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Abstract: This paper discusses some key findings taken from a qualitative study conducted with gay and lesbian adopters and foster carers in England and Wales. The study examined the experiences of 24 self‐identified lesbians and gay men, who had been involved in adoption or fostering processes since the introduction of the Adoption and Children Act, 2002. This article will explore why participants chose to adopt or foster and their approach to relationships generated through these routes. Findings indicate that gay and lesbian applicants troubled dominant conceptualisations of family and kinship and revealed both heteronormative and nuclear constructions of parenting within adoption and fostering social work. In contrast, participants often demonstrated a reflexive and creative approach to caring for looked after children. This paper will therefore consider how professionals can recognise nuanced or complex relationships, situated beyond traditional frameworks, through drawing upon wider concepts within sociological literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research goals were to obtain an understanding of who the users of e‐books in the NHS are, what they are using e‐books for, and when and how they use them. This article presents the methodology used and the findings from the research. It also explores the outputs and next steps from the research, both for the individual countries and collectively. The Five Nations group, (library leads in England, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) commissioned research into healthcare staff use and non‐use of e‐books to understand the behaviours, needs and expectations of healthcare staff and to identify shared challenges around e‐books to inform policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Trans‐identifying individuals experience unique barriers and challenges in negotiating health‐care systems due to the cisnormative attitudes and practices which obstruct the receipt of trans‐inclusive care. To date, there has been little exploration of older trans consumers' experiences of contemporary health‐care services when seeking to transition medically in later life. Objectives: Qualitative findings are presented from a study of trans ageing and trans‐related health and social care needs in Wales, UK (2016‐18). The objectives are to (1) examine supportive and obstructive points of interaction with health‐care professionals, and (2) identify key learning messages for improving trans‐related health care from the perspectives of trans‐identifying adults in later life. Design: Trans‐identifying participants self‐selected to take part in two interviews—a life‐history interview and a semi‐structured interview. Interview data were analysed thematically using the framework method approach. Setting and participants: This paper focuses on the accounts of 19 participants (50‐74 years of age) who identified as trans and were seeking to transition medically in mid‐ to later life. Results: Findings indicate how older trans patients are positioned as reluctant educators for GPs in primary care settings and illustrate the transphobic practices and cisnormative assumptions encountered across health‐care interactions and systems that impede their journey of transitioning in later life. Discussion and conclusions: Messages from this study speak to the importance of improving professionals' knowledge of gender identity diversity across the life course and making changes at a systemic level in redressing cisnormative assumptions and systems that reinforce inequities on the basis of gender identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional identities are important in defining workers' roles, and are concerned with attributes relating to those roles and how they are performed. Evidence shows mental health nurses undertake many different roles as part of their work. Yet, the roles of mental health nurses are insufficiently understood by healthcare staff, service users, and nurses themselves. Mental health nursing work has been deemed invisible and lacking in role clarity. Poor understandings about professional identity of mental health nurses result in difficulties recruiting to the profession, nurses lacking confidence articulating the value of their work, with misunderstandings apparent with service users about the specific role of mental health nursing in their care. The primary focus of this study, conducted in Wales, United Kingdom, was to examine how talk about mental health nursing was handled by participants from multiple perspectives. Data consisted of 17 individual interview transcripts with mental health nurses and 13 interview transcripts from mental health service users, and three focus groups with nursing students. Participants' talk was analysed using thematic analysis. This paper reports how participants described mental health nursing work to have significant role overlap with other multidisciplinary team members. Participants highlighted that mental health nurses often have an 'in the middle' label because the complexity of their work can be hard to describe. The implications are pertinent for nurses because if they are considered to be in a liminal position, they risk being perceived as neither one role nor another, resulting in nurses struggling with professional identities and role confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: SELPHI (HIV Self‐Testing Public Health Intervention) is the largest randomized controlled trial (RCT) of HIV self‐testing (HIVST) in a high‐income setting to date, and has recruited 10 000 men who have sex with men (cis‐ and transgender) and transgender women who have sex with men. This qualitative substudy aimed to explore how those utilizing self‐tests experience HIVST and the implications for further intervention development and scale‐up. This is the first qualitative study in Europe investigating experiences of HIVST among intervention users, and the first globally examining the experience of using blood‐based HIVST. Methods: Thirty‐seven cisgender MSM SELPHI participants from across England and Wales were purposively recruited to the substudy, in which semi‐structured interviews were used to explore testing history, HIVST experiences and intervention preferences. Interviews were audio‐recorded, transcribed and analysed through a framework analysis. Results: Men accessed the intervention because HIVST reduced barriers related to convenience, stigma and privacy concerns. Emotional responses had direct links to acceptability. Supportive intervention components increased engagement with testing and addressed supportive concerns. HIVST facilitated more frequent testing, with the potential to reduce sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening frequency. Substudy participants with an HIV‐positive result (n = 2) linked to care promptly and reported very high acceptability. Minor adverse outcomes (n = 2; relationship discord and fainting) did not reduce acceptability. Ease of use difficulties were with the lancet and the test processing stage. Conclusions: Intervention components shaped acceptability, particularly in relation to overcoming a perceived lack of support. The intervention was broadly acceptable and usable; participants expressed an unexpected degree of enthusiasm for HIVST, including those with HIV‐positive results and individuals with minor adverse outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Haemodialysis patients receive very little involvement in their end-of-life care decisions. Issues relating to death and dying are commonly avoided until late in their illness. This study aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of doctors and nurses in nephrology for involving haemodialysis patients in end-of-life care decisions. Methods A semi-structured qualitative interview study with 15 doctors and five nurses and thematic analysis of their accounts was conducted. The setting was a large teaching hospital in Wales, UK. Results Prognosis is not routinely discussed with patients, in part due to a difficulty in estimation and the belief that patients do not want or need this information. Advance care planning is rarely carried out, and end-of-life care discussions are seldom initiated prior to patient deterioration. There is variability in end-of-life practices amongst nephrologists; some patients are felt to be withdrawn from dialysis too late. Furthermore, the possibility and implications of withdrawal are not commonly discussed with well patients. Critical barriers hindering better end-of-life care involvement for these patients are outlined. Conclusions The study provides insights into the complexity of end-of-life conversations and the barriers to achieving better end-of-life communication practices. The results identify opportunities for improving the lives and deaths of haemodialysis patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which explains the use of distributed health literacy and determines how people living with long-term condition draw on their social network for support. The researchers use the longitudinal qualitative interview and observation study on the practice of health literacy. It implies that the distributed health literacy proves to be a potential resource in managing one's health, communicating with health professionals, and making health decisions.