Personal Life Experiences Research Articles

Artificial intelligence: An eye cast towards the mental health nursing horizon.

There has been an international surge towards online, digital, and telehealth mental health services, further amplified during COVID-19. Implementation and integration of technological innovations, including artificial intelligence (AI), have increased with the intention to improve clinical, governance, and administrative decision-making. Mental health nurses (MHN) should consider the ramifications of these changes and reflect on their engagement with AI. It is time for mental health nurses to demonstrate leadership in the AI mental health discourse and to meaningfully advocate that safety and inclusion of end users' of mental health service interests are prioritized. To date, very little literature exists about this topic, revealing limited engagement by MHNs overall. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of AI in the mental health context and to stimulate discussion about the rapidity and trustworthiness of AI related to the MHN profession. Despite the pace of progress, and personal life experiences with AI, a lack of MHN leadership about AI exists. MHNs have a professional obligation to advocate for access and equity in health service distribution and provision, and this applies to digital and physical domains. Trustworthiness of AI supports access and equity, and for this reason, it is of concern to MHNs. MHN advocacy and leadership are required to ensure that misogynist, racist, discriminatory biases are not favoured in the development of decisional support systems and training sets that strengthens AI algorithms. The absence of MHNs in designing technological innovation is a risk related to the adequacy of the generation of services that are beneficial for vulnerable people such as tailored, precise, and streamlined mental healthcare provision. AI developers are interested to focus on person-like solutions; however, collaborations with MHNs are required to ensure a person-centred approach for future mental healthcare is not overlooked.

Dewey and Tao Xingzhi’s Educational Philosophy and Contemporary Interpretation

Tao Xingzhi was a student of American educator John Dewey. He generally absorbed Dewey’s educational philosophy in educational theory and practice, and carried out reforms and innovations based on the actual situation in China. Thus he formed his own peculiar “life education” theory. There are fundamental differences between Tao Xingzhi and Dewey in educational philosophy. Tao Xingzhi’s educational thought is based on real life and realistic materialistic educational view; Dewey’s educational thought is an idealistic educational thought based on personal life and subjective experience. The comparison of Tao Xingzhi’s and Dewey’s educational concepts has important practical significance for whether Tao Xingzhi’s educational concept can be accurately evaluated and used for reference in practice. The international education competition in the 21st century is not only the competition of economic forces, but also the competition of social productive forces. Essentially, it’s a technological power race. However, the key to rapidly transforming technology into productivity is universal access to education.

Nurses and Respiratory Therapists Lived Experience During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study.

Nurses and respiratory therapists working on the frontline during the pandemic surge were short-staffed and worked extended hours while adding new tasks to already demanding workloads. As the world watched news covering COVID-19's effect, nurses and respiratory therapists lived through the daily stress of treating each patient with care, dignity, and compassion. Limited studies have focused on this population, which is vital to providing care and saving lives; research is needed to understand nurses' and respiratory therapists' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aimed to understand nurses' and respiratory therapists' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative descriptive study, informed by naturalistic philosophy, was designed to obtain a detailed account of participants' experiences during the pandemic surge. A purposive sample was recruited and enrolled from the community through professional organizations and snowball sampling from December 2021 to September 2022. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Participants were seven registered nurses and six respiratory therapists employed full-time in an intensive care unit, step-down intensive care unit, emergency department, or medical-surgical unit; seven (53.8%) with an associate degree, and six (46.2%) with a bachelor's degree. Eight (66.7%) self-identified as White, one Asian, one non-Hispanic Black, and two Pacific Islanders. The mean age was 40, and 10 (76.9%) were female. Six primary themes emerged: (a) the work-life experience before the COVID-19 pandemic, (b) the work-life experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, (c) the personal life experience during COVID-19, (d) the coping period, (e) the professional role change, and (f) the work and personal life experiences post COVID-19 surge. The knowledge gained from this study can help improve understanding of the professional quality of life, the need for organizational and community support, and for healthcare professionals to seek help and practice self-care to prevent burnout and secondary traumatic stress.

Management of chronic non-cancer pain in primary care.

Management of chronic non-cancer pain in primary care.

