scholarly journals Perceptions of aging and falling ill: a study with elderly persons in palliative care

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 701-710
Author(s):  
Mariana dos Santos Ribeiro ◽  
Moema da Silva Borges

Abstract Objective: to learn the perceptions of elderly persons in palliative care regarding coping with aging and illness. Method: an exploratory, descriptive, qualitative study was carried out. The study included 11 elderly persons in palliative care because of oncologic disease. Semi-structured interviews were carried out which were analyzed with the aid of the ALCESTE software. Results: two axes were identified from the content analysis. The first, Resist to Survive and Live, has two categories: the first, aging with integrity, portrays the positive perception of the participants regarding the aging process, and coping strategies used to deal with aging and with illness; the other category, resilient development, refers to the life trajectories of the participants and the adversities of the process of development and aging. The second axis, Resist to Die Well, has only one category and refers to the perceptions of the elderly about the stress related to illness. Conclusion: the results show that the perceptions of aging and falling ill involved resilience, as the participants focused on what they had gained rather than their losses. In this context, they used resilient coping strategies: spiritual support, cognitive restructuring, and acceptance.

2021 ◽  
pp. 105477382110166
Author(s):  
Alessia Martina Trenta ◽  
Davide Ausili ◽  
Rosario Caruso ◽  
Cristina Arrigoni ◽  
Massimo Moro ◽  
...  

This study aimed to explore lived experience of patients with heart failure (HF) during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative study was conducted using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Data collection performed in March-May 2020, using in-depth, semi-structured interviews on a purposive sample. Data were analyzed according to the IPA methodology, and triangulation, bracketing, journaling, and member checking were used to assure rigor. 14 patients with HF were enrolled, and three main themes described their lived experience during the COVID-19 pandemic: Vulnerability, Hanging in the balance, and Coping strategies. These people felt particularly vulnerable to the novel virus and experienced uncertainty due to hospital organization changes. Because of this, they felt like they were hanging in the balance, experiencing various negative feelings. Nevertheless, they managed to deal with this challenging situation by implementing some peculiar coping strategies. The COVID-19 represents a significant challenge for patients with HF, impacting significantly on their lives.


2020 ◽  
pp. 105477382098230
Author(s):  
Frank Kyei-Arthur ◽  
Samuel Nii Ardey Codjoe

This study is part of a broader phenomenological study on the experiences of family caregivers and their care recipients. There is a general paucity of research on the experiences of primary and secondary caregivers, and the negative impact of elderly care on caregivers in the urban poor settings in Ghana. This study explored primary and secondary caregivers’ challenges and coping strategies in the urban poor context in Accra, Ghana. This study was conducted in Ga Mashie. Thirty-one caregivers were interviewed. A phenomenological analysis was conducted using NVivo 10. Primary and secondary caregivers experienced economic, physical, social, and psychological burdens. Also, caregivers used spirituality and perseverance to cope with their challenges. The findings demonstrate that caregivers’ challenges varied by type of caregiver. Researchers and policymakers should consider the type of caregiver when designing interventions to mitigate the negative impacts of family caregiving on caregivers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 120 (9) ◽  
pp. 1759-1775
Author(s):  
Wanfei Wang ◽  
Chengcheng Su ◽  
Jin Hooi Chan ◽  
Xiaoguang Qi

PurposeFocusing on the supply side of peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation service sector, this study identifies the emerging types of micro-enterprise operators in the growing Chinese market, and investigate their respective operational risks and coping strategies.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative study was adopted to explore the micro-enterprise in peer-to-peer accommodation in China. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the operators' behaviors in the service sector.FindingsBased on the types of property ownership and forms of interaction, four groups of operators were identified, i.e. hospitable sharers, remote sharers, roommates and butlers. This study uncovers their operational risk factors (safety, cost, legal and social, psychological) and respective coping strategies.Originality/valueMost prior studies on P2P accommodation sector are conducted from the demand side about customer behaviors. This study not only enhances the understanding of the hosts in the sharing economy by developing a novel typology of operators, but also provides insights into the operational behaviors on an individual operator perspective.


Author(s):  
Luc Legris ◽  
Michel Préville

ABSTRACTFive semi-structured interviews were conducted, using the psychological autopsy method, in order to document the causes of geriatric suicide and to describe the interaction among suicidal elderly persons, their personal and social environments, and health care professionals. The results of this study support our hypothesis that elderly persons view suicide as a means of alleviating the psychological suffering associated with the frustration they experience on account of their inability to satisfy their basic needs. Three types of basic needs that affect the suicidal tendency of elderly persons were identified: the need to self-actualize, the need to belong, and the need to feel safe. The results also show that the people who make up the social and personal environment of elderly persons have a limited role in the prevention of suicide. This is due to their unfamiliarity with the problems surrounding the fulfilment of the basic needs of the suicidal elderly. Furthermore, as revealed in the cases studied here, the intervention of the health care system has centred mainly on the use of medication as a treatment for symptoms of psychological distress. The health care system pays little attention to the dissonance associated with the frustration suicidal elderly persons experience on account of their inability to satisfy their basic needs. Finally, the outcome of this qualitative study suggests that understanding the basic needs of the elderly can be very useful in understanding geriatric suicide.


