Search

The aim of this study was to explore students’ experiences with regulated physical education (RPE) as a placement option for PE classes. Four students from two high schools participated in in-depth...

The number of people who survive critical illness is increasing. In parallel, a growing body of literature reveals a broad range of side-effects following intensive care treatment. Today, more attention is needed to improve the quality of survival. Based on nine individual stories of illness experiences given by participants in two focus groups and one individual interview, this paper elaborates how former critically ill patients craft and recraft their personal stories throughout their illness trajectory. The analysis was conducted from a phenomenological perspective and led to the meaning structure; a quest to find oneself after critical illness. In this structure, illness represented a breakdown of the participants’ lives, forcing them to develop a new understanding of themselves. Despite acute illness, they felt safe in hospital. Coming home, however, meant a constant balancing between health and illness, and being either in or out of control. To gain a deeper understanding of the participants’ narratives of survival, the meaning structure was developed from a phenomenological life world perspective, Heidegger’s concept of homelikeness and Arthur Frank’s typologies of illness narratives. In conclusion listening to and acknowledging the patients’ lived experiences of critical illness may support the patient efforts to establish the newly defined self and hence be vital for recovery. Phenomenology is one approach facilitating care tailored to the patients’ lived experience of critical illness and its aftermaths. acceptedVersion

The article focuses on social workers’ reflections on their own professional practice in conversations with vulnerable service users in the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (Nav). Drawing on Interpersonal Process Recall (IPR), a video-based method, together with a focus group interview, the study explores the experiences and reflections of five social workers of in-situ encounters with service users. A key finding is that the social workers, who worked in two different offices within the work and activation field, perceived their professional practice as highly complex, negotiated, and ambiguous. The social workers nevertheless displayed a multitude of knowledge and competences, expressed through practical synthesis in the conversations. The article argues that more attention should be paid to ethical aspects of professional knowledge, such as when balancing contradictory considerations towards national workfare policies and vulnerable service users, and how to set the limits for their own professional responsibility in the work towards the service users. Furthermore, the article also directs the attention to another area of professional knowledge, as it explores time as an embedded and ubiquitous aspect of, and condition for, professional knowledge to unfold. publishedVersion

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Gjengedal, E., Sviland, R., Moi, A. L., Ellingsen, S., Flinterud, S. I., Sekse, R. J. T., . . . Råheim, M. (2019). Patients’ quest for recognition and continuity in health care: time for a new research agenda? Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 33(4), 978-985, which has been published in final form at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/scs.12696. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. User involvement is important in democratization of health care and is assumed to contribute to better and more relevant research. Despite increased requirements for user involvement in research, more studies are still needed. This study aimed at exploring what research agenda people with varied health problems consider as important, based on their own experience. The study had a phenomenological approach with a qualitative design. The sample consisted of 23 informants; nine had been critically ill and 14 were suffering from chronic muscle pain. Data were collected in five focus group interviews and one individual interview. A phenomenological approach was used in analyzing the data. Written consent was obtained from all the participants, and ethical considerations were taken throughout the entire research process. Despite various experiences among the participants, a quest to be taken seriously over time by healthcare professionals emerged as a strong meaning structure in both groups. Based on these experiences, continuity across lifetime changes turned out to be an important research topic for future research. User involvement should be appreciated in all parts of the research process. A crucial prerequisite is that the users get the opportunity to bring their own experiences into the process.

