cohort.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0260475
Author(s):  
Lasara Kariyawasam ◽  
Margarita Ononaiye ◽  
Chris Irons ◽  
Lusia Stopa ◽  
Sarah E. Kirby

Practicing compassion has shown to reduce distress and increase emotional well-being in clinical and non-clinical populations. The existing research is primarily focused on Western populations although the concepts of compassion are heavily influenced by Asian Buddhist views. There is a dearth of compassion research conducted particularly in the Asian context. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the views and lived experiences of compassion in Sri Lankan students, to understand whether compassion is a socially embraced construct in Sri Lanka, considering that Sri Lanka is a Buddhist influenced society. Participants’ views and lived experiences of compassion towards themselves and to/from others were also investigated, with a specific focus on their perceived inhibitors and facilitators of compassion. Aims were set to identify whether Western compassion-based practices could be successfully applied to Asian societies such as Sri Lanka. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach was used to obtain and analyse qualitative data from a convenience sample of 10 Sri Lankan students, recruited from a Psychology course. The phenomenological analysis of the semi-structured face-to-face interviews elicited three predominant themes: What compassion means to me, what I make of it, and compassion through facilitators and inhibitors. The findings suggested that participants shared a similar understanding of the concept of compassion as reflected in the Western definitions. Experiences and views of compassion were shaped by several factors including religion, culture, society, and upbringing. In general, this study revealed that participants were well aware of the concept of compassion as well as its impact on their psychological well-being. Despite this, inhibitors existed in experiencing compassion. The religious and collectivistic-cultural influences need to be further explored and taken into account when implementing Western compassion-based practices to non-Western contexts such as Sri Lanka.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089202062110038
Author(s):  
Lucy Lindley

This study aimed to explore how educational leaders in England experience and promote their own well-being. To address this, five semi-structured interviews were carried out with educational leaders who expressed that they had personally experienced high levels of well-being. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), four themes were identified, which highlighted that well-being is a subjective experience (‘there’s no blueprint’); that high levels of well-being are commonly described as feeling balanced (‘maintain a balance’); that well-being is perceived as a personal responsibility (‘you’ve got to find ways to manage that’); and that participants were leading by example in relation to well-being (‘be a well-being supermodel’). Overall, this study emphasised that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to well-being, so educational leaders (and their colleagues) should be given space and personal autonomy to work out what works for them.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 160940692092160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverly Love ◽  
Arlene Vetere ◽  
Paul Davis

Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) is a qualitative thematic approach developed within psychology underpinned by an idiographic philosophy, thereby focusing on the subjective lived experiences of individuals. However, it has been used in focus groups of which some have been critical because of the difficulties of extrapolating the individual voice which is more embedded within the group dynamics and the added complexity of multiple hermeneutics occurring. Some have adapted IPA for use with focus groups, while others provide scant regard to these philosophical tensions. This raises the question whether IPA should be used with focus group data. To address these concerns, this article will set out a step-by-step guide of how IPA was adapted for use with focus groups involving drug using offenders (including illustrative examples with participants’ quotes). A rationale of why it was important to use both focus groups and an IPA approach will be covered including the value, merits, and challenges this presented. An overview of how participants’ idiographic accounts of their drug use, relapse, and recovery were developed will be provided. This article will conclude with a suggested way forward to satisfy the theoretical tensions and address the question raised in the title.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marieke Van Schoors ◽  
Jan De Mol ◽  
Natacha Laeremans ◽  
Lesley L. Verhofstadt ◽  
Liesbet Goubert ◽  
...  

Background: Childhood cancer not only presents challenges to the life of the child with cancer but also to the siblings’ daily family life. The aim of the current study was to gain a better understanding of siblings’ experiences of living in a family where one child has been diagnosed with blood cancer. Method: Ten siblings of children with leukemia or non-Hodgkin lymphoma completed a semistructured interview about their everyday family life experiences postdiagnosis. The verbatim transcripts of the interviews served as the data for an interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: The results showed that overall the siblings experienced a continuity in many aspects of their family life: they still experienced their family as an important source of support and information/communication, as warm and loving and as a safe harbor where family members aim to protect each other. However, at the same time, the participating siblings also expressed that some things felt unmistakably different postdiagnosis: They felt that their family as a whole had been ripped apart, with a greater focus on the diagnosed child and changing responsibilities for each family member. Conclusion: This study informs parents and clinicians about the daily family life experiences from the siblings’ perspective, a perspective that is often overlooked. A focus on challenges as well as continuities within family life, the wish for connection expressed by the siblings, and the uniqueness of every sibling’s experiences is what can be taken away from this study by psychosocial workers in the field.


