scholarly journals Learning to care for the spirit of dying patients: the impact of spiritual care training in a hospice-setting

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wafie Hussein Chahrour ◽  
Niels Christian Hvidt ◽  
Elisabeth Assing Hvidt ◽  
Dorte Toudal Viftrup
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Spiritual Care ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Perceived Barriers ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Care Training ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Patients approaching the end of their life do not experience their existential and spiritual needs being sufficiently met by the healthcare professionals responsible for their care. Research suggest that this is partly due to a lack of insight about spiritual care among healthcare professionals. By developing, implementing, and evaluating a research-based educational course on spiritual care targeting hospice staff, we aimed to explore the perceived barriers for providing spiritual care within a hospice setting and to evaluate the post-course impact among staff members. Methods Course development and evaluation was based on primary exploratory action research and followed the UK Medical Research Council’s framework for complex intervention research. The course was implemented at two Danish hospices and comprised thematic days that included lectures, reflective exercises and improvised participatory theatre. We investigated the course impact using a questionnaire and focus group interviews. The questionnaire data were summarized in bar charts and analysis of the transcribed interviews was performed based on Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results 85 staff members participated in the course. Of these, 57 answered the evaluative questionnaire and 15 participated in 5 focus group interviews. The course elements that the participants reported to be the most relevant were improvised theatre unfolding existential themes and reflexive group activities. 98% of participants found the course relevant, answering either “relevant” or “very relevant”. 73,1% of participants answered “to a considerable extent” or “to a great extent” when asked to what extent they assessed the content of the course to influence their work in hospice. The focus group data resulted in 3 overall themes regarding perceived barriers for providing spiritual care: 1. Diverse approaches is beneficial for spiritual care, but the lack of a shared and adequate spiritual language is a communicative barrier, 2. Existential conversation is complicated by patients’ overlapping physical and existential needs, as well as miscommunication, and 3. Providing spiritual care requires spiritual self-reflection, self-awareness, introspection, and vulnerability. Conclusions This study provides insights into the barriers facing spiritual care in a hospice setting. Furthermore, the course evaluations demonstrate the valuable impact of spiritual care training for health care professionals. Further course work development is warranted to enhance the “science” of spiritual care for the dying.

Being “adopted” into a teaching community

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erinn Bentley ◽  
Madison Workman ◽  
Alex Overby
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Mentor Teachers ◽  
Mentoring Relationships ◽  
Field Placement ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
The Impact

Purpose In order to prepare new members of the education profession, it is imperative that teachers enter their classrooms with the confidence, knowledge, and skills to serve their students from day one. One method for preparing such teacher candidates or student teachers is through school-based field placements during their preparation program. The purpose of this paper is to describe one example of a yearlong field placement and the mentoring relationships that emerged among participants. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study used the following data sources: focus group interviews among the teacher candidates, focus group interviews among the mentor teachers, field placement reflections and teaching analyses composed by the teacher candidates, and interviews conducted among teacher candidates and mentor teachers. Findings Analysis of the data revealed that the yearlong field placement promoted positive mentoring relationships between teacher candidates and their classroom teachers. Specifically the following themes emerged: the “adoption” of teacher candidates into the high school classrooms, risk-taking within the classrooms, the mentor teachers’ use of constructive feedback, and collaborative “mentoring-down-the-hall.” Originality/value In recent years, various scholars have investigated the impact of field placement experiences on teacher candidates; however, these studies have lacked a detailed analysis of how such experiences impacted mentoring relationships among candidates and their mentor teachers in a collaborative setting. This paper provides an in-depth study of the perceived experiences of mentor teachers and their candidates.

scholarly journals Change in store? An investigation into the impact of the book superstore environment on use, perceptions and expectations of the public library as a space, place and experience

2009 ◽  
Vol 28 (88) ◽  
pp. 13-26
Author(s):  
Helen Cartwright
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Community Resource ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Public ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Perceptions And Expectations ◽  
The Impact

The book superstore is promoted not just as a place to buy books but also as a community resource in which to read, learn and socialise: traits that have in combination traditionally been the preserve of the public library. This study investigates the impact of the bookstore environment on public library space. The attitudes and behaviours of library and bookstore users were examined through focus group interviews and a self-completed questionnaire. Clear areas of overlap in the functions of the two sites were found, as was evidence of age and income-related splits in use and perception of bookstores and libraries. Results suggest attention should be paid to the beliefs and behaviours of young people and middle-income earners (the groups most noticeably increasing their use of the bookstore) and to the desired balance of education and recreation in the image and nature of the public library.

