The Lived Experiences of Nurses Caring for Patients With COVID-19 in Arabian Gulf Countries: A Multisite Descriptive Phenomenological Study.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, several studies worldwide have explored nurses' experiences of caring for COVID-19 patients in various healthcare settings. However, these studies were conducted in context, culture, and healthcare systems that differ greatly from the Arabian Gulf context. This descriptive phenomenological study aimed to understand nurses' lived experiences caring for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Arabian Gulf countries. Individual virtual interviews were conducted with 36 nurses from five countries and were analyzed using Giorgi's methodology. Four main themes were identified: (1) living with doubts, (2) living through the chaos of challenges, (3) moving toward professional resilience, and (4) reaching the maximum level of potential. The findings from this study hopefully will guide health organizations in this region in developing strategies and policies to support and prepare nurses for future outbreaks.

Fenomenologia aplicada: porque é seguro ignorar a epoché / Applied phenomenology: why is it safe to ignore the epoché / Fenomenología aplicada: ¿por qué es seguro ignorar epoché?

A questão de saber se uma investigação e análise propriamente fenomenológicas requerem a performance da epoché e a redução não tem sido apenas discutida dentro da filosofia fenomenológica. É também uma questão que tem sido intensamente debatida dentro da pesquisa qualitativa. Amedeo Giorgi, em particular, insistiu que nenhuma pesquisa científica pode reivindicar um status fenomenológico a menos que seja apoiada por algum uso da epoché e redução. Giorgi fundamenta parcialmente tal afirmação em idéias encontradas nos escritos de Husserl sobre psicologia fenomenológica. No presente artigo examino as ideias de Husserl e argumento que enquanto a epoché e a redução são cruciais para a fenomenologia transcendental, é algo muito mais questionável se elas também são relevantes para uma aplicação não-filosófica da fenomenologia.

The question of whether a proper phenomenological investigation and analysis requires one to perform the epoché and the reduction has not only been discussed within phenomenological philosophy. It is also very much a question that has been hotly debated within qualitative research. Amedeo Giorgi, in particular, has insisted that no scientific research can claim phenomenological status unless it is supported by some use of the epoché and reduction. Giorgi partially bases this claim on ideas found in Husserl's writings on phenomenological psychology. In the present paper, I discuss Husserl's ideas and argue that while the epoché and the reduction are crucial for transcendental phenomenology, it is much more questionable whether they are also relevant for a non-philosophical application of phenomenology.

La cuestión de si una investigación y análisis fenomenológico adecuado requiere que uno realice la época y la reducción no solo se ha discutido dentro de la filosofía fenomenológica. También es una pregunta que se ha debatido acaloradamente dentro de la investigación cualitativa. Amedeo Giorgi, en particular, ha insistido en que ninguna investigación científica puede reclamar un estado fenomenológico a menos que esté respaldada por algún uso de la época y la reducción. Giorgi basa parcialmente esta afirmación en ideas encontradas en los escritos de Husserl sobre psicología fenomenológica. En el presente artículo, discuto las ideas de Husserl y sostengo que si bien la época y la reducción son cruciales para la fenomenología trascendental, es mucho más cuestionable si también son relevantes para una aplicación no filosófica de la fenomenología.

Experience of care through patients, family members and health professionals in an intensive care unit: a qualitative descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: A patient's stay in an intensive care unit (ICU) can lead to psychological and social alterations in patients and their nearest family circle. Healthcare staff and patients' family members strongly influence patients' stays in ICU. AIMS: To explore the perceptions about the experiences of patients in the ICU, their family members and nurses who attend them. METHODS: A descriptive phenomenological design was used to guide the research. A purposive sample of 27 male and female participated. Nine hospitalised patients, nine nurses and nine family members were interviewed in 2016 using a semi-structured, face to face interview. Steps of Giorgi phenomenological method were used to analyse the qualitative data. FINDINGS: Among the three categorised groups, there is a common point that is the constant of humanization in care and it is very clear on the part of the patient, the patient's family and the nurses whom they attend. In addition, both in the group of patients and in the group of families allude to the fear and anguish that responds to patients, this problem does not appear in the speeches of nurses, who are torn between excessive technology and the performance of their work correctly for better patient welfare. CONCLUSIONS: A stay in an ICU implies emotional expense for both patients and their families, which leads to a series of changes in their affective and social sphere, manifested by a set of requirements that must be responded by the multidisciplinary team that attends to patients. It would be fundamental to inform the health authorities about these requirements in order to modify the usual conduct habits displayed in ICU, which would help improve all levels for patients, their families and nurses.

