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Introducción: El COVID-19 ha afectado la salud mental de la población pediátrica. Con la transición a la virtualidad, se han identificado posturas positivas y negativas. Debido a la diferencia de características sociodemográficas que posee la República Dominicana, es necesario describir el efecto de dichos cambios en la salud mental dentro de este contexto. Objetivo: Evaluar el efecto de las clases virtuales en la salud mental de los pacientes pediátricos. Metodología: Se utilizó el cuestionario de capacidades y dificultades en los pacientes que asistieron a consulta general. Se asignó una puntuación con la escala de puntuación estandarizada y se analizaron los resultados en gráficos de frecuencia y pruebas de correlación de spearman. Resultados: Existe una frecuencia del 10,4% (n=34) de alto riesgo de desarrollar algún trastorno psiquiátrico. Se observaron correlaciones débiles entre menor edad y trastorno de conducta, r(365) = -0,111, p = 0,034, y sexo masculino y cualquier trastorno pediátrico, r(365) = -0,131, p = 0,012. Hay una incidencia de 51,5% de síntomas físicos. Un 45.5% y un 30.2% identificó mejores e iguales calificaciones. Conclusión: Es necesario investigar los efectos identificados agregando la evaluación de especialistas para mayor precisión de los hallazgos observados.

Little is known about the experiences of operable lung cancer patients during treatment in a clinical setting based on fast-track surgery. The study aimed to explore (1) the embodied meaning of illness in patients with operable lung cancer during treatment to 4 months after surgery and (2) patterns of change over time that may affect the patients' daily lives. Twenty patients referred for lung cancer surgery were interviewed three times, corresponding to potential critical transition points following surgery: hospitalisation; hospital-to-home transition; and resumption of daily life activities. Data collection, analysis and interpretation followed a phenomenological hermeneutical approach inspired by Ricoeur and the theoretical framework was grounded in Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of perception. The findings reveal the process patients went through in regaining familiarity with their own body after lung cancer treatment. Through the post-operative trajectory the patients' resumption of daily activities involved adjusting to a new awareness of everyday life, physical restrictions and their perception of themselves. The findings are expressed in four sub-themes: (1) perceptions of embodied alterations; (2) transformation of embodied structures in the transition from hospital to home was unexpectedly challenging; (3) embodied perceptions of the intersubjective world; and (4) transforming embodied disruptions into bodily awareness. Patients experienced a smooth treatment trajectory regarding physical consequences of illness and treatment which might be due to the fast-track surgery. Clinicians should be aware of patients' experiences of illness to facilitate patient reconstitution of own identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhanced recovery after surgery programs with median postoperative hospitalization of 2 days improve outcomes after lung cancer surgery. This article explores nursing care practices for patients with lung cancer who remain hospitalized despite having recovered somatically. Qualitative focus group interviews were conducted with 16 nurses. Ricoeur's phenomenological hermeneutics underpins the methodology applied in this study, and we relied on Benner and Wrubel's theory. The nurses emphasized that the thoughts of patients with a recent lung cancer diagnosis revolve around more than the surgery. Nursing comprises not only practicalities but also attending to patients' stress and their coping with being struck with lung cancer and having undergone surgery. A counterculture emerged to counteract the logic of productivity, indicating that caring as a worthy end in itself may be underestimated in protocol-driven care. Prolonging hospitalization largely depends on clinical judgment. The nurses' aim is not to keep patients in the hospital but to avoid any needless suffering, allowing them to reclaim the primacy of caring., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

How do we explore the meaningfulness of others' experiences? What means do we have to access their experiencing of the world? How do we express our understandings of others' experiences of body and place without reducing them to objectification? In this methodological paper, we reflect on how we can gain valuable insights into the lived experiences of others through research activities that are conducted 'alongside' participants. Phenomenological concepts of intentionality and embodiment are considered as we draw on an empirical example of exploring the experiences of hospitalized patients with neurological diseases through observations and interviews. The aim is to unfold alongside as an epistemological stance to explore the meaning of another's lifeworld. We strive to show that personal presence and engagement within this approach contains relational, existential, and aesthetic dimensions worth considering., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Michael van Manen is a Deputy Editor of Qualitative Health Research. He was not involved in any part of the peer review process and the manuscript was subject to the same standard of peer-review as others submitted to the journal. This includes the input of two or more independent peer-reviewers who were blinded to the author’s editorial association with Qualitative Health Research.

Background: Patients with lung cancer suffer from physical, psychosocial and particularly emotional challenges. Twenty-five percent of patients with lung cancer are offered surgery as a potential cure. Nevertheless, 40% of surgically treated patients will experience recurrence. Paradoxically, research shows a dominant narrative of operable lung cancer patients 'being lucky', which silences other narratives about suffering, worries and emotional challenges., Aim: To explore narratives about operable lung cancer, particularly emotional reactions to illness and suffering in these narratives., Methods: A qualitative design was applied. Six women and four men diagnosed with operable lung cancer were included from one university hospital in Denmark and interviewed 1 month after surgery using active interviews. The interviews were subject to dialogical narrative analysis. The theoretical foundation is social constructivism, with socio-narratological inspiration., Findings: A typology of three emotional narratives emerged: 'staying cool', 'staying calm' and 'staying positive'. All three types of narrative are characterised by managing emotional reactions. Staying cool is characterised by not showing emotional reactions; staying calm narratives acknowledge emotional reactions, but that they need to be managed so that they do not burden relatives; and the last, staying positive, is characterised by managing emotional reactions in a positive direction. Together this typology of three emotional narratives revealed that operable lung cancer patients are under normative pressure from these socially preferred narratives of ideal emotional reactions to lung cancer., Conclusion: A typology of three emotional narratives were identified and can be called 'feeling rules' that guide patients after lung cancer surgery to manage their emotions. Consequently, if patients do not live up to these three emotional narratives of staying cool, calm and positive, they may be socially isolated and restricted from access to support., (© 2024 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Nordic College of Caring Science.)

