scholarly journals A women’s perspective on premenstrual syndrome: a qualitative interview study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marijke Labots-Vogelesang ◽  
Rachel Kooiman Andringa ◽  
Doreth A M Teunissen ◽  
Antoine LM Lagro Janssen
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Premenstrual Syndrome ◽  
Psychosocial Functioning ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Qualitative Interview ◽  
Interview Study ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Passive Coping ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study

Abstract BMWH-D-18-00422 A women’s perspective on premenstrual syndrome: a qualitative interview study Abstract Background: Women who present with Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) to healthcare professionals experience a lot of problems on their psychosocial functioning. Little is known however about the influence of PMS on the daily life of women in the general population. The aim of the present study is to improve our understanding of the perspective of women with PMS in the general population. Methods: We recruited women with PMS via local newspapers and social media. We performed semi-structured interviews. Results: We interviewed twenty women between 27 and 49 years of age. Physical and in particular psychological symptoms of PMS have a strong influence on the quality of life of women. Three themes emerged from our analysis. Women mentioned disturbance in their preferred roles of being a good mother and wife; experienced PMS as a life controlling condition and they used active and passive coping strategies with different expectations of healthcare. Conclusion: The symptoms of PMS affect women at the level of their social role of femininity. These women are in need of acknowledgement and support as well from family and friends as from healthcare providers. Word count: 3772 (abstract 211) Keywords: Premenstrual Syndrome, Women’s Health, Social Role, Femininity, Interview, Coping, Acknowledgement

scholarly journals Parents and GPs’ understandings and beliefs about food allergy testing in children with eczema: qualitative interview study within the Trial of Eczema allergy Screening Tests (TEST) feasibility trial

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. e041229
Author(s):  
Clare Clement ◽  
Matthew J Ridd ◽  
Kirsty Roberts ◽  
Miriam Santer ◽  
Robert Boyle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Food Allergy ◽  
Qualitative Interview ◽  
Interview Study ◽  
Screening Tests ◽  
Feasibility Trial ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Allergy Testing ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study ◽  
Severe Eczema

AimTo explore parent and general practitioner (GP) understanding and beliefs about food allergy testing for children with eczema.Design and settingQualitative interview study in UK primary care within the Trial of Eczema allergy Screening Tests feasibility trial.ParticipantsSemi-structured interviews with parents of children with eczema taking part in the feasibility study and GPs at practices hosting the study.Results21 parents and 11 GPs were interviewed. Parents discussed a range of potential causes for eczema, including a role for food allergy. They believed allergy testing to be beneficial as it could potentially identify a cure or help reduce symptoms and they found negative tests reassuring, suggesting to them that no dietary changes were needed. GPs reported limited experience and uncertainty regarding food allergy in children with eczema. While some GPs believed referral for allergy testing could be appropriate, most were unclear about its utility. They thought it should be reserved for children with severe eczema or complex problems but wanted more information to advise parents and help guide decision making.ConclusionsParents’ motivations for allergy testing are driven by the desire to improve their child’s condition and exclude food allergy as a possible cause of symptoms. GPs are uncertain about the role of allergy testing and want more information about its usefulness to support parents and help inform decision making.Trial registration numberISRCTN15397185.

scholarly journals Experiences of patients and physiotherapists with blended internet-based vestibular rehabilitation: a qualitative interview study

BJGP Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. bjgpopen20X101092
Author(s):  
Vincent A van Vugt ◽  
Anja JThCM de Kruif ◽  
Johannes C van der Wouden ◽  
Henriëtte E van der Horst ◽  
Otto R Maarsingh
Keyword(s):  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Randomised Trial ◽  
Qualitative Interview ◽  
Vestibular Rehabilitation ◽  
Interview Study ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study ◽  
Vestibular Symptoms ◽  
Randomised Controlled

BackgroundInternet-based vestibular rehabilitation (VR) with physiotherapy support, known as blended VR, was effective in reducing vestibular symptoms in a recent randomised controlled trial. Blended VR is a complex intervention comprised of physiotherapeutic visits, the vertigo training website, and VR exercises. Because of these interacting components, it is important to understand how blended VR works, for whom it works best, and how it should ideally be delivered.AimTo investigate the experiences of both patients and physiotherapists with blended internet-based VR.Design & settingA qualitative interview study was performed with patients who received blended internet-based VR with physiotherapy support, and physiotherapists who provided this support.MethodSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 patients and eight physiotherapists after the 6-month follow-up of the randomised trial. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and thematically analysed.ResultsAccording to both patients and physiotherapists, the physiotherapist visits were useful in providing personal attention, helping patients safely execute exercises, and improving patients’ adherence to therapy. Some patients said they did not need physiotherapist support and, according to physiotherapists, both the necessity and the optimal way to deliver guidance differed greatly between patients. The Vertigo Training website and exercises provided patients with a sense of control over their symptoms. Patients reported that the VR exercises were easy to perform and most patients continued to use them long after the trial ended.ConclusionIn blended VR, physiotherapeutic visits appear to offer benefits above the vertigo training website and VR exercises alone. Physiotherapy support may best be used when individually tailored.