Background: Equine Assisted Physiotherapy (EAPT) offers children with cerebral palsy (CP) opportunities for new movement experiences, and may influence movement qualities. Descriptions of how, and to what extent EAPT affects trunk control is missing. The aim of this study was to explore if, and how changes in trunk control and changes in other movement aspects were observable in children with CP during EAPT, and if potential changes in trunk control could be measured.Method: A multiple case study with a mixed methods design was completed. Two children with CP, GMFCS grade 1, were observed using video during a period of six months, and tested with Trunk Impairment Scale modified Norwegian Version. Skilled physiotherapists analyzed the videos qualitatively, and triangulated recurring changes in movement with the results from the test.Results: Riding bareback, improvements in trunk control were observed and measured. However, riding in a saddle led to reduced trunk control. Other observable movement changes were: from asymmetry to symmetry, adaptation to rhythm, mastery of riding skills, and reduced loss of postural control. Increased instances of adapting own movements in spontaneous dialogue with the horse, were observed. Instructions and feedback from the therapist influenced the dialogue with the horse both positively and negatively.Conclusion: This study describes in detail how balance and symmetry can be stimulated during EAPT in a body characterized by imbalance and asymmetry. During EAPT, the children gained the possibility to explore new movement qualities. Equipment and feedback influenced movement qualities. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Based in narrative phenomenology, this article describes an example of how lived time, self and bodily engagement with the social world intertwine, and how our sense of self develops. We explore this through the life story of a woman who lost weight through surgery in the 1970 s and has fought against her own body, food and eating ever since. Our narrative analysis of interviews, reflective notes and email correspondence disentangled two storylines illuminating paradoxes within this long-term weight loss process. Thea’s Medical Weight Narrative: From Severely Obese Child to Healthy Adult is her story in context of medicine and obesity treatment and expresses success and control. Thea’s Story: The Narrative of Fighting Weight is the experiential story, including concrete examples and quotes, highlighting bodily struggles and the inescapable ambiguity of being and having one’s body. The two storylines coexist and illuminate paradoxes within the weight loss surgery narrative, connected to meaningful life events and experiences, eating practices and relationships with important others. Surgery was experienced as lifesaving, yet the surgical transformation did not suffice, because it did not influence appetite or, desire for food in the long run. In the medical narrative of transforming the body by repair, a problematic relationship with food did not fit into the plot.

Interest in the potential benefits of poetry writing in dementia care has been increasing. Various practical projects, as well as research articles, have highlighted how poetry can acknowledge the words of persons with dementia, and increase well-being. In this article, the authors present a poetry writing project in dementia care in Norway, and argue for how poetry as a genre involves lyrical as well as ethical aspects. The aim of this article is to show how linguistic and ethical sensibility can illuminate the poetic possibilities of the everyday language of persons with dementia. Through a close reading of selected poems from the poetry writing project, the authors show how poetry writing can give an increased understanding of the resources in the everyday language of persons living with dementia. Poetry can open up alternative forms of expression and agency, and thereby support the narrative citizenship of persons with dementia.

Background Healthcare services such as diabetes risk-assessment are increasingly common in community pharmacies. Knowledge of community pharmacists’ experiences of such services could ease the implementation of a larger-scale service. Objectives To explore Norwegian pharmacists’ experience of a diabetes risk-assessment service, including analytical quality control, in a community-pharmacy setting. Methods Three focus-group interviews were conducted in Norway between August and September 2017. Systematic text condensation was used, an analytic approach well suited for thematic content analysis across interview data. Fourteen pharmacists took part, recruited from a project offering a diabetes risk-assessment service, including measurements of Glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), in Norwegian community pharmacies. Results The pharmacists emphasized the importance of using their knowledge and skills to promote good health. They considered offering this service as being compatible with their role as pharmacists. As communication is an essential part of their work, the pharmacists evaluated their communication skills as being good. Nevertheless, how to communicate the offering of this service was seen as a challenge, for instance recruiting participants and communicating in an understandable and professional way. Inclusion of the whole pharmacy staff as a team was experienced as an important success factor for implementation of a risk-assessment service. Analytical quality control was perceived as being a natural part of their job and a manageable task. Conclusions Offering a diabetes risk-assessment service is in line with the way a selected group of Norwegian community pharmacists perceived their professional role. However, they were uncomfortable recruiting participants, and expressed the wish for more support from the pharmacy chain. Our results add performance of analytical quality control as part of the ongoing development involving expansion of pharmacists' professional role. Future implementation studies may also benefit from giving both the pharmacy staff and customers sufficient time to familiarize themselves with the new service before measuring effects. Keywords Community pharmacy, healthcare services, diabetes risk assessment, focus groups, pharmacists' experiences, analytical quality control publishedVersion