Background: Following esophagogastric cancer treatment, patients with esophageal cancer and their relatives struggle with adjusting to a new everyday life as they experience various challenges after treatment requiring rehabilitation. Health professionals must address long-term impacts on patients' health, everyday life, family functioning, and support needs., Objective: This qualitative descriptive study aimed to explore patients', relatives', and health professionals' experience with long-term impacts and rehabilitation after treatment for esophageal cancer., Methods: A qualitative approach based on a phenomenological-hermeneutical methodology was used. Two methods were selected in the study: focus group interviews with health professionals and individual interviews with patients and relatives. Inductive thematic analysis with inspiration from Braun and Clarke was used for data analysis., Results: Three main themes emerged from the data analysis: (1) forced into limitations in everyday life, (2) learning and navigating a new everyday life, and (3) rehabilitation accepting new normality., Conclusion: Patients and relatives experience persistent long-term impacts after treatment for esophageal cancer, making rehabilitation strenuous and demanding. Relatives take considerable responsibility for the patients' rehabilitation but feel invisible and unsupported by health professionals. Health professionals acknowledge the severity of long-term impacts but fail to prepare patients and relatives for the impacts and do not see the relatives' need for support., Implications for Practice: The study emphasizes the need for a proactive approach in the healthcare system, addressing patients' and relatives' physical and psychological vulnerability. Cancer nurses need to prepare and involve patients and relatives in treatment, long-term impacts, and rehabilitation., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding or conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To synthesise qualitative literature on (1) the perceptions of patients with cancer of participating in an exercise intervention while undergoing chemotherapy and (2) to inform and guide professionals in oncology and haematology practice., Design: A qualitative meta-synthesis based on Noblit and Hare's seven-step meta-ethnography., Data Sources: Six electronic databases: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), CINAHL, EMBASE, PubMed, SCI-Expanded-SSCI and Scopus (final search June 2022) were used to identify qualitative literature containing individual or focus group interviews. The transparency of reporting for each study was assessed using the Consolidated criteria for Reporting Qualitative research checklist., Results: The search identified 5002 articles, 107 of which were selected for full-text review. Seventeen articles from five countries with patients undergoing chemotherapy during exercise interventions were included. Eleven articles were included in the meta-synthesis, which comprised 193 patients with various cancer diagnoses, disease stages, sexes and ages. Four main themes were identified: chemotherapy overpowers the body; exercise in battle with side effects; a break from gloomy thoughts; and a question of survivorship., Conclusions and Implications: The meta-synthesis emphasised that patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy and simultaneously participating in exercise interventions may experience momentary relief from overwhelming side effects, even though full bodily recovery may be perceived as a distant prospect. The synthesis offers a sparse empirical basis for gaining insight into what patients experience existentially following exercise interventions. It is up to patients to independently apply the transfer value of exercise to their own existential circumstances., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Closed-incision negative pressure therapy may lower the risk of surgical site infections in patients after peripheral arterial surgery., Aim: To explore patient experience of negative pressure therapy applied to groin incisions after discharge following peripheral arterial surgery, and to study their perception and attitudes toward the self-care information sheet they received at the vascular department., Methods: A qualitative study underpinned by Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics was conducted semi-structured interviews by telephone around day seven after therapy ended with ten participants. All had received self-care information sheet at the discharge and been home with closed-incision negative pressure therapy for 3-6 days. The participants had open peripheral arterial surgery in the groin in form of femoral thromboendarterectomy. Kvale and Brinkmann's research guided the data collection, analysis, and interpretation., Findings: Patients found themselves coping with an unfamiliar situation after peripheral arterial surgery and the need arose to conceal the pump and tubing that were part of their incision treatment to protect their self-image. Their treatment became a constant companion, with some patients viewing the equipment as an extension of their bodies and others feeling its impact on activities of daily living. Patients perceived the treatment as providing reassurance, albeit with constraints, leading to feelings of manageability and an increasing sense of control. They viewed the written information as informative but with room for improvement., Conclusions: Patient experiences of closed-incision negative pressure therapy on groin incisions after discharge following peripheral arterial surgery showed that they perceived it as safe and manageable. Patients need support, however, in learning how to hide the treatment and to expand their own involvement and improve self-care. The study found that patient involvement and individually tailored information is essential to facilitating a healthy transition from hospital to self-care at home and that written information must be improved further., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Aims and Objectives: To gain insight into nursing in an enhanced recovery after surgery program for lung cancer, we explored its meaning for nurses in a thoracic surgery unit., Background: Since nurses play a key role in overcoming implementation barriers in enhanced recovery after surgery programs, successful implementation depends on their care approach during the surgery pathway., Design: Qualitative focus group study., Methods: A hermeneutic approach inspired by Gadamer guided the research. Sixteen thoracic surgery nurses participated in focus group interviews. Benner and Wrubel's primacy of caring theory enhanced understanding of the findings. COREQ guidelines were followed., Results: The thoracic surgery nurses compared the streamlined trajectory in the program to working in a factory. Shifting focus away from a dialogue-based, situated care practice compromised their