Caregiving Spouses and the Experience of Involuntary Separation.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We explored the meaning of the experience of involuntary separation, as defined formally by the Canadian government and informally by our participants, in formerly caregiving spouses whose partners had been admitted to long-term care. Our goal was to explore their lifeworld experience of separation, including factors influencing well-being as spouses shifted from at-home caregiving to involuntary separation. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Guided, semi-scripted personal interviews were conducted with 10 individuals who had become involuntarily separated up to 4 years prior to the interview. A psychological-phenomenological analysis of participant narratives was conducted following procedures set out by Giorgi (2009). RESULTS: Themes included access and continued involvement with spouse post-admission; seeking connections with family, friends, and spiritual resources; adaptability in the face of change and loss; and the immediate and long-term emotional impact of involuntary separation. Regular involvement with spouses, resources and connections with others, and adaptability contributed to well-being, but the experience was nonetheless described as an "emotional bomb." DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Participants experienced involuntary separation as an overwhelming burden marked by ongoing losses, from connections with spouses and social supports to shifts in identity and financial security. Greater understanding of the unique needs and experiences of involuntarily separated spouses may help individuals cope in practical ways with their shifting situation and highlights the value of meaning-focused support.

Demanding treatment processes in Norwegian psychomotor physiotherapy: From the physiotherapists' perspectives.

Long-lasting musculoskeletal pain may be understood as the embodiment of bio-psycho-social strain. A combined theoretical perspective of biomedicine, physiotherapy and phenomenology may make these painproblems more comprehensible for the therapist. Norwegian psychomotor physiotherapy is one treatment approach applied on patients with long-lasting musculoskeletal pain. The approach is process-oriented, and can be long-term, complex and demanding. To explore this issue, we employed a multi-stage focus-group phenomenological methodology including five experienced physiotherapists. We found that during these demanding situations, the physiotherapists described their experiences including the feeling of being stuck, and further, how the experience of being in touch with their own body opened possibilities to bear, and act in the demanding situations. The physiotherapists had to find a balance between being in touch with themselves and concurrently listen to and be in contact with their patients.

Phenomenology and qualitative research: Amedeo Giorgi's hermetic epistemology.

Amedeo Giorgi has published a review article devoted to Phenomenology as Qualitative Research: A Critical Analysis of Meaning Attribution. However, anyone reading this article, but unfamiliar with the book, will get a distorted view of what it is about, whom it is addressed to, what it seeks to achieve and how it goes about presenting its arguments. Not mildly distorted, in need of the odd correction here and there, but systematically misrepresented. The article is a study in misreading. Giorgi misreads the book's mise en scène; he misreads its narrative arc; he misreads individual arguments; he misreads short, simple passages; he misreads the philosophy of the science literature; he misreads his own data; he misreads the title; he misreads the blurb; he misreads the acknowledgements. In addition, there are serious failures of scholarship (ironically, he demonstrates how unacquainted he is with the relevant literature at the very moment he is accusing me of being ill-informed). In this reply, I provide several examples of these errors, but my primary aim is to understand why Giorgi's misreading is as ubiquitous as it is. To this end, I explain his mistakes by reference to the hermetic epistemology within which he is confined.

Exploring the lived experience of gay men with prostate cancer: A phenomenological study.

