Having courage: a lived experience of human becoming

The purposes of this research were to discover the structure of the experience of having courage and to contribute to knowledge about human becoming. Participants were 10 persons with spinal cord injuries. The Parse research method was used to answer the research question, What is the structure of the lived experience of having courage? The central finding of this study is the following structure: The lived experience of having courage is a fortifying tenacity arising with triumph amid the burdensome, while guarded confidence emerges with the treasured. The findings are discussed in relation to human becoming, relevant literature, and future research.     

The experience of feeling unsure for women at end-of-life

The purpose of this study was to answer the research question, What is the structure of the lived experience of feeling unsure? The participants were 9 women at end-of-life. The Parse research method, a phenomenological- hermeneutic method, was used to discover the structure of feeling unsure. Through the process of extraction- synthesis three core concepts were identified: disquieting apprehensiveness, pressing on, and intimate sorrows. Thus, the lived experience of feeling unsure for these 9 women is disquieting apprehensiveness arising while pressing on with intimate sorrows. The structure provides knowledge about feeling unsure and its connection to health and quality of life. Feeling unsure will be discussed in relation to the principles and concepts of human becoming and in relation to how it can inform nursing practice and future research.     

Grieving a loss: the lived experience for elders residing in an institution

Grieving a loss is a profound and universal human experience. This phenomenological-hermeneutic study was an inquiry into the lived experience of grieving a loss. The nursing perspective was Parse's human becoming theory. Participants were 10 elderly persons residing in a long-term care facility. The study finding specifies the structure of the lived experience of grieving a loss as aching solitude amid enduring cherished affiliations, as serene acquiescence arises with sorrowful curtailments. Findings are discussed in relation to the guiding theoretical perspective and related literature. Recommendations for additional research and insights for practice are presented.     

Feeling lonely: a Parse method study with children

Feeling lonely is a phenomenon experienced by all humans. The purposes of this research study were to discover the structure of the experience of feeling lonely, to contribute to nursing knowledge, and to expand the knowledge of feeling lonely. The Parse research method was used to guide this study and answer the research question: What is the structure of the lived experience of feeling lonely? Participants were 10 children ages 7 to 10 years. The central finding of this study was the following structure: The lived experience of feeling lonely is distressing isolation amid contentedness arising with cherished engagements. New knowledge extended the theory of humanbecoming and enhanced understanding of the experience of feeling lonely.     

The lived experience of doing the right thing: a parse method study

The purposes of this research were to discover the structure of the experience of doing the right thing and to contribute to nursing knowledge. The Parse research method was used in this study to answer the research question: What is the structure of the lived experience of doing the right thing? Participants were 10 individuals living in the community. The central finding of this study was the following structure: The lived experience of doing the right thing is steadfast uprightness amid adversity, as honorableness with significant affiliations emerges with contentment. New knowledge extended the theory of humanbecoming and enhanced understanding of the experience of doing the right thing.     

The lived experience of feeling cared for: a human becoming perspective

The purpose of this study was to answer the research question, What is the structure of the lived experience of feeling cared for? The participants were 10 women volunteers who were struggling with lack of economic, social, or interpersonal resources and who were or had been homeless. The Parse research method, a phenomenological-hermeneutic method, was used to discover the meaning of feeling cared for. The major finding of this study is the structure: Feeling cared for is contentment with intimate affiliations arising with salutary endeavors, while honoring uniqueness amid adversity. The structure provides knowledge about feeling cared for and its connection to health and quality of life. Feeling cared for is discussed in relation to the principles and concepts of human becoming and in relation to how it can inform nursing practice and future research.     

The lived experience of feeling disappointed: a parse research method study

The purpose of this study was to enhance understanding of the lived experience of feeling disappointed. The research question was: What is the structure of the lived experience of feeling disappointed? Parse's phenomenological-used to answer the research question. Participants included 7 women and 2 men ranging in age from 46 to 80 years of age. The major finding of this study is: feeling disappointed is disheartening discontent with diminishing aspirations, as diverse affiliations surface in prevailing with struggle. New knowledge emerging from the study is presented along with recommendations for future research and implications for nursing practice.     