THE ROLE AND PLACE OF WRITING TASKS IN LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE AT UNIVERSITY

The article reveals the importance of developing foreign language writing skills among future specialists at foreign language classes at university. The concept of writing and the tools and opportunities for its development have been revealed. It has been noted that the components of success in mastering writing skills and building written communication are vocabulary, grammar and experience. The connection between the mastery of writing skills and the quality of teaching a foreign language has been established. The article highlights the issue of a text implementation in several language layers: orthography, grammar and discourse. It has been stated that the nature of the text is controlled by context, which includes social purpose, specific audience, modality, etc. It has been noted that writing is a recursive process that includes cognitive processes: planning, preparation, actual text writing, task performance monitoring and evaluation. The article states that before completing a written task, a teacher should familiarize students with the features of writing in the corresponding foreign language; the teacher should show students several writing styles or writing examples to familiarize them with writing patterns and forms. It has been emphasized that writing is one of the means of overcoming the psychological barrier in the process of mastering a foreign language, and written tasks in a foreign language are aimed at activating the working memory of students and providing space for thinking and generating content. The article offers examples of tasks for the development of writing skills at foreign language classes: tasks related to personal and real life experience, a task to complete a description, a task related to one word, a task to use the given words and their derivatives, etc. Emphasis has been placed on the role and importance of creative writing as an effective method of developing writing skills, encouraging students to this type of language activity, developing vocabulary, grammar, and imagination. The role and place of evaluation in the process of performance of written tasks has been noted.

Research and analysis of interaction in virtual reality films in the context of new media

With the continuous progress of computer network technology and the burst of new digital media art, virtual reality technology, a revolution in transmitting information, has come into being. As a brand new combination of computer technology and film art, virtual reality films have an interactive experience that no other art genre can achieve. During the movie watching process, the audience can walk into the movie scene, panoramic arbitrary observation of any angle around, and active interaction with people or objects in the scene, creating a personal memory palace, creating a unique storyline, creating a virtual dream space, and re-creating personal life and personal experience in the process of virtual experience. This paper firstly, through understanding the origin and background of virtual reality, analyzing and comparing the development status of virtual reality movies at home and abroad and looking forward to its prospect, so as to arrive at the possible value of virtual reality movies realized under the future digital technology media; secondly, combining the characteristics of virtual reality interactive technology, through analyzing the development process of traditional movie experience, comparing and arriving at the difference between traditional movies and virtual reality movies in Secondly, by analyzing the development process of traditional movie experience with the characteristics of virtual reality interactive technology, we compare and contrast the experience difference between traditional movies and virtual reality movies in four aspects: time and space construction, screen boundary, subjective experience, and interaction mode; secondly, we analyze the experience process from shallow to deep in virtual reality movies, and explore the psychological demand value rooted in the spirit after the intermingling of technology and movie content; finally, we elaborate on the experience value feedback brought to the audience after the practical application of virtual reality technology, and at the same time, we think deeply about this new digital technology medium. Lastly, it is the feedback of the experience value brought by the practical application of virtual reality technology to the audience and the reflection and critique of this new digital technology medium.

Cross-cultural serious neurological illness communication: qualitative analysis of multidisciplinary perspectives.

Cultural competence is important in approaching serious illness communication with diverse patients about goals of care. Culture colors patients' perspectives on many healthcare issues, including end-of-life care, and impacts how clinicians make decisions with patients. Communication about serious neurological illnesses can be additionally challenging due to disease impact on patients' cognition and decision-making abilities. We aim to understand provider experiences regarding cross-cultural serious neurological illness communication with diverse patients and families. Using non-stratified purposive and snowball sampling, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 multidisciplinary participants, including neurosurgeons, neurologists, and social workers, who provide care for patients diagnosed with serious neurological disorders, at three hospital settings between 2021 and 2022. We used standard qualitative content analysis methods with dual review. Five themes reflected provider perspectives about serious neurological illness communication with diverse patients and families. Theme 1: providers recognize that patients' personal biases and lived experiences impact attitudes about healthcare and communication. Theme 2: challenges in communication can arise when providers miss chances to identify important cultural values. Theme 3: understanding how to engage with family members is important for effective communication about serious neurological illness. Theme 4: providers want to accommodate patients. Theme 5: cultivating trust builds a strong patient-provider partnership, even when racial or cultural discordance is present. Our study highlights elements of cross-cultural communication and opportunities for providers to approach diverse patients and families within a racial or culturally discordant context. Effective communication, fostered through respecting individual experiences and variation, eliciting cultural perspectives, engaging family, and cultivating trust reflects processes and learned skills required of high-quality teams caring for patients with serious neurological conditions.

