Introduction to creative and collaborative approaches to research and practice with a social and criminal justice focus

An introduction to creative and collaborative approaches to research and practice, with a social and criminal justice focus.

Occupational therapy practice and patient/client participation in religious occupations: a scoping review protocol

REVIEW OBJECTIVE

The objective of this scoping review is to identify and map information on how occupational therapists address their clients' perceived and experienced barriers to participation in religious occupations as part of the occupational therapy intervention.Specifically the review questions are.

Employing participatory methods to engage an under-researched group: Opportunities and challenges

In this article, we report on our experience of working on an exploratory project where the primary objective was to involve homeless service users with food-based participatory qualitative approaches. The project FLM aimed to explore food experiences and behaviours in a sample of users of homelessness services in a south west UK coastal city, in order to create solutions to improve their wellbeing. A mixture of qualitative methods was used, including observations, photo-elicitation and focus group discussions. We aimed to be participatory and ‘creative’ in our approach and in our analysis. Here, we focus on detailing and critiquing our approach to the collection and analysis of data.

The diagnosis and lived experience of polycystic ovary syndrome: A qualitative study

AIMS

To explore the impact of the diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome on health/ill health identity, how women experience this diagnosis and their health beliefs.

BACKGROUND

Polycystic ovary syndrome is a common and heterogeneous condition, giving rise to a wide range of different health concerns. Previous research on polycystic ovary syndrome has been dominated by the medical perspective and less is known about the experiences and needs of women.

DESIGN

A qualitative study of 32 premenopausal adult women with polycystic ovary syndrome (diagnosis confirmed by Rotterdam criteria), aged between 18 and 45 years, recruited from a primary and secondary care setting.

METHODS

Thematic analysis of transcripts from 11 focus groups conducted between 2013-2015.

RESULTS/FINDINGS

Women identified a range of concerns affecting personal and reproductive identity, health knowledge and beliefs: (1) delays and barriers to diagnosis; (2) general lack of empathy by the medical profession; (3) difficulty in accessing specialist referral; (4) lack of information from professionals; (5) inconsistent and sometimes unsatisfactory experiences with medications; (6) insufficient help and advice regarding in/fertility; (7) relative lack of awareness or concern about longer term risks such as diabetes; and (8) significant discrepancies between the beliefs of women with polycystic ovary syndrome and how they experienced the attitudes of healthcare professionals.

CONCLUSIONS

There appears to be a divergence between women's experience and attitudes of healthcare professionals. The diagnosis, support and lived experience of women with polycystic ovary syndrome could be enhanced by better professional recognition of these concerns, improved knowledge and communication about polycystic ovary syndrome and better access to support and specialist advice.

Managing a Disrupted Lifecourse: Issues of Identity and Emotion Work

This article draws on the experiences of two groups of people: namely a group of people who have defined, or still define themselves as ‘infertile’ and/or ‘involuntarily childless’, and second, a group of people with cancer who have a terminal prognosis, who may be perceived as dying ‘prematurely’. We start by arguing that ‘infertility’ and/or ‘involuntary childlessness’ and terminal illness have a disruptive effect on daily lives and future expectations, and we are concerned throughout with how this disruption is managed. In particular, we explore how individuals who have experienced such a disruption to their lives manage both their sense of self and the self in relation to others. Within this we are concerned specifically with the emotion work which individuals engage in, and we explore the link between emotion work and lifecourse disruption.

Experiences of fathers shortly after the birth of their preterm infants

OBJECTIVE

To explore the experiences of fathers shortly after the birth of their preterm infants.

DESIGN/METHOD

A focused ethnography conducted over 33 months (2003–2006) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of a large U.K. National Health Trust (NHS) teaching hospital. Data were collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews with fathers (n = 10), and an ethnographic survey distributed to NICU staff (n = 87). Practices and relationships with fathers were concurrently analyzed thematically through the conceptual perspective of emotion work.

FINDINGS

Fathers' emotional reactions to their experiences were described in three themes: emotional withdrawal and control, stereotyping, and mixed feelings. Fathers' emotional behaviors were governed by complex, culturally determined conventions and expectations.