scholarly journals Patient Rounds With Video-Consulted Relatives: Qualitative Study on Possibilities and Barriers From the Perspective of Healthcare Providers (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Østervang ◽  
Lene Vedel Vestergaard ◽  
Karin Brochstedt Dieperink ◽  
Dorthe Boe Danbjørg
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Work Routines ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
Group Interviews

BACKGROUND In cancer settings, relatives are often seen as a resource as they are able to support the patient and remember information during hospitalization. However, geographic distance to hospitals, work, and family obligations are reasons that may cause difficulties for relatives’ physical participation during hospitalization. This provided inspiration to uncover the possibility of telehealth care in connection with enabling participation by relatives during patient rounds. Telehealth is used advantageously in health care systems but is also at risk of failing during the implementation process because of, for instance, health care professionals’ resistance to change. Research on the implications for health care professionals in involving relatives’ participation through virtual presence during patient rounds is limited. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate health care professionals’ experiences in using and implementing technology to involve relatives during video-consulted patient rounds. METHODS The design was a qualitative approach. Methods used were focus group interviews, short open interviews, and field observations of health care professionals working at a cancer department. The text material was analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. RESULTS Field observational studies were conducted for 15 days, yielding 75 hours of observation. A total of 14 sessions of video-consulted patient rounds were observed and 15 pages of field notes written, along with 8 short open interviews with physicians, nurses, and staff from management. Moreover, 2 focus group interviews with 9 health care professionals were conducted. Health care professionals experienced the use of technology as a way to facilitate involvement of the patient’s relatives, without them being physically present. Moreover, it raised questions about whether this way of conducting patient rounds could address the needs of both the patients and the relatives. Time, culture, and change of work routines were found to be the major barriers when implementing new technology involving relatives. CONCLUSIONS This study identified a double change by introducing both new technology and virtual participation by relatives at the same time. The change had consequences on health care professionals’ work routines with regard to work load, culture, and organization because of the complexity in health care systems.

Healthcare professionals’ perceptions of their work with patients of working age with heart failure

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 160-166
Author(s):  
Catharina Frank ◽  
Camilla Lindbäck ◽  
Christina Takman ◽  
Lena Nordgren
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Sample Population ◽  
Individual Interview ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Working Age ◽  
Returning To Work ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
The Impact

There is a lack of knowledge about healthcare professionals’ perspectives on rehabilitation in relation to heart failure. Still, collaboration between different professionals can impact patients. The purpose of this study was to describe healthcare professionals’ perceptions of their work with patients of working age with heart failure. The sample population consisted of six nurses, one physiotherapist and one cardiologist. One individual interview and two focus-group interviews were conducted. The interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Three descriptive categories were constructed: ‘the impact of heart failure on patients’ life situations’, ‘heart failure service’, and ‘patients’ process of returning to work’. To support patients, healthcare professionals need to find ways to combine patients’ personal needs with protocol-driven care.

scholarly journals The Face of Workplace Violence: Experiences of Healthcare Professionals in Surgical Hospital Wards

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Jenny Jakobsson ◽  
Malin Axelsson ◽  
Karin Örmon
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Workplace Violence ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
Preventive Strategies ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Hospital Wards

Background. Though workplace violence (WPV) is a global problem for healthcare professionals, research within in-hospital care has mainly focused on WPV in emergency healthcare settings. Thus, the number of qualitative studies that explores experiences of WPV in general hospital wards with a longer length of stay is limited. Aim. The aim of this study was to explore how healthcare professionals in surgical hospital wards experience and manage WPV perpetrated by patients or visitors. Method. The study applied a qualitative, inductive approach using focus group interviews for data collection. A purposeful sample of 16 healthcare professionals working in surgical wards was included. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis. Findings. The analysis resulted in four main themes: workplace violence characteristics, partly predictable yet not prevented, approaching workplace violence, and consequences from workplace violence. During the focus group interviews, the healthcare professionals described various acts of physical violence, verbal abuse, and gender discrimination perpetrated by patients or their visitors. Despite the predictability of some of the incidents, preventive strategies were absent or inadequate, with the healthcare professionals not knowing how to react in these threatful or violent situations. They experienced that WPV could result in negative consequences for the care of both the threatful or violent person and the other patients in the ward. WPV caused the healthcare professionals to feel exposed, scared, and unprotected. Conclusion and clinical implications. Exposure to WPV is a problem for healthcare professionals in surgical wards and has consequences for the patients. Preventive strategies, guidelines, and action plans are urgently needed to minimise the risk of WPV and to ensure a safe work and care environment.