How Perspectives on Food Safety of Vendors and Consumers Translate into Food-Choice Behaviors in 6 African and Asian Countries

BackgroundConsumption of unsafe foods increases morbidity and mortality and is currently an issue, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Policy actions to ensure food safety are dominated by mitigation of biological and chemical hazards through supply-side risk management, lessening the degree to which consumer perspectives of food safety are considered. ObjectivesThis study aimed to provide an in-depth understanding, from vendor and consumer perspectives, of how food-safety concerns of consumers translate into their subsequent food-choice behaviors in 6 diverse low- and middle-income countries. MethodsSix Drivers of Food Choice projects (2016–2022) provided transcripts from 17 focus group discussions and 343 interviews conducted in Ghana, Guinea, India, Kenya, Tanzania, and Vietnam. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to identify emerging themes important to food safety. ResultsThe analysis suggests that consumers constructed meaning about food safety through personal lived experience and social influences. Community and family members contributed knowledge about food safety. Concerns about food safety were influenced by reputations of and relationships with food vendors. Consumers’ mistrust of food vendors was amplified by purposeful adulteration or unsafe selling practices and new methods used to produce food. Moreover, consumers were reassured of food safety by positive relationships with vendors; meals cooked at home; implementation of policies and following regulations; vendor adherence to environmental sanitation and food-hygiene practices; cleanliness of vendors’ appearance; and vendors’ or producers’ agency to use risk mitigation strategies in production, processing, and distribution of food. ConclusionsConsumers integrated their meanings, knowledge, and concerns about food safety to achieve assurance about the safety of their foods when making food-choice decisions. The success of food-safety policies hinges on consideration of consumers’ food-safety concerns in their design and implementation, alongside actions to reduce risk in food supply.

NARRATIVE LITERATURE REVIEW OF PHOTOVOICE STUDIES TO EXPLORE METHODOLOGY, ANALYSIS, AND THE DEMENTIA EXPERIENCE

Abstract Dementia is a serious public health concern requiring effective interventions to address older adults’ unmet needs. Photovoice, an underutilized and effective communication method for persons with waning abilities, provides insight into lived experiences and diverse needs. The purpose of this study is to understand current methodologies, analysis, and participant insights from photovoice literature in persons with dementia. A narrative review was conducted through PubMed, CINAHL Plus, and PsycINFO. From eleven eligible studies, insights were categorized via the 5-level Hierarchy Model of Needs in Dementia incorporating the 3-level Blackfoot Native American belief. Synthesized findings suggest providing dyadic opportunities to: (1) spend time in the natural world, (2) link activities for healthy aging with a need for hard work, and (3) recognize the importance of social determinants of health/disease when focusing on brain health. This review fills the knowledge gap regarding the lived experience of persons with dementia using relevant photovoice methodology.

The leadership style and motivation of women council candidates in regional New South Wales, Australia: a heuristic inquiry

The women who aspire to the role of a local government councillor in rural and regional areas of Australia are still breaking new ground. This paper presents research findings, by a woman who stood for election, concerning some of the barriers women face in achieving public leadership in regional and rural local governments (‘councils’). It explores the motivation and leadership styles of six women candidates campaigning in two neighbouring all-male councils in regional New South Wales in 2017. The study used heuristic inquiry in which the researcher and participants share a personal lived experience of the issues being studied. Heuristic inquiry allowed for an intimate and creative presentation of the research. Key findings were that gender disparity was not a significant motivator for five of the six women. The main motivator was service to their community with all six women favouring a servant leader style.

Mood regulation upon remembering open memories

ABSTRACT Open autobiographical memories are personal life experiences on which an individual does not have closure. It is unknown whether emotion regulation strategies through recalling positive memories are active after recalling open memories. The current study aims to explore the presence of emotion regulation for open memories while testing for the interference of depressive tendencies. The participants were asked to remember an open memory and answer questions on phenomenological features of this event. Later, they recalled a memory without any restrictions and answered similar phenomenological questions. The results showed that the subsequent memories were significantly more closed, more positive, and less intense during retrieval than open memories. Additionally, open memories were reported as involuntarily rehearsed more frequently than the subsequent memories. Depressive tendencies were unrelated to emotion regulation after open memory recall. This study provides insight into the emotion regulation strategies after remembering open memories and how depression could be related to this strategy.

Overcoming Challenges in Undertaking Research Interviews during the COVID Pandemic

Implementation of Evidence-based Practice (EBP) is essential in ensuring high quality healthcare at minimum cost. Interprofessional collaboration has been identified as an essential element for the successful implementation of EBP. I chose to explore the experiences of advanced nurse and midwife practitioners of interprofessional collaboration when implementing EBP using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a qualitative research approach which provides detailed examination of personal lived experience. Semi-structured interviews are the most commonly used data collection method in IPA and face-to face interviewing is regarded as the gold standard. I therefore opted to conduct face-to-face interviews with participants from one region in Ireland. Having been granted ethical approval, I began recruitment and undertook one interview. However, the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic resulted in further interviews being suspended and participant recruitment being curtailed. In order to progress my research, I opted to use online interviewing and to extend participant recruitment to two other regions. However, because of the pandemic many ethics committees had temporarily suspended review of applications and I consequently experienced delays in securing the required ethical approval. Despite encountering challenges, I succeeded in interviewing ten participants from a range of practice settings and completed the study. Use of the IPA framework enabled new knowledge and insights about advanced nurse and midwife practitioners’ experiences of interprofessional collaboration to be revealed.