CONCLUSIONS

Fathers engaged in considerable effort to manage their emotions as they attempted to reconcile the tension between what they wanted to feel and what they thought others expected them to feel. The results of this study support the view that focusing on emotional externalities alone tends to underplay the amount of emotion work carried out by less expressive individuals; this "silent emotion work" was characteristic of the fathers in this study.

Raising awareness of polycystic ovary syndrome

AIM

To identify women's experience of receiving information about polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and develop an information booklet.

METHOD

Women from Cornwall with a diagnosis of PCOS participated in focus groups to discuss their experiences of the condition.

FINDINGS

Participants described difficulties in sourcing credible and helpful information about PCOS.

CONCLUSION

A booklet was produced for women with PCOS to improve their knowledge of the condition.

Women with pre-existing diabetes and their experiences of maternity care services

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

the aims of the study were to explore the experience of maternity care services used by women whose pregnancy is complicated by pre-existing diabetes, to gain a deeper understanding of service use and to identify aspects of services that women with pre-existing diabetes would like improved.

BACKGROUND

for women with pre-existing diabetes; pregnancy, birth and the transition to motherhood can be complex and even chaotic. The aim of specialist diabetes care given during pregnancy and delivered by a specialist team of health-care professionals is to optimise pregnancy outcome. However, how health-care professionals within maternity services provide care and support women with pre-existing diabetes during pregnancy and early motherhood has received limited attention.

DESIGN

an exploratory study utilising a grounded theory approach was conducted. Data were collected via in-depth interviews with 20 respondents; one-to-one, dyad and group interviews were undertaken to fully explore issues. Analysis was undertaken by sub-groups of the research team with at least two members working on each of them.

FINDINGS

three themes were identified from interviews: empathic care with care more focused on diabetes not pregnancy; feeling judged by health-care professionals (with nearly all respondents reporting negative encounters of consultation with the specialist team); and the notion of expertise (with respondents reporting feeling frustrated when it seemed health-care professionals did not value their expertise).

CONCLUSIONS

the study emphasised the importance of the health-care relationship for pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes. For outcomes to be optimised women need to be able to form open and trusting relationships with the health-care team.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

this study highlights the need for the health-care team not only to provide physical care to optimise outcome but also supportive care to assist women with pregnancies complicated by diabetes to achieve the best possible physical and emotional health and well-being.

Mother/daughter relationships during pregnancy and the transition to motherhood of women with pre-existing diabetes: raising some issues

In pregnancies complicated by pre-existing diabetes, there is a higher incidence of adverse pregnancy outcome. Several reports including the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health, Diabetes in Pregnancy--are we providing the best care? (2007) highlighted the need for family involvement before/during pregnancy and in early motherhood with the aim of making pregnancy and the transition to motherhood a positive and fulfilling experience. Exploring the midwifery, sociological and diabetes literature may assist in gaining a better understanding of the complexities surrounding conception, pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood within the context of diabetes.

Conceiving Time? Women who do or do not conceive

This article explores the importance of time for an understanding of women's experiences of reproductive identity. In order to do this we draw on data from two separate qualitative research projects. The first project is concerned with the experiences of conception, pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood in primagravidae, whilst the second focuses on the experiences of individuals (especially women) who defined themselves (at the time of the fieldwork, or some time previously) as 'involuntarily childless' and/or 'infertile'. These two areas are usually treated as separate; this article, however, explores similarities between them in terms of time and medicalisation. Our central concern, then, is with exploring the similarities of experience for women who do or do not conceive.

Whose choice is it anyway? Decision making, control and conception

Contemporary societies in the developed world are characterized by the expectation that women wish to and are able to control their experiences of fertility. Changes in medical technology and advances in reproductive medicine have played an important role in strengthening this expectation, together with other changes, such as the availability of free contraception. However, this article draws on data from two qualitative sociological research projects which demonstrate that women's expectations of reproductive choice and control are not always realized. Women's experiences of fertility are mediated by a dominant discourse which assumes that women both want and will achieve biological motherhood. The data indicate that women actively 'try' to achieve conception with the expectation that this is both controllable and easy. In some instances this seems to be the case, but many women soon realize that achieving conception is sometimes problematic or, indeed, impossible. This article concludes by arguing that although women may wish to control their experiences of fertility, their expectations of choice and control are frequently an illusion.