scholarly journals Nursing staff’s experience of appearance issues in various nursing situations

BMC Nursing ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Åsa Bringsén ◽  
Johanna Sjöbeck ◽  
Pia Petersson
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Nursing Staff ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Knowledge Development ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Professional Nursing ◽  
Group Interviews

Abstract Background Health care professionals frequently interact with unknown patients in a process involving appearance-based judgements and priority-setting, all of which has an effect on health care equality. The healthcare provider–patient interaction is also highly relevant for the awareness and support of patients’ appearance concerns, with an associated possibility for improving patients’ satisfaction with their appearance and health. The aim was therefore to explore nursing staff’s experience of patients’ appearance issues in various nursing situations, with the purpose to facilitate awareness raising and knowledge development. Method A qualitative research approach with focus group interviews was chosen due to the exploratory aim of the study. Five semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with 24 nursing staff in total (19 women and five men). The participants’ ages varied (20 to 45 years) as did their professional nursing experience. The interviews lasted approximately one hour, were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed through thematic analysis. Results The thematic analysis resulted in the two themes Patient perspective and Professional nursing role, with associated subthemes. The findings showed the importance and impact of appearance issues in nursing situations and how these are linked to the health of the patients. Some groups of patients were identified as more vulnerable than others, which was associated with health care inequalities and health disparities. Value-based strategies along with knowledge, and skills for holistic person-centred care were identified as important resources for the development of appearance-related awareness and support in various nursing situations. Conclusion Strategies for improvement can be realised through the educational system for nursing staff, but mainly by using collective reflective learning forums in different workplaces. An empowerment approach is considered a useful framework for the implementation of holistic person-centred care, functioning as a resource for appearance-related awareness and support in various nursing situations. However, more research is needed on the complex and challenging phenomenon of appearance issues in nursing situations. Knowledge development related to successful person-centred strategies for appearance-related awareness and support is important, especially strategies with a salutogenic perspective.

scholarly journals Avaliar para Aprender no Ensino da Ginástica Acrobática em Contexto de Estágio

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 36-45
Author(s):  
Ana Silva ◽  
André Moura ◽  
Paula Batista
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Peer Assessment ◽  
Assessment For Learning ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Level Of Involvement ◽  
Audio Recordings ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Enhanced Learning

Assessment is a regulatory and fundamental element of the teaching-learning process (Dutra et al., 2018), which in the perspective of the Assessment for Learning allows fostering the learning (Broadfoot et al., 1999). This study aimed to analyse students’ involvement and motivation in the Assessment for Learning processes and the impact on learning. The participants were 21 students of a class of the 11th grade of the Scientific- Humanistic Course of Science and Technology, with an average age of 17.23. The instruments used were focus group interviews, audio recordings of teacher feedbacks, several self and peer assessment moments and the teacher’s diary. Auto evaluation data were analyzed using descriptive measures (average and mode) and the information from pear observations, focus group interview and teacher board diary were analyzed using the content analysis procedures (Bardin, 2008).The data showed that students raised their level of involvement and motivation for the sessions, especially in the construction of the gymnastic scheme. In addition, the application of this methodology has enhanced learning in the acquisition of knowledge, as well as in the dynamics of the different groups.

scholarly journals Informing the Children When a Parent Is Diagnosed as Having Multiple Sclerosis

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ylva Nilsagård ◽  
Katrin Boström
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Disease Course ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Disease Information ◽  
Group Interviews

Background: The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of how health-care services can support the empowerment of children when a parent is diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis (MS). The study focuses on what information parents with MS, their partners, and their children desire from health-care professionals. Methods: Focus group interviews were conducted with nine adolescents, nine parents with diagnosed MS, and five partners representing members of ten families. Results: The main finding was that parents with MS, their partners, and the adolescents stressed their need to be well informed about the disease. Information should be provided at the time of diagnosis and then offered regularly throughout the disease course. The information should be suited to the recipient's level of maturity and individualized to reflect the parent's clinical picture. Conclusions: It is usually beneficial for children if their parents feel informed about the illness and encourage their children to ask questions and discuss the situation. This knowledge, gained from several sources, is likely to be of value for health-care professionals and their ongoing efforts to improve services for parents with MS, their partners, and their children.

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