professional nursing identity. The program made combining scientific evidence with patients' lifeworld perspectives challenging. Although the nurses recognised that the physiological processes and positive outcomes promoted recovery, they felt each patient's life situation was not sufficiently considered. To meet the program's professional nursing responsibilities and provide comprehensive care, specialised thoracic nursing should continue after discharge to allow professional care while meaningfully engaging with the patient's situatedness and lifeworld., Conclusions: Primacy of caring risks being compromised if accelerated treatment is implemented uncritically. If care is based on the dominant rational justifications underpinning surgical nursing, living conditions and patient values might be overlooked, affecting how disease, illness and health are managed., Relevance to Clinical Practice: Our findings focus on obvious unintended consequences of enhanced recovery after surgery programs. To avoid dehumanising patients, surgical lung cancer programs must adopt a humanistic attitude in a caring practice guided by the moral art and ethics of care and responsibility., Public Contribution: To reminding us of what matters and helping us think differently, we discussed the results of the study with organisational stakeholders., (© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: The global coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic put extreme pressure on healthcare systems worldwide, forcing a heavy workload on healthcare professionals. Frontline treatment and care for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 compelled healthcare professionals to rapidly adapt to new working conditions. This study explores the experiences of frontline healthcare professionals to learn more about how frontline work affects their learning and skills development but also interprofessional collaboration during a pandemic., Methods: In-depth, one-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 healthcare professionals. A broad interdisciplinary group, the participants were employed in public hospitals in four of Denmark's five regions. Using a reflexive methodology for the data analysis allowed reflexive interpretation when interpreting subjects and interpreting the interpretation., Results: The study identified two empirical themes: into the unknown and in the same boat, which we critically interpreted using learning theory and theory on interprofessionalism. The study found that the healthcare professionals moved from being experts in their own fields to being novices in the frontline of the pandemic, and then back to being experts based on interprofessional collaboration that included shared reflection. Working in the frontline was imbued with a unique atmosphere in which workers were equals and functioned interdependently, the barriers normally obstructing interprofessional collaboration set aside to focus on combating the pandemic., Conclusions: This study reveals new insights regarding knowledge on frontline healthcare professionals in terms of learning and developing new skills, as well as the importance of interprofessional collaboration. The insights contributed to the understanding of the importance of shared reflection and how the development of expertise was a socially embedded process where discussions were possible without fear of being ridiculed and healthcare professionals were willing to share their knowledge., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Aims: Caring for an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivor may impact family caregivers' lives due to the sudden onset of the illness and possible secondary cognitive, emotional, and physical challenges. However, experiences of caring for an OHCA survivor are sparsely described. Thus, this study aimed to explore how family caregivers of OHCA survivors experience the potential burden., Methods and Results: Using an explorative qualitative approach, six focus group interviews were conducted with a sample of 25 family caregivers of OHCA survivors and analysed using a phenomenological hermeneutic approach inspired by the philosophy of Ricoeur. The OHCA survivors attended a rehabilitation course, and the family caregivers were interviewed as part of the course.Based on the analysis, three themes emerged: (i) feeling unexpectedly alone and invisible; the family caregivers experienced an emotional burden that could not be shared-leading to caregiving being a lonely experience, (ii) fear of loss; the fear of losing a loved one was a constant companion contributing to the burden, and (iii) adjusting to a new everyday life; the family caregivers had difficulties adjusting to living their lives on the premise of the survivors' needs., Conclusion: The findings of this study emphasize the burden experienced by family caregivers and how they can be trapped in competing emotions and tensions. The possible caregiver burden following OHCA should be acknowledged. Interventions to reduce the burden should be tested and implemented as part of the clinical care of OHCA survivors and their families., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: None declared., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Purpose: Despite growing international attention, few interventions specifically target adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer even though appropriate interventions may improve care delivery during cancer treatment. The study's purpose was to explore how AYAs with cancer experience an age-appropriate intervention when undergoing treatment in adult surgery clinics. Methods: Twenty AYAs with cancer, aged 18-29 years, from five surgery clinics at Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet participated in an intervention consisting of three main components: care provided by trained youth coordinator nurses (YCNs) to the greatest extent possible; a 1-hour one-on-one conversation with a YCN during hospitalization; and a postdischarge phone call. Semistructured interviews were used to collect data, which were analyzed in a stepwise process based on inductive content analysis. Results: Three themes were identified: a beacon in the dark; from patient to person; and the caring check-up. Participants felt safe and experienced a sense of presence and a caring environment in a significant and trusting relationship with YCNs, which encouraged them to share thoughts, feelings, and needs they previously had kept silent about. The one-on-one conversations helped them begin reflecting and in emotional processing and the postdischarge phone call was perceived as a caring check-up. Conclusions: The study shows how an age-appropriate intervention was experienced overall as meaningful for the participants hospitalized in adult surgery clinics, but more research is required to further examine the significance and effect of interventions that target AYAs with cancer.

