Experiences of dementia in a foreign country: qualitative content analysis of interviews with people with dementia

Background: Dementia is a worldwide health concern of epidemic proportions. Research in the field of subjective experience of dementia suffers from a lack of diversity of their participants including immigrants. Different portraits of life with dementia could help us understand how people with dementia conceptualise their experiences of dementia and how they live. Our study aimed to explore the subjective experiences of living with dementia among Iranian immigrants in Sweden. Methods: Qualitative content analysis of interviews with fifteen people with dementia from Iranian immigrant backgrounds were conducted (8 females and 7 males). Results: Three themes and seven associated sub-themes were revealed. The themes included: Being a person with dementia means living with forgetfulness (personal sphere), living with forgetfulness in the private sphere means feeling incompetent but still loved, living with forgetfulness in the public sphere means feeling confident and secure but also isolated. Conclusions: Living with dementia for the participants meant living with forgetfulness. They experienced feeling incompetent but still loved within their families and feeling confident and secure but also isolated in the society. Educating people with dementia and their families about the course and process of dementia may help them understand the changes better and adjust their expectations. Our study can provide a basis for healthcare workers to understand the experiences of living with dementia from this specific perspective

Exploration of the barriers of reporting nursing errors in intensive care units: A qualitative study

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the barriers to reporting nursing errors in intensive care units in Iranian hospitals. Methods: A descriptive qualitative analysis design was used. The data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 16 nurses working in four general intensive care units in Kurdistan province, Iran. Interviews were transcribed and finally analysed through conventional content analysis. Results: There are four major barriers to the reporting of errors by nurses working in Iranian critical care units: (a) saving professional reputation and preventing stigma; (b) fear of consequences � punishment, legal problems and organisational misconduct; (c) feelings of insecurity � pointing a finger at nurses and lack of managerial support and (d) not investigating the root cause of error. Conclusions: The findings revealed the need to support and provide security to nurses and to consider and find the cause of error occurrence. Managers must provide the required personal, professional and legal support for nurses to encourage them to effectively report errors, discover the root cause of errors and take measures to prevent them. © 2016, © The Intensive Care Society 2016

End-of-life care provision: Experiences of intensive care nurses in Iraq

Background: Nurses play a key role in providing care for the critically ill in the intensive care unit (ICU). The physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual intimate care given by Kurdish nurses allows them to develop a therapeutic relationship with terminally ill patients in the ICU. Aims: This study sought to explore the meaning of caring for terminally ill patients from the perspective of Kurdish ICU nurses. Design: Van Manen's (1990) hermeneutic phenomenological design was adopted. Method: The data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 10 nurses working in ICUs. Interviews were transcribed and finally analysed according to Van Manen's method. Results: Four major themes including emotional labour, death as a positive dimension, optimistic rather than futile care and working within constraints emerged. Conclusions: Kurdish nurses in their caring encounters with terminally ill patients experienced a range of feelings from emotional strain to being optimistic while working within limited resources in the ICU. Further research is needed to explore the experiences of nurses with other cultures of caring for terminally ill patients in ICUs. Relevance to practice: End-of-life care in ICU is emotionally challenging, therefore, nurses in this setting require psychological and spiritual support to ensure optimal care provision. © 2016 British Association of Critical Care Nurses

Spirituality in HIV-Infected Individuals: A Phenomenological Study

Background & Aim: HIV/AIDS is a well-recognized global problem in the world, including Iran. It is necessary to comprehend and understand lived experience of HIV positive patients. The present study was designed and conducted to better understand the perspectives and experiences of HIV positive patients about the role of the spirituality and religious beliefs in their lives with HIV/AIDS.Methods & Materials: This qualitative study was conducted using an interpretative phenomenological approach. In-depth, audio-taped and semi-structured interviews with 19 participants were conducted to collect data. Data were transcript. Observations were also recorded in comprehensive field notes. A hermeneutic approach was used to analyze the data, according to the method developed by Diekelmann.Results: According to the findings, participants aged between 21 and 56 years of old at the time of contamination to the HIV. Almost half (47.4%) of the participants had CD4 counts under 200 cells/mm3. Analyzes of the data revealed three main themes: (a) Redefining religious values and communicating with God; (b) Compensation; and (c) Individual development. The themes included some sub-themes.Conclusion: Experiencing difficult conditions in HIV positive individuals provide them with an opportunity to return to religious values, redefine themselves and give meaning to their lives, rather than fear or disappointment. Communicating with other HIV positive patients and religious experts are suggested as additional appropriate strategies