Author(s):  
Helen Hernandez ◽  
◽  
Laurie Dringus ◽  

We reflect on our process of working with an adapted framework as an effective strategy for analyzing and interpreting the results of our qualitative study on the lived experiences of insulin pump trainers. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was applied as the overarching research methodology and was encapsulated into a framework adapted from Bonello and Meehan (2019) and from Chong (2019). We describe this framework as the “embodiment of discovery” to posit the researcher’s tangible experience of discovering the meaning of data that also brought transparency to the researcher’s process for data analysis and interpretation. We present challenges the doctoral student researcher experienced working with the framework through three phases and various steps performed during the analysis. We recommend the framework may assist novice researchers as a tool for wayfinding and scoping the structure of data analysis and interpretation. We conclude that novice researchers should not fear finding their “embodiment of discovery” in adapting creative or alternate methods for qualitative analysis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 279-297
Author(s):  
Fernando Santos ◽  
Martin Camiré ◽  
Dany J. MacDonald

The purpose of the present study was to explore the lived experiences of one male Paralympic athlete who maintained a longstanding relationship with his coach. This case provides insight into how a coach can serve as a key supportive agent in enabling an athlete to thrive both in sport and in life. The athlete was interviewed on two separate occasions and an interpretative phenomenological analysis was conducted. The athlete discussed the consequences of an acute bout of meningitis experienced at four years of age that left him impaired. During adolescence and adulthood, the athlete experienced the death of his mother and sister as well as the challenges associated with him assuming his homosexuality. Throughout these ordeals, his coach acted as a constant support figure. The athlete attributed much weight to his coach’s trust, respect, and empathy in explaining the significant success he attained on the international stage. The recommendations offered focus on how coaches can support athletes when athletes are navigating tough challenges.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilith Arevshatian Whiley ◽  
Gina Grandy

PurposeThe authors explore how service workers negotiate emotional laboring with “dirty” emotions while trying to meet the demands of neoliberal healthcare. In doing so, the authors theorize emotional labor in the context of healthcare as a type of embodied and emotional “dirty” work.Design/methodology/approachThe authors apply interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to their data collected from National Health Service (NHS) workers in the United Kingdom (UK).FindingsThe authors’ data show that healthcare service workers absorb, contain and quarantine emotional “dirt”, thereby protecting their organization at a cost to their own well-being. Workers also perform embodied practices to try to absolve themselves of their “dirty” labor.Originality/valueThe authors extend research on emotional “dirty” work and theorize that emotional labor can also be conceptualized as “dirty” work. Further, the authors show that emotionally laboring with “dirty” emotions is an embodied phenomenon, which involves workers absorbing and containing patients' emotional “dirt” to protect the institution (at the expense of their well-being).


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vusi Mthimkhulu ◽  
Hugo D. Van der Walt

Orientation: Workplace testing is seen as a viable method in monitoring alcohol intoxication in the workplace. This article explored lived experiences of random and scheduled alcohol breathalyser testing to gain insights into meaning and understanding of the phenomenon under study.Research purpose: Random and scheduled testing are preferred techniques of assessing intoxication in the workplace. This article set to gain insights into whether behaviour can have an influence on the effectiveness of random and scheduled testing. The information can contribute to the ongoing debate on the efficacy of workplace testing and lays groundwork for future studies.Motivation for the study: Emergent data seem to suggest that the success of workplace testing in preventing alcohol and substance use in the workplace is indecisive.Research approach/design and method: A qualitative method was employed to collect data from eight alcohol-consuming individuals who performed jobs considered safety-sensitive through semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed through the application of an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).Main findings: Findings revealed incidents of alcohol intoxication within the workplace in spite of random and scheduled testing in place. There seems to be a disregard for rules that prohibit intoxication in the workplace. Money bribes seem to enable cheating on testing in the workplace. Behaviour undercuts the goal of an alcohol-free workplace.Practical implications: Behaviour stemming from on-site intoxication and cheating on alcohol tests hinders on the goal of attaining an alcohol-free workplace.Contribution/value-add: The analysis of behaviour could contribute to the ongoing debate regarding the efficacy of workplace testing.


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