Background: While COVID-19 affects every walk of human life, it especially implicates healthcare workers at the forefront of the pandemic due to their vulnerable involvement in providing first-line treatment. This study presents the lived experiences of frontline healthcare workers serving in Indonesia's COVID-19-designated hospital, one of the severely afflicted healthcare settings wherein resource challenges, public health crisis, and political constraints intersect as policy conundrums., Methods: Using a qualitative exploratory-descriptive approach, this study drew on thirteen in-depth, semi-structured interviews with frontline healthcare workers who have experiences providing first-line COVID-19 patient care in the COVID-19 hospital. The data analysis commenced with the verbatim transcription of the interview data, which was then subjected to a systematic thematic analysis employing hermeneutic phenomenological principles., Results: The exploration of the participants' accounts reveals eight interconnected themes: facing resource scarcity and resignation; experiencing service-induced burnout due to occupational workload; encountering fears of being infected and infecting others; engaging in positivity through social connectedness; having dilemmas over healthcare rationing; developing negative emotions during patient interactions; coping through spirituality and religiosity; and embodying a life of service., Conclusion: Managing healthcare in resource-limited, crisis settings presents multifaceted challenges that exceed mere structural modifications, requiring prioritized public health investment to ensure optimal patient care. Therefore, healthcare policy development and implementation should equally emphasize the well-being of frontline healthcare workers to foster sustainable healthcare delivery and achieve improved patient outcomes., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Aims: Globally, ischaemic heart disease (IHD) is one of the leading causes of mortality among men, and the health management of men is pivotal to prevention and recovery. Many men delay help-seeking and lack knowledge of disease symptomologies. Thus, the aim was to explore how men experience and manage their health while suffering from ischaemic heart disease and having received treatment with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)., Methods and Results: The study applied a qualitative approach designed within a phenomenological-hermeneutical methodology. Interviews were conducted between April and November 2019 with a criterion sample of 21 male patients within 1-2 weeks post-discharge. The analysis was guided by Paul Ricoeur's theory of text interpretation. After analysing the interviews, the following themes were identified: A functioning body as health, illuminating how a functioning body leads to a feeling of independence; misinterpreting signs of illness showing how symptoms are interpreted as signs of ageing rather than disease; and navigating life with ischaemic heart disease focusing on how men retain or maintain health after the threat to life., Conclusion: The findings of this study provide insight into men's health and their health management: illuminating how a functioning body can give men a sense of freedom and control, making it difficult to interpret signs of illness, and thus, failing to seek help and feel motivated to make changes when facing a serious health threat. These perspectives should be considered when planning future care and communication with male patients., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: none declared., (Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author(s) 2022. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Research on COVID-19 has reported data on epidemiology and pathophysiology but less about what it means to be a person living through this illness. Research involving the patients' perspectives may help to improve healthcare professionals' understanding of ways to support patients., Aims: To gain in-depth understanding of the meaning of a COVID-19 illness trajectory from the patients' perspective., Methods: Fifteen participants who had undergone an illness trajectory due to confirmed COVID-19 infection participated in individual qualitative interviews. Data collection, analysis and interpretation were inspired by Ricoeur's philosophy and Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of perception and embodiment has been applied as a theoretical frame., Findings: Being infected with coronavirus is expressed as an experience in which the participants oscillate between relief, security, imprisonment and raw fear. A predominant focus on the physical dimensions of the diseased body was found in the encounters between patient and healthcare system, and distance may furthermore be a consequence of use of protective equipment. Stigma and fear of infection were also expressed. After COVID-19, an overwhelming feeling of a door opening to freedom is perceived. However, the body is marked, and bears witness to decay from this insidious and frightening virus. The responsibility for assessing their bodily symptoms is placed with the individual patients themselves, who feel lonely and fearful and this keeps them indoors., Conclusions: During a COVID-19 illness, trajectory concerns about the unknown course of this disease are highlighted. Isolation is confrontational; however, a companionship between patients might emerge. The study shed light on an unavoidable gap between the patients and healthcare professionals due to the use protective equipment. After COVID-19, the body is labelled as something others fear and become a symbol of awe and alienation for others., (© 2021 Nordic College of Caring Science.)

