The study investigated the experiences of formal caregivers within a community setting, and the emotional experiences of the individual caregiver. There is insufficient research into the subjective experiences and perceived role of the formal caregiver, as previous studies have concentrated on quantifying the role of the family or informal caregiver. Eleven interviews were conducted with participants from a community-based palliative care institution. The interviews explored areas of interest that surround caregiving, considering both the positive and negative factors that caregivers consider influential within the emotional experience, as well as the role of a formal caregiver. The study investigated the emotional challenges, motivations, support mechanisms and the perceived effectiveness of the coping strategies employed. The data was analysed through thematic content analysis, allowing for the selection of the most salient themes and subthemes, which converged around notions of caregiving and the positive and the negative elements within the caregiving experience of formal caregivers. The data was considered in relation to an interpretative phenomenological perspective, which allowed for the contextualisation and interpretation of the knowledge obtained through the study, and the augmentation of this knowledge with the knowledge already existing in the field of caregiving. The themes were able to provide an understanding of how caregivers construct their role as a formal caregiver, in comparison to the informal caregiver, and their perception of the importance of formal knowledge within caregiving. The themes also provided an understanding of the coping mechanisms and the contextual factors that interrelate with a caregiver’s ability to manage the difficulties within caregiving and their emotional reactions. These findings illustrated that community-based caregiving, although subject to significantly more stressors, also has significant positive aspects that could be fostered to operate as protective mechanisms.

Thesis advisor: Rosanna F. DeMarco / The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experience and meanings of percutaneous injury (PI) and its aftermath among US registered nurses. An interpretive phenomenological approach was utilized to carry out the study which included nine percutaneous injury experiences. Van Manen's existential framework was used as a reflective guide. Findings from this study emerged as three essential themes which were common to all participants: being shocked: the potential of a serious or life-threatening infection; needing to know it's going to be okay; and sensing vulnerability. The first theme, <italic>being shocked</italic>, was identified as the primary mode of living with the sudden occurrence of PI. In the moment of injury, participants' language reflected shock and an immediate consciousness of the potential threat of a serious or life-threatening infection. Nurses' responses were visceral and emotional. All acted on their need to reduce foreign blood contamination and the urgency they felt for immediate care. <italic>Needing to know it's going to be okay</italic> represented the initial meaning of living in the aftermath of PI as nurses assessed their risk and sought post exposure intervention and caring responses from others. <italic>Sensing vulnerability</italic> was identified as the secondary mode of living in the aftermath of PI as participants reflected on the fragile nature of health into the future, distinguished between supportive vs. non-supportive relationships in their overall PI experience, and identified the need to be vigilant in the future with respect to their health, life and PI prevention. Together, these three essential themes and their dimensions represent the essence and meanings of percutaneous injury and its aftermath for at least one group of US registered nurses. Findings in this study support the conclusion that the lived experience of PIs and its aftermath imposed a significant psychological burden on nurses. These findings offer a better understanding of the essence and meanings of PI and its aftermath and contribute knowledge to inform nursing education, nursing practice, health policy and future research. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Connell School of Nursing. / Discipline: Nursing.

The landscape of cancer care is evolving and as a result nursing care continues to develop and respond to the changing needs of oncology patients and their families. There is a paucity of qualitative research examining the experience of being an oncology nurse on an inpatient unit. Therefore, a qualitative study using an interpretive phenomenological approach has been undertaken to discover the lived experience of being an oncology nurse. In-depth tape recorded interviews has been conducted with six oncology nurses who worked on two adult inpatient oncology units. Van Manen’s (1990) interpretive phenomenological approach has been used to analyze the data by subjecting the transcripts to an analysis both line by line and as a whole. The overarching theme of the interviews is: Investing to Make a Difference. The themes that reflect this overarching theme are: Caring for the Whole Person, Being an Advocate, Walking a Fine Line, and Feeling Like You are Part of Something Good. Oncology nurses provide care for their patients through a holistic lens that further enhances how they come to know their patients. Over time, relationships with patients and families develop and these nurses share that balancing the emotional aspects of their work is key in being able to continue to invest in their work and in these relationships. Their investment is further evident as oncology nurses continuously update their knowledge, for example, of treatment regimes, medication protocols, and as they champion their patients wishes and needs. As nurses develop their own identities as oncology nurses, they in turn enhance the team with their emerging skill and knowledge. These research findings serve to acknowledge the meaning of oncology nurses’ work and inform the profession’s understanding of what it means to be an oncology nurse.