scholarly journals GPs’ and nurses’ perceptions of electronic cigarettes in England: a qualitative interview study

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (678) ◽  
pp. e8-e14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Stepney ◽  
Paul Aveyard ◽  
Rachna Begh
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Cigarettes ◽  
Qualitative Interview ◽  
Interview Study ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study ◽  
Nurses Perceptions ◽  
Support Programmes ◽  
The Right

BackgroundReports from royal colleges and organisations such as Public Health England suggest that GPs and nurses should advise patients to switch to electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) if they do not want to stop smoking using licensed medication. However, there are no data on what practitioners think, feel, or do about e-cigarettes.AimTo explore practitioners’ perceptions and attitudes towards e-cigarettes, and their experiences of discussing e-cigarettes with patients.Design and settingA qualitative interview study was carried out with semi-structured interviews conducted with nurses and GPs across England in 2017.MethodParticipants were interviewed once either via telephone or face to face. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsInterviews were conducted with 23 practitioners (eight nurses and 15 GPs). There were three key themes: ambivalence and uncertainty; pragmatism; and responsibility. Many practitioners had uncertainties about the safety and long-term risks of e-cigarettes. Some had ambivalence about their own knowledge and ability to advise on their use, as well as uncertainty about whether to and what to advise patients. Despite this, many sought to provide honesty in consultations by acknowledging these uncertainties about e-cigarettes with patients and taking a pragmatic approach, believing that e-cigarettes were a ‘step in the right direction’. Practitioners wanted advice from healthcare regulators such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to reassure them about the safety of e-cigarettes, practical tools to support the consultation, and to control their use by providing behavioural support programmes for reduction or cessation.ConclusionCurrent dissemination strategies for guidelines are not effective in reaching practitioners, who are offering more cautious advice about e-cigarettes than guidelines suggest is reasonable.

scholarly journals Understanding sciatica: illness and treatment beliefs in a lumbar radicular pain population. A qualitative interview study

BJGP Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. bjgpopen19X101654
Author(s):  
Robert Goldsmith ◽  
Nefyn Howard Williams ◽  
Fiona Wood
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Interview ◽  
Radicular Pain ◽  
Interview Study ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Treatment Beliefs ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study ◽  
Pathological Model ◽  
Lumbar Radicular Pain ◽  
Credible Information ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundSeveral pathological processes contribute to lumbar radicular pain (LRP), commonly known as sciatica. It is not known how patients rationalise the experience of sciatica or understand the diagnosis. Providing clinicians with a better understanding of how patients conceptualise sciatica will help them to tailor information for patients on the management and treatment of the condition.AimTo understand patients’ beliefs regarding their illness following a diagnosis of LRP, how these beliefs were developed, and the impact of illness beliefs on treatment beliefs.Design & settingQualitative interview study from a single NHS musculoskeletal interface service (in Wales, UK).MethodThirteen patients recently diagnosed with LRP were consecutively recruited. Individual semi-structured interviews were recorded and transcribed. Data were analysed using a thematic approach.ResultsFour main themes were generated: (1) the illness experience (2) the concept of sciatica, (3) treatment beliefs, and (4) the desire for credible information.ConclusionThe diagnosis of LRP is often communicated and understood within a compressive conceptual illness identity. Explaining symptoms with a compressive pathological model is easily understood by patients but may not accurately reflect the spectrum of pathological processes known to contribute to radicular pain. This model appears to inform patient beliefs about treatments. Clinicians should take care to fully explain the pathology prior to shared decision-making with patients.

scholarly journals Quality improvements of safety-netting guidelines for cancer in UK primary care: insights from a qualitative interview study of GPs

2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (689) ◽  
pp. e819-e826
Author(s):  
Alice Tompson ◽  
Brian D Nicholson ◽  
Sue Ziebland ◽  
Julie Evans ◽  
Clare Bankhead
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Qualitative Interview ◽  
Interview Study ◽  
Diagnostic Strategy ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Duration Of Symptoms ◽  
Diagnostic Uncertainty ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study ◽  
Knowledge Of Cancer ◽  
Safety Netting

