International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being最新文献

Introduction: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a chronic illness marked by severe, medically unexplained fatigue. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) moderately improves fatigue and functioning. However, there is debate about recovery and how this should be operationalised. The impact of treatment on how recovery is viewed is also unclear. This study explored how people with CFS receiving CBT viewed recovery and whether these views differed at various stages of treatment.

Methods: A total of 19 people with CFS receiving CBT were recruited from a specialist service in the UK. Purposive sampling was used to ensure a mix of age, gender, ethnicity and treatment stage. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data and a reflexive thematic analysis was conducted.

Results: The sample included 11 (57.9%) females and 8 (42.1%) males, with a mean age of 40 years old (range: 20-63) The mean duration of illness prior to treatment was 60 months (range: 12-142). The following four themes were identified in relation to recovery: (1) a personal process; (2) a reduction in symptoms; (3) a process of rebuilding, regaining, and retaining; (4) disrupting old ways of living. Theme Four was expressed mostly by those at later-treatment stages, suggesting that these emerged during treatment.

Discussion: Recovery is a blend of 'clinical recovery', 'personal recovery' and 'illness management' models applied to other chronic conditions. Data suggests that concepts can change, and treatment may result in patients adopting views more in line with 'personal recovery' and 'illness management' models. These more flexible definitions, particularly those comprising changes to pre-illness beliefs and behaviours, new roles, acceptance and strategies to manage symptoms, corresponded with greater hope. Findings may help to inform realistic treatment expectations and contribute to more meaningful outcome measures.

Purpose: How the body is experienced in the context of weight stigma is largely unexplored among women with binge eating disorder (BED) and higher weight. The aim of this study was to investigate how weight stigma can manifest as embodied meaning.

Methods: Eight patients participated in qualitative interviews. The data analysis was inspired by Van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenological method. Habits, understood as unspoken patterns of behavior shaped by social and material contexts, was a central analytic concept.

Results: The overarching finding was participants feeling "Visible yet Invisible". Three subthemes emerged. "Absorbed by unfitting body-size": experiences of a constant collision with the thin-body ideal made participants feel overtly visible and shameful. "Continuous fluctuation between hyper and hypo awareness of the body": participants distracted themselves from overwhelming sensations attributed to body size. "Agency based on adjustment and self-restriction": participants arrested their spontaneous self-expression in daily life. Habitual restrictions of bodily awareness and agency were interpreted to assist participants perceiving themselves less visible, and thus buffer feelings of shame about their body size.

Conclusions: Findings highlight how weight stigma can intertwine with shame preventing habits among patients with BED and higher weight. Future directions for research on BED through patients' embodiment are suggested.

Purpose: As the population ages, the number of elderly patients with chronic diseases increases. It is crucial to focus on the medication experience of elderly patients and their family caregivers during transitions of care (TOC) to improve prognosis and ensure medication safety. However, existing evidence mainly focuses on communication experiences of medication management during this period, which constitutes only part of the overall medication experience. This study aims to systematically review qualitative research exploring the medication experience of elderly patients and caregivers during TOC and provide insights for enhancing their medication experience and ensuring safety during this critical time.

Methods: We followed ENTREQ and PRISMA to guide this study. Seven electronic databases (CENTRAL, CINAHL, Embase, PsycInfo, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) were systematically searched for studies published up to April 2025, to include qualitative data regarding the medication experiences of elderly patients and their family caregivers during the TOC period. The data were analyzed using thematic synthesis to systematically synthesize the qualitative evidence.

Results: In the initial phase, 3,336 studies were screened, with 13 studies ultimately meeting the inclusion criteria: 12 qualitative studies and 1 mixed-methods study. Four main themes emerged: multidimensional experience of medication continuity disruption during TOC, experience of participation in decision-making about medication, experience of communication and information barriers, and experience of multidimensional strategies to improve patient and family caregiver-centered medication.

Conclusion: Gaps and fragmentation in the transformation of medication information frequently occurred during the TOC period, leading to a negative medication experience for elderly patients and their caregivers. Healthcare providers should pay close attention to the impact of the care transition period on this group's medication experience, adapting 'patient and family caregiver-centered' diversified adjustment strategies to help them navigate this period safely and smoothly.

Purpose: The number of international students is gradually increasing, and the lack of adaptability they experience affect their happiness. This study aimed to examine the happiness of international undergraduate students using a qualitative method.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 international undergraduate students studying at the university.

Results: The themes identified as a result of the content analysis were as follows: components of happiness, the meaning of being a happy university student in another country, and the meaning of unhappiness.

Discussion: Students' perspectives on happiness vary according to collectivist and individualist social characteristics. The most important sources of support for students are friends from societies similar to their own cultures. Students from collectivist societies are more reserved and, therefore, unhappy academically and socially. Mental health professionals serving university students and other professionals working in this field need to plan therapeutic interventions to increase the well-being of international students, taking into account risk factors.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify patients' multidimensional needs at different phases of heart failure (HF) management from the acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) journey perspective, providing a basis for developing full-cycle and timely disease management strategies.

Method: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted at a cardiovascular specialist hospital in mainland China from January to March 2025. Purposive sampling was used to select participants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore their disease management needs during the journey. Inductive content analysis was employed to analyze the interview texts and create the disease management journey map.

Results: 18 eligible ADHF patients participated. A journey map framework was constructed based on a literature review, with its horizontal axis divided into the ADHF phase, the vulnerable phase, and the CHF phase. Through interview content analysis, 23 subcategories were extracted, which were categorized into needs, pain points, and emotions. Additionally, relevant personnel and their participation time domains were identified, thus forming the HF disease management journey map.

