This research explores womens experiences of arm morbidity after breast cancer. Biomedical knowledge about arm morbidity is limited and often unclear, and there has been even less focus on the health issue from a sociological perspective. While studies do exist about the experiences of arm morbidity, more investigation is required to realize its influence on the daily lives of breast cancer survivors. The purpose of my research is to convey constructed meanings of arm morbidity experiences to indicate the impact it has on womens everyday lives.<p> Qualitative data were collected via twelve in-depth, semi-structured interviews, as six participants were each interviewed twice. The interviews were focused on a broad range of themes in order to create a comprehensive understanding of the womens experiences of arm morbidity in their daily lives. Phenomenological and feminist approaches were both used to guide the research process and analyze the data, and a range of sociological ideas also informed the analysis, such as chronic illness, disability, gender roles, and embodiment.<p> The illness narratives produced two broad areas relevant to the womens experiences. The first major topic involves the meanings directly related to experiences of arm morbidity as a health issue, and is divided into four themes: 1) experiencing bodies with arm morbidity, 2) treatment, 3) information and knowledge, and 4) support. The second major topic involves understandings of arm morbidity as it affects the womens lives, in which three themes emerge: 1) changing abilities and adjusting roles, 2) identity and health, and 3) the influence of illness on approaches to life.<p> As existing research is sparse, the womens narratives present a new level of depth to understandings of arm morbidity experiences that does not exist in current literature. It is evident that more study about arm morbidity is necessary to construct important knowledge and benefit both biological and sociological understandings of this survivorship issue.

ABSTRACT This qualitative study utilized a systems theory approach and followed the premise that families are systems that seek a balanced state, interact with their environment, and are goal directed to explore the impact of anaphylaxis on families from a parental perspective. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of family leisure in families while living with a child diagnosed with anaphylaxis. This was done by exploring parental meanings and experiences of living with anaphylaxis and how this impacted their family leisure. Five research questions guided the inquiry relating to experiences and meanings of anaphylaxis, experiences and participation in family leisure, valuations and meanings of family leisure, caregiving as a constraint to family leisure, and gender considerations. A local support group for families and individuals living with anaphylaxis (WRASE) was contacted and aided in identifying parents who would be interested in participating in this study. Specific attention was given to obtaining a sample that included different allergies, ages of children, and number of children in the household. Four families were selected and both parents were interviewed separately in all but one case. Four core themes emerged from the in-depth interviews and included An Emotional Journey, Seeking Community Support and Dealing with Negative Feedback, Impact on Family Leisure, and The Increased Domestic Workload and Changing Role of Mother. In essence, parents experienced intense feelings of fear, paranoia, and stress as they sought to manage their child’s allergy and these feelings were just as intense during their family leisure time. Role changes and strain were particularly severe for the mothers in this study. The parents of children with anaphylaxis have received little attention in social science research to date. This research adds to the literature on chronic illness and also offers new insight into how anaphylaxis affects family leisure. Key findings in this area were the lack of opportunities for travel and social isolation. Furthermore, it was found that leisure, although often thought to be beneficial in managing stress and improving family functioning, may not be available to those living with anaphylaxis.

Autoimmune diseases (ADs) are a classification of chronic of illnesses in which the immune system mistakes healthy cells for foreign invaders and attacks the body’s own tissues or organs. They are unique in that the diagnosis of one AD makes the individual more susceptible to developing other ADs, and the symptoms of one AD, influence the disease activity of the others. Disease activity may also be influenced by a mind-body connection due to the relationship between stress and the immune system. The purpose of this study was to provide empirical evidence to generate new knowledge and expand our understanding of how individuals diagnosed with multiple ADs are living well. The methodology of interpretive description guided analysis. Five women with their ages ranging from early twenties to late seventies who were diagnosed with two or more ADs participated. The participants’ experiences were illuminated through semi-structured interviews. Four major interconnected themes and 13 sub-themes emerged. They discussed their challenges and successes, their attitudes towards their illnesses, and how they managed living with multiple ADs. The knowledge of the importance of a holistic lens through which to view healthcare provides important insights for those working in physical or mental health settings.