Purpose: In this study, we explore the lived experiences of chronic illness in four groups of patients; children with asthma, adolescents with diabetes, young adults with depression, and adult patients with chronic, obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Persons living with chronic illness are often designated as vulnerable. This study builds on the assumption that being vulnerable belongs to being human, and that vulnerability also might entail strength and possibilities for growth. Methods: A narrative analysis was undertaken to illuminate how experiences of vulnerability were narrated across the four patient groups, presenting four individual stories, one from each of the patient groups. Results/conclusion: The stories illuminate how living with a chronic illness implies differing capabilities and capacities dependent on the specific condition. At the same time the stories point to how various abilities and challenges in living with chronic illness can be alleviated or seen as resources. Considered together, the stories underscore how ´finding ways to carry on´ in chronic illness requires interpretational work. By calling upon resources among significant others, in the surroundings and in oneself, the narrator can find ways of interpreting living with chronic illness that might open towards a hopeful future. Keywords: chronic illness, vulnerability, narrative analysis, life world, stories, phenomenology

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore students’ experiences of physical education (PE) and to gain insight into what contributes to engaging them in PE. Methods: A total of 316 second-year high-school students from five schools participated by completing a school assignment. The data were analyzed according to content analysis. Findings: Two main themes were developed. The first was One-sided emphasis on performance, bodily skills, and assessment with the corresponding sub-themes: Skills and performance; and Assessment, tests, and grading. The second was Wish for play, respite, co-determination, and togetherness with the sub-themes: Play and spontaneity; Respite, Togetherness and cooperation; and Co-determination and engagement. Our findings reveal a wide range of student experiences with PE classes, from a welcome respite in an otherwise sedentary and theoretically dominated day at school and enjoying being physically active with classmates, to frustration about extensive use of tests, lack of mastery, and feelings of exclusion. Conclusion: To be consistent with the values of the Ministry of Education in Norway, we conclude that the content and mode of delivery of PE in schools would benefit from being rethought if the intent is to facilitate children to stay physically active. Norwegian physiotherapists are promoters of health and physical activity across the lifespan. As part of health services in schools, they are in a prime position to optimize the PE experience for students. publishedVersion

In this study we explored the experiences of Norwegian women living with vestibulodynia, a chronic disease affecting young women all over the world. Using a phenomenological approach we conducted in-depth interviews with eight women who had struggled with vestibulodynia for several years. Our findings reveal that their efforts to fulfill their partners' sexual desires as well as their own represented an encompassing ongoing process. In addition, we highlight the interrelationship between the intensity of vulvar pain experienced by individual women and decisions women make about prioritizing their own sexual needs.

Background: For mild-to-moderate stroke survivors, early supported discharge from hospital, followed by home rehabilitation is preferred over conventional care. How this mode of service contributes to recovery from stroke survivors’ perspective needs further investigation. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore mild-tomoderate stroke survivors’ experiences with home rehabilitation after early supported discharge from hospital. Methods: A qualitative interpretive interview design was used in the context of a randomised controlled trial. A purposive sample of eight participants (45–80 years) was followed by an ambulant team, and a specific healthcare team provided home rehabilitation. Data were analysed using interpretive description, systematic text condensation and coping theory. Findings: A crucial determinant for the participants’ hopes for a life worth living was the mutual confidence expressed in encounters with healthcare professionals and the participants’ ability to make sense of their nowaltered body. The professional caretakers’ communication qualities and their ability to attend to individual needs were important. Help in processing the emotional reactions caused by a changed body and in socialising was requested by participants. Professional caretakers providing home rehabilitation should strive for a more flexibleand individually tailored service and should seek increased cooperation among stakeholders. Conclusion: The focus on therapeutic communicative qualities, bodily changes, emotional processes, social concerns and long-term follow-up should be increased in order to achieve a more beneficial experience for stroke survivors

In this article we explore shyness and openness related to sexuality and intimacy in long-term female survivors of gynecological cancer, and how these women experienced dialogue with health personnel on these issues. Further analysis on two core themes, based on empirical data presented elsewhere, inspired continued theoretical and philosophical thinking drawing on Løgstrup's expressions of life and unified opposites. The findings show that gynecological cancer survivors and health personnel share common ground as human beings because shyness and openness are basic human phenomena. Health personnel's own movement between these phenomena may represent a resource because it can help women to handle sexual and intimacy challenges following gynecological cancer.