Purpose: Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer hospitalized in adult surgery clinics are an overlooked group of patients. They are a minority hospitalized among elderly surgical patients, and the surroundings and care are designed with older patients in mind. A growing body of research focuses on AYAs' experiences of cancer care. However, studies exploring care experiences in terms of in-patient surgery treatment are still needed. Hence, the purpose of the study was to explore the needs and care experiences of AYAs, 15-29 years of age, treated for cancer in adult surgery clinics. Methods: This qualitative study was based on semistructured interviews with 15 AYAs with cancer from seven surgery clinics at Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark. Data were analyzed and interpreted using inductive content analysis. The Danish Data Protection Agency approved the study (project no.: 05617). Results: Three themes were identified: (1) being the black sheep - experiences of being young in an adult environment, (2) the significant nurse - experiences of the essential relationship between AYAs and the nurses, and (3) the wounded body - experiences of how the physically changed body affects the mind. Conclusions: Our findings showed that the psychosocial needs of AYAs with cancer hospitalized in adult surgery clinics were not being adequately met. Initiatives are needed to improve the psychological and social well-being of this vulnerable patient group, while hospitalized for treatment in surgery clinics.

Background: Research has identified how people living with incurable esophageal cancer experience existential concerns., Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the phenomenon of existential anxiety when living with esophageal cancer in the context of receiving general palliative care in a hospital setting., Methods: This qualitative study is inspired by phenomenological and hermeneutical aspects of the philosophies of Ricoeur and Heidegger. Applying Heidegger's theory of existential anxiety and nostalgia, we interpreted the narratives of 18 patients receiving palliative care due to incurable esophageal cancer., Results: The patients experienced existential anxiety at the loss of a future and homeliness when receiving palliative care. Their existence was reduced to the present, with a break in temporal continuity. An anxious mood permeated their entire being-in-the-world in an unhomelike way. Despite this, patients initiated a restoration of home and meaning expressed as a soothing sense of nostalgia that served as an atmospheric, safe space allowing them to inhabit the borderline between past, present, and future., Conclusions: The study suggests an empirical interpretation of the existential anxiety patients experience when receiving palliation for incurable esophageal cancer. It sheds light on how these patients would benefit from healthcare professionals inviting them to narrate significant aspects of their life stories in which the soothing presence of nostalgia can be supported., Implication for Practice: Providing care conditions for a life heading toward death, where the patient can live alongside anxiety, involves focusing on "being with" the patient and on incorporating a nostalgic dimension to facilitate soothing restoration of home for patients., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aims: Survivors of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) may suffer from long-term cognitive, psychological, or physical post-arrest consequences impacting and disrupting daily life. To adjust to and manage daily life is critical, and therefore a tailored rehabiliation programme was introduced to the participants. The study aimed to explore the lived experience among cardiac arrest survivors., Methods and Results: Data were gathered through six focus group interviews during a cardiac arrest rehabilitation programme. Thirty-three out-of-hospital SCA survivors (8 women and 25 men) participated. Time since cardiac arrest was on average 12-57 months. An exploratory qualitative design inspired by Ricoeur's phenomenological hermeneutics was applied. Two main themes emerged from the analysis and interpretation: (i) a lack of support from the health system in the transition from hospital to daily life; and (ii) feeling understood for the first time. The findings revealed that out-of-hospital SCA survivors experience a knowledge gap struggling for support. Attending the programme, gaining knowledge and experiencing peer support was described as a revelation for them., Conclusion: The findings suggest that out-of-hospital SCA survivors felt understood for the first time when attending a cardiac arrest rehabilitation programme. A post-arrest pathway is needed led by a coordinating cardiac arrest specialist nursing service together with allied healthcare professionals. Focus on hypoxic brain injuries, emotional burdens, and supportive strategies are essential in the transition to daily life. Facilitated peer support is warranted., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

Objective: To examine whether a cardiac rehabilitation programme in a community based setting for patients with intermittent claudication (IC) affects walking ability, quality of life, and changes in health behaviour. The trial investigated a cross sector cardiovascular rehabilitation programme compared with usual care for patients having non-operative management., Methods: The trial allocated 118 patients, with 1:1 individual randomisation to either an intervention or control group. Data were collected at a department of vascular surgery and at a healthcare centre in Denmark. The rehabilitation intervention consisted of usual care plus 12 weeks of exercise training, pedometer, health education, and text messages. The primary outcome was maximum walking distance at six months measured by treadmill walking test. The secondary outcomes were maximum walking distance at 12 months and pain free walking distance measured by treadmill walking test, healthy diet, level of physical activity, and quality of life (QoL) at six and 12 months., Results: In the intervention group, 46 participants were analysed, with 47 in the control group. Following three months of rehabilitation, a 37% difference (95% CI 1.10 - 1.70; p = .005) was found between groups in maximum walking distance at six and 12 months, in favour of the intervention group. The same positive effect was found in physical activity, QoL, and healthy diet, but was not statistically significant in pain free walking distance and smoking., Conclusion: A specialised community based cardiac rehabilitation programme for patients with IC showed statistically and clinically significant effects on maximum walking distance, physical activity, quality of life, and healthy diet, but not on pain free walking distance and smoking, compared with usual care without rehabilitation., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Dignity is an inherent value in palliative care, but understanding dignity among people living with and hospitalized for incurable esophageal cancer has not been explored., Objective: The aim of this study was to empirically explore the meaning of dignity in people hospitalized with incurable esophageal cancer., Methods: A qualitative hermeneutic approach, inspired by Gadamer, guided the research process and interpretation of the transcribed interviews. Eighteen patients participated in the study., Results: The meaning of dignity was revealed as reverential response in care relationships and eating as an undignifying activity. A balance of the healthcare system's framework with the lifeworld of the patient was significant in preserving dignity and gave patients a sense of reverent response. Patients were unable to eat ordinary daily meals, which affected their perception of own body and identity, including interactions with others. The resulting bodily changes and social consequences were of crucial importance to the perceived dignity., Conclusions: A dialogical and understanding approach is significant in making the patient feel worthy, consequently helping to uphold a sense of dignity. The changing and decaying body due to eating difficulties bears witness to illness, altering the individual's sense of self, in turn threatening the dignity of identity., Implication for Practice: The care should be based on a reverential response based on the patients' lifeworld. In doing so, storytelling might be a way. Palliative care for these people needs to stress that patients share other aspects of life that is not totally dominated by their illness, inability to eat, and unrecognizable body., Competing Interests: The authors have conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aim: This study aimed to explore experiences of awaiting a test result for COVID-19 among individuals from the general population., Methods: Fifteen participants were recruited from COVID-19 testing tents in the Capital Region of Denmark in March and April 2020. A phenomenological-hermeneutic approach inspired by Ricoeur's theory of interpretation was used., Results: The analysis revealed five themes. (1) The participants' experiences of awaiting a COVID-19 test result illuminated concerns related to infecting others rather than their own health. Experiences of guilt for not taking all possible precautions to avoid the spread of COVID-19 were described and thoughts of potentially having exposed others bothered the participants. (2) The test result would guide their precautions and therefore regulate behaviour at home and in society. (3) Even though the participants did not take all possible precautions they made some changes in their everyday lives. (4) Leaving the individual with the responsibility for taking precautions based on their subjective experiences created feelings of insecurity and uncertainty. (5) Being met by health professionals was an experience that meant for the particpants that behaviour towards limiting the infection became very clear. The seriousness experienced around the test situation facilitated this attitude and behaviour in the participants. Conclusion: This study illuminated how testing for COVID-19 regulates behavior in the general population. The testing was both important for the individual's cautious behavior towards other people, work and in getting around in society but also a way to regulate behavior from a societal perspective to quicken suppression and avoid transmission of COVID-19.

