Qualitative health research
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In this article, we report on qualitative findings pertaining to low-income people's perceptions of and responses to "poverty stigma," a key component of social exclusion with important implications for health and well-being. Our findings are drawn from a multimethod study designed to investigate experiences of social exclusion and social isolation among people living on low incomes. We conducted semistructured individual interviews (n = 59) and group interviews (total n = 34) with low-income residents of two large Canadian cities. ⋯ Participants overwhelmingly thought that other members of society tend to view them as a burden to society-as lazy, disregarding of opportunities, irresponsible, and opting for an easy life. Low-income people responded to perceived stigma with a variety of cognitive and behavioral strategies that reflected their efforts to reconcile their perceived "social" and "personal" identities. These strategies included confronting discrimination directly, disregarding responses from others, helping other low-income people, withdrawing and isolating themselves from others, engaging in processes of cognitive distancing, and concealing their financial situation.
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The primary responsibility of prehospital emergency personnel at out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) is to provide lifesaving care. Ethical considerations, decisions, and actions should be based in the patient's beliefs about health and well-being. In this article, we describe patients' experiences of surviving OHCA. ⋯ Survival means a search for coherence with distressing and joyful understanding, as well as existential insecurity exposed by feelings of vulnerability. Well-being is found through a sense of coherence and meaning in life. The study findings show survivors' emotional needs and a potential for prehospital emergency personnel to support them as they try to make sense of what has happened to them.