Purpose: Losing weight and keeping it off for the long term is difficult. Weight regain is common. Experiences of successful non-surgical weight loss after severe obesity are largely unexplored. We know little about long-term weight loss processes, and how health care services can be of help to those living them. Methods: Drawing on in-depth interviews of 8 women and 2 men, the aim of this phenomenological study is to describe the experiences of adults who have been severely obese, who have lost weight and maintained weight loss for the long term (>5 years). Results: Findings show that after severe obesity, sustained weight loss has no endpoint, yet is always easy to end. Keeping weight off means committing to oneself, continuing profound changes and cultivating sensitivity towards oneself and others. A phenomenological understanding of sustained weight loss can inform professionals who deal with health issues and challenges occurring in the life of people leaving severe obesity. publishedVersion

Purpose: The diagnosis of diabetes in pre-school children poses a number of unique challenges related to everyday responsibility, and the continuous need for supervision and caregiving. This may affect both the child’s and the parents’ perceived burden caused by the condition. The aim of the study was to explore the lived experience of being mothers and fathers of a child with type 1 diabetes aged 1 to 7 years. Methods: The study is rooted in an interpretive phenomenological methodology as described by van Manen. In-depth interviews were carried out to collect data. Findings. We were able to identify one essential theme across the interviews: Striving to live an ordinary family life, yet feeling and living very differently—with interrelated sub-themes: A life-changing situation, Always on guard, and Struggling to let go. Conclusion: Parents described a profoundly changed situation, and they were indeed striving to live like a “normal” family. They were in need of support from health care professionals at the outpatient clinic, not only support and supervision in regard to practical tasks, but also concerning handling a changed life situation and emotional reactions, especially in the first year after diagnosis. publishedVersion

This narrative case study, created from several qualitative sources, portrays a young woman's life experiences and an eight yearlong therapy process with Norwegian Psychomotor Physiotherapy (NPMP). It is analyzed retrospectively from an analytical angle, where NPMP theory is expanded with Logstrup's phenomenology of sensation and Ricoeur's narrative philosophy. Understanding Rita's narrative through this window displayed some foundational phenomena in a singular way, illuminating embodied experiences in inter-subjective relationships in movement, sensation and time entwined. It illustrates how traumatic life experiences may cause pain, suffering and ruptured narratives with fragmented physical and sensuous reactions, chaos and loss of temporal coherence with consequences for a person's sense of identity. Rita's narrative also illuminates how intersubjective interaction has healing potentials when there is time and space for trust to emerge and to support new bodily-based experiences. Embodied sensuous experiences in present time may help clarify past and present and support chronology in narration and the sense of identity. With this exemplary case study, we argue that Logstrup's and Ricoeur's thinking may add valuable perspectives to understanding suffering and healing processes in the field of embodied therapies like NPMP.

Bariatric surgery provides sustainable weight loss and increased quality of life for most, but not all patients. To increase the knowledge of this complex patient group and their needs during follow-up, we aimed to describe the essential meaning of bariatric surgery patients’ long-term experiences by using a phenomenological lifeworld approach. Eight patients were interviewed between 5 and 7 years after bariatric surgery. Life after bariatric surgery was described as living with tension, ambivalence, and reinforced attention toward one’s own body. The tension was related to embodied change and altered relations to the social world. The patients express an ongoing demand for control of health-related habits and practices, and to not lose control over the body again. Surgical weight loss and improved physical function do not necessarily mean changed health-related habits and practices in the long term. Experiencing weight regain is connected with emotional stress, shame, and self-contempt.