Aortic dissection is a life-threatening condition with mortality up to 75%. In the acute phase, patients are constrained with total bed rest until pain relief and blood pressure has been stabilised. Some need surgery. Aortic dissection is associated with anxiety and poor health-related quality of life. However, no study has explored the experience of living through aortic dissection. The aim of this study was to explore the patient experience of living through aortic dissection. Data were collected in interviews with 10 patients who lived through aortic dissection. Data were gathered and analysed using a phenomenological approach. The qualitative analysis revealed four themes; 'Am I going to die now? - the existential turning point when diagnosed with life-threatening aortic dissection', 'compromised integrity during admission - experiences of hospitalisation', 'Signals from my body - a new awareness of the body after discharge', 'What can I do? - uncertainties about physical activity in daily life posthospitalisation'. Experiences of aortic dissection are a life-threatening and overwhelming existential life situation which includes a period of constraining hospitalisation and experiences a compromised integrity. Patients have substantial concerns regarding body signals and a constantly uncertainty about what kind of activity level they can sustain which affect their mental well-being and their daily life. These findings contribute to understanding and elaborating a more nuanced description of being diagnosed with aortic dissection, which is essential when planning high-quality treatment and care, developing sufficient follow-up and preventing adverse events., (© 2020 Nordic College of Caring Science.)

Aim: To explore how patients with intermittent claudication experiences participating in a community-based cardiovascular rehabilitation program and the various components of the rehabilitation program., Background: Intermittent claudication is a condition associated with progressive atherosclerosis that affects daily life. Most patients with intermittent claudication do not exercise even though exercise is essential in the treatment of this condition. Rehabilitation is reported to be effective in alleviating symptoms, increasing walking distance, reducing cardiovascular events, and improving quality of life. Patients' perspectives are important when designing such programs, however, this aspect has not previously been investigated., Design: A qualitative study., Methods: Patients with intermittent claudication (n=10) participating in a rehabilitation program were interviewed in two focus groups. Pragmatic philosophy inspired the approach. Data were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis, and emerging themes were discussed according to self-efficacy theory., Results: Participants experienced social support from other patients, which motivated them to exercise. The intervention encouraged the patients' management of leg pain, while a local setting and a pedometer were important motivational factors to keep adherence to the program. The participants' experiences of the rehabilitation program are expressed in four themes revealed from the qualitative analysis: 1) the shared community, 2) pushing your own limits, 3) spurred by pedometers and health professionals, and 4) continuing new habits on your own. The participants found the components in the rehabilitation program meaningful, but encountered difficulties in continuing on their own after completion of the program., Conclusion: A specialized community-based cardiovascular rehabilitation program for patients with intermittent claudication can be supportive for patients suffering from intermittent claudication., Relevance to Clinical Practice: The qualitative results can be used to guide development of existing cardiac rehabilitation programs targeted patients with intermittent claudication in a community setting., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None, (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: While people in the societies must stay home to reduce spread of the newly discovered coronavirus, healthcare professionals do the exact opposite. For them the coronavirus is an enemy that should be defeated as a part of one's job. They do, however, also have a daily life with family while doing their work obligations. The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the frontline healthcare professionals' experience of balancing work life and family life during the COVID-19 pandemic., Methods: A sample of 22 frontline healthcare professionals caring for patients with COVID-19 was included and interviewed individually from May to August 2020. Ricoeur's phenomenological hermeneutical philosophy inspired the methodology in this study., Result: Frontline healthcare professionals treating and caring for patients with COVID-19 are, voluntarily or involuntarily, forced to be ready to change departments as well as being ready to face the unknown coronavirus. The frontline work leads to feelings of being abandoned among their families and friends due to the threat of bringing the infection home and spreading the virus. Although healthcare professionals are facing a working life filled with uncertainty and unpredictability impacting their family life, they express opposing feelings of being a part of something bigger., Conclusions: The work life balance for these healthcare professionals is threatened by changes in professional responsibilities, working hours and shifts. Fear of bringing the infection home challenges them ethically and creates a distance between healthcare professionals and their families, leading to a conflict within the individual if their work on the frontline is worth it - or if it is a too high price to pay. Despite facing a working life filled with uncertainty and unpredictability the healthcare professionals are being a part of something bigger that contributes to a fighting spirit and professional pride outweighing the negative consequences; like being soldiers on the front.