Reflections on (in)visibility and (in)audibility in music therapy: Who? How? To whom?

This article grew from a consideration of perceived visibility; specifically how this might play a role in experiences of minoritisation. In this article, I reflect on the concepts of (in)visibility and (in)audibility, together with critical theories of bodymind literacy and Barthes’s theory of the grain of the voice to consider what fresh perspectives these might offer to music therapy. Examples are drawn from clinical work and my personal lived experience as a nonbinary, trans, White, disabled person, to demonstrate how these concepts can be applied together in the context of music therapy work. Links are made with contemporary politics and popular culture to situate the implications for music therapy within a broader context, and to acknowledge some of the experiences nonbinary, trans and disabled people might carry to therapy sessions with them. I conclude with reflections questioning who Music Therapists are willing to listen to, suggesting the use of different conceptual lenses to support inclusive practice relating to music therapy process and experience, and noting the potential relevance to discussions around therapist self-disclosure, especially implicit disclosure.

Exploring whistleblowing intentions of Indian nurses: a qualitative study

PurposeWhistleblowing is one of the most imperative instruments to unveil wrongdoing. The purpose of this study is to explore the whys and wherefores of undertaking the act of whistleblowing by Indian nurses. This study also delves into the reasons that would stimulate the nurses' whistleblowing intentions and, on the contrary, the reasons that would keep them silent on encountering any wrongdoing.Design/methodology/approachThis study incorporates interpretative phenomenological analysis, a qualitative method aiming to provide a detailed examination of the personal lived experiences of the nurses. This technique helps to understand the individual perspective of nurses. It, thus, allows the researchers to generate common themes from the data giving insightful and in-depth knowledge about the same.FindingsThe findings of this study suggest that nurses felt a sense of morality and responsibility toward the hospital, which motivated them to raise their voices to the concerned authorities within their organizations before reaching out to external agencies. The other motivators include peer and management support regarding the surety that appropriate action would be taken if reporting is done against the wrongdoer. On the other side, job loss or fear of harassment from peers and supervisors demotivates and discourages them from involving in the act of whistleblowing, especially in cases where they had dependents.Practical implicationsThis study implies that hospitals/health-care units should provide an affirmative organizational culture to the nurses through sensitivity training that spreads awareness and a sense of responsibility. Also, setting favourable examples would help nurses gain motivation from the organization's past experiences. Having independent agencies to investigate whistleblowing complaints can be more encouraging than in-house management. Additionally, assurances by the government to protect the interest of the nurses who blow the whistle through anonymous whistleblowing and stringent rules for the job security of whistleblowers need to be aligned.Originality/valueThis study highlights the whistleblowing intention of Indian employees of the health-care sector, that is, nurses, which is the pioneer research work in the Indian context. In India, the profession of nurses is subjugated by females; hence, this study would contribute to the literature by looking at whistleblowing through gender predisposition. As the work of nurses is wholly based on patient advocacy, the ethical dilemma of raising their voices or remaining silent is very natural. This study brings about specific concerns related to the whistleblowing of women nurses and talks about the solutions that can be undertaken to encourage them to engage in the act of whistleblowing.

Am I safe? An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Vulnerability as Experienced by Patients With Complications Following Surgery.

Abdominal surgery carries with it risks of complications. Little is known about patients' experiences of post-surgical deterioration. There is a real need to understand the psychosocial as well as the biological aspects of deterioration in order to improve care and outcomes for patients. Drawing on in-depth interviews with seven abdominal surgery survivors, we present an idiographic account of participants' experiences, situating their contribution to safety within their personal lived experiences and meaning-making of these episodes of deterioration. Our analysis reveals an overarching group experiential theme of vulnerability in relation to participants' experiences of complications after abdominal surgery. This encapsulates the uncertainty of the situation all the participants found themselves in, and the nature and seriousness of their health conditions. The extent of participants' vulnerability is revealed by detailing how they made sense of their experience, how they negotiated feelings of (un)safety drawing on their relationships with family and staff and the legacy of feelings they were left with when their expectations of care (care as imagined) did not meet the reality of their experiences (care as received). The participants' experiences highlight the power imbalance between patients and professionals in terms of whose knowledge counts within the hospital context. The study reveals the potential for epistemic injustice to arise when patients' concerns are ignored or dismissed. Our data has implications for designing strategies to enable escalation of care, both in terms of supporting staff to deliver compassionate care, and in strengthening patient and family involvement in rescue processes.