BackgroundSafety netting is a diagnostic strategy that involves monitoring patients with symptoms possibly indicative of serious illness, such as cancer, until they are resolved. Optimising safety-netting practice in primary care has been proposed to improve quality of care and clinical outcomes. Introducing guidelines is a potential means to achieve this.AimTo seek the insight of frontline GPs regarding proposed safety-netting guidelines for suspected cancer in UK primary care.Design and settingA qualitative interview study with 25 GPs practising in Oxfordshire, UK.MethodTranscripts from semi-structured interviews were analysed thematically by a multidisciplinary research team using a mind-mapping approach.ResultsGPs were supportive of initiatives to optimise safety netting. Guidelines on establishing who has responsibility for follow-up, keeping patient details up to date, and ensuring test result review is conducted by someone with knowledge of cancer guidelines were already being followed. Sharing diagnostic uncertainty and ensuring an up-to-date understanding of guidelines were only partially implemented. Neither informing patients of all (including negative) test results nor ensuring recurrent unexplained symptoms are always flagged and referred were considered feasible. The lack of detail, for example, the expected duration of symptoms, caused some concern. Overall, doubts were expressed about the feasibility of the guidelines given the time, recruitment, and resource challenges faced in UK primary care.ConclusionGPs expressed general support for safety netting, yet were unconvinced that key elements of the guidelines were feasible, especially in the context of pressures on general practice staffing and time.

scholarly journals Elderly patients’ and GPs’ perspectives of patient–GP communication concerning polypharmacy: a qualitative interview study

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (04) ◽  
pp. 355-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea C. Schöpf ◽  
Maike von Hirschhausen ◽  
Erik Farin ◽  
Andy Maun
Keyword(s):  
Elderly Patients ◽  
Medication Safety ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Qualitative Interview ◽  
Interview Study ◽  
Medication Regimen ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Open Communication ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study ◽  
Asking Questions

AimThe aim of this study was to explore elderly patients’ and general practitioners’ (GPs’) perceptions of communication about polypharmacy, medication safety and approaches for empowerment.BackgroundTo manage polypharmacy, GPs need to know patients’ real medication consumption. However, previous research has shown that patients do not always volunteer all information about their medication regimen, for example, such as the intake of over-the-counter medication or the alteration or discontinuation of prescribed medication.MethodA qualitative interview study including patients of at least 65 years old with polypharmacy (⩾5 medications) and their GPs in a German Primary Healthcare Centre. The transcripts from the semi-structured interviews (n=6 with patients; n=3 with GPs) were analysed using a framework analytical approach.FindingsWe identified three themes: differing medication plans: causes?; dialogue concerning medication: whose responsibility?; supporting patients’ engagement: how? While GPs stated that patients do not always report or might even conceal information, all patients reported that they could speak openly about everything with their GPs. In this context, trust might act as a double-edged sword, as it can promote open communication but also prevent patients from asking questions. Both GPs and patients could name very few ways in which patients could be supported to become more informed and active in communication concerning polypharmacy and medication safety.ConclusionThis study shows that patients’ awareness of the significance of their active role in addressing polypharmacy needs to be increased. This includes understanding that trusting the doctor does not preclude asking questions or seeking more information. Thus, interventions which improve patients’ communication skills and address specific issues of polypharmacy, particularly in elderly patients, should be designed. GPs might support patients by ‘inviting’ their contribution.

scholarly journals Following the science? Views from scientists on government advisory boards during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative interview study in five European countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elien Colman ◽  
Marta Wanat ◽  
Herman Goosens ◽  
Sarah Tonkin-Crine ◽  
Sibyl Anthierens
Keyword(s):  
Interdisciplinary Collaboration ◽  
Qualitative Interview ◽  
Interview Study ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Public ◽  
Advisory Boards ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Advisor Role

Objectives: To explore the views and experiences of scientists working on government advisory boards during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the aim to learn lessons for future pandemic management and preparedness. Design: Explorative qualitative interview study. Participants: Twenty one scientists with an official government advisory role during the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium, the Netherlands, UK, Sweden or Germany. Methods: Online video or telephone semi-structured interviews took place between December 2020 and April 2021. They were audio recorded and transcribed, and analyzed using a combination of inductive and deductive thematic analysis techniques. Results: Scientists found working on the advisory boards during the COVID-19 pandemic to be a rewarding experience. However, they identified numerous challenges including learning to work in an interdisciplinary way, ensuring that evidence is understood and taken on board by governments, and dealing with media and public reactions. Scientists found themselves taking on new roles, the boundaries of which were not clearly defined. Consequently, they received substantial media attention and were often perceived and treated as a public figure. Conclusions: Scientists working on advisory boards in European countries faced similar challenges, highlighting key lessons to be learnt. Future pandemic preparedness efforts should focus on building interdisciplinary collaboration within advisory boards; ensuring transparency in how boards operate; defining and protecting boundaries of the scientific advisor role; and supporting scientists to inform the public in the fight against disinformation, whilst dealing with potential hostile reactions.

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