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Aims: This study aimed to describe the experiences of nurses and other health care workers who were infected with coronavirus disease 2019. Methods: An empirical phenomenological approach was used. Sixteen participants were recruited in Wuhan using purposive and snowball sampling. Semistructured, in‐depth interviews were conducted by telephone in February 2020. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed following Colaizzi's method. Results: Two themes emerged: (1) Intense emotional distress since becoming infected. Participants were fearful of spreading the virus to family and overwhelmed by a lack of information, experienced uncertainty and worried about treatment, felt lonely during isolation and reported moral distress about inadequate health care staffing. (2) Coping strategies were needed. They tried their best to address negative psychological reactions using their professional knowledge and gaining support from others and community resources. Conclusions: Preparedness for catastrophic events and providing timely and accurate information are major considerations in government policy development, related to pandemics and adequacy of health care personnel. Mental health resources and support, both short‐ and long‐term should be anticipated for health care providers to alleviate their fear and anxiety. Summary statement: What is already known about this topic? Health care workers, including nurses, are at the frontlines of the COVID‐19 outbreak and at high risk of infection.Experts have called for infection prevention for health care providers.Limited research has reported the experiences of health care workers infected by COVID‐19 using an empirical phenomenological approach. What this paper adds? Upon diagnosis, nurses and other health care workers experienced fear, uncertainty and distress like general patients.Health care workers reported moral distress about inadequate health care staffing issues.Health care workers could cope with their negative psychological reactions using professional knowledge and support from significant others and the community. The implications of this paper: Preparedness for large‐scale pandemics and a system that can provide openness and timely information needs consideration in policy development.Accurate information and good communication are vital to support infected health care workers and enhance their sense of safety and belonging.Long‐term support should be available when these health care workers return to work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loneliness is a global public health concern linked to a range of negative health outcomes (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018. The Lancet. 391(10119), 426). Internationally, this has led to the development of a number of interventions, but these are rarely implemented or evaluated on a large scale. This paper is one of the first of its kind to describe elements of an evaluation of a large‐scale national social prescribing scheme to reduce loneliness, deploying individual link workers to signpost people to community activities. Reporting on findings from interviews with staff (n = 25 of which 6 were repeat interviews) and volunteers (n = 9) between October 2017 and December 2018 in localities across the United Kingdom. We reflect on the complexities of the link worker role, the challenges of service delivery and the importance of community infrastructure. There was evidence that highly skilled link workers who had developed positive relationships with providers and service‐users were key to the success of the intervention. As well as providing an effective liaison and signposting function, successful link workers tailored the national programme to local need to proactively address specific gaps in existing service provision. For social prescribing services to be successful and sustainable, commissioners must consider additional funding of community infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ageing does not reduce people's need to connect with family members, friends, and acquaintances, and neither does migration. For those older migrants living in a foreign land, connectedness with others plays a particularly important role in achieving a sense of belonging and sustaining their health and well‐being. This paper explores the issues of social isolation and loneliness among older Asian migrants in New Zealand. Data were collected from in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with Chinese‐ or Korean‐speaking migrants aged between 75 and 84 years (n = 10: all females), and from three focus groups consisting of Chinese‐ and Korean‐speaking migrants (n = 10: 7 females, 3 males) and Chinese professionals (n = 5: 3 females, 2 males) between June 2016 and December 2016. The qualitative data obtained were analysed applying a thematic analysis approach using NVivo software for group analysis by a multidisciplinary research team. The findings from the study show that older Asian migrants experienced high levels of isolation and loneliness at least at some points in their migrant lives. Most participants in this study were living alone or with only their spouse, and this living arrangement was likely to provide fertile ground for isolation and loneliness to grow in the context of later‐life migration. It was also observed that their lonely ageing ironically resulted from their efforts to preserve family relationships through avoiding being a burden, while allowing them a sort of space to maintain now barely connected lives. The participants revealed multiple ways of coping with lonely and isolated experiences in their limited social network, and these individual strategies allow us to make suggestions about how best to reduce older migrants' social isolation and loneliness in the New Zealand context and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many older