Although there is a growing acknowledgement of the potential of a more nuanced healthcare paradigm and practice, the discourses of health promotion-and with that nursing and other healthcare professionals' practice-still tend to focus on the medical diagnosis, disease and the rationale of biomedicine. There is a need for shifting to a human practice that draws on a broader perspective related to illness. This requires a transformation of practices which can be constructed within a narrative understanding. A narrative approach appreciates the importance of emotion and intersubjective relation in the telling and listening that occur in the clinical encounter. The essence of nursing lies in the creative imagination, the sensitive spirit and the intelligent understanding of the individuals' possibilities of becoming empowered in his or her own life. This entails that the focus of the use of patients' narratives is, ultimately, not the story itself, but the nurses' and other healthcare professionals' ability to support the patients in finding useful meaning in their stories. Herein, it is of particular importance to let the patients narrate about what is sparkling moments or events in the lived life. Stories with such focus can open up for patients' hopes and dreams, which gives inspiration for finding meaningful ways to cope in life empowering personal recovery. It is, therefore, crucial to transform clinical settings into places that acknowledge the need for imagination and creativity, aiming at creating the opportunity for sensibility and vision essential to encouraging a narrative approach and thereby the ability to reflect upon and promote a healing process., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objective: The objective was to explore patients' and spouses' perception and attitudes towards participating in a patient and family advisory council., Methods: A qualitative study with interviews conducted within a phenomenological-hermeneutical frame, inspired by Ricoeur were conducted with current and former participants (patients and/or spouses) of a patient and family advisory council in Denmark., Results: In total, 16 participants were interviewed (12 former patients/four spouses) with a mean age of 68 (range 49-79) and 44 % women. After the analysis, perceptions and attitudes towards participating in a patient advisory council emerged in four themes; "Payback", "A personal invitation", "A safe and equal atmosphere", and "Sharing, caring, and healing"., Conclusion: Participants of an advisory council express a need for "paying it back" to the health care system. When being part of the advisory council, the participants expressed feeling a genuine engagement and interest from the health-care professionals - leading to a feeling of being equal and taken seriously. The advisory council increased the process of recovery by sharing narratives with peers., Practical Value: Experiences of being part of an advisory council lead to an understanding of "why" former patients and spouses participate. This knowledge can help others to recruit members., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None, (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aims and Objectives: To explore the transition from hospital to home and patient experiences of nurse-led post-operative follow-up phone calls after thoracic surgery., Background: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery protocol places new demands on patients after hospital. Need for a proactive approach to improve the post-operative follow-up process in the home is required., Design: Qualitative intervention study., Methods: Interviews were conducted with patients who had received a post-operative phone call after hospital discharge (n = 15). The analysis was inspired by Gadamer and Meleis. COREQ guidelines were followed., Results: Two overall themes emerged: (1) The follow-up phone call, which concerns experiences involving the actual call and (2) Transitioning from hospital to home, which through four subthemes illuminates; how patients describe their initial time at home, that patients experience a changed body after surgery, that patients feel alone after returning home and that a call from a nurse can help patients not to feel left out and finally why it is absolutely essential that nurses initiate the phone call., Conclusion: Patients are at different stages in their transition process after hospital, making timing of follow-up tricky. Being part of an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery programme has implications for the initial period after discharge; dominated by fatigue, pain and experiences of a changed body. Patients experience being left alone with their illness, and the phone call helps to relieve this isolation. It is essential that the nurse call the patient since the patients want to avoid disturbing the staff., Relevance to Clinical Practice: Healthcare workers can use the findings to understand how patients experience the transition from hospital to home when enrolled in an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery programme. Need for support from a nurse following discharge is suggested., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of people infected with the coronavirus in Denmark during the first phase of the pandemic. An explorative qualitative design underpinned by a phenomenological hermeneutical approach was applied. Fifteen individuals with confirmed COVID-19 infection were included and interviewed individually by telephone. Analyses were inspired by Ricoeur's interpretation theory. The study illuminated how being diagnosed with COVID-19 was experienced not just a virus infecting the participants' biology; it was also a threat to their existence and bodily perception as well as an interference in ordinary social relationships. Beyond a supportive approach, the participants experienced being a special case where people around them acted with excitement and curiosity. Responsibility for existential and emotional care after COVID-19 has been placed with the individual ill person and within their ordinary social circle. We suggest follow-up and rehabilitation for people during and after COVID-19 to support recovery.

