Scholars who research phenomena of concern to the discipline of nursing are challenged with making wise choices about different qualitative research approaches. Ultimately, they want to choose an ...approach that is best suited to answer their research questions. Such choices are predicated on having made distinctions between qualitative methodology, methods, and analytic frames. In this article, we distinguish two qualitative research approaches widely used for descriptive studies: descriptive phenomenological and qualitative description. Providing a clear basis that highlights the distinguishing features and similarities between descriptive phenomenological and qualitative description research will help students and researchers make more informed choices in deciding upon the most appropriate methodology in qualitative research. We orient the reader to distinguishing features and similarities associated with each approach and the kinds of research questions descriptive phenomenological and qualitative description research address.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a prevalent and debilitating condition that is significantly underdiagnosed. The majority of adults sleep with someone-a partner. Partners can play a significant role ...in the patient's OSA diagnosis. The goal of this work is to describe facilitators and barriers to OSA diagnosis as discussed by patients with OSA and their partners.
This was a qualitative secondary analysis with results drawn from 20 dyadic interviews, conducted 1 couple at a time, in 20 newly diagnosed adult patients with OSA and their partners. Qualitative interview data were analyzed using conventional content analysis.
Facilitators of OSA diagnosis were partners pushing patients to seek care, patients actively seeking care, and care providers identifying the patient's risk of OSA. Barriers to OSA diagnosis were patients' lack of serious attention to symptoms, patients' negative perceptual framing of diagnosis and treatment of OSA, and poor coordination of health care services.
We recommend engaging partners in the OSA diagnosis and developing educational and behavioral interventions to raise public awareness about OSA. It is important to educate clinicians on atypical presentations of OSA. Further investigation is needed to evaluate the impact of health care services on OSA diagnosis.
Ye L, Li W, Willis DG. Facilitators and barriers to getting obstructive sleep apnea diagnosed: perspectives from patients and their partners.
. 2022;18(3):835-841.
Although public awareness is increasing in regard to the realities of child sexual abuse (CSA) for boys, male survivors often delay disclosure of the abuse for years or even decades. Little is known ...about the factors that impede or obstruct disclosure for sexually abused boys/men. Because disclosure is often a prerequisite to help-seeking and accessing resources for healing, the purpose of this study was to identify barriers to disclosure of CSA for male survivors. Using content analysis, the researchers conducted a secondary analysis of data obtained from a large, nonclinical sample of men with histories of CSA (N = 460) who completed an online survey. The data analyzed in this study included responses to an open-ended item on disclosure barriers. Our analyses identified 10 categories of barriers that were classified into 3 domains: sociopolitical (e.g., masculinity, limited resources), interpersonal (e.g., mistrust of others, abuser factors), and personal (e.g., internal emotions, naming the experience as sexual abuse). Based on our results, these domains were distinct yet interrelated. The implications for policy, clinical practice, and future research are discussed.
The World Health Organization estimates that 1.13 billion people worldwide have hypertension. Although pharmaceutical management of blood pressure is available, there are reasons why people prefer ...not to take medications including costs, adverse effects, and lack of access. Nonpharmacological healthy lifestyle methods are needed. One alternative method is transcendental meditation (TM).
The purpose of this study was to quantitatively synthesize the effects of TM on blood pressure. In addition, we examined the moderator effects of participant, methods, and intervention characteristics.
We searched 19 electronic databases without date restrictions to March 2021 including the gray literature and specific journals for primary studies evaluating TM to reduce blood pressure in adults and written in English. We coded primary studies for 5 categories (source, method, intervention, participant characteristics, and outcomes).
Across 18 primary studies (N = 1207), TM mildly improved systolic blood pressure by -3.3 mm Hg (P = .025) and diastolic blood pressure by -1.8 mm Hg (P = .008) compared with comparison groups, but the effects waned after 3 months. Transcendental meditation reduced systolic blood pressure in samples that were 65 years and older significantly more than in samples that were younger than 65 years (-1.44 vs -9.87, P = .021) but showed no differential effect on diastolic blood pressure.
Transcendental meditation mildly reduced blood pressure, but the effect waned after 3 months. Adults older than 65 years benefited more than younger adults. Transcendental meditation might be recommended as one aspect of a healthy lifestyle.
Fundamental patterns of knowing in nursing have historically served to clarify the substance and structure of the discipline, significantly contributing to nursing's body of knowledge. In this ...article, we continue the scholarly conversation on patterns of knowing in nursing by advancing spiritual knowing as a pattern of knowing that helps advance nursing's agenda toward universal well-being and critical during this time toward interdisciplinarity. Implications for nursing are explored in relation to enduring and new questions that require our attention related to human beings, their environments, and healing.
Anumber of articles in the nursing literature discuss the differences between descriptive and interpretive approaches to doing phenomenology. A review of studies demonstrates, however, that many ...researchers do not articulate which approach guides the study, nor do they identify the philosophical assumptions on which the study is based. Such lack of clarity makes it difficult for the reader to obtain a sense of how the knowledge produced by the study is to be evaluated and used. In this article, the authors compare the philosophical components of descriptive and interpretive approaches to doing phenomenology and illustrate types of knowledge produced by each through reviewing specific studies. They focus on the various uses of phenomenology in generating useful knowledge for health care practice.
Keywords:
qualitative; hermeneutic; critical theory; Husserl; Heidegger; existentialism; phenomenology
A phenomenon of interest for nursing is the facilitation of humanistic health care experiences and quality of life (Willis, Grace, & Roy,
2008
). Inquiry into the concept of thriving as it manifests ...in the older adult residing in long-term care aligns with this interest. Thriving has been described by scholars in various disciplines but no context-specific definition for the LTC resident currently exists. Contrary to the generally held negative view of LTC, there is emerging evidence that older adult LTC residents "do well" or thrive in this environment.
The purpose of a practice discipline's terminal degree is to develop wise scholars to guide the profession in anticipating and meeting the health-related needs of those served via philosophical, ...conceptual/theoretical, and empirical inquiry on behalf of professional practice. Each of these dimensions is important for the discipline's ability to meet its obligations to society. However, contemporary circumstances have created a context within which the maturation of the profession may be threatened by an imbalance among the three dimensions of PhD education. Specifically, we discuss the possibility of a tilt toward the empirical at the expense of the other two. Yet, the philosophical and conceptual/theoretical dimensions are those that have permitted core disciplinary knowledge to be developed. We aim to create a dialog about current challenges and the responsibilities of the discipline's scholars for stewardship of the discipline and offer some strategies to ensure balance among the three equally important dimensions.
BACKGROUND:
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.) identifies key features of binge eating (BE) to include the consumption of a large amount of food and the perception of ...loss of control (LOC) over eating during a distinct episode. While earlier research has focused on food consumption, findings are now emerging on the role of LOC associated with the BE episodes, particularly in women. However, it is unclear that these findings are applicable to men without knowing how men experience LOC associated with BE.
AIMS:
This study examined how college-age men describe LOC associated with BE.
METHOD:
Previously collected qualitative data from a study examining BE in college age-students were used to examine responses from 53 men (mean age 19.9 ± 1.1 SD years). Respondents were asked about their individual experiences of LOC associated with BE episodes. Data were analyzed using content analysis.
RESULTS:
Four categories emerged from the data: (1) keep eating, (2) can’t stop, (3) without thinking, and (4) food so good.
CONCLUSIONS:
Findings extend the current understanding of LOC associated with BE in men and point to potential gender differences, and/or weight influences, based on previous reports. Identified categories may be potentially targeted areas for tailored therapy to enhance awareness and self-regulation of BE behavior.
