Assessing and Achieving Quality in Qualitative Research: Clues for Researchers in Training* / Valorar y lograr la calidad de la investigación cualitativa: claves para investigadores en formación / Avaliar e alcançar a qualidade da pesquisa qualitativa: chaves para pesquisadores em formação

This article deals with the particularities of the quality of qualitative research, under the double lens of valuing it and ensuring it. While achieving the quality of qualitative research concerns only those who have opted for this methodology, assessing it is everyone's business because researchers in training will encounter, in the literature reviews, qualitative studies on which they must reflect and estimate their quality. Appreciating the quality of a research work is a complex activity as it is situated within a context and conducted by individuals who use any of the means available to do so. The means they use are criteria as evaluation guides and criteria checklists. For researchers in training, I suggest some guiding criteria to evaluate qualitative publications and ensure quality during the research process, key issues that they must address.

Este artículo trata sobre las particularidades de la calidad de la investigación cualitativa, bajo la doble lente de valorarla y asegurarla. Mientras que alcanzar la calidad de una investigación cualitativa atañe solo a los que han optado por esta metodología, valorarla es asunto de todos, ya que los investigadores en formación se encontrarán en las revisiones bibliográficas con estudios cualitativos sobre los cuales deberán reflexionar y estimar su calidad. Apreciar la calidad de un trabajo de investigación es una actividad compleja ya que está situada en un contexto y llevada a cabo por personas que usan alguno de los medios disponibles para hacerlo. Los medios que usan son los criterios como guías de evaluación y los listados de verificación de criterios. Para los investigadores en formación sugiero unos criterios guía para la valoración de publicaciones cualitativas y para asegurar la calidad durante el proceso de investigación, unas cuestiones claves a las que deben atender.

Este artigo trata das particularidades da qualidade da pesquisa qualitativa, sob a dupla lente de valorizá-la e garanti-la. Embora alcançar a qualidade da pesquisa qualitativa seja do interesse de quem optou por esta metodologia, Avaliar é tarefa de todos, pois os pesquisadores em formação se encontrarão em revisões bibliográficas com estudos qualitativos, sobre os quais deverão refletir e estimar sua qualidade. Avaliar a qualidade de um trabalho de investigação é uma atividade complexa, pois está situada num context e é realizada por pessoas que utilizam qualquer um dos meios disponíveis para o fazer. Os meios que utilizam são critérios como guias de avaliação e listas de verificação de critérios. Aos pesquisadores em formação, sugiro alguns critérios norteadores para avaliar publicações qualitativas e para garantir a qualidade durante o processo de pesquisa, questões chaves que devem ser abordadas.

Effectiveness of nursing interventions in the prevention of falls in older adults in the community and in health care settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis of RCT.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the effectiveness of fall prevention programs in people aged 65 years and older involving nursing professionals. METHODS: We included available full-text randomized clinical trials on nurse-led prevention of falls in the community in people over 65 years of age and reporting the incidence of such falls. An extensive search was performed in 14 databases covering the period 2016-2018 for publications in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. The quality of the papers was assessed independently and blindly by reviewers working in pairs using the risk of bias dominios of the Cochrane Collaboration. The hazard ratio was used as a measure of the effect size of the incidence of falls. A random-effects model was assumed for statistical analyses. The influence of moderator variables of the studies on the effect sizes was performed using ANOVAs and its 95% CI for each moderator category. RESULTS: A total of 31 randomized clinical trials were selected with 25,551 participants. The most frequent type of intervention was education (57.1%), followed by multifactorial models (37.1%). The probability of falling was significantly reduced by 13% in the intervention groups compared to the control groups (RR+=0.87). Multifactorial (RR+=0.89) and education-based (RR=+0.84) interventions significantly reduced the probability of falls by 11% and 16%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Discarding publication bias prevention programs carried out by nurses produce a significant 10% reduction in falls. Education-based and multifactorial interventions are the most effective when conducted by nurses.

Living normally without being oneself: A qualitative study on the experience of living with advanced chronic kidney disease.

