The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experience of adolescents who live with chronic pain. All 10 participants were between the ages of 13 and 17 and have lived with chronic pain for at least 6 months. Data sources for the study were two interviews for each participant, participant drawn depictions of their chronic pain, and researcher journaling. The person-environment-occupation model was used to frame the research design. The study found four main themes among the data: pain identity, invisible disease, occupational loss, and uphill climb to regain life. Each theme described the essence of the common experience of adolescents living with chronic pain. Occupational therapists can benefit from incorporating this knowledge base into their practice when providing intervention for individuals living with chronic pain to improve their overall quality of life and occupational performance.

A projected deficit in the perioperative workforce of 32,000 perioperative nurses retiring by 2024, creates an inability to meet the nursing needs of the United States population. The need for experienced perioperative nurses has been increasing while the availability of nurses with perioperative education has been decreasing. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experience of post-licensure nurses who participated in a perioperative clinical rotation within their baccalaureate nursing program and did that experiential experience affect the recruitment and employment for perioperative nursing to halt the impending shortage. The integrations of Kolb’s experiential learning theory and Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy model was the framework that supported the study. Thirteen interviews were conducted using van Manen’s (1990) method for researching the lived experience. The two themes emerging from the data were value and attitude. Subthemes under value are gaining knowledge and skill set and a different type of nursing. Subthemes under attitude are (a) communication with the medical team and advocacy for families and patients. The experiential perioperative clinical rotation affected the study participants’ interest for working in the operating room (OR). Most had a highlighted interest in the specialty, and those participants’ not choosing the OR as their choice of employment expressed that the experience positively affected the type of nurse they are today. Experiential learning can build the fundamental knowledge necessary to understand the novice perioperative nurse’s role as a career choice.

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This thesis in Educational Theory explores how teachers in Denmark reconfigured their practices of teaching to be conducted via digital means during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a time where people were locked away in isolation from the world they knew due to the threat of a of the deadly virus, I show the reconfiguration of teaching practices that subsequently impacted educational relations situated in, out and alongside the classroom. Accordingly, I draw from interviews I conducted with teachers, reflecting on their lived experiences during this period, that gives insight into how they responded to the sudden and forced shift of the (digital) classroom. Drawing on Paulo Freire’s concepts of ‘banking education’, ‘dialogue’ and ‘alienation’ with Nel Noddings’ notion of ‘care’, I argue for an approach oriented towards care and attention to the ways in which teachers are both limited in their efforts of caring but also find new ways of doing so within the changed, digital classroom. The teachers reconfiguring interventions certainly give hope for the future in which digitalization is expected to increasingly transform classrooms but nonetheless also show a limit to how much hardship the teaching professional ideal of care can endure in educational relations.

The focus of this thesis is Roman bird-shaped glass vessels from the 1 st and 2 nd centuries AD. The vessels were containers for cosmetics and distinguished themselves from other types of unguentaria in that once they had been filled with cosmetic powder, the vessels were reheated and sealed shut by fire. The only way to extract the content was to break the tip of the bird’s tail; only then could the powder be sprinkled out. While ancient glass is a well-established field of research, studies concerning bird-shaped vessels are scarce. The present study, situated in Roman age Greece, is concerned with the sensory experiences that these objects evoked in their users and attempts to reflect the ancient lived experience of the vessels. In order to speculate on possible sensory stimuli, contextual aspects concerning where, why, and by whom these vessels were used are explored. Based on these contextual aspects, the bird-shaped vessels are studied in hypothetical scenarios where potential multisensory experiences are explored.

This study examined women's health messages found on ten endometriosis websites. Qualitative research methods were used to investigate messages available via Internet media about causes and treatments of endometriosis, particularly as they relate to the suggestion that hysterectomy and pregnancy are effective treatments. Messages about infertility, physician-patient communication, and accessibility were also examined. Findings indicate that the websites provided similar messages regarding the symptoms, causes, and treatments of endometriosis; results pertaining to infertility were mixed. Little information was available on methods of improving physician-patient communication. Most websites provided additional low-cost information while requiring minimal technological competency or additional software of site patrons. The results of this study have implications for future research in medical science and communication and reflect the importance of research on women's health communication. A detailed discussion of findings and suggestions for further research are offered. The author's own experiences with endometriosis are incorporated into the analysis.