Patients undergoing weight-loss surgery are increasingly encouraged to change their lifestyles. Dietary interventions combined with physical exercise interventions are regarded as the most effective way to ensure that they do not regain the weight they have lost. Little research however, has been done on how patients who have had the surgery actually experience the process of changing their exercise habits. To help fill this gap, we investigated the experiences of women participating in a group-based rehabilitation program designed to radically transform these habits. Based on participant observation, and our interviews with 11 women in the program, we were able to identify a variety of potential benefits and negative consequences in group training, organized according to the interval principle. We also found that the experiences of these women were closely related to their views on how significantly the surgery had changed their lifestyle. Based on the experiences related by these women, we believe that the "effectiveness" of standardized group-based interventions for patients undergoing weight-loss surgery should be reconsidered. Some of the women in our study viewed the group-based standardized training intervention positively; others resisted it. Our research leads us to conclude that this type of program could be more successful if the forms of activity and their intensity were customized to meet the needs and desires of each participant.

While health care professionals advise those who have undergone weight loss surgery (WLS) to increase their levels of physical activity, research suggests that often this is not achieved. This paper explores the experiences of ten Norwegian women as they engaged in physical activity several years after weight loss surgery (WLS). In contrast to the existing literature, which explores physical activity post-WLS largely in terms of quantitative data and measurable outcomes, the present study sought to explore women’s lived experiences of physical activity, including the meanings they ascribed to different forms of activity and how such meanings changed over time. The research participants, all of whom had undergone WLS more than five years earlier, described (during individual interviews) the meanings they attached to becoming physically active, as well as the different activities and movement practices they engaged in, from interval training to mountain hiking and yoga. For all the women, maintaining and increasing their level of physical activity was challenging. On the one hand, engaging in exercise after weight loss improved their sense of joy and well-being and expanded their opportunities to move and act. On the other hand, during physical activity they needed to be constantly alert to symptoms of post-surgical side-effects, including variable energy levels, digestive problems and acute illness episodes. As the women explored their new capacities, it seemed to be important for them to explore various forms of physical activity in order to find the form of exercise which best suited them or which they most enjoyed. In some cases, they constructed new meanings around activities which, prior to surgery, had seemed onerous and bereft of pleasure. We argue that such insights will benefit health professionals who provide advice on physical activity at different post-surgical stages, sometimes to persons seriously concerned about regaining weight. publishedVersion

Aims and objectives. The aim of this qualitative study is to highlight how women experienced living through gynaecological cancer. Background. The increasing number of long-term survivors after cancer has created a greater need for knowledge about how patients live through the illness. Design. A qualitative design, with a phenomenological–hermeneutical perspective, provided the framework for the study. Method. Thirty-two unstructured in-depth interviews with 16 women were conducted. Each woman was interviewed twice: one year apart, and five and six years after treatment, respectively. Stepwise meaning condensation was used to analyse the data. Results. Based on the women’s first-hand stories about their experiences with cancer, we identified three typologies, describing different ways in which the women negotiated encountering and living through cancer. These typologies are the emotion- and relationship-oriented women, the activity-oriented women and the self-controlled women. Conclusions. There are substantial differences regarding how women process the experience of cancer. The findings add valuable knowledge about the impact cancer can have on women’s lives and can be of help for nurses who support patients during treatment and follow-up. Relevance to clinical practice. Understanding different ways women can experience living through cancer is fundamental for the development and improvement of cancer care. Allowing time for the women to talk with nurses about their cancer experiences could be essential during treatment and follow-up. Nurses can support the women by listening to their stories, accepting their emotions and informing them in detail. The findings in this study imply that strengthening nurses’ listening and conversational competence can be of importance for supporting patients after cancer. By building on the women’s own stories, it might be possible to create a follow-up process that is individually tailored for each cancer patient.