Conclusions: Medical staff should comprehensively assess patients' needs at different phases, identify intervention targets, and gradually establish a full-cycle and timely intervention protocol to optimize patients' experience and quality of life.

Purpose: International university students (ISs) experience elevated rates of psychological distress due to the unique challenges of living and studying in a new country. Nonetheless, their utilisation of mental health services tends to be low. This study aimed to explore ISs' experiences of help-seeking via the Scottish primary healthcare services.

Methods: A qualitative design using semi-structured interviews and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was employed. The sample included nine female ISs from a range of cultural backgrounds, who sought mental health support from the Scottish primary healthcare services within the previous year.

Results: Participants' help-seeking experiences, contextualised within the challenging, liminal reality of living and studying in Scotland as an IS, were hindered by challenges with navigating two healthcare systems simultaneously and culturally-mediated attitudes towards mental health. Positive and negative experiences of patient-GP interactions had a considerable impact on participants' subsequent help-seeking endeavours.

Conclusions: Transnational and relational lenses are key for understanding ISs' help-seeking. Beyond individual factors, help-seeking trajectories hinge on perceived quality of patient-doctor relationships and the accessibility of both local and home-country systems. These findings highlight the need for universities to implement targeted mental wellbeing interventions for ISs, and primary care to improve the quality patient-GP interactions.

Purpose: This study aimed to describe the experiences of using exercise as part of treatment and rehabilitation among health care workers for inpatients in forensic psychiatric care, especially regarding the significance of exercise as part of treatment or rehabilitation.

Methods: A qualitative design utilizing the focus group method, which in this case was carried out as two semi-structured focus group discussions with six participants each. Participants were health care workers from rehabilitation wards that work most closely with the patients concerning their planning and support in everyday activities. Content analysis with an inductive approach was applied using iterative close readings of transcripts.

Results: Three qualitatively separate categories emerged: Exercise is meaningful to the patients; Different professional roles related to the patients' exercise; and The work with patients' exercise is governed by different conditions. There was an awareness of the positive impact of exercise on somatic and mental health among participants, and exercise was considered meaningful to the patients.

Conclusions: This study contribute to the understanding of the role that health care workers could play about supporting exercise for patients with severe psychiatric illness. The participants identified organizational and intrapersonal barriers to patients' opportunities and abilities to perform physical activity and exercise.

Purpose: Norwegian Pakistanis use traditional and complementary medicines (T&CM) to promote well-being and treat illnesses. Effective communication between T&CM users and healthcare providers (HCPs) about these practices is essential for patient safety. Therefore, this study aimed to explore HCPs' experiences in discussing T&CM practices with Norwegian Pakistani patients.

Methods: Four focus group interviews and one individual in-depth interview were conducted with HCPs in Oslo, Norway, between May and October 2024. Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) was used to generate themes highlighting the shared meanings of the participants' experiences.

Results: Two main themes were generated: 1) Complex consultations and 2) Enhancing communication by modifying attitudes, knowledge, and practices. Consultations with immigrant patients were complex due to language barriers, participants' limited knowledge of T&CM, and various patient-related obstacles. Despite these challenges, participants demonstrated a strong motivation to overcome them. Improving HCPs' knowledge about T&CM and demonstrating openness and interest in what matters to patients can build trust and promote effective communication about T&CM.

Conclusion: HCPs lack knowledge about T&CM used by Norwegian Pakistani patients and rarely communicate about this topic in consultations. The results show an urgent need to promote measures that enhance communication for patient safety.

Background: Research focusing on the rehabilitation experiences of stroke patients in China remains limited. Understanding their recovery journey is essential for improving care strategies and enhancing patients' well-being. This study aimed to explore the psychosocial mechanisms and processes underlying the rehabilitation of hemiplegic stroke patients.

Methods: This study employed a constructivist grounded theory approach to understand the rehabilitation experiences of 13 hemiplegic stroke patients, recruited via theoretical sampling for in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed concurrently using the constant comparison method until theoretical saturation was reached, culminating in the construction of a theoretical model explaining their process of change.

Results: During the transition from illness to rehabilitation, hemiplegic stroke patients struggled with the lack of independence. With the support of a multidimensional system, these patients can partially regain independence.

Conclusion: This study revealed that the development of a holistic supportive services model can help patients receive timely and effective positive support. In future rehabilitation services, the multidimensional service model needs to be considered, and various facilitating factors should be improved to provide comprehensive and systematic rehabilitation services to patients.

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability globally, with high incidence in aging Asian populations. Elderly stroke survivors often have physiological dysfunctions, relying heavily on primary informal caregivers. However, Chinese caregivers face unique cultural and practical challenges (e.g., close bonding, filial piety-driven self-sacrifice, urban-rural medical insurance gaps) has not been explored from a qualitative perspective.

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the caregiving experiences, emotional states, and unmet needs of primary caregivers of elderly stroke patients in China, using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as a theoretical framework to guide analysis and identify targeted support strategies.

Methods: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted from March to April 2024 in the neurology department of a tertiary Grade-A hospital in southwestern China. Purposive sampling with maximum variation was used to recruit 19 primary caregivers.Data were collected via 30-45 minute semi-structured one-on-one interviews and analyzed using directed content analysis with NVivo software.

Results: Three core themes emerged: 1) Caregiving challenges (physical/mental exhaustion, economic pressure, role adaptation difficulties, lifestyle disruption); 2) Caregiver growth (enhanced mental resilience, improved health awareness, strengthened family bonds, reshaped life meaning); 3) Diverse support needs (instrumental, informational, emotional, social support). These themes mapped to all tiers of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

Conclusions: Chinese caregivers of elderly stroke patients face multi-dimensional burdens but also experience personal growth. Healthcare professionals should use Maslow's theory to provide comprehensive support to improve caregivers' well-being and long-term care quality.