The lived experience of contentment: a study using the Parse research method

The purpose of this study was to answer the research question. What is the structure of the lived experience of contentment? The participants were 10 women volunteers. The Parse research method, a phenomenological-hermeneutic method, was used to uncover the meaning of contentment. The major finding of this study is the structure: Contentment is a satisfying calmness amid the arduous as resolute liberty arises with benevolent engagements. The structure provides knowledge about contentment and its connection to health and quality of life. It is discussed in relation to the principles and concepts of human becoming and in relation to how it can inform future research and practice.     

The relentless drive to be ever thinner: a study using the phenomenological method

The relentless drive to be thinner is an experience lived by many individuals in the present sociohistorical context. Since fundamental questions concerning the structure of this lived experience remain unanswered in the literature, theory-based approaches to nursing practice have yet to be conceptualized for these individuals. The investigator was unable to find even a single nursing study related to the target phenomenon. The present study addresses the foundational question: What is it like to live the experience of the relentless drive to be ever thinner? Retrospective written and verbal accounts from two women who had lived this experience were analyzed using the Giorgi modification of the phenomenological method. The central finding of this study was: The relentless drive to be ever thinner is a persistent struggle toward an imaged self lived through withdrawing-engaging. This theoretical proposition was found to be congruent with Parse's theory of nursing. The study findings suggest directions for innovative nursing practice and support Parse's theory as a useful perspective for the investigation of health experiences.     

Living as an oldest old in Rio de Janeiro: the lived experience told

This phenomenological-hermeneutic study was an inquiry into the lived experience of 16 very old persons who were living in their own homes. The nursing perspective was Gadow's existential advocacy for nursing practice. The study findings led to the essence of the phenomenon: pragmatic transition to old age, within a restricted future. Heideggerian concepts were applied and the findings were discussed in relation to the guiding theoretical perspective and related literature. Understanding the meaning of being a very old person is fundamental to developing nursing interventions to help people remain independent, with a sense of self-determination, for as long as possible.     

Ebola at Mbarara, Uganda: aesthetic expressions of the lived worlds of people waiting to know

The Ebola epidemic of 2000 was a disastrous experience for the people of Uganda. Prior outbreaks in neighboring African sub-Saharan countries heightened the realization of death from this devastating disease. Waiting to know is a phenomenon described as an excruciating inactivity uniquely experienced by individuals who were exposed to persons with Ebola but who had not yet exhibited signs and symptoms of the disease. In the recent Ebola epidemic in Uganda, contact persons described their experience of waiting to know as "helplessness in anticipation and fear of dying or premature death; agonizing and languishing over losing relatives, friends, and loved ones; trusting no one; and helplessness and hopelessness with the persisting time." In this column, these experiences will be discussed, and visual artworks will further illustrate the lived experience of waiting to know. Human and artistic expressions facilitate understanding of lived experience, and understanding is known to inspire meaningful, compassionate, and competent nursing practice.     

"Waiting" as experienced by women hospitalized during the antepartum period

PURPOSE: To better understand the lived experience of "waiting" among women who are hospitalized during the antepartum period. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Phenomenology based on Parse's theory of human becoming. Audiotapes were made of dialogues between the participants and the researcher. Participants were asked to respond to this question: "Tell me what your experience of 'waiting' is like." The sample consisted of 14 hospitalized women. RESULTS: Unpredictable as well as paradoxical realities of waiting evolved that differed person to person, yet each participant's dialogue reflected waiting as an enduring vigil of burdening toil while engaging-disengaging with close others in cherishing the can-be. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Listening to what antepartum women really feel about waiting can give direction to nursing care. Women wanted to know that nurses supported their efforts to carry their babies to full term. This study helps us to see that although most of western society does not value waiting, perhaps there is unseen value in waiting. The women in this study realized the agony of waiting, but understood its importance for the health of their babies. Research such as this which encourages active listening and reflecting on women's stories can help to improve nursing practice and healthcare for women.     