PURPOSE: Gay men with prostate cancer are an 'invisible species' in the research literature despite concerns that the impact of treatment may be more profound and in some ways unique compared to heterosexual men. The aim of this research is to explore the lived experience of gay men with prostate cancer. METHOD: In-depth interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim from a purposive sample of eight gay men treated for prostate cancer in Ireland. A qualitative methodological approach employing Giorgi's descriptive phenomenological method was used to collect and analyse data. FINDINGS: Three key aspects emerged representing the essence of the participants lived experience; The experience of diagnosis, treatment decision making, and the impact of treatment, with sub-themes of shock of diagnosis, the generalist nature of information, sexual side effects and incontinence, and masculinity and gay identity. Secondly, the experience of the healthcare service with sub-themes of sexual orientation disclosure and communication with the healthcare team; and thirdly, sources of support and means of coping which included significant others, family & friends, cancer support groups, and gay resources and support services. CONCLUSION: Gay men with prostate cancer have unmet information and supportive care needs throughout their prostate cancer journey, especially related to the impact of sexual dysfunction and associated rehabilitation, negatively impacting their quality of life. Issues associated with heteronormativity, minority stress, and stigma may influence how gay men interact with the health service, or how they perceive the delivery of care. Healthcare education providers should update prostate cancer education programmes accordingly.

Cancer Worry Among Urban Dominican Women: A Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: Two thirds of respondents of a recent survey, primarily self-identified urban immigrant Dominican females, indicated that cancer was the health problem they worried about the most. PURPOSE: The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain a greater understanding of the cancer worry experienced by Dominican women. DESIGN: Giorgi's descriptive existential phenomenological framework and methodology guided the study. SETTING: Washington Heights/Inwood community, New York City, New York. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-eight urban Dominican immigrant women were included in the study. METHOD: Data were gathered using focus group interviews. All interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim from Spanish to English. The transcripts were analyzed using Giorgi's existential phenomenological data analysis process. FINDINGS: Four essences unfolded: Cancer as Destiny, Faith, Influential Relationships, and Knowledge Acquisition. CONCLUSION: New knowledge was generated on the contextual factors that influence cancer worry among a major Hispanic subgroup. Implications for nursing research and practice are described.

Electromagnetic Units, the Giorgi System, and the Revised International System of Units.

The centimeter-gram-second system of electromagnetic units (EMU) has been used in magnetism since the latter part of the 19th century. The International System of Units (SI), a successor to Giorgi's 1901 rationalized four-dimensional meter-kilogram-second system, was adopted by the General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1960 with the ampere as the fourth base unit. However, EMU remains in common use for the expression of magnetic data. The forthcoming revision of the SI will accentuate its differences with EMU. The permeability of vacuum will no longer be a fixed constant, which recalls the Giorgi system and prompts a review of historical arguments on the concepts of magnetic flux density and magnetic field strength in vacuum. The redefinition of the ampere in terms of the fixed numerical values of two defining constants could allow for independent experimental measurements of the permeability of vacuum, i.e., determination of the magnetic constant.

The lived experience of recovery during the first 6 months after colorectal cancer surgery.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To describe the lived experience of recovery during the first 6 months after colorectal cancer surgery. BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosis worldwide. Early discharge places demands on healthcare professionals to prepare patients for their return home and to provide them with appropriate support throughout the recovery process. This requires knowledge of what it is like to recover from colorectal cancer surgery. DESIGN: A qualitative phenomenological design was used to describe the structure of recovery after colorectal cancer surgery. METHODS: Ten patients recovering from colorectal cancer surgery were interviewed at one month and six months after surgery. The descriptive phenomenological method by Giorgi was used throughout the study. RESULTS: Postoperative recovery was described as a progressive process. This process was accompanied by experiences of physical powerlessness, difficulties with food intake, altered bowel function and dependency on others. The experiences were most intense at the beginning of the recovery but disappeared as time went by and normality in life returned. CONCLUSION: While recovering from colorectal cancer surgery, patients experience obstacles that impede their ability to live life as normal. Six months after surgery, those experiences disappear or become adjusted to being part of normal life. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Patients should be provided with information about the expected postoperative recovery before discharge from hospital. The need for professional support appears to be most frequently needed in early recovery, but it should be considered on an individual basis.

Befriending Everyday Life When Bringing Technology Into the Private Sphere.

