Qualitative health research
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In spite of the increasing number of young women infected with HIV in the United States, little is known about the reproductive and mothering experiences of these women. The purpose of the grounded-theory research discussed in this article was to describe the reproductive and mothering experiences of HIV-positive women. ⋯ A communication pattern known in the psychiatric literature as a double bind was discovered to be a basic social psychological problem that affected the women's experiences with reproduction and mothering. An understanding of the power and influence of these double binds permits health care professionals to plan patient-centered programs and to individualize care specifically for HIV-positive women.
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Six qualitative studies have been carried out to better understand courage among individuals who range in age from 14 to 94 years and are experiencing a variety of lingering threats to their well-being. The purpose of this meta-interpretation was to synthesize those works and further delineate an emergent formal theory of courage. ⋯ Courageous behavior is characterized by efforts to be productive, make contributions, and help others and results in a sense of personal integrity and thriving. Courage is promoted and sustained by several interrelated intrapersonal and interpersonal forces as well as the reflective awareness that one has developed a courageous persona.
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Fibromyalgia (FM) is a common chronic pain syndrome with an obscure etiology, which mostly afflicts middle-aged women. In this study, 14 women with FM were interviewed about the meaning of living with the illness. A phenomenological-hermeneutic method was used to analyze and interpret the interview texts. ⋯ The women's experiences of living with FM were presented in three major interlaced themes: loss of freedom, threat to integrity, and a struggle to achieve relief and understanding. This study highlights the importance of meeting people suffering in illness with respect for their human dignity. The care of women with FM must empower the women to bring to bear their own resources so that they can manage to live with the illness.
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The purpose of the Heideggerian hermeneutical project, from which this article stems, was to describe women's experience of sexual violence by male intimates. Ten women who had encountered sexual violence by a male they knew well were interviewed about the effects of that experience on their everyday lives. ⋯ For Heidegger, understanding is not a cognitive process; rather, it is an implicit "knowing how" to do what is appropriate in each situation. Professionals who work with women who have experienced intimate sexual violence should seek to understand the women's intuitive understanding of what is possible and to appreciate the common sense ways they cope with life in a violent world.
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The grounded theory study discussed in this article provides an explanatory schema that illuminates the mothering experiences of women living with HIV infection. Eighteen HIV-positive mothers provided 24 in-depth interviews. ⋯ Their defensive posture afforded these mothers and their children some degree of psychological protection. Defensive mothering involved much mental work and included three subprocesses: preventing the spread of HIV, preparing the children for a motherless future, and protecting themselves through thought control.