Health(care) matters: where do the transgender individuals of Kashmir situate themselves?

While employing a phenomenological perspective, the present study aimed to explore the varied experiences of transgender individuals in Kashmir, concerning their health-seeking behavior, and the constraints they face while accessing healthcare resources on a day-to-day basis in their life world. Participants were recruited through the purposive and snowball sampling strategies and the sufficiency of sample size was determined by data saturation. Data were collected using face-to-face in-depth interviews and analyzed through Colaizzi's procedure of extracting recurrent themes and their interwoven relationships in qualitative research. Three main themes of awareness and the preferences for healthcare, gender identity and persistent stigmatization in care settings, and intra-community support and the resultant caregiving were prominent. Results of the study revealed that the transgender individuals in Kashmir experience inappropriate health-seeking behaviour primarily due to their unawareness regarding health, diseases and public healthcare programs/schemes, financial constraints, social exclusion, improper support and social stigma. They often prefer treating their health issues, mostly through local pharmacies or patent medicine vendors (PMVs), instead of visiting the medical professionals in the organized sector. Moreover, in many instances, they were also found to delay their decisions to seek care or simply decided to remain far from any medical intervention. As a result, the transgender individuals in Kashmir usually experience underutilization of formal healthcare services, which undermines their right to proper health and well-being.

Marginalized COVID-19 patients and their significant others in Kashmir (India): manifesting the hidden structural vulnerabilities.

Using a qualitative approach, this study aimed to undertake an in-depth exploration of the experiences of COVID-19 patients and their significant others among the economically weaker sections in Kashmir. The study was conducted on 18 participants of different households solely from rural Kashmir while using the purposive sampling technique to recruit the participants and the principle of data saturation to determine the sample size. Data were collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews and analyzed through Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis framework. From the data analysis, six overarching themes of diagnosis, healthcare, treatment, survival thereof, social support and stigma were arrived at, which delineated the direct or indirect experiences of participants with COVID-19. The findings of the study revealed that the economically weaker sections of rural Kashmir are deprived of requisite healthcare facilities, which further intensifies their vulnerabilities to COVID-19 and associated health issues. They lie at the core of acute health disadvantage amid the COVID-19 crisis, and are hence drifted toward extreme marginality and socioeconomic adversity.

Dying, Death and Mourning amid COVID-19 Pandemic in Kashmir: A Qualitative Study.

Using a qualitative approach, this study aimed to examine the changing nature of death, dying and mourning among Muslims of Kashmir due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Telephonic Interviews were conducted with 17 participants, whose loved ones died after the outbreak of the COVID-19 in Kashmir. The findings of the study revealed that the deceased mostly died in isolation with no one around. Mourning the loss was also highly challenging with participants receiving less in-person support thus leading to mourning in isolation. The inability to perform last rites added yet another layer of grief which resulted in prolonged grief among the bereaved and impacted their overall wellbeing.

Role of technology in restructuring the traditional practices around death and mourning in Kashmir.

Using a grounded theory approach, this qualitative study aimed to highlight the evolving technological dimensions of death and mourning practices and its transfer from a set physical setting to virtual and open space. The study was carried on 30 participants from Kashmir. Data was collected using in-depth face-to-face interviews and field notes were also used to capture non-verbal communication. The results of the study revealed that a considerable shift is being witnessed so far as death and mourning practices in Kashmir are concerned. The physical space is shrinking and giving way for virtual spaces to play their role in practices related to death and mourning.

Lived experiences of women suffering from breast cancer in Kashmir: a phenomenological study.

Using a phenomenological approach, this study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of Kashmiri women suffering from breast cancer within the context of their day-to-day lives. Snowball sampling and theoretical sampling techniques were employed for recruiting participants. Data collection was primarily based on the principles of data saturation. Data saturation occurred after 12 women with breast cancer were interviewed. Data was collected using face-to-face in-depth individual interviews. The interview guide consisted of open-ended questions. To attain the utmost variation, sumptuousness and profundity of responses, interviewer asked probing, specific, and interpreting questions during interviews. Data analysis of the transcripts was based on Graneheim and Lundman's (Qualitative content analysis in nursing research: concepts, procedures and measures to achieve trustworthiness. Nurse Education Today 2004;24:105-12) procedures for taking out themes in qualitative data. Two main themes emerged that explained the lived experiences of women with breast cancer: (i) challenges encountered (altered body image, embarrassment, perceived worries, financial constraints, dealing with negative attitudes and stigma) and (ii) coping strategies (reliance on religion and spirituality, social support, living as usual, optimistic attitude and will to recover, and venting out). The findings revealed that breast cancer diagnosis influences women significantly as they acknowledged that it wasthe most traumatic experience of their life; however, with time, they started to accept the reality and made use of various methods to cope with their illness.