Being Healthy: a Grounded Theory Study of Help Seeking Behaviour among Chinese Elders living in the UK

The health of older people is a priority in many countries as the world’s population ages. Attitudes towards help seeking behaviours in older people remain a largely unexplored field of research. This is particularly true for older minority groups where the place that they have migrated to presents both cultural and structural challenges. The UK, like other countries,has an increasingly aging Chinese population about who relatively little is known. This study used a qualitative grounded theory design following the approach of Glaser (1978). Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 33 Chinese elders who were aged between 60 and 84, using purposive and theoretical sampling approaches. Data were analysed using the constant comparative method until data saturation occurred and a substantive theory was generated. ‘Being healthy’ (the core category) with four interrelated categories: self-management, normalizing/minimizing, access to health services, and being cured form the theory. The theory was generated around the core explanations provided by participants and Chinese elders’ concerns about health issues they face in their daily life. We also present data about how they direct their health-related activities towards meeting their physical and psychological goals of being healthy. Their differential understanding of diseases and a lack of information about health services were potent predictors of non�help seeking and ‘self’ rather than medical management of their illnesses. This study highlights the need for intervention and health support for Chinese elders

Compressible flow structures interaction with a two-dimensional ejector: a cold-flow study

An experimental study has been conducted to examine the interaction of compressible flow structures such as shocks and vortices with a two-dimensional ejector geometry using a shock-tube facility. Three diaphragm pressure ratios ofP4 =P1 = 4, 8, and 12 have been employed, whereP4 is the driver gas pressure andP1 is the pressure within the driven compartment of the shock tube. These lead to incident shock Mach numbers of Ms = 1:34, 1.54, and 1.66, respectively. The length of the driver section of the shock tube was 700 mm. Air was used for both the driver and driven gases. High-speed shadowgraphy was employed to visualize the induced flowfield. Pressure measurements were taken at different locations along the test section to study theflow quantitatively. The induced flow is unsteady and dependent on the degree of compressibility of the initial shock wave generated by the rupture of the diaphragm

Bearing witness and being bounded; the experiences of nurses in adult critical care in relation to the survivorship needs of patients and families

Aim: To discern and understand the responses of nurses to the survivorship needs of patients and family members in adult critical care units. Background: The critical care environment is a demanding place of work which may limit nurses to immediacy of care, such is the proximity to death and the pressure of work. Design: A constructivist grounded theory approach with constant comparative analysis. Methods: As part of a wider study and following ethical approval, eleven critical care nurses working within a general adult critical care unit were interviewed with respect to their experiences in meeting the psychosocial needs of patients and family members. Through the process of constant comparative analysis an overarching selective code was constructed. EQUATOR guidelines for qualitative research (COREQ) applied. Results: The data illuminated a path of developing expertise permitting integration of physical, psychological and family care with technology and humanity. Gaining such proficiency is demanding and the data presented reveals the challenges that nurses experience along the way. Conclusion: The study confirms that working within a critical care environment is an emotionally charged challenge and may incur an emotional cost. Nurses can find themselves bounded by the walls of the critical care unit and experience personal and professional conflicts in their role. Nurses bear witness to the early stages of the survivorship trajectory but are limited in their support of ongoing needs. Relevance to Clinical Practice: Critical care nurses can experience personal and professional conflicts when caring for both patients and families. This can lead to moral distress and may contribute to compassion fatigue. Critical care nurses appear bounded to the delivery of physiological and technical care, in the moment, as demanded by the patient's acuity. Consequentially this limits nurses’ ability to support the onward survivorship trajectory. Increased pressure and demands on critical care beds has contributed further to occupational stress in this care setting

Capturing the essence of grounded theory: the importance of understanding commonalities and variants

This paper aims to capture the essence of grounded theory (GT) by setting out its commonalities and variants and, importantly, the implications of the latter for the implementation of the former, and for the truth claims and the contributions to knowledge that a GT study might make. Firstly, three ontological and epistemological variants of GT are outlined. Secondly, the commonalities of GT are set out as eight core elements of GT methodology that are individually necessary, but only sufficient collectively, to define a GT study. These elements are: an iterative process; theoretical sampling; theoretical sensitivity; codes, memos and concepts; constant comparison; theoretical saturation; fit, work, relevance and modifiability; and substantive theory. Thirdly, the implications of the ontological and epistemological variants of GT for, firstly, the implementation of the core common elements of the methodology and, secondly, the truth claims and contributions to knowledge that might be made, are discussed. Finally, the paper concludes by arguing that published GT studies in sport, exercise and health research have not always explicitly demonstrated a full understand of the commonalities and variants of GT, and that researchers publishing GT studies must take responsibility for doing this

Tube Width Fluctuations in F-Actin Solutions

We determine the statistics of the local tube width in F-actin solutions, beyond the usually reported mean value. Our experimental observations are explained by a segment fluid theory based on the binary collision approximation (BCA). In this systematic generalization of the standard mean-field approach effective polymer segments interact via a potential representing the topological constraints. The analytically predicted universal tube width distribution with a stretched tail is in good agreement with the data.Comment: Final version, 5 pages, 4 figure

Development and evaluation of an intervention to improve further education students' understanding of higher education assessment criteria: three studies

Three studies about helping Further Education students prepare for study at universityThis paper reports three studies about preparing Further Education (FE) students for the transition to Higher Education (HE) by improving their understanding of HE assessment criteria. In study 1, students and tutors in both FE and HE were interviewed for a qualitative analysis of their understandings and expectations about assessment criteria. In study 2, students in FE and HE completed questionnaires measuring self-rated understanding and ability about assessment criteria, and beliefs about essay writing. Studies 1 and 2 both showed that FE students were more confident than HE students about their understanding and ability in relation to assessment criteria, but FE students’ understandings suggested more surface approaches to learning and more naïve epistemological beliefs. In study 3, a workshop intervention to improve FE students’ understandings of HE assessment criteria was evaluated in a comparative longitudinal trial. The intervention reduced FE students’ self-rated understanding and ability, and promoted more sophisticated beliefs about essay writing, by comparison with students who received standard tuition. We concluded that interventions to develop more realistic understandings of what is required in academic writing could be used to prepare FE students more effectively for the transition to HE

Sufficient conditions for the existence of bound states in a central potential

We show how a large class of sufficient conditions for the existence of bound states, in non-positive central potentials, can be constructed. These sufficient conditions yield upper limits on the critical value, $g_{\rm{c}}^{(\ell)}$, of the coupling constant (strength), $g$, of the potential, $V(r)=-g v(r)$, for which a first $\ell$-wave bound state appears. These upper limits are significantly more stringent than hitherto known results.Comment: 7 page

The ConStratO model of handover: a tool to support technology design and evaluation

Handovers are a specific kind of multidisciplinary team meeting. Shift handovers and transfers are both regular features of hospital work but there is currently great variation in how such handovers are conducted, presenting a challenging for those seeking to develop technology to support handover. This paper presents the ConStratO model of handover, which captures aspects of the context that influence how the handover is conducted, a range of different handover strategies relating to different aspects of the handover, and possible outcomes of handover. The model is based on detailed data collection in a range of clinical settings. We present the model as a tool for developing and evaluating technology support for handover