2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 569-578
Author(s):  
Naira Agostini Rodrigues dos Santos ◽  
Antonio Tadeu Cheriff dos Santos ◽  
Rildo Pereira da Silva

Abstract OBJECTIVE To understand and describe the experience of the development of coping strategies during the professional life of nurses providing care to patients with facial image alteration. METHOD Descriptive qualitative study with a hermeneutic-dialectic framework conducted in the head and neck ward of a reference hospital in Rio de Janeiro, with the participation of eight nurses and data produced through semi-structured interviews conducted between June and August 2013. RESULTS Three major impressions were found: initial estrangement and complexity, consisting in the care given to patients with facial image alteration; a threshold between estrangement and coping, corresponding to the emergence of coping strategies during care; and image-likeness as a (re)cognition of the individual with facial image alteration in the development and consolidation of coping strategies during care. CONCLUSION Among other contributions, the identification and understanding of coping strategies may contribute to better qualify nursing education and care.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (29_suppl) ◽  
pp. 229-229
Author(s):  
Erin E. Kent ◽  
Kristin Litzelman ◽  
Julia Howe Rowland

229 Background: Family/informal caregivers play a critical role in the palliative care and support of cancer survivors, yet are at risk of poorer health outcomes than non-caregivers. Self-care, including positive health behaviors and coping, are important for long-term caregiver well-being, and potentially that of care recipients. This study sought to evaluate the distribution of and interrelationships among health behaviors and coping strategies among cancer caregivers. Methods: This study used data from the Cancer Care Outcomes Research & Surveillance Consortium (CanCORS). Caregivers reported by survey their health behaviors, coping, and sociodemographic and caregiving characteristics. Descriptive statistics assessed the distribution of caregivers’ health and coping behaviors, and multivariable linear regressions assessed the associations between health behaviors and coping styles. Results: Many caregivers reported positive health behaviors (i.e., moderate physical activity, adequate sleep, low rates of binge drinking). Caregivers most frequently reported using emotion-focused coping styles (religion, acceptance, positive reframing, emotional support). Caregivers reporting higher levels of physical activity or feeling less well-rested used problem-focused coping styles more frequently (Effect sizes [ES] up to 0.21, p < 0.05) . Those with some physical activity (1-149 minutes/week vs none) scored higher on emotion-focused coping, while drinkers (1+ drink in the past 30 days vs 0) and binge drinkers (5+ drinks in a row vs 0) scored lower on this subscale (ES = 0.16, 0.12, and 0.25; p < 0.05). Caregivers reporting current smoking (ES = 0.21), binge drinking (ES = 0.49), and feeling less well-rested (ES up to 0.48) scored higher on dysfunctional coping (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Caregivers’ health behaviors and coping strategies were interrelated. Interventions targeting both factors concurrently may be particularly efficacious at improving family caregiver self-care, potentially improving caregiving quality and patient-centered palliative care. Future research is needed to design and test such interventions and the potential impact on palliative care.


2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia A. Udod ◽  
W. Dean Care

Competing demands and a nursing shortage have contributed to a managerial workforce that is overworked and a health care environment that is under constant tension. The short supply and high turnover of manager positions, upwards of 30% in some regions in Canada, have contributed to an unstable work environment. The aim of this study examined the stress experiences and coping strategies of nurse managers in an acute care setting. Semi-structured interviews of five nurse managers were included in this pilot study. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the transcribed text. Six descriptive themes related to work stressors were identified: fiscal responsibilities, inadequate human resources, managing others, intrapersonal distress, middle management role and competing priorities. Three descriptive themes related to coping strategies were identified: peer and superior support, cognitive coping strategies and social and personal strategies. Findings indicate that coping mechanisms lessened the work stressors experienced by managers, but it was not always evident managers felt confident in their ability to cope effectively. Senior nurse leaders play an integral role in assuming responsibility for equipping managers with appropriate preparation and support to facilitate their success and to enhance the attractiveness of the manager role to potential recruits.


Author(s):  
Shaikha R AL-Naimi ◽  
Michael H Romanowski ◽  
Xiangyun Du

This study examined the challenges novice teachers encountered in Qatari government schools and the coping strategies they adopt. A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 15 novice teachers during their initial years of teaching. The findings demonstrated that most participants faced several personal challenges and other challenges within and beyond the school. Findings also indicated that these teachers confronted these challenges using various coping strategies. The challenges facing novice teachers include teaching and classroom, government, and administrative, and professional challenges. Novice teachers' coping strategies included individual internal peace strategies, active communication, and changing environment. Finally, based on these findings, suggestions are provided to support novice teachers' long-term success in Qatari government schools or similar contexts.


Author(s):  
Edith Mwananzila ◽  
Muteti Catherine Mueni

The purpose of the study was to determine factors attributed to primary schools adolescents’ stress and common stress coping strategies they use. Four research questions guided this study. The study employed mixed research approach. Descriptive cross-sectional design was used. Participants were 225 primary schools’ adolescents and 15 primary class teachers and five primary heads of schools. Data were collected through structured questionnaire, semi structured interviews and focus group discussion. Data were analysed using both content and thematic analysis. The findings of the study reveal that, most of adolescents had experienced stress even though some of them were not sure whether they were stressed or not due to lack of knowledge regarding stress and the sources of stress. Furthermore, the study found that two thirds of primary school adolescents often experienced symptoms of stress implying that they had high stress levels. Similarly, the study found that majority of the pupils often employed positive coping strategies. The study concludes that primary school adolescents in Moshi municipality were subjected to high levels of stress which affects their psychological wellbeing although they had not been able to address the sources of stress. Adolescents lacked the awareness of signs and symptoms of stress which increased the level of stress among them. Moreover, the pupils reported nervousness, anger, anxiety, sickness and lack of concentration during class hours. Primary schools adolescents were not able to device relevant coping strategies against stress. The Ministry of Education should put more emphasis on the issue of stress and coping strategies in primary schools by introducing well-structured formal support systems. The family should learn to support and be helpful for adolescents faced with stress, no matter how they are adapting to the stress. Moreover, schools should pay attention to students’ trouble with learning and apply appropriate strategies to enhance their learning effectiveness


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document