<p>Uncertainty is a well-known phenomenon that is recurring in biographies, imaginative literature and science, but is less studied in nursing science. The aim of this participatory action research project was to, in collaboration with nursing students; explore nursing activities for relieving patients’ uncertainty. A qualitative approach was chosen with focus groups and the text was content analyzed. The students studied their third semester on a nursing program. The findings showed two different kinds of uncertainty, existential uncertainty and care evoked uncertainty. Relieving uncertainty showed to be a process in three steps. The first step is to reach deeper understanding of what uncertainty is and how it affects patients. The second step is to develop sensibility for how to discover uncertainty and the third step is to use uncertainty relieving strategies. To do this requires courage and a wish to share power with the patient. The strategies for relieving existential and care evoked uncertainty differed.</p>

Uncertainty is a well-known phenomenon that is recurring in biographies, imaginative literature and science, but is less studied in nursing science. The aim of this participatory action research project was to, in collaboration with nursing students; explore nursing activities for relieving patients’ uncertainty. A qualitative approach was chosen with focus groups and the text was content analyzed. The students studied their third semester on a nursing program. The findings showed two different kinds of uncertainty, existential uncertainty and care evoked uncertainty. Relieving uncertainty showed to be a process in three steps. The first step is to reach deeper understanding of what uncertainty is and how it affects patients. The second step is to develop sensibility for how to discover uncertainty and the third step is to use uncertainty relieving strategies. To do this requires courage and a wish to share power with the patient. The strategies for relieving existential and care evoked uncertainty differed.

abstract: The sacred San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona have been at the center of a series of land development controversies since the 1800s. Most recently, a controversy arose over a proposal by the ski area on the Peaks to use 100% reclaimed water to make artificial snow. The current state of the San Francisco Peaks controversy would benefit from a decision-making process that holds sustainability policy at its core. The first step towards a new sustainability-focused deliberative process regarding a complex issue like the San Francisco Peaks controversy requires understanding the issue's origins and the perspectives of the people involved in the issue. My thesis provides an historical analysis of the controversy and examines some of the laws and participatory mechanisms that have shaped the decision-making procedures and power structures from the 19th century to the early 21st century. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Sustainability 2011