The aim of this article is to explore bodily changes following weight loss surgery. Our empirical material is based on individual interviews with 22 Norwegian women. To further analyze their experiences, we build primarily on the phenomenologist Drew Leder`s distinction between bodily dis-appearance and dys-appearance. Additionally, our analysis is inspired by Simone de Beauvoir, Merleau-Ponty and Julia Kristeva. Although these scholars have not directed their attention to obesity operations, they occupy a prime framework for shedding light on different dimensions of bodily change. In doing so, we were able to identify two main themes: The felt "inner" body versus the visible "surface" body and the "old" body versus the "new" body. In different, though interconnected ways, these main themes encompass tensions between changes the women experienced as contributing to a more "normal" and active life, feeling more accepted, and changes that generated ambivalence. In particular, their skin became increasingly problematic because it did not "shrink" like the rest of the body. On the contrary, it became looser and looser. Moreover, badsmelling folds of skin that wobbled, sweated and chafed at the smallest movement, aprons of fat hanging in front of their stomachs, batwing arms, thick flabby thighs and sagging breasts were described as a huge contrast to the positive response they received to their changed body shape when they were out and about with their clothes on. At the same time, they expressed ambivalence with regards to removing the excess skin by means of plastic surgery. Through their own and other women`s experiences they learned removing the excess skin by means of surgery could be a double-edged sword. By illuminating the experiences of the ones undergoing such changes our article offers new insight in a scholarly debate predominated by medical research documenting the positive outcomes of weight loss surgery.

This qualitative study explored the experiences of Norwegian men after being identified as BRCA 1/2 mutation-positive. Only limited knowledge is available on this topic; therefore, the aim of this study was to gain a deeper insight from the men’s own perspectives. Data were collected from in-depth interviews with 15 men and seven of their partners. The participants described fear of cancer development, and two main narrative patterns were identified: fear for their own health, including fear of developing cancer, and negative feelings about responsibility for others’ health. The men expressed fear of developing cancer themselves and described a need for genetic risk information. They were also deeply concerned about how the mutation might affect their children and other relatives. There is a need for guidelines concerning genetic risk information and follow-up programs for male BRCA 1/2 mutation carriers. This study adds valuable contextual insights into their experiences of living with fear of cancer. publishedVersion

Scand J Caring Sci; 2011; 25; 53–61 Communication as negotiation processes in long-term physiotherapy: a qualitative study Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe communicative patterns about change in demanding physiotherapy treatment situations. Methods: A multiple case study of eleven treatment courses was carried out, based on in-depth individual interviews, focus group interview, personal notes and repeated video-recordings. To compare communication within and over sessions, a two-step procedure was applied: identification of communication patterns and detailed analysis of selected dialogues from video-recorded sequences. Findings: One main communicative pattern was identified: Seeking for common ground – demanding negotiating process. This pattern was interrupted by short episodes of two types of challenges; the pattern of ambivalence and uncertainty, and the pattern of impatience and disagreement. Communication between the participants appeared as a demanding and complex process of negotiations during the treatment processes. The physiotherapists’ sensitivity of and ability to negotiate the tasks, the emotions related to tasks and the nature of the relationships, seemed to facilitate change. The patients’ and the physiotherapists’ capacity to bear and come through demanding situations created new ways of interaction. Conclusion: The demanding situations may generate a potential for the development and the improvement of treatment outcomes. Understanding such episodes as open and dynamic, in contrast to defining the patient as demanding, suggests a useful perspective for treatment.

The aim of the present study was to explore patients’ experiences as participants in Basic Body Awareness Treatment (BBAT) groups, in order to deepen our understanding of patients’ perspectives on this movement practice. BBAT draws upon people's own health resources by promoting quality of movement. Seventeen women and one man with psychiatric disorders, ages ranging from 27 to 70 and with various diagnoses, participated in the study. All participants had attended a BBAT group for at least 6 months. Three focus group interviews were performed, and the interview material was condensed systematically with the aim to extract core meanings. The following three core themes emerged: increased awareness of one's own body and better knowledge of the self, threshold for taking part in time-consuming change, and relationships between oneself and others. The process of strengthening the experience of the lived body pointed towards feelings of wholeness, and feeling more at home in themselves and in the group...