The aim of the study was to describe and analyze the experience of people with advanced chronic kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease is a growing public health problem that is on the increase worldwideThe experience of living with this illness is paradoxical, as it can include feelings of dependent autonomy, distant connection, abnormal normalcy, and uncertain hope. Every chronic disease involves a biographical alteration from the onset. For those who suffer it, it implies a breaking down and reconstruction of their everyday life. Despite the prevalence of the disease and the increase in the number of qualitative research studies in recent decades, there has not been much research on the experience of people with Chronic kidney disease. This is a qualitative study that began in 2018 and concluded in 2021.Twenty-one people with advanced chronic kidney disease were interviewed. They participated voluntarily with informed consent Participants were selected by purposive sampling. Data analysis was guided by grounded theory procedures using the Nvivo 12 software. This study reveals that people with advanced chronic kidney disease do not feel the same as they used to because their control over their lives is limited; because they feel their health is in a continuous state of deterioration; and because of the changes in themselves and in their relationships with others. With chronic kidney disease, their identity is continually called into question. The normal lives of these people-their biographical constructions-are precarious and are continuously being remodelled by the effects of treatment and the inexorable course of this disease. This study contributes to an understanding of the experience of people with advanced chronic kidney disease. It can contribute to helping health care professionals effectively support these patients in their efforts to lead a normal life and in making decisions about their treatment.

The Low Voices: Quality, Ethics, and Reach of Qualitative Data*

It may be stated that qualitative texts harbour a set of voices that, as if they were drawings, seek to sensitize and,ultimately­ transform those who listen to them. These voices come from participants in studies, from ourselves, researchers, and from others who have preceded us and who speak to us from the literature. Our research studies set off from participant's lived experience and, when interpreted, express the universal in the particular, as in the drawings by Goya who, by using images he took from the streets, expressed the pain and loneliness of people (Figure 1) and denounced events that occurred during the war, which over two-hundred years later still shudder and overwhelm us (Figure 2). Thus, similarly, carefully chosen and wisely combined in research reports, they, the low voices, will move those who read them into situations and experiences evoking potentially transformative images.

[The care in the prevention of falls in elderly people: Meta-summary of qualitative articles]. / El cuidado en la prevención de caídas en personas mayores: metaresumen de artículos cualitativos.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the qualitative evidence on the role of care providers in the prevention of falls of persons over 65 years of age in centres and in the community. DESIGN: Meta-summary of qualitative evidence following the aggregation method. DATA SOURCES: Extensive manual search of 16 databases (CINAHL, Pubmed/Medline, Embase, PsycInfo, Cochrane Library, PeDRO, Opengrey (Reports), Cuiden, Cuidatge, Enfispo, Medes, Lilacs, Teseo, Dissertation and Thesis Global and Ibecs), in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese; no time limit. SELECTION OF STUDIES: Selection and blind critical appraisal by pairs. A first relevance and relevance screening and a second critical appraisal screening were carried out. A total of 4170 articles were located; 41 qualitative articles were critically appraised and 31 were selected. DATA EXTRACTION: Data regarding author, year, study design, location, participants (number, age, sex and occupation), study methods and findings were extracted. RESULTS: The analysis revealed four major themes: precipitating factors, preventive models, feelings and decision-making process. It also highlights the difficult act of ethical balance, the role of the institution in prevention and the fragmentation of care, as keys to successful implementation. CONCLUSIONS: The findings show the complexity of fall prevention and the need to incorporate care providers' opinions in preventive models.

Managing and keeping control: A qualitative synthesis of nursing and care staff strategies to prevent older people from falling.