First Thrive, Then Lead: An Emerging Approach to Engineering Leadership Education

The study of human psychology has demonstrated that satisfying a set of basic psychological needs - autonomy, relatedness, and compentence - is essential for personal well-being and thriving. However, student mental health data across North America indicates that students are experiencing high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression - an indication that they are not thriving. Our experiences of traditional approaches to leadership education, and engineering leadership education by extension, is that it tends to focus largely on the development of competence-based needs, such as specific individual leadership skills and attributes. The lack of focus on satisfying student psychological needs of autonomy and relatedness means that current approaches to engineering leadership education may not be fully supporting and preparing students to thrive, and therefore lead.
 Our paper explores the possibilities of incorporating all three basic psychological needs essential to thriving through an expansive, transformational approach to engineering leadership education: First Thrive, Then Lead. Our emerging integrative and holistic approach to the development of engineering leadership education draws inspiration from traditional and non-European wisdoms and practices, as well as our personal lived experiences, and is grounded in well-established scientific theories.

Experiences with developing and implementing a courageous conversations pilot classroom through synchronous meetings via zoom.

The murder of George Floyd created national outcry that echoed down to national institutions, including universities and academic systems to take a hard look at systematic and systemic racism in higher education. This motivated the creation of a fear and tension-minimizing, curricular offering, "Courageous Conversations," collaboratively engaging students, staff, and faculty in matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics at the University of Florida. A qualitative design was employed assessing narrative feedback from participants during the Fall semester of 2020. Additionally, the ten-factor model implementation framework was applied and assessed. Data collection included two focus groups and document analysis with member-checking. Thematic analysis (i.e., organizing, coding, synthesizing) was used to analyze a priori themes based on the four agreements of the courageous conversations framework, stay engaged, expect to experience discomfort, speak your truth, and expect and accept non-closure. A total of 41 participants of which 20 (48.78%) were department staff members, 11 (26.83%) were department faculty members, and 10 (24.30%) were graduate students. The thematic analysis revealed 1) that many participants credited their learning experiences to what their peers had said about their own personal lived experiences during group sessions, and 2) several participants said they would either retake the course or recommend it to a colleague. With structured implementation, courageous conversations can be an effective approach to create more diverse, equitable, and inclusive spaces in training programs with similar DEI ecosystems.

The Effect of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Mindfulness of Women Academics: A Qualitative Study

COVID-19, which turned into a global pandemic, has spread worldwide in a short time and adversely affected individuals and countries economically, socially, and psychologically; academics are not an exception to this situation. Academics are one of the groups that feel the situation most clearly in this period. This study aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mindfulness of women academics. The study employed the phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research methods, to understand the experiences of women academics more deeply. The study group of the research consisted of 11 women academics who were selected using the criterion sampling method to achieve the maximum diversity in working in state and private universities with different titles. Due to the difficulties caused by the pandemic in conducting face-to-face meetings, the data were collected through semi-structured online interviews that lasted almost 45-50 minutes. The study's main question was "What are the family, work, and personal life experiences of women academics from a mindfulness perspective during the COVID-19 pandemic?" Phenomenological analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. According to findings, two main points emerged about the structure and essence of the phenomenon: Cognitive and emotional, and they were divided into sub-dimensions as pre- COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 periods.

The role and place of mentorship for young people with blindness and low vision in educational contexts

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to understand the role and value of mentorship for young people with blindness and low vision (BLV) through their education and work journey and to provide a conceptual framework for developing mentoring opportunities for young people with BLV.Design/methodology/approachExperiences of formal and informal mentorship were gathered within two distinct groups: adolescents with BLV in Australia and young adults with BLV in Canada. Qualitative data were collected from semi-structured individualized interviews regarding the experiences, understanding, and valuing of mentorship within these groups.FindingsResults indicate the importance of informal role models and formal mentors within the lives of participants and how these become more refined and specific over time. Australian students valued role models as examples of success and inspiration for their own goals. Canadian mentees desired mentors as examples of personal lived experiences and providers of career-specific advice.Originality/valueThe study is original in its focus on the role of mentors for young people with blindness or low vision.

Utilizing Haiku as a Learning Reflection: Students’ Perception

Haiku, the 5-7-5 syllables of Japanese poetry, has been known widely as a tool to express voice and reflect on what happens to personal life experiences. Therefore, this study aimed to uses Haiku as a learning