Women Empowerment through Health Information Seeking: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND: Today, women empowering is an important issue. Several methods have been introduced to empower women. Health information seeking is one of the most important activities in this regard. A wide range of capabilities have been reported as outcomes of health information seeking in several studies. As health information seeking is developed within personal-social interactions and also the health system context, it seems that the qualitative paradigm is appropriate to use in studies in this regard. This study aimed to explore how women's empowerment through health information seeking is done. METHODS: In this qualitative content analysis study, data collection was done with regard to inclusion criteria, through purposive sampling by semi-structured interviews with 17 women and using documentation and field notes until data saturation. Qualitative data analysis was done constantly and simultaneous with data collection. RESULTS: Four central themes were emerged to explain women's empowerment through health information seeking that included: a) Health concerns management with three subcategories of Better coping, Stress management, Control of situation, b) Collaborative care with two subcategories of Effective interaction with health professions and Participation in health decision making c) Individual development d) Self-protection with four sub- categories of Life style modification, Preventive behaviors promoting, Self-care promoting, and medication adherence. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate the importance of women empowerment through foraging their health information seeking rights and comprehensive health information management

Struggle turning back to professional nursing practice in Iran: A qualitative study

Background: Current nursing shortage is becoming more complicated because of turnover intention among nurses. Most of the inactive nurses in Iran after a long time for various rations Returned To Professional Nursing Practice (RTPNP). Because the RTPNP program does not exist in Iran to prepare inactive nurses returning to practice, this study aimed to explore the strategies that contribute to preparing nurses for RTPNP. Materials and Methods: The present study was a part of the findings of a larger grounded theory study that lasted about 9 months from April 2019 to December 2019. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with participants after signing an informed consent form. The average interview duration was 40 minutes. The study participants were selected through purposeful sampling from both public and private hospitals affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences. Participants included eight nurses, two education supervisors, two matrons, and two head nurses. Interviews were verbatim transcribed and analyzed using a constant comparative analysis method. Results: Struggle turning back to PNP was the main category that emerged from four categories of 'seeking learning resources,' 'return to practice support,' 'getting used to a practice,' and 'building a new family life' from the data analysis process. Conclusions: Returners struggle to get prepared for providing PNP to clients if there is no definite process of RTPNP. Organizational support and RTPNP programs are efficient strategies and could help these returners get prepared for PNP. © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved

Quality of life with vitiligo: Comparison of male and female muslim patients in Iran

Background: Vitiligo is a chronic pigmentary disorder of the skin that, although not life threatening, may considerably influence the psychological well-being of patients. It has been suggested that vitiligo patients suffer from low self-esteem, poor body image, and poor quality of life (QOL). Objective: The aim of this study was to explore and compare QOL in male and female patients with vitiligo in Iran. Methods: To obtain the patients' self-assessment of QOL, we used a 17-item multiple-choice questionnaire based on the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). All statistics used 2-way analysis of variance comparisons with an (α-risk of 5. DLQI scores were assessed using nonparametric comparisons, and qualitative variables were compared with ξ2 testing. Categorical regression analyses were also used as an exploratory aim. Results: A total of 77 Muslim patients with vitiligo (53 females, 24 males; mean age, 29.3 years) were included in this survey. The mean (SD) DLQI score of 42.9 (11.4) for females was lower than that of 51.6 (8.8) for males (P = 0.002). Female patients experienced significantly more impairment of general and psychological health (P < 0.003), social relationships (P < 0.02), and sexual activity (P < 0.001) than did male patients. Conclusions: This study indicates the specific areas of patients' lives that are most affected by vitiligo. Gender and location of disease independently affect QOL in Muslim patients in Iran. Women with vitiligo experience greater QOL impairment than their male counterparts. © 2006 Excerpts Medica, Inc

Factors affecting patients' rights practice: The lived experiences of Iranian nurses and physicians

Background: The Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education published a 'Patient's Bill of Rights' in 2001. Aim: To gain insight into the perception and practice of patients' rights in Iran. This paper reports on Iranian nurses' and physicians' perceptions and lived experiences of respecting patients' rights. Methods: A purposeful sample of eight nurses and five physicians working in a central teaching hospital in Tehran were interviewed during 2005-2006 for a qualitative study. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: The emerging themes were categorized as 'barriers to patients' rights practice' and 'facilitators of patients' rights practice'. Under these themes three subgroups were discussed: awareness, resources and accountability. Conclusion: Healthcare professionals' lived experiences are an important source of data if managers and policy makers are to make changes and legislate for protecting and promoting patients' rights. © 2008 International Council of Nurses