Patients' existential situation prior to colorectal surgery

AIM: The aim of this paper is to present a hermeneutic phenomenological study illuminating patients' existential situation prior to colorectal surgery. The intention was also to explore the value of the encounter between patient and nurse. BACKGROUND: Patients waiting for major surgery experience multifarious reactions. Emotions of anxiety, fears of the unknown, anaesthesia, cancer diagnosis and death can arise. Several earlier studies have reported the importance of information, coping strategies and the need to reduce anxiety and stress in relation to surgery. However, there is a lack of studies focusing on patients' existential situation in the preoperative phase. METHODS: Conversational interviews were conducted with 28 patients 1 week before their surgery during autumn 2002. Analysis of the data was influenced by van Manen's existential themes: lived space/spatiality, lived body/corporeality, lived time/temporality and lived relation/relationality. FINDINGS: Participants expressed either hope of increased spatiality or fear of restricted spatiality, according to whether they had a benign or malign diagnosis. Statements about lived time were also related to the diagnosis. Patients waiting for surgery for a benign diagnosis could use the time to relax and gather energy, while malignancy gave them high levels of anxiety and stress. Lived body experiences showed the ambivalence felt in entrusting one's body to professionals. Statements about lived relations drew attention to the need for considerate caregivers to enhance feelings of security and continuity. CONCLUSION: The existential situation of patients in a preoperative context was shown to be a state of uncertainty with regard to lived space, body, time and relation. The significance of meeting and talking to the nurse did not appear in the statements. The nurse was invisible. If nurses were to employ the existential themes proposed by van Manen in preoperative encounter with patients, their need for care might be more clearly identified and affirmed.     

Struggling with going along when you do not believe

The phenomenon central to this study is, "struggling with going along in a situation you do not believe in." It emerged as a predominant universal lived experience within the lives of outstanding nurses in the United States studied earlier by the author. The purpose of the research reported in this article was to generate a structure of the lived experience of "struggling with going along in a situation you do not believe in," using Parse's research methodology. Through the processes of the method: participant selection, dialogical engagement, extraction-synthesis and heuristic interpretation, a structure of the lived experience for persons over 65 years of age was generated. This structure is: struggling with going along in a situation you do not believe in is justifiable yielding, as opposing views intensify personal convictions and compel disclosure while suffering consequences. When linked with the major concepts of Parse's theory, the theoretical definition is: valuing the powering of revealing-concealing. Recommendations for further study are offered.     

Having faith: a Parse research method study

In this article the author reports details of a Parse research study on the lived experience of having faith with 10 participants living in community. The central finding of this study is the structure: The lived experience of having faith is discerning conviction with perpetual alliances arising with fortitude amid adversity . The findings are discussed in relation to the human becoming school of thought and related literature.     

Cultural self-efficacy of Canadian nursing students caring for aboriginal patients with diabetes

Cultural self-efficacy refers to how capable one feels functioning in culturally diverse situations. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of cultural self-efficacy among nursing students, specifically in relation to individuals of Aboriginal ancestry. The authors examined the extent to which intercultural anxiety, intercultural communication, and experience with persons of Aboriginal ancestry predicted two aspects of cultural self-efficacy, namely, knowledge and skills. In this correlational study, non-Aboriginal Canadian nursing students (N = 59) completed a survey assessing these variables. Overall, cultural self-efficacy was rated as moderate by nursing students. Regression analyses indicated that greater intercultural communication skills and experience with persons of Aboriginal ancestry were significant unique predictors of higher cultural knowledge self-efficacy. Greater intercultural communication and lower intercultural anxiety significantly predicted higher cultural skills self-efficacy. The results provide direction to nursing programs interested in facilitating higher levels of cultural self-efficacy among nursing students.