In families with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, there is limited knowledge about the reactions of BRCA1/2 mutation positive males. In the present qualitative study, fifteen BRCA1/2 mutation positive men in Norway participated in two successive, in-depth interviews. Seven female partners participated in the second interview. The men reported strong emotional reactions to their positive test results, and they expressed a desire to keep the genetic information private. They considered discussing their test results or health related information with other males as difficult, and they perceived females as their sources of social and emotional support. Interestingly, the second interview revealed important information not communicated during the first interview. The findings of this study contribute to the discussion of whether men who test positive for a BRCA1/2 mutation should receive tailored genetic counseling sessions. Health care providers should be aware of psychological vulnerability in these men, likely stemming from fewer emotional supports in their social networks.

The study's purpose was to explore change and perception of change related to patients with chronic back and/or neck pain through treatment courses of Norwegian psychomotor physiotherapy. A multiple case synthesis of nine cases, nine patients and five physiotherapists, was based on in-depth interviews and repeated video-recordings. Patients wrote reflective notes. In order to study changing processes within and over sessions a two-step procedure was applied: identifying main changing patterns, and identifying patient groups concerning similarities and varieties of main changing patterns. Five changing patterns were identified: (i) to move restricted and non-restricted; (ii) to breathe restricted and non-restricted; (iii) to reflect in a non-exploring and exploring way; (iv) to not transfer and transfer experience from treatment to daily life; and (v) to be detached from and to be in touch with the body. Two patient groups were identified: the limited and the considerable change groups. The process of self...

This study has explored the experience of body awareness in patients with chronic pain as well as possible changes in this phenomenon as a consequence of Norwegian psychomotor physiotherapy (NPMP), were explored in the present study. Four focus group interviews were performed. Two groups consisted of patients on waiting lists for NPMP, whereas the other two were patients receiving NPMP. The interview material was analysed according to an ad hoc meaning generation. The interviews brought out three main themes of body awareness: being aware of one's own body; associations about one's own body; and feelings for one's own body. The differences and similarities in body awareness described by those receiving treatment and those on waiting lists are presented and discussed, as well as differences between participants within the groups. The patients' experiences ranged from a reduction of symptoms and coping quite well with chronic pain, to a feeling of being totally stuck in pain, followed by either a new body awareness or being preoccupied by pain. The participants receiving long-term NPMP--with one exception--experienced new body awareness, described as essential to increasing their ability to cope with pain.

Physiotherapy involves complex communication and interaction. The purpose of the present study was to conduct in-depth analyses of communication during treatment for children with cerebral palsy within sessions and over time. Treatment took place at the children's educational settings. Subjects were participants in three long-term therapy courses. A multiple case synthesis of the cases was carried out on the basis of in-depth interviews with physiotherapists and teachers and repeated video-recordings. In order to compare processes of communication within and over sessions, a three-step procedure was applied: identification of main communicative patterns, identification of variability and stability of patterns, and detailed analysis of selected part-processes. Four main communicative patterns were identified: two divergent patterns labelled “Different and competing perspectives” and “Insecurity and confusion” and two convergent, labelled “Actively searching for common ground” and “Shared and effortless dia...

Background : The researcher role is highly debated in qualitative research. This article concerns the researcher-researched relationship. Methods : A group of health science researchers anchored in various qualitative research traditions gathered in reflective group discussions over a period of two years. Results : Efforts to establish an anti-authoritarian relationship between researcher and researched, negotiation of who actually “rules” the research agenda, and experiences of shifts in “inferior” and “superior” knowledge positions emerged as central and intertwined themes throughout the discussions. The dual role as both insider and outsider, characteristic of qualitative approaches, seemed to lead to power relations and researcher vulnerability which manifested in tangible ways. Conclusion : Shifting positions and vulnerability surfaced in various ways in the projects. They nonetheless indicated a number of similar experiences which can shed light on the researcher-researched relationship. These issues could benefit from further discussion in the qualitative health research literature. Key words: Researcher–researched relationship, reflexivity, qualitative research, researcher vulnerability, ethics (Published: 14 June 2016) Citation: Int J Qualitative Stud Health Well-being 2016, 11: 30996 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/qhw.v11.30996