Although research has shown that mental-health stigma can impact an individual’s well-being, little is known about who perpetrates suicide stigma. Moreover, anticipation of stigma could impact whether individuals disclose their suicidal experiences; yet, little is known about suicide disclosure and how family members’ reactions play a role in subsequent mental health. To address these gaps, three studies were designed to examine how stigma, suicide disclosure, and family reaction impact subsequent mental health of attempt survivors and those who have experience suicidal ideation. Individuals who had previously experienced suicidal ideation or a previous suicide attempt (n = 156) were recruited through the American Association of Suicidology. Results indicated that attempt survivors were more likely to experience stigma from non-mental health providers and social network members than from mental health providers. A hierarchical standard regression model including both source and type of stigma accounted for more variance (ΔR2 = .08) in depression symptomology than a model with only type of stigma. Results from respondents who had experienced a nonfatal suicide attempt in the past 10 years (n = 74) indicated that family reaction mediated the relationship between suicide disclosure and depression symptoms (B = -4.83, 95% BCa CI [-11.67, -1.33]). Higher rates of disclosure statistically predicted more positive family reactions (B = 4.81, p = .013) and more positive family reactions statistically predicted less severe depression symptoms (B = -1.00, p = .002). Interpretive phenomenological techniques were used to analyze follow-up interviews (n = 40) with attempt survivors. Individuals’ reactions to suicide disclosure offered insight for attempt survivors’ regarding their place in society. More specifically, reactions impacted the degrees to which attempt survivors felt that they belonged within their social group and whether they were a burden to their loved ones. Given these results, the potential contributions of family scientists to the field of suicidology are examined. Specifically, researchers have primarily examined suicide as an individual phenomenon; family scientists are ideally suited for examining the family’s role after an attempt occurs. However, family science must also make the transition to viewing suicide as a family experience.

Cerebral vascular accidents (CVAs) rank as the third leading cause of death in Canada with more than 50,000 of these events occurring annually. The evidence base from which to provide end-of- life care to patients dying from a CVA is currently limited, and there is a dearth of research examining the experiences of nurses charged with the responsibility of caring for these patients. In order to begin to address this gap in the literature, a qualitative study, using van Manen’s interpretive phenomenology was conducted to examine and describe the lived experiences of nurses working on an acute neurosciences unit in a tertiary hospital. Nine nurses were interviewed initially, and two nurses participated in follow-up interviews to confirm the interpretation of the data. This manuscript will discuss the essence of nurses’ lived experience in caring for these patients, as well as implications for education, practice, and future research.

Cerebral vascular accidents (CVAs) rank as the third leading cause of death in Canada with more than 50,000 of these events occurring annually. The evidence base from which to provide end-of- life care to patients dying from a CVA is currently limited, and there is a dearth of research examining the experiences of nurses charged with the responsibility of caring for these patients. In order to begin to address this gap in the literature, a qualitative study, using van Manen’s interpretive phenomenology was conducted to examine and describe the lived experiences of nurses working on an acute neurosciences unit in a tertiary hospital. Nine nurses were interviewed initially, and two nurses participated in follow-up interviews to confirm the interpretation of the data. This manuscript will discuss the essence of nurses’ lived experience in caring for these patients, as well as implications for education, practice, and future research.