This narrative inquiry explores the curriculum making experiences and stories of three teachers - Claire, an early childhood educator, Rita, a middle years teacher, and Leah, a primary grades teacher - who taught students with a chronic illness. The research wonders of this thesis asked the following questions: what does it mean to engage in the curriculum around chronic illness? How do the teachers influence such a curriculum? What is the teacher's position within it? Do they experience a shift in knowledge, awareness, perception, or practice while engaged in this curriculum making? Derived from individual semi-structured interviews ranging from 25 minutes to one hour, a narrative account of each teacher is presented and inquired into within the three dimensional inquiry space, defined to include temporality, sociality, and place. The concept of a curriculum around chronic illness is presented. This curriculum focuses on the active construction of lives shaped by a chronic illness. In this research, the curriculum around chronic illness required the negotiation, and sometimes renegotiation, of liminal spaces. Liminality, found in the making of a curriculum around chronic illness, brought the teachers of this research to the peripheries of their students' worlds, where they learned, in time, to perceive their students and themselves wholly. The three teachers, through their unique positioning of their stories to live by, created new forward-looking stories (Nelson, 1999) that guided their teaching; stories marked by inclusion, community, loving perceptions, and care.

ABSTRACT This qualitative study utilized a systems theory approach and followed the premise that families are systems that seek a balanced state, interact with their environment, and are goal directed to explore the impact of anaphylaxis on families from a parental perspective. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of family leisure in families while living with a child diagnosed with anaphylaxis. This was done by exploring parental meanings and experiences of living with anaphylaxis and how this impacted their family leisure. Five research questions guided the inquiry relating to experiences and meanings of anaphylaxis, experiences and participation in family leisure, valuations and meanings of family leisure, caregiving as a constraint to family leisure, and gender considerations. A local support group for families and individuals living with anaphylaxis (WRASE) was contacted and aided in identifying parents who would be interested in participating in this study. Specific attention was given to obtaining a sample that included different allergies, ages of children, and number of children in the household. Four families were selected and both parents were interviewed separately in all but one case. Four core themes emerged from the in-depth interviews and included An Emotional Journey, Seeking Community Support and Dealing with Negative Feedback, Impact on Family Leisure, and The Increased Domestic Workload and Changing Role of Mother. In essence, parents experienced intense feelings of fear, paranoia, and stress as they sought to manage their child’s allergy and these feelings were just as intense during their family leisure time. Role changes and strain were particularly severe for the mothers in this study. The parents of children with anaphylaxis have received little attention in social science research to date. This research adds to the literature on chronic illness and also offers new insight into how anaphylaxis affects family leisure. Key findings in this area were the lack of opportunities for travel and social isolation. Furthermore, it was found that leisure, although often thought to be beneficial in managing stress and improving family functioning, may not be available to those living with anaphylaxis.

This research explores womens experiences of arm morbidity after breast cancer. Biomedical knowledge about arm morbidity is limited and often unclear, and there has been even less focus on the health issue from a sociological perspective. While studies do exist about the experiences of arm morbidity, more investigation is required to realize its influence on the daily lives of breast cancer survivors. The purpose of my research is to convey constructed meanings of arm morbidity experiences to indicate the impact it has on womens everyday lives.<p> Qualitative data were collected via twelve in-depth, semi-structured interviews, as six participants were each interviewed twice. The interviews were focused on a broad range of themes in order to create a comprehensive understanding of the womens experiences of arm morbidity in their daily lives. Phenomenological and feminist approaches were both used to guide the research process and analyze the data, and a range of sociological ideas also informed the analysis, such as chronic illness, disability, gender roles, and embodiment.<p> The illness narratives produced two broad areas relevant to the womens experiences. The first major topic involves the meanings directly related to experiences of arm morbidity as a health issue, and is divided into four themes: 1) experiencing bodies with arm morbidity, 2) treatment, 3) information and knowledge, and 4) support. The second major topic involves understandings of arm morbidity as it affects the womens lives, in which three themes emerge: 1) changing abilities and adjusting roles, 2) identity and health, and 3) the influence of illness on approaches to life.<p> As existing research is sparse, the womens narratives present a new level of depth to understandings of arm morbidity experiences that does not exist in current literature. It is evident that more study about arm morbidity is necessary to construct important knowledge and benefit both biological and sociological understandings of this survivorship issue.