AIM: To better understand formal care providers' role in fall prevention. DESIGN: Qualitative synthesis as part of an integrative review. DATA SOURCES: Fifteen electronic databases were consulted with the time limit being December 2017. Studies included were qualitative primary studies on formal care providers and fall prevention of people over 65 years of age in health care facilities. 17 studies were included. REVIEW METHODS: Qualitative researchers carried out a critical appraisal and abstraction of the studies retained. Primary studies were imported into Nvivo 12 software; grounded theory procedures of constant comparison, microanalysis, coding, development of memos and diagrams were completed concurrently in a continuous growing process of data conceptualization. Analysis was iterative; it started with open coding and ended with the development of an integrative memo. FINDINGS: Primary studies were synthesized with the emerging core category of "Managing and keeping control" and described by the emerging strategies of risk management, risk control and articulation work. These three categories account for the formal care providers' role in fall prevention in health care facilities. CONCLUSION: Fall prevention is not given by a series of means and instruments; it is rather built in the interactions between formal care providers and the material and social world. The interactive character of prevention implies that outcomes cannot always be anticipated. IMPACT: Although falls are one of the most researched clinical problems in nursing, the role played by nursing and care staff is dispersed and scantily documented. Formal care providers alternate risk management with risk control strategies to prevent older people from falling in health care facilities, they also resort to the articulation of the health care team as a complementary strategy. This review shows the dynamic character of fall prevention, which is something that has tended to go unnoticed in the literature and in policy.

[Fall prevention in older people and their families: a qualitative synthesis]. / La prevención de las caídas de las personas mayores y sus familiares: una síntesis cualitativa.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse and synthesize the evidence on fall prevention of people older than 65 years and their family care providers METHOD: Qualitative synthesis, which is a part of a convergent systematic integrative review. Forty-one qualitative studies were retained for full text scrutiny. Nine studies on family care providers were selected for this synthesis. RESULTS: Care providing, and kinship relationships mediated family care providers' interventions to prevent falls in older people. The fall of the dependent relative constitutes a turning point in these relationships. Family care providers are vulnerable to having a fall themselves and therefore receivers of preventive interventions. CONCLUSIONS: Taking into account the context of care and family relations will improve the effectiveness of preventive interventions and will facilitate adherence. Fall prevention policy and programmes must pay better attention to the health and wellbeing of family care providers.

Situating Preventive Action in a Moral and Clinical Context: A Qualitative Synthesis on Fall Prevention.

The prevention of falls is an integral part of the safety culture of health institutions with mandatory fall prevention programs set within health care facilities. Care providers are key in identifying the risks of falls and in implementing strategic actions to prevent them. With the aim to better understand practices of fall prevention, we conducted a synthesis of qualitative evidence on care providers' practices to prevent older people from falling in health care facilities. This synthesis is part of an integrative review of the role of care providers in fall prevention of adults aged 65 years and above. Primary studies were synthesized with the emerging core category of "a complex decision" and described by four emerging conditions that make that decision complex: (a) permanent threat of a fall, (b) continuous flow of information, (c) lack of control, and (d) ethical dilemmas and moral issues over the course of action. The present synthesis shows that before implementing preventive actions, care providers consider the conditions in which they are immersed, in this way situating their preventive actions in a clinical and a moral context.

To manage a complex dependency: The experience of caregiving after a fall.

AIM: To understand the experience of family members of an older relative who has had a fall which required medical attention. BACKGROUND: There is abundant bibliography in caregiving, but little is known about the problems faced by caregivers and how family members cope when their older relative has a fall. DESIGN: Qualitative study that used a symbolic interactionism perspective. METHODS: Twenty-two people with older relatives, who had had a fall and contacted health services in Spain, participated in the study. Data were obtained via written accounts, focus groups, and semi-structured interviews between February 2014 - December 2015. Analysis was guided by grounded theory procedures. RESULTS: With the fall, dependency becomes a complex issue for the family. To manage a complex dependency is the core issue that emerges from the data analysis. It depicts family efforts to assist their relative in gaining autonomy after a fall, in the best conditions they can provide. They do this with little guidance and support from healthcare professionals. CONCLUSIONS: Guides and protocols for the care of a fragile older person, particularly after a fall, should not only include care but also support to caregivers. Health professionals and especially nurses need to be aware and respond to the family caregivers needs after a fall. To the fall prevention initiatives already in place, it must be added that those who support family members to cope with the care of an older person who has had a fall.

