Afraid of Medical Care Forsner, Maria; Jansson, Lilian; Söderberg, Anna
Journal of pediatric nursing,
12/2009, Volume:
24, Issue:
6
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Fear can be problematic for children who come into contact with medical care. This study aimed to illuminate the meaning of being afraid when in contact with medical care, as narrated by children ...7–11 years old. Nine children participated in the study, which applied a phenomenological hermeneutic analysis methodology. The children experienced medical care as “being threatened by a monster,” but the possibility of breaking this spell of fear was also mediated. The findings indicate the important role of being emotionally hurt in a child's fear to create, together with the child, an alternate narrative of overcoming this fear.
Person-centered care (PCC) is an acknowledged health care practice involving increased patient influence regarding decisions and deliberation. Research indicates that physiotherapists (PTs) embrace ...patient participation, but that PCC is difficult to grasp and fully implement.
To contribute to knowledge about how PCC influences physiotherapy by eliciting PTs' experiences from the acute care setting, this study aims to describe and illuminate variations in perceptions of PCC during a pre-implementation phase, among PTs in acute hospital care.
Phenomenological approach: individual interviews with PTs in acute care (n = 7) combined with focus group interviews (n = 3).
The analysis yielded two main categories: 1) Physiotherapists perceived a transformed patient role involved in the transition from patient to person; and 2) Physiotherapists perceived a challenged professional role when departing from the expert role, and entailed restrictions to prescribing the best treatment and, instead, meant aiming for a collaborative and equal relationship with the patient.
Although the interviewed PTs embraced PCC in principle, PCC does seem to challenge the professional roles of patient and PT. The findings indicate that theories of power relations need to be considered, and further reflection may facilitate implementation. More research is needed to deepen the knowledge of how PTs perceive PCC during all implementation phases.
Children’s illness has been investigated through the eyes of parents and
nurses but the child’s own perspective has been largely ignored. The aim
of this study is to illuminate the 7-10-year-olds’ ...experiences of being
ill. Three girls and four boys were interviewed and narrated their experience about
short-term illness. The data obtained was subjected to a thematic qualitative
content analysis. The analysis suggests that the children combined reality and
imagination and contrasts seemed to coexist such as being scared/confident, sad/cosy
and hurt/having fun. They felt caught and tried to escape. The experience of illness
as narrated by children can lead to a richer understanding and influence the way we
care for paediatric patients.
Being ill from a child’s perspective has not been often investigated. The
aim of this study was to illuminate the experience of being ill between the ages of
11-18 years. Four girls and one boy who ...were suffering short-term illness were
interviewed and the data obtained subjected to qualitative content analysis. Illness
disrupted their daily lives and made things unrecognizable. Being ill at the age of
11-18 seemed to imply being lost, hurt and in need of comfort from themselves and
others. These narrations may indicate to health care professionals how they can
improve their practice. This study suggests what is appreciated by children of this
age when ill, namely being spoken to and informed about the illness and treatment.
The children valued peace and quiet and wanted to listen to and adjust to their bodies.
The overarching aim of this thesis is to illuminate the experience of illness and the meaning of fear of medical care through children’s narratives. A purposive sample of 22 children and youths, aged ...from 2 to 18 years, narrated through play and conversation their experiences of illness and of their fear of contact with medical care. The data were analysed using thematic qualitative content analysis and the phenomenological hermeneutic method. In childhood, the experience of being ill seems to vary with the child’s age. At the ages of 7 to 10 years, the child’s way of thinking can colour the experience;imagination can produce both problems and opportunities. Children seem to combine imagination and reality, and contrasts in the experience coexist such as being scared/confident, sad/cosy and hurt/having fun. At the age of 11 to 18,being ill seemed to imply being lost, hurt and in need of comfort from themselves and others. Medical care can be frightening to children and what is fearful can differ with age. To a 2-year-old child, medical care seemed to be dangerous; to children aged 7 to 11 years, it seemed threatening, like a monster. To the 2-year-old child, there seemed to be a conflict between, on the one hand, living up to expectations by ‘being good’ and hiding their feelings or, on the other hand, communicating their fear. The narrations by children in the 7–11 year age group, point to the importance of empathy when caring for children, i.e., to be receptive of the child’s fear in order to help the child through and out of the fear. To be afraid for a two-yearold was to have one’s trust broken yet still be searching for a trustful relationship. However, if the child is received along with the fear, this opened up an opportunity for the child to develop courage and to gain control over the fear when under gentle care. The results of this research revealed the possibility of using play to create stories in a creative relationship with the child. To express one’s inner feeling is a gift of trust, a gift of hospitality. Thus when caring for children we can be the ones who are receiving that gift. We can accept the offer of being a guest in the child’s world.