La littérature en knowledge management a connu une croissance exponentielle depuis quelques années, elle aborde une grande variété de sujets. Néanmoins, les travaux de recherche sur les gestionnaires en charge de mettre en place et de gérer la démarche de knowledge management sont très peu nombreux. Dans le tournant pratique (practice turn) apparu dans la théorie sociale et récemment mobilisé dans la littérature en gestion, la notion d’intentionnalité de l’acteur occupe une place dominante, alors que les pratiques pourraient être lus comme la résultante accidentelle de conditions et transformations de pratiques et discours antérieurs. Afin de contribuer à combler ces manques dans la littérature, mon travail de thèse porte sur la vie des knowledge managers dans une entreprise multinationale. Il s'agit de comprendre la nature de l’action que ces knowledge managers déploient pour parvenir à accomplir leurs missions dans un contexte organisationnel à la fois contraignant et facilitant où le KM doit se construire une place au sein des préoccupations quotidiennes multiples des dirigeants et des salariés. Cette recherche s’inspire du pragmatisme de Dewey. La méthode de recherche, construite à partir des travaux de Benner (1994) et van Manen (1990) qui sont ancrés dans la méthodologie de la phénoménologie interprétative, s’appuie sur des entretiens de type récits de pratique. Les participants à notre recherche sont sept knowledge managers dans un multinational. Ils sont localisés dans de différent pays, en France, en Autriche, au Canada, et en Chine. Avec chaque participant, nous avons fait deux entretiens approfondis de deux heures. L’analyse se fait en deux temps. Dans un premier temps, une analyse thématique permet d’identifier les points communs dans les expériences vécues par les knowledge managers. Elle nous conduit à proposer une image qui sert de fil rouge à notre analyse. Dans un deuxième temps, chaque expérience est analysée comme un paradigme c'est-à-dire une « façon d’être » un knowledge manager. La principale particularité du knowledge management est le fait que c’est une nouvelle fonction, qui n’a pas une place déjà marquée dans la vie de l’entreprise. Cette absence de territoire est une des principales réalités affrontées par les knowledge managers, qui doivent « faire avec » cette absence de territoire et tenter de trouver une place pour la fonction knowledge management. Cette particularité nous conduit à envisager les knowledge managers comme des « rafteurs », pratiquant le canoë-kayak en eaux vives. La rivière, ses obstacles et son puissant courant, renvoie au contexte organisationnel difficile pour les knowledge managers. Les knowledge managers tels des rafteurs, sont emportés par le courant qui les fait avancer et menacés par les obstacles. Ils se battent pour empêcher le bateau d’être renversé. Ils agissent pour éviter les obstacles et tirer le meilleur parti du courant. Les actions des knowledge managers peuvent être classées en trois catégories : intentionnelles, émergentes et contraintes. La dimension intentionnelle correspond à des actions de marketing interne. La dimension émergente peut être envisagée comme la recherche d’îlots de stabilité au milieu de la rivière. La fonction knowledge management cherche ainsi à trouver sa place en s’intégrant à des processus déjà existants au sein de l’organisation. La dimension contrainte est la nécessaire recherche de soutien que les knowledge managers doivent trouver pour mener à bien leur travail. De plus, nous avons identifié trois catégories de knowledge managers en fonction de leur capacité à faire avec l’absence de territoire de la fonction knowledge management. Parmi les sept knowledge managers, un a décidé de renoncer au poste du fait des difficultés, quatre sont toujours en train de se battre avec les obstacles et le puissant courrant pour obtenir une place dans la vie de l’organisation, et deux ont obtenu un certains succès. / Inspired by the lack of research on the practices of knowledge managers in the literature and the existing dominance of the building mode in strategy-as-practice research, this thesis has two attempts. One is to examine how the knowledge managers, as strategizing practitioners, do their job via intentional doing and practical coping in their particular context. Another is to understand how knowledge managers, as strategizing practitioners, live in their position. To develop an investigation framework, this thesis relies on the pragmatic theory of John Dewey, especially his perspective on the transactional relationship between man and the environment. The empirical investigation is carried out based on the six inter-related procedures put forward by van Manen (1990), which are in line with the spirit of hermeneutic phenomenology. Seven knowledge managers of a multinational, who work in different countries, including France, Austria, China, and Canada, were interviewed during two sessions of two hours. The interviews are semi-structured. The interpretation process relies on the model proposed by Benner (1994), which performs cross-case thematic analysis to show the common threads between the stories of the knowledge managers, and studies the paradigm cases using withincase analysis to understand the individuality of each story. Exemplars are used to convey the different aspects of the themes and paradigm cases presented. Validity is enhanced by internal verification and testing of interpretive description, craftsmanship quality (Kvale, 1996), and a validation of findings by the participant. An “audit trail” (Koch, 1994) is kept to help the reader follow the rationale of the researcher’s interpretations. The analysis reveals that the main particularity of knowledge management is that it is a new function. The knowledge managers have to build a place for the knowledge management function through a strategizing process to gain acceptance. The knowledge managers can be compared with the rafters on an angry river, with the river indicating the organizational context, and the rafting representing the strategizing process. The knowledge managers, as the rafters, are carried on as well as endangered by the current. They fight to protect their inflatable boat from sinking by trying to avoid the obstacles and taking advantage of what is useful for them on the river. From the cross-case thematic analysis, the strategizing actions, undertaken by the knowledge managers, are grouped into three categories: intentional, emergent, and constraint-responding. They are labelled marketing, island-finding, and force-building, respectively. From the paradigm-case analysis, the knowledge managers are divided into three groups based on their capability to survive the turbulent organizational context and build a territory for the knowledge management function. Among the seven knowledge manager, one has decided to give up the position, four are still struggling with the obstacles and the powerful current to obtain a place within the organizational life, and two have achieved certain success. They are named the defeated, the struggling, and the contented, respectively.

The Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) approach is a sport psychology programme aimed at performance development in athletes. This study set out to gain an understanding of how adolescent equestrian athletes experienced this programme, using an in-depth qualitative approach called interpretive phenomenology analysis (IPA). Four equestrians, three females and one male, ranging in age from 16 to 18 years, completed an experiential learning-based programme over a two-day period. Semi-structured interviews were subsequently conducted with each participant to gain an understanding of their experience of the programme in terms of (1) their learning regarding the programme; (2) possible application of the learning to equestrian sport; and (3) possible transference of the learning to other areas of their lives. The interviews were transcribed and analysed according to the principles of IPA and the findings pertaining to each participant are discussed in terms of the most significant themes identified during the interviews. The concluding chapter discusses both the common and the unique findings obtained from the participants’ accounts in relation to the existing literature. The findings of this study highlight the importance of the partnership between equine and human when applying MAC in equestrian sport and also illustrate the applicability of MAC, not only in equestrian sport, but also in other areas of an adolescent’s life. This project contributes to sport psychology since it is the first qualitative study describing the experiences of adolescent equestrians regarding the MAC approach. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / Psychology / MA / Unrestricted

The landscape of cancer care is evolving and as a result nursing care continues to develop and respond to the changing needs of oncology patients and their families. There is a paucity of qualitative research examining the experience of being an oncology nurse on an inpatient unit. Therefore, a qualitative study using an interpretive phenomenological approach has been undertaken to discover the lived experience of being an oncology nurse. In-depth tape recorded interviews has been conducted with six oncology nurses who worked on two adult inpatient oncology units. Van Manen’s (1990) interpretive phenomenological approach has been used to analyze the data by subjecting the transcripts to an analysis both line by line and as a whole. The overarching theme of the interviews is: Investing to Make a Difference. The themes that reflect this overarching theme are: Caring for the Whole Person, Being an Advocate, Walking a Fine Line, and Feeling Like You are Part of Something Good. Oncology nurses provide care for their patients through a holistic lens that further enhances how they come to know their patients. Over time, relationships with patients and families develop and these nurses share that balancing the emotional aspects of their work is key in being able to continue to invest in their work and in these relationships. Their investment is further evident as oncology nurses continuously update their knowledge, for example, of treatment regimes, medication protocols, and as they champion their patients wishes and needs. As nurses develop their own identities as oncology nurses, they in turn enhance the team with their emerging skill and knowledge. These research findings serve to acknowledge the meaning of oncology nurses’ work and inform the profession’s understanding of what it means to be an oncology nurse.

For the past three decades performance development in sport has been steered by traditional Psychological Skills Training (PST) programmes. However, in the last decade, the Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) approach to performance development in sport has been introduced. To date, there is limited research on the MAC approach and there are currently no published studies in South Africa. The goal of this study was to explore the participant’s experiences of the MAC programme with reference to what they learnt through the programme, how they applied their learning to their swimming and how they transferred their learning to their lives. This study is an Interpretive Phenomenological view of five adolescent swimmers (two female and three male) at the High Performance Centre (hpc), in South Africa (SA). The participants partook in a one-day swimmingspecific MAC programme and thereafter, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants. An interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used for analysing the data gained from the interviews. The findings indicate that the participants had experiences which were consistent, inconsistent or unique in relation to the literature review. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lk2014 / Psychology / MA / Unrestricted