The lived experiences of previously infertile mothers in the early postpartum period have not been previously studied. The purpose of the research was to explore the experiences of previously infertile mothers during their early postpartum period. Colaizzi’s (1978) approach to descriptive phenomenological inquiry was used to analyze the interview data obtained from twelve first-time, previously infertile mothers. These new mothers, aged 27 to 43 years, were interviewed twice. The first interview focused on eliciting descriptions of new motherhood in the early postpartum period after overcoming infertility. The second interview validated the interpretations from the first interview and provided additional information and reflection. Two main themes emerged that described the early postpartum experience of first-time, previously infertile mothers: 1) Lingering Identity as Infertile; and 2) Gratitude for the Gift of Motherhood. Participants reported that their lingering identity as infertile and immense gratitude for the gift of motherhood propelled them to establish unrealistic expectations to be the perfect mother. When they were unable to live up to being the perfect mother, they censored their feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and shame. Findings from this study sensitize healthcare providers to the difficulties faced by previously infertile women during their transition to motherhood.

This thesis explores the dynamics of narrative production and contestation within individuals’ stories and the collective stories of the communities in which they live. The research is focused on trying to understand the relationship between public stories constructed about place and community, and the stories told by the inhabitants of those places. A case study in the city of Bradford provides a focus for inquiry. A qualitative research design is utilised, combining theory with primary data collection and analysis. A narrative analysis of national, academic and local stories about Bradford is used to disaggregate collective narratives of the city and explore the relationship between popular, political and academic discourses. It provides a context for the analysis of in-depth interviews with a range of inhabitants from a selected geographic area within Bradford, centred on how their individual stories relate to the identified collective stories of Bradford. Analysis of the fieldwork data shows that individuals are often engaged in complex negotiations of public discourse in ways that may reinforce and contest existing stories, but also complement them with parallel stories that neither reinforce nor contest but construct a different narrative. It reveals and reflects on apparent contradictions within everyday storytelling, for example, how nostalgia can be displayed about harsh times of socio-economic decline, or how attitudes to change over time can be variably positive and negative depending both on the speakers’ positioning of themselves and of the interviewer, and the speakers’ purpose in the interaction.

15 miljoner barn föds för tidigt i hela världen, i Sverige handlar det om ungefär 6000 barn per år. Att få barn för tidigt påverkar föräldrar och väcker olika känslor hos dem. Föräldrarna behöver kunna hantera oro och ångest kring barnets hälsotillstånd för att kunna ta emot den nya medlemmen i familjen. Föräldrarna bör kunna vara med i barnets omvårdnad. Sjuksköterskor ska eftersträva att jobba familjecentrerat och ge möjlighetför föräldrar att utveckla sitt föräldraskap. Syftet med denna litteraturstudie är att belysa föräldrars upplevelser av att få ett tidigt fött barn som vårdas på en neonatalvårdsavdelning. Studien inkluderar nio artiklar med kvalitativ ansats. Dataanalysen utmynnade till fyra huvudteman med nio tillhörande subteman. Resultatet visar att föräldrar kan känna både chock, rädsla och ledsenhet men även hopp och glädje vid födseln av det prematura barnet. Dessutom visar resultatet att föräldrar uppleverolika hinder mot anknytning. Resultatet beskriver föräldrars behov av stöd från medförälder, omvårdnadspersonal, andra släktningar. Det framkom även att föräldrar som är troende hade lättare att förhålla sig till situationen. Även föräldrars tankar och känslor inför hemgång varierade beroende på information och handledning de fick från sjuksköterskor innan utskrivning. I diskussionen problematiseras huvudfynd frånresultaten som är relevanta för sjuksköterskans roll och hur god vård kan ges. Delaktighet, kommunikation och tydlig information är av stor betydelse för att kunna öka föräldrars välbefinnande. / 15 million infants in the whole world, about 6000 i Sweden, are born prematurely every year. Having an infant earlier than expected affects parents and awakens different feelings. For the parents to welcome the new member of the family, they must be able to handle their worries and fears about the infant’s health status. Parents must be able to be part of their child´s care. Nurses should strive to work having the whole family in focus and give the parents opportunity to develop their parenthood. The goal of this literature review is to illuminate parents´ lived experience of having a premature infant in the neonatal care unit. Nine articles with qualitative design are included in this literature review. The data analysis resulted into four main themes and nine subthemes. The result shows the parents´ lived experience of shock, fear, and sadness as well as hope and gladness with the birth of the premature child. Furthermore, the result shows the different hinder to parent-child connection. The result describes parents´ experience of support from different sources – co-parent, health care workers, other relatives, and friends. It also shows that parents who are religious found it easier to hold on during that time. Parents´ thoughts and feelings also varied depending on the information and guidance they got from the nurses. Main findings that are relevant for nurses´ roll and how good healthcare can be given are further described in the discussion. Parent involvement, communication and accurate information are important in promoting parents´ wellbeing.

No description available.