The overarching aim of this thesis is to illuminate the experience of illness and the meaning of fear of medical care through children’s narratives.
A purposive sample of 22 children and youths, aged ...from 2 to 18 years, narrated through play and conversation their experiences of illness and of their fear of contact with medical care. The data were analysed using thematic qualitative content analysis and the phenomenological hermeneutic method.
In childhood, the experience of being ill seems to vary with the child’s age. At the ages of 7 to 10 years, the child’s way of thinking can colour the experience;imagination can produce both problems and opportunities. Children seem to combine imagination and reality, and contrasts in the experience coexist such as being scared/confident, sad/cosy and hurt/having fun. At the age of 11 to 18,being ill seemed to imply being lost, hurt and in need of comfort from themselves and others. Medical care can be frightening to children and what is fearful can differ with age. To a 2-year-old child, medical care seemed to be dangerous; to children aged 7 to 11 years, it seemed threatening, like a monster. To the 2-year-old child, there seemed to be a conflict between, on the one hand, living up to expectations by ‘being good’ and hiding their feelings or, on the other hand, communicating their fear.
The narrations by children in the 7–11 year age group, point to the importance of empathy when caring for children, i.e., to be receptive of the child’s fear in order to help the child through and out of the fear. To be afraid for a two-yearold was to have one’s trust broken yet still be searching for a trustful relationship. However, if the child is received along with the fear, this opened up an opportunity for the child to develop courage and to gain control over the fear when under gentle care.
The results of this research revealed the possibility of using play to create stories in a creative relationship with the child. To express one’s inner feeling is a gift of trust, a gift of hospitality. Thus when caring for children we can be the ones who are receiving that gift. We can accept the offer of being a guest in the child’s world.
Härtill 4 uppsatser
Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Umeå universitet, 2006
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
doctorat en médecine
Medicine doktorsexamen
Doctor medicinae
Aula, Vårdvetarhuset, Umeå
Härtill 4 uppsatser
Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Umeå universitet, 2006
Doctor medicinae
Aula, Vårdvetarhuset, Umeå
The overarching aim of this thesis is to illuminate the experience of illness and the meaning of fear of medical care through children’s narratives.
A purposive sample of 22 children and youths, aged from 2 to 18 years, narrated through play and conversation their experiences of illness and of their fear of contact with medical care. The data were analysed using thematic qualitative content analysis and the phenomenological hermeneutic method.
In childhood, the experience of being ill seems to vary with the child’s age. At the ages of 7 to 10 years, the child’s way of thinking can colour the experience;imagination can produce both problems and opportunities. Children seem to combine imagination and reality, and contrasts in the experience coexist such as being scared/confident, sad/cosy and hurt/having fun. At the age of 11 to 18,being ill seemed to imply being lost, hurt and in need of comfort from themselves and others. Medical care can be frightening to children and what is fearful can differ with age. To a 2-year-old child, medical care seemed to be dangerous; to children aged 7 to 11 years, it seemed threatening, like a monster. To the 2-year-old child, there seemed to be a conflict between, on the one hand, living up to expectations by ‘being good’ and hiding their feelings or, on the other hand, communicating their fear.
The narrations by children in the 7–11 year age group, point to the importance of empathy when caring for children, i.e., to be receptive of the child’s fear in order to help the child through and out of the fear. To be afraid for a two-yearold was to have one’s trust broken yet still be searching for a trustful relationship. However, if the child is received along with the fear, this opened up an opportunity for the child to develop courage and to gain control over the fear when under gentle care.
The results of this research revealed the possibility of using play to create stories in a creative relationship with the child. To express one’s inner feeling is a gift of trust, a gift of hospitality. Thus when caring for children we can be the ones who are receiving that gift. We can accept the offer of being a guest in the child’s world.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
doctorat en médecine
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