<p>Friendship has consistently been found to act as a buffer against psychological maladjustment for healthy youth and youth experiencing difficulties including parental divorce and natural disasters. Less known is the role of friendship may have for females coping with a chronic health problem. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to evaluate the health factors and friendship precursors that may influence friendship, and in turn, how those friendships may predict psychosocial adjustment. A sample of chronically ill females (N = 30) was compared to a control group of healthy females (N = 45) on measures of opportunities for social interaction, similarity to their best friend, social capability, friendship quality, and psychological adjustment. Results revealed that health condition and friendship precursors were not associated with friendship quality. However, higher friendship quality was predictive of fewer externalizing symptoms for healthy girls. Additionally, positive parent relationships predicted fewer internalizing symptoms for both groups of females. Notably, chronically ill girls noted their friendships were higher in punishment and lower in companionship than healthy girls. Further assessment, including objective measures, will elucidate the beneficial processes of friendships and parent-child relationships that buffer youth from maladjustment.</p> / Dissertation

It has been estimated that by the year 2014 there will be a 12 per cent increase in the number of adults with at least one chronic illness condition (Carrier, 2009). The turn to caring for those with a chronic illness at home has resulted in carers having an increased risk of developing health problems (Ohman & Soderberg, 2004). As such there is a need to understand how families manage and cope with illness at home. This study has examined the effect chronic illness had on not only the woman with illness, but also the immediate family closely involved with her care. Additionally the study has sought to address the effect chronic illness had on the 'self' and 'identity' of these three women and to determine what extent and impact the illness process had on the relationships within this family. The study used open-ended biographic narrative interviews to elicit data. The research revealed that each woman experienced change and loss to both 'self' and 'identity' albeit in different ways. Interestingly and of significance is the way these women in their narrative accounts revisited their past lives in implicating and accounting for the present and the future (Freeman 2010). It was discovered that the past history and past relationships of these women affected how they each responded to illness and each other in their present circumstances.

The purpose of this cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational study was to describe the relationships among demographic factors (age, gender, education, income), perceived severity of illness, perceived barriers to action, perceived self-efficacy, and interpersonal influences (social support) and health-promoting behaviors (HPB) and to identify predictors of HPB. A nonprobability sample of 110 participants with Chronic Renal Failure (CRF) was recruited from the outpatient clinic of Burirum hospital and Surin hospital located in north-eastern Thailand. All participants were individually interviewed by the principal investigator in a private area within an outpatient clinic. Six variables were significantly correlated with the HPB. They were age, education, perceived severity of illness, perceived barriers to action, perceived self-efficacy and social support. According to the results from the analyses of demographic data and HPB, participants who were younger and had higher educational levels practiced more HPB. From the analyses of perceived severity of illness, perceived barriers to action, perceived self-efficacy, and social support and HPB, the results showed that participants with lower levels of perceived severity of illness and lower levels of perceived barriers to action reported better HPB. In contrast, the participants with higher levels of perceived self-efficacy and social support reported better HPB. By using a stepwise multiple regression analysis, two predictors were identified from 8 predictor variables, and those two accounted for 78.2% (p < 0.01) of the variance in HPB. Two variables that contributed significantly to the variance in the HPB were perceived self-efficacy ([beta] =.769, p < 0.01), and social support ([beta] = .162, p < 0.01); whereas age, gender, income, educational level, perceived severity of illness, and perceived barriers did not contribute to the variance in the HPB. The study found that participants who experienced better perceived self-efficacy and social support reported better HPB. In contrast age, gender, income, educational level, perceived severity of illness, and perceived barriers did not enter as predictors in this stepwise regression equation. / text

Participation in decision-making and inclusion in the important matters of one’s life are upheld as measures of equality and indicators of the moral status of individuals in liberal democratic societies. To some extent, the status of children in western societies is a contested question, and hence, the nature of children’s contributions to decisions is a matter of debate. Evidence suggests that in spite of an apparent societal commitment to children’s participation in the important matters of their lives, children tend to be excluded from decisions in which they might reasonably be involved. This project investigated the participation of one group of children—chronically ill school-age children— in decisions related to their health care. Adopting interpretive description as methodology, data were collected and analyzed through interviews and participant observation with 31 chronically ill children (ages 7 to 12 years) and their parents, as well as through interviews with health care providers. In this study, children’s participation in health care decisions emerged as a complex activity, deeply embedded in relationship and history. Participation varied within two key domains: children’s opportunities and abilities to formulate and make known their intentions and desires in decisional contexts (the resonance of children’s voices); and the standing achieved by children’s views within decisional processes (the relevance of children’s voices). The interplay of adult authority and children’s agency at the nexus of the resonance and relevance of children’s voices created certain participatory spaces, depicted as moral and social realms variously characterized by children’s silence, children’s tangible expression, adult imposed authority, or adult assumed responsibility. The findings of this study demonstrate a need to re-think our concept of children’s participation, and point to the importance of developing a more relational and contextual understanding of how chronically ill children may contribute to important matters in their lives. The findings also support a view that nurses and other health care providers hold certain responsibilities to critically question the relationships and structures that comprise children’s health care encounters, toward a goal of creating conditions where possibilities for children’s participation are optimized.