THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF COUPLES AFTER BARIATRIC SURGERY : A QUALITATIVE DESCRIPTION

Obesity is a worldwide epidemic. Diet, exercise, and medical therapies alone have not been enough to stem the tide of this epidemic. Bariatric surgery has been found not only to be the most effective intervention for morbid obesity, but also results in substantial improvement in many of the associated co-morbid conditions. However, it is not clear what impact the surgery and subsequent life-style changes have on the patients' couple relationships. In order to explore the impact of bariatric surgery on the couple relationship, two research articles were completed: (a) a systematic literature review was used to explore existing research on the impact bariatric surgery on the marital/couple relationship and (b) a phenomenological study was conducted to explore and better understand the impact of weight loss surgery on the couple relationship. The results of the literature review demonstrated that very little is known on this topic. Of the published studies focusing primarily on the effects of weight loss surgery and couples, the vast majority of these studies were conducted between the years 1977 and 1991, with the most current study published in 2000. The more recent studies found that many couple relationships improved or remained stable after an initial adjustment period post-surgically. The research study revealed that the participant couples experienced the following five emerging thematic experiences: (a) changes in physical health; (b) changes in emotional health; (c) changes in eating habits; (d) greater intimacy in the relationship and; (e) the joint journey, where all couples felt their post-operative success was part of a joint effort. Recommendations from both articles are offered for clinicians, researchers, policy makers and medical family therapists.  Ph.D

A pilot project to increase health literacy among youth from seasonal farmworker families in rural eastern North Carolina: a qualitative exploration of implementation and impact

Objective There are substantial health inequalities for seasonal agricultural workers and their families in the United States. One identified inequality is in health literacy. The authors explored the implementation and impact of connecting youth from seasonal farmworker families who participated in a leadership and college pipeline program with Internet access by providing a tablet with a paid cellular data plan and university library–based health literacy training. Methods With the support of a National Network of Libraries of Medicine Health Information Outreach Award, we conducted a qualitative, utilization-focused evaluation by conducting semi-structured interviews from December 2017 through February 2018 with middle and high school age participants in the program (n=10). After parental consent and youth assent, we recorded interviews with participants at program activity locations or in their homes. We then utilized inductive thematic analysis with 2 primary coders. Results We identified four themes: (1) having access to the Internet can be transformative, (2) access resulted in increased knowledge of and interest in one’s own and others’ health, (3) “Google� is the norm, and (4) participant training increased self-efficacy to determine credible sources and resources. Conclusion Providing Internet access and iPads was possible to implement and resulted in increased utilization of health information. The combination of Internet access with training on information literacy was a key factor in achieving these positive outcomes. The findings suggest the importance of ensuring equitable access to the Internet in efforts to improve educational and health outcomes for seasonal farmworkers and their families

THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF COUPLES AFTER BARIATRIC SURGERY : A QUALITATIVE DESCRIPTION

Obesity is a worldwide epidemic. Diet, exercise, and medical therapies alone have not been enough to stem the tide of this epidemic. Bariatric surgery has been found not only to be the most effective intervention for morbid obesity, but also results in substantial improvement in many of the associated co-morbid conditions. However, it is not clear what impact the surgery and subsequent life-style changes have on the patients' couple relationships. In order to explore the impact of bariatric surgery on the couple relationship, two research articles were completed: (a) a systematic literature review was used to explore existing research on the impact bariatric surgery on the marital/couple relationship and (b) a phenomenological study was conducted to explore and better understand the impact of weight loss surgery on the couple relationship. The results of the literature review demonstrated that very little is known on this topic. Of the published studies focusing primarily on the effects of weight loss surgery and couples, the vast majority of these studies were conducted between the years 1977 and 1991, with the most current study published in 2000. The more recent studies found that many couple relationships improved or remained stable after an initial adjustment period post-surgically. The research study revealed that the participant couples experienced the following five emerging thematic experiences: (a) changes in physical health\; (b) changes in emotional health\; (c) changes in eating habits\; (d) greater intimacy in the relationship and\; (e) the joint journey, where all couples felt their post-operative success was part of a joint effort. Recommendations from both articles are offered for clinicians, researchers, policy makers and medical family therapists

A pilot project to increase health literacy among youth from seasonal farmworker families in rural eastern North Carolina: a qualitative exploration of implementation and impact

ObjectiveThere are substantial health inequalities for seasonal agricultural workers and their families in the United States. One identified inequality is in health literacy. The authors explored the implementation and impact of connecting youth from seasonal farmworker families who participated in a leadership and college pipeline program with Internet access by providing a tablet with a paid cellular data plan and university library--based health literacy training.MethodsWith the support of a National Network of Libraries of Medicine Health Information Outreach Award, we conducted a qualitative, utilization-focused evaluation by conducting semi-structured interviews from December 2017 through February 2018 with middle and high school age participants in the program (n=10). After parental consent and youth assent, we recorded interviews with participants at program activity locations or in their homes. We then utilized inductive thematic analysis with 2 primary coders.ResultsWe identified four themes: (1) having access to the Internet can be transformative, (2) access resulted in increased knowledge of and interest in one"s own and others" health, (3) "Google" is the norm, and (4) participant training increased self-efficacy to determine credible sources and resources.ConclusionProviding Internet access and iPads was possible to implement and resulted in increased utilization of health information. The combination of Internet access with training on information literacy was a key factor in achieving these positive outcomes. The findings suggest the importance of ensuring equitable access to the Internet in efforts to improve educational and health outcomes for seasonal farmworkers and their families