We present the findings of our phenomenological interview study concerning the meaning of being an autonomous person while dependent on advanced medical technology at home. This was elucidated in the participants' narratives as befriending everyday life when bringing technology into the private sphere. We discovered four constituents of the phenomenon: befriending the lived body, depending on good relationships, keeping the home as a private sphere, and managing time. The most important finding was the overall position of the lived body by means of the illness limiting the control over one's life. We found that the participants wanted to be involved in and have influence over their care to be able to enjoy autonomy. We therefore stress the importance of bringing the patients into the care process as chronic illness will be a part of their everyday life for a long time to come, hence challenging patient autonomy.

Lived experience of vulnerability from a Gypsy Roma Traveller perspective.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To describe the lived experience of vulnerability of individuals within a Gypsy Roma Travelling community. BACKGROUND: People experience vulnerability whenever their health or usual functioning is compromised. This may increase when they enter unfamiliar surroundings, situations or relationships. One's experience of vulnerability can also be heightened through interactions between the individual and the society within which they live. Gypsy Roma Travellers are often identified as vulnerable owing to increased morbidity and mortality as well as their marginalised status within society. Yet little is known of the experiences of vulnerability by the individuals themselves. Without their stories and experiences, health professionals cannot effectively develop services that meet their needs. DESIGN: This descriptive phenomenological study sought to explore the lived experience of vulnerability in a Gypsy Roma Travelling community. METHODS: Seventeen Gypsy Roma Travellers were interviewed in 2013-2014 about their experiences of feeling vulnerable. This paper reports on the findings from the depth phase in which 13 individuals were interviewed. The interviews were conducted and analysed using Giorgi's descriptive phenomenological approach. FINDINGS: Six constituents of the phenomenon of vulnerability were identified as feeling: defined and homogenised as a group; pressurised to conform to live in a particular way; split in one's identity; a loss of one's heritage; discriminated, persecuted and threatened; and powerlessness. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: There is a wealth of evidence that Gypsy Roma Travellers experience high levels of morbidity and mortality, which has led to them being identified by health professionals and policy makers as a vulnerable community. Exploring their lived experience of vulnerability presents a different perspective regarding this concept and can help explain why they may experience poorer levels of physical and mental health.

The phenomenological method in qualitative psychology and psychiatry.

This article will closely examine the phenomenological method as applied to qualitative inquiry in psychology and psychiatry. In a critical comparison between Amedeo Giorgi's and Larry Davidson's qualitatively methods, conclusions were drawn with regard to how different kinds of qualitative inquiry are possible while remaining faithful to Husserlian philosophical foundations. Utilizing Lester Embree's recent articulation of how Husserl's method of the epoche can be disclosed as specific to a discipline, varieties of these two qualitative methods were seen in their relation to the original scientific aim instigated by the developer.

Growing older in the context of needing geriatric assessment: a qualitative study.

AIM: The number of older adults will increase worldwide in the next 30 years, with many expected to develop chronic diseases and consequently require additional medical assessments and adequate care. The aim of this study was to describe how a group of older adults who need geriatric assessment experience growing older. METHODOLOGY: A qualitative study was performed. The empirical data consisted of qualitative in-depth interviews with eight older persons referred to geriatric assessment (median age 76, range 65-86). The interviews were analysed based on Giorgi's descriptive phenomenological methodology. RESULTS: The results led to an overall essence and five themes. The five themes were identified: (i) considerations to avoid weakness, (ii) compensation for the inability to perform certain activities, (iii) aides - a symbol of freedom or limitation, (iv) lifestyle considered being particularly significant and (v) considerations about the end of life as a component of growing older. The essence was defined as: illness essential for the experience of growing older and pointed to the experience of growing older that highlighted that experiencing illnesses and limitations served as reminders of their advancing age. CONCLUSION: Growing older while in need of comprehensive geriatric assessment led to participants feeling they were no longer able to do the same things, they used to do. Consequently, compensation became an essential part of adaption to the altered situation. Aides that helped to overcome limitations in every daily life had the status of either creating freedom or being limiting in things they wished to do. Considerations about lifestyle were focused on housing and change of dwelling. This also led to thoughts about the future and end of life. Additional research regarding accommodations in older age is warranted to offer the best solutions for older people.

The patient's experience of early discharge following total hip replacement.

BACKGROUND: Strategies within the public health system to curtail costs, increase efficiency and service utilisation have resulted in reduced hospital stays following elective orthopaedic procedures. Although there are advantages that support the concept of early discharge from hospital, very little is known about how patients manage the transition from hospital to home. AIM: The aim of this qualitative study was to describe the post-discharge experience of elderly patients following primary total hip replacement (THR). METHODS: Ten patients, six women and four men, provided descriptions of their experience. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews and the analysis process was based on Giorgi's phenomenological scientific methodology (Giorgi, 1994, 1997, 2000). RESULTS: The analysis of the data resulted in four themes, namely; an inadequate assessment of suitable adaptive aids and personal needs; personal frustration; coping with the physical and mobility and limited social interaction. CONCLUSION: Findings from this study demonstrated a need to review the discharge process and implement strategies to prepare patients for the stressors that the participants in this study encountered as a result of their early discharge.

Re-embodying eating: patients' experiences 5 years after bariatric surgery.

Health experts advise and expect patients to eat healthily after bariatric surgery. For patients, difficulties with eating might have been a long-standing, problematic part of life-a part that is not necessarily healed by surgery. Empirical research on patients' experiences of eating practices after bariatric surgery is lacking. Aiming to contribute to the development of clinical practice, we explored meanings attached to eating in the long term and sought descriptions of change and bodily sensations. We interviewed 14 patients at least 5 years after bariatric surgery. The surgical restriction forced changes in the way patients sensed their own body in eating, but the uncertainty related to maintaining weight loss in the long term remained. Meanings attached to eating transcended food as choices situated in a nourishment and health perspective, and were not necessarily changed. Eating was an existential and embodied practice, which remained an ambiguous and sensitive matter after surgery.

Totally changed, yet still the same: patients' lived experiences 5 years beyond bariatric surgery.

Bariatric surgery provides sustainable weight loss and increased quality of life for most, but not all patients. To increase the knowledge of this complex patient group and their needs during follow-up, we aimed to describe the essential meaning of bariatric surgery patients' long-term experiences by using a phenomenological lifeworld approach. Eight patients were interviewed between 5 and 7 years after bariatric surgery. Life after bariatric surgery was described as living with tension, ambivalence, and reinforced attention toward one's own body. The tension was related to embodied change and altered relations to the social world. The patients express an ongoing demand for control of health-related habits and practices, and to not lose control over the body again. Surgical weight loss and improved physical function do not necessarily mean changed health-related habits and practices in the long term. Experiencing weight regain is connected with emotional stress, shame, and self-contempt.

Lived experiences in help-seeking from the perspective of a mother with a dual diagnosis.

Mothers with a co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse (dual diagnosis) use numerous different services. Help-seeking and engagement are complex processes which have not yet been sufficiently conceptualized. A descriptive phenomenological approach was used to explore these experiences from different service contexts and to describe the decisions in and structure of help-seeking over a 13-year period. Four in-depth interviews were conducted and data were analysed with a descriptive phenomenological method developed by Giorgi. The essential meaning structure is an inner conflict within the client, including a realization that change starts from within. The essential meaning structure combines the other meaning structures: disbelief of receiving help and admitting the need for help, keeping up the perfect façade and the risk of total collapse, being given and making own choices regarding care and being forced to use services and inner emptiness and search for contentment in life. It is possible that clients in the help-seeking process do not always recognize they have a need for care. If the client experiences inner powerlessness as emptiness and resistance to being helped, it is probably not possible to create relationships with care providers. Clients may have several ambiguous inner processes which prevent them from accepting the need for care. Theoretically and empirically a long-term approach is crucial, since the inner transformative processes take time. The services can contribute new experiences to the personal level of understanding and decision-making, if they consider the experiential level of their clients.