Aim: To explore and gain in-depth understanding of how out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors experience the short- and long-term consequences on daily life., Design: A qualitative exploratory design., Methods: A purposive sample of 32 survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Data from six audiotaped focus group interviews were collected in either November 2018 or in March 2019. Analysis and interpretation of the transcribed texts was performed using a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach guided by Ricoeur for unfolding lived experiences., Results: Three narratives were identified. The survivors narrated how they in the early phase after the cardiac arrest experienced: (a) 'a fragmented memory at the mercy of the system'. The analysis further showed how the participants were: (b) 'living in the shadow of anxiety and mixed feelings' and with the: (c) 'lost sense of self' up to several years after survival., Conclusion: The participants in our study experienced distinct bodily impairments, suffering, and the lost sense of self in the return to daily life from early on to several years after resuscitation. There seem to be an urgent need for an early initiated post-arrest transitional care program led by an expert cardiac arrest nurse. In particular, the healthcare professionals need to pay attention to survivors in employment and with children living at home. Facilitated cardiac arrest peer support groups might minimize the long-term suffering, heighten the self-image, and install a new hope for the future., Impact: To ease the post-arrest return to daily life for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors it seems important that a transitional care program from the inhospital setting to the community consist of: (a) screening for and education on bodily losses at an early stage, (b) provision of support on the often prolonged emotional reactions, and (c) referring for further individual and targeted psychological and neurological follow-up and rehabilitation if needed., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Family members to patients admitted to intensive care units in general experience a psychological crisis with elevated levels of needs in support, information, assurance, and proximity. During COVID-19, this has been made more difficult as visiting restrictions prevent proximity and cause less access to communication with healthcare professionals. This study aims to explore and understand how communication with healthcare professionals was experienced by family members to patients admitted to intensive care units with COVID-19. To gain knowledge about this, 12 qualitative interviews with family members of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were conducted. Adopting Reflexive Methodology, the interpretation is carried out following 4 levels, where the empirically grounded themes are analyzed and discussed using Habermas's theoretical concept of communication. The analysis brought forward 2 interconnected themes about how family members experienced the communication with the healthcare professionals during their loved one's hospitalization with COVID-19: The Structure and Form of the Communication and The Contents of the Communication. The study concludes that the family members experienced large variation in the ways that healthcare professionals communicated with them. This variation in communication goes for the when, how, what, and who-all adding to the level of uncertainty. The analyses show that the family members need more fixed patterns for the communication, more continuity in terms of who they speak to, and that they wish that the communication be conducted in a way that is true, right, and truthful.

Background: Extensive measures to reduce person-to-person transmission of COVID-19 are required to control the current outbreak. Special attention is directed at healthcare professionals as reducing the risk of infection in healthcare is essential. The purpose of this study was to explore healthcare professionals' experiences of awaiting a test result for a potential COVID-19 infection., Methods: Qualitative interviews with 15 healthcare professionals were performed, underpinned by a phenomenological hermeneutical analytical framework., Results: The participating healthcare professionals' experiences of awaiting a COVID-19 test result were found to be associated with a stoic and altruistic orientation towards their work. These healthcare professionals presented a strong professional identity overriding most concerns about their own health. The result of the coronavirus test was a decisive parameter for whether healthcare professionals could return to work. The healthcare professionals were aware that their family and friends were having a hard time knowing that the COVID-19 infection risk was part of their jobs. This concern did not, however, cause the healthcare professionals to falter in their belief that they were doing the right thing by focusing on their core area. The threat to own health ran through the minds of the healthcare professionals occasionally, which makes access to testing particularly important., Conclusion: The participating healthcare professionals had a strong professional identity. However, a discrepancy between an altruistic role as a healthcare professional and the expectations that come from the community was illuminated. A mental health coronavirus hotline for healthcare professionals is suggested.

Background: End-of-life (EOL) conversations are highly important for patients living with life-threatening diseases and for their relatives. Talking about the EOL is associated with reduced costs and better quality of care in the final weeks of life. However, there is therefore a need for further clarification of the actual wishes of patients and their relatives concerning EOL conversations in an acute hospital setting., Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore the wishes of patients and their relatives with regard to talking about the EOL in an acute hospital setting when living with a life-threatening disease., Methods: This study is a qualitative study using semi-structured in-depth interviews. A total of 17 respondents (11 patients and six spouses) participated. The patients were identified by the medical staff in a medical and surgical ward using SPICT™. The interview questions were focused on the respondents' thoughts on and wishes about their future lives, as well as on their wishes regarding talking about the EOL in a hospital setting., Results: This study revealed that the wish to talk about the EOL differed widely between respondents. Impairment to the patients' everyday lives received the main focus, whereas talking about EOL was secondary. Conversations on EOL were an individual matter and ranged from not wanting to think about the EOL, to being ready to plan the funeral and expecting the healthcare professionals to be very open about the EOL. The conversations thus varied between superficial communication and crossing boundaries., Conclusion: The wish to talk about the EOL in an acute hospital setting is an individual matter and great diversity exists. This individualistic stance requires the development of conversational tools that can assist both the patients and the relatives who wish to have an EOL conversation and those who do not. At the same time, staff should be trained in initiating and facilitating EOL discussions.

Background: Patient participation in treatment and care is often encouraged and is desirable because of its proven positive impact on treatment, quality of care and patient safety., Aims: To develop an instrument to measure patient participation in health care and to investigate the measurement properties of the Patient Participation Questionnaire (PPQ)., Methods: A literature review was conducted to develop a model of patient participation. The PPQ was constructed consisting of 17 items organized into four subscales. Psychometric evaluation of factor structure, convergent construct validity by hypothesis testing and analyses of internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha were performed on data from a hospitalised mixed group of patients with cardiac disease, pulmonary disease and cancer ( N =378 patients)., Results: Confirmatory factor analysis did not show a clear model fit, which is why an exploratory factor analysis was performed, suggesting a different four subscale structure consisting of a total of 16 items. The four subscales were labelled Shared decision power, Adapted and individualized knowledge, Collaboration and Human approach . There were strong ceiling effects on all items. Analysis of convergent construct validity showed a moderate correlation (0.59) between the PPQ and another instrument measuring patient participation. Internal consistency for the total PPQ score was high: 0.89., Conclusion: In a mixed group of patients with cardiac disease, pulmonary disease and cancer, the PPQ showed promising psychometric properties in terms of factor structure, convergent construct validity and internal consistency. The PPQ may be used to shed light on the experience of patient participation and guide quality improvements.