people in Britain spend Christmas day alone. The Christmas period may be especially difficult for older people who are socially isolated, living with dementia or who have physical impairments, and may feel particularly marginalised at this time of year. This paper draws on evaluative research findings from a community Christmas event held in December 2014 at the University of Salford for older people and their carers who would be on their own on Christmas day. A multi-method approach was employed, seven guests took part in semi-structured interviews to explore their experiences and perceptions of the event, seven staff and student volunteers participated in a group interview to explore and discuss their participation in the event. Data collection took place during April and May 2015. Interview transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis. Three overarching themes were identified from the interviews: 'reasons for participants attending the event', 'a different Christmas day: the impact on guests and volunteers', and 'learning, planning and moving forwards'. The findings illustrate that a range of people participated in the Christmas day event for a variety of reasons. The event itself had a positive impact, including the shared experience of social belonging, for all involved. There are tangible longer term benefits as a result of the event, such as ongoing contact between participants and the development of supportive networks in the local community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is situated within an existential--narrative theoretical framework to examine the impact of career-threatening injury on professional ice hockey players' well-being and career construction. Professional ice hockey culture is construed as a privileged space characterised by hegemonic masculinity, fierce competition as well as high-risk behaviours often resulting in sports injuries. In this paper, we analyse two players' life stories with a particular focus on injury as a boundary situation involving social and temporal breakdown and re-evaluation of meaning of sporting life projects. Emergent narratives surrounding existential themes of loss of meaning and loneliness in the face of injury were analysed in connection with players' search for authenticity and realignment with self-concept. Each player developed resistant narratives to the dominant ethos of professional sport in order to restore well-being and sense of self. The relational aspects of injury are highlighted in practical recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scand J Caring Sci; 2012; 26; 553-560 Variations in older persons' descriptions of the burden of loneliness Research indicates that approximately one-third of older people over the age of 65 years report loneliness, with even higher rates among those aged over 85. Loneliness is associated with a variety of health issues, such as depression, anxiety, physical impairment and social isolation. The purpose of this paper is to describe the characteristics of the burden of loneliness, and investigate the variability in how it is described by older. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 older people in autumn 2006 and spring 2007 in Norway. Participants aged from 70 to 97 years were recruited from a variety of backgrounds, and varied in health status and social status. The findings reported in this paper are based on hermeneutic analyses of the interviews. Our findings indicate that some of the participants experienced loneliness that they felt able to manage. They experienced a fluctuating loneliness that was linked to feeling valuable and having power and energy. However, another group described experiences of agonising loneliness. They felt a present and extensive loneliness, together with feeling less valuable and lacking in power and initiative. They seemed trapped in their loneliness, and unable to overcome their situation themselves. Our findings indicate that the burden of loneliness is experienced differently. For some older persons, the experience of loneliness is so severe that they urgently need help to manage their situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

burström m., brännström m., boman k. & strandberg g. (2011) Life experiences of security and insecurity among women with chronic heart failure. Journal of Advanced Nursing 68(4), 816-825. Abstract Aim. This paper is a report of a study illuminating women's experiences of living with chronic heart failure with a focus on feelings of security and insecurity. Background. To be secure is a basic human need. Although feelings of being insecure has been found to be a common problem among people who live with chronic heart failure few qualitative studies, particularly among women, have been carried out in the field. Method. Eight women took part in focus group interviews during 2006. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Findings. The women's feelings of security include acceptance of the past, everyday life and the future, trusting the self and the body despite the disease, not having to deal with dependency alone, and faith in care and treatment. The women's feelings of insecurity include feeling guilty for being sick and incapacitated, fear of living with a frail and failing body, anxiety about growing dependence on others, loneliness and death and lack of faith in care and treatment. Conclusion. The outlook on the past, the present and the view about the future, can be fundamental for the quality of life, and the sense of security and insecurity among women living with chronic heart failure. To support a sense of security it seems essential that nursing staff attempt to understand the women's outlook on life and their personal interpretations of living with chronic heart failure. This can be crucial for enhancing feelings of security in daily life for these women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]