[To recuperate and preserve the relative: Family caregivers strategies to manage mental health crisis]. / Recuperar y conservar al familiar: estrategias de los familiares cuidadores para hacer frente a las crisis de salud mental.

AIM: To know and understand the strategies carried out by the relatives of people with mental health problems in the care of their sick relatives. DESIGN: Qualitative study SETTING: Mental Health Service (SESCAM) and Social Health Centres of Castilla-La Mancha region (Spain). PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-four adult family members who live and care for a family member who suffers a mental health crisis. The participants were contacted both through the health directorate of the area and a social health foundation. They were selected with purpose and by snowball sampling. METHOD: Twenty-two semi-structured were conducted and analysed according to the constructivist grounded theory procedures between January 2014 and February 2016. The theoretical sampling guided the obtaining of the data that ended with the saturation of the emerging categories. RESULTS: A person with a mental problem during a crisis becomes a stranger and is inaccessible to family members. In this situation the efforts are aimed at the recovery of the relative, to take them out of the unreason and to keep them in a day-to-day normality constructed for them. Thanks to this, the ill relative is integrated into family life. CONCLUSIONS: Family caregivers of people with mental problems struggle not to lose them in a crisis and to maintain family ties. Primary care professionals must give importance to these links, because it determines their care strategies during a crisis and the strategies to conserve the family member.

"Falls prevention among older people and care providers: protocol for an integrative review".

AIM: To review the evidence about the role of care providers in fall prevention in older adults aged ≥ 65 years, this includes their views, strategies, and approaches on falls prevention and effectiveness of nursing interventions. BACKGROUND: Some fall prevention programmes are successfully implemented and led by nurses and it is acknowledged the vital role they play in developing plans for fall prevention. Nevertheless, there has not been a systematic review of the literature that describes this role and care providers' views on fall's prevention initiatives. DESIGN: A convergent synthesis of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies. The eligibility criteria will be based on participants, interventions/exposure, comparisons, and outcomes for quantitative studies and on population, the phenomena of interest and the context, for qualitative studies. To extract data and assess study qualities members of the research team will work in pairs according to their expertise. The review will follow the guidelines for integrative reviews and the proposed methods will adhere to the PRISMA statement checklist complemented by the ENTREQ framework. As qualitative synthesis are emergent, all procedures and changes in procedure will be documented. DISCUSSION: The review has a constructivist drive as studies that combine methods ought to be paradigmatic driven. Review questions are broad to allow issues emerge and have purposefully left the design flexible to allow for adjustments as the review progresses. The review seeks to highlight the roles that care providers play in fall prevention and their views on fall's prevention initiatives.

[The experience of women care cargivers with chronic conditions of dependent relatives]. / La experiencia del cuidado de las mujeres cuidadoras con procesos crónicos de salud de familiares dependientes.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the experience of women caregivers with chronic conditions who care for a dependent relative. DESIGN: Qualitative study based on constructivist grounded theory. LOCATION: Study conducted on two Health Areas urban of the Community of Madrid. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty nine women with a chronic condition who take care of dependent relatives were selected by means of purposive sampling. METHOD: Data were collected through 23 semi-structured interviews and 2 focus groups between April 2010 and December 2011. Grounded theory procedures were used in the data analysis. RESULTS: To feel their life hampered describes the subjective experience of family caregivers with chronic conditions who take care of a dependent relative. When comparing their past life with the current life they become aware of the losses they have suffered over time. They feel less strong, sadder and less free; they worry about how to meet the demands of family care. The life they are leading makes them question the meaning of their own lives. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the losses realized day by day by women caregivers with a chronic illness, which lead them to lose the meaning of their own lives. To know the experience of these women caregivers will help develop interventions and specific services that compensate for the losses they feel and help improve their quality of living.

Material world and social recognition: Nursing care in Spain (1855-1955).

OBJECTIVE: This study sought to recognize the active and symbolic role played by the objects from the material world for nursing care in Spain between 1855 and 1955. METHODOLOGY: This was a historical study using procedures from founded theory. The information sources were eight handbooks for the formation of healthcare professionals published in Spain, during the period of interest. The information was gathered from March 2012 to June 2013. During this period, the sources were revised comprehensively and bibliographic information, description of instruments, and analysis files were made; methodological and analytic memoranda were written. Forty-five procedures and 360 material objects were registered. RESULTS: The categories ''principal and secondary objects'' and ''guarded objects'' reveal the influence exerted by the objects from the material world for care. CONCLUSION: In Spain, between 1855 and 1955, nursing care was carried out within a scenario comprised of objects with secondary status and situated within the periphery of care, as well as by guarded objects that professionals could not use. This material world influenced the social recognition of healthcare professionals at the time and the visibility of their work.

Un mundo en transición: Objetos para los cuidados en España entre 1855 y 1955 / A World in Transition: Objects Used for Care in Spain between 1855 and 1955 / Um mundo em transição: Objetos para os cuidados na Espanha entre 1855 e 1955

Objetivo: describir el mundo material para los cuidados de enfermería en España entre 1855 y 1955. Método: estudio histórico, con procedimientos de investigación cualitativa. Las fuentes de información fueron manuales dirigidos a la formación de profesionales dedicados al cuidado de los enfermos. Resultados: en los manuales revisados, el contexto, los escenarios y las personas dedicadas a los cuidados se presentan concurrentemente. La habitación con su mobiliario y condiciones físicas y ambientales era el escenario principal para cuidar. Esta, junto a los objetos utilizados en ella con finalidad terapéutica, conformaba el mundo material para los cuidados. Los objetos del mundo material tenían cuatro propiedades respecto al uso: 1) reutilizables, si se usaban más de una vez; 2) polivalentes, cuando tenían diferentes usos prácticos; 3) sustituibles, otros podían reemplazarlos en el uso, y 4) importados, se incorporaban objetos de otros contextos al escenario de los cuidados. Discusión y conclusiones: el mundo material para los cuidados en España en la época de interés se encontraba en un contexto de salud-enfermedad de transición: de la teoría de los miasmas a la de los gérmenes, de proporcionar cuidados generalistas a cuidados especializados y de la presencia de diferentes figuras profesionales dedicadas al cuidado a su unificación. Este era un contexto amplio, tecnológico y heterogéneo. Las propiedades de los objetos enriquecían este mundo material y facilitaban la compleja y creativa labor de quienes cuidaban, cuyas herramientas de trabajo se describían en los manuales como sencillas y vulgares.

Objective: This research was designed to describe the objects used in the world of nursing care in Spain between 1855 and 1955. Method: It is a historical study conducted with qualitative research methods. The sources of information were training manuals for professional nurses. Results: The context, the settings and those involved in nursing care are presented concurrently in the manuals that were reviewed. The patient's room, with its furniture and physical and environmental conditions, was the primary stage for nursing care. This setting, together with the objects used in it for therapeutic purposes, comprised the material world for nursing care. With respect to their use, the objects in that material world had four properties: 1) reusable, if used more than once; 2) multi-purpose, when they had different practical uses; 3) substitutable, when others could be used in their place, and 4) imported objects or those brought from other contexts and incorporated into the scenario of care. Discussion and Conclusions: The material world of care in Spain during the period in question was in a context of health-illness transition from the miasmatic theory to the germ theory, from general care to specialized care, and from the presence of different professionals dedicated to care to their unification. It was a broad, technological and heterogeneous context. The properties of these objects enriched this material world and facilitated the complex and creative work of those who provided care and whose tools are described in the manuals as simple and unrefined.

Objetivo: descrever o mundo material para os cuidados de enfermagem na Espanha entre 1855 e 1955. Método: estudo histórico, com procedimentos de pesquisa qualitativa. As fontes de informação foram manuais dirigidos à formação de profissionais dedicados ao cuidado dos doentes. Resultados: nos manuais revisados, o contexto, os cenários e as pessoas dedicadas aos cuidados apresentam-se simultaneamente. O quarto, com seu mobiliário e condições físico-ambientais, era o cenário principal para cuidar. Este, junto com os objetos utilizados nele com finalidade terapêutica, conformava o mundo material para os cuidados. Os objetos do mundo material tinham quatro propriedades a respeito do uso: 1) reutilizáveis, se eram usados mais de uma vez; 2) polivalentes, quanto tinham diferentes usos práticos; 3) substituíveis, outros podiam substituí-los no uso e 4) importados, incorporavam-se objetos de outros contextos ao cenário dos cuidados. Discussão e conclusões: o mundo material para os cuidados na Espanha na época em questão se encontrava num contexto de saúde-doença de transição: da teoria dos miasmas à dos germes, de proporcionar cuidados gerais a cuidados especializados e da presença de diferentes figuras profissionais dedicadas ao cuidado da sua unificação. Este era um contexto amplo, tecnológico e heterogêneo. As propriedades dos objetos enriqueciam esse mundo material e facilitavam o complexo e criativo trabalho de quem cuidava, cujas ferramentas de trabalho se descreviam nos manuais como simples e vulgares.

Falls of older people living in the community- A critical review / Las caídas de las personas mayores que viven en la comunidad: Una revisión crítica

Falls are the most prevalent and serious accident older people suffer in their homes and also, they are the main reason for their hospital admission. In a great part of the cases falls expose at risk elderly people’s well-being and quality of life. A critical narrative literature review was undertaken to inform research in the area of falls in older people living in the community. Articles were retrieved from Medline and Scopus data bases from November 2011 to January 2013. Citation searching was also used as a complement by hand searching of relevant journals. Additionally, an alert mechanism was established in Scopus for a period of one year to identify relevant studies or literature. Reviewed studies have provided valuable evidence about falls in older people and potential prevention strategies. However, evidence from relatives, caregivers and significant others is conspicuously absent. Falls in the community and falls prevention happen in social and family contexts that must be empirically studied and reported.

Las caídas son el accidente más serio y prevalente que los mayores sufren en sus domicilios y son la principal razón de ingreso hospitalario. Las caídas ponen en riesgo el bienestar y la calidad de vida de los mayores. Se llevó a cabo una revisión narrativa crítica de la bibliografía a fin de informar estudios de investigación en el área de las caídas de los mayores que viven en la comunidad. Se recuperaron estudios de las bases de datos Medline y Scopus de Noviembre 2012 a Enero 2013. Se usó también búsqueda de citaciones que se complementó con búsqueda manual en revistas relevantes. Se estableció un sistema de alertas en Scopus a lo largo de un año para identificar estudios relevantes o bibliografía. Los estudios revisados han proporcionado una evidencia valiosa sobre las caídas de las personas mayores y las estrategias potenciales de prevención. No obstante, evidencia proveniente de sus familiares, cuidadores y otros significativos esta notablemente ausente. Las caídas en la comunidad y su prevención suceden en contextos familiares y sociales que deben ser empíricamente estudiados y registrados.

Material world and social recognition: Nursing care in Spain (1855-1955) / Mundo material y reconocimiento social: los cuidados de enfermería en España entre 1855 y 1955 / Mundo material e reconhecimento social: os cuidados de enfermagem na Espanha (1855-1955)

Objective. This study sought to recognize the active and symbolic role played by the objects from the material world for nursing care in Spain between 1855 and 1955. Methodology. This was a historical study using procedures from founded theory. The information sources were eight handbooks for the formation of healthcare professionals published in Spain, during the period of interest. The information was gathered from March 2012 to June 2013. During this period, the sources were revised comprehensively and bibliographic information, description of instruments, and analysis files were made; methodological and analytic memoranda were written. Forty-five procedures and 360 material objects were registered. Results. The categories ''principal and secondary objects'' and ''guarded objects'' reveal the influence exerted by the objects from the material world for care. Conclusion. In Spain, between 1855 and 1955, nursing care was carried out within a scenario comprised of objects with secondary status and situated within the periphery of care, as well as by guarded objects that professionals could not use. This material world influenced the social recognition of healthcare professionals at the time and the visibility of their work.

Objetivo. Reconocer el papel activo y simbólico que jugaron los objetos del mundo material para los cuidados de enfermería en España entre 1855 y 1955. Metodología. Estudio histórico que utiliza procedimientos de la teoría fundamentada. Las fuentes de información fueron ocho manuales para la formación de los profesionales de los cuidados publicados en España, en la época de interés. La recolección de la información se realizó desde marzo de 2012 hasta junio de 2013. En este periodo, se revisaron íntegramente las fuentes y se realizaron fichas con información bibliográfica, de descripción de instrumentos y de análisis. A su vez, se escribieron memorandos metodológicos y analíticos. Se registraron 45 procedimientos y 360 objetos materiales. Resultados. Las categorías ''objetos principales y secundarios'' y ''objetos custodiados'' revelan la influencia que ejercían los objetos del mundo material para los cuidados. Conclusión. En España entre 1855 y 1955, los cuidados de enfermería se daban en un escenario conformado especialmente por objetos con estatus secundario y situados en la periferia de los cuidados, como también por los objetos custodiados que los profesionales no podían usar. Este mundo material influía en el reconocimiento social de los profesionales del cuidado de la época y en la visibilidad de su trabajo.

Objetivo. Reconhecer o papel ativo e simbólico que jogaram os objetos do mundo material para os cuidados de enfermagem na Espanha entre 1855 e 1955. Metodologia. Estudo histórico que utiliza procedimentos da teoria fundamentada. As fontes de informação foram oito manuais para a formação dos profissionais dos cuidados publicados na Espanha, na época de interesse. A recolha da informação se realizou desde março de 2012 até junho de 2013. Neste período, revisaram-se integralmente as fontes e se realizaram fichas com informação bibliográfica, de descrição de instrumentos e de análises. A sua vez, escreveram-se memorandos metodológicos e analíticos. Registraram-se 45 procedimentos e 360 objetos materiais. Resultados. As categorias ''objetos principais e secundários'' e ''objetos custodiados'' revelam a influência que exerciam os objetos do mundo material para os cuidados. Conclusão. Na Espanha entre 1855 e 1955, os cuidados de enfermaria se davam num palco conformado especialmente por objetos com status secundário e situados na periferia dos cuidados, como também pelos objetos custodiados que os profissionais não podiam usar. Este mundo material influía no reconhecimento social dos profissionais do cuidado da época e na visibilidade de seu trabalho.

Women's self-management of chronic illnesses in the context of caregiving: a grounded theory study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Uncover how women self-manage their own chronic illness while taking care of a dependent relative. BACKGROUND: International policies place special emphasis in promoting interventions addressed to control, prevent and care for people with chronic health conditions. Self-management is a crucial part of this care. Caregivers are more prone to have chronic illness than non-caregivers. They are confronted with dilemmas about taking care of themselves while taking care of their dependent relative and the rest of their families. Caregivers articulate strategies to enable them to focus their energy on caring. DESIGN: Qualitative study using constructivist grounded theory. METHODS: Thirty-nine women caregivers with a chronic illness participated in the study. Twenty-three semi-structured interviews and two focus groups were carried out between April 2010-December 2011. Data were analysed using grounded theory procedures. FINDINGS: Self-management helps women caregivers with a chronic illness to balance the demands of their own illness and those of the dependent relative. They self-manage their illness by self-regulating the treatment, by regulating their strength and by controlling their emotions. CONCLUSIONS: Women caregivers integrate effectively and creatively the management of their chronic illnesses within the complexities of family care. This renders their health needs invisible and reaffirms them as capable caregivers. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Identifying self-management strategies of women caregivers allow health professionals to acknowledge and reinforce effective self-care measures and to deter those that are ineffective and lessen their quality of life.

Access to information in qualitative research. A matter of care.

In this article attention is focused on access to data; a process that tends to be taken for granted and which in practice takes time and energy from the person who investigates. Access implies a process of contacting key people in institutions; negotiating with them, being invited to obtain data, achieving formal permission, and--finally--constructing relationships with the participants. Access to data is negotiated, trust is constructed in relationships with study participants, and data is obtained. All this constitutes an interactive process in which the person who investigates is revealed as an instrument in obtaining the data. Thus, the appearance, manners, and the way of being of the person who investigates will facilitate access to broad and detailed information.

Acceder a la información en la Investigación Cualitativa: Un asunto de Cuidado / Aceder à informação na Investigação Qualitativa: Um assunto de Cuidado / Access to information in qualitative research. A matter of Care

En este artículo se centra la atención en el acceso a los datos, un proceso que se suele dar por hecho y que en la práctica lleva tiempo y energía de quien investiga. El acceso implica un proceso que implica varios pasos: contactar con las personas clave en las instituciones, negociar con ellas, ser invitado para obtener los datos, lograr el permiso formal y, finalmente, construir relaciones con los participantes. El acceso a los datos se negocia, la confianza se construye en las relaciones con los participantes del estudio y los datos se obtienen. Todo ello constituye un proceso interactivo en el cual quien investiga se revela como instrumento en la obtención de los datos. Así, la apariencia, los modales y la manera de ser de quien investiga facilitaran el acceso a una información amplia y detallada...

In this article attention is focused on access to data; a process that tends to be taken for granted and which in practice takes time and energy from the person who investigates. Access implies a process of contacting key people in institutions; negotiating with them, being invited to obtain data, achieving formal permission, and – finally – constructing relationships with the participants. Access to data is negotiated, trust is constructed in relationships with study participants, and data is obtained. All this constitutes an interactive process in which the person who investigates is revealed as an instrument in obtaining the data. Thus, the appearance, manners, and the way of being of the person who investigates will facilitate access to broad and detailed information...

Neste artigo se centra o atendimento no acesso aos dados, um processo que se costuma dar por fato e que na prática leva tempo e energia de quem pesquisa. O acesso implica um processo de contatar com as pessoas importantes nas instituições; negociar com elas, ser convidado para obter os dados, conseguir a permissão formal e finalmente, construir relações com os participantes. O acesso aos dados se negocia, a confiança se constrói nas relações com os participantes do estudo e os dados se obtêm. Tudo isso constitui um processo interativo no qual quem pesquisa se revela como instrumento na obtenção dos dados. Assim, a aparência, os modais e a maneira de ser de quem pesquisa facilitassem o acesso a uma informação ampla e detalhada...

How women caregivers deal with their own long-term illness: a qualitative study.

AIM: To explore the strategies used by women caregivers to deal with their own chronic health conditions. BACKGROUND: Providing care has a negative impact on the physical and mental health of caregivers. When caregivers suffer chronic health problems, it increases the burden of caring, making them more vulnerable and less likely to look after their own health. DESIGN: Qualitative study carried out between April 2010-December 2011. METHOD: Thirty-nine women with long-term illness who care for dependent family members took part in the study, 23 in semi-structured interviews and 16 in two focus groups. The data were analysed using the grounded theory method. FINDINGS: Women caregivers feel that they cannot let their own chronic health problems prevent them from caring for others. Dealing with their health problems enables them to provide the time and effort their family member requires. They do this by: (1) normalizing their chronic conditions; (2) neutralizing the effects of their long-term illness; and (3) forgetting that they are chronic sufferers. CONCLUSIONS: This study analyses the strategies that family caregivers use to deal with their own chronic health problems, so that they can continue to provide family care. It shows that, to forget about their own illnesses, these women must take charge of them. Nurses need to recognize and value the strategies that caregivers use to deal with their own health problems. They also need to encourage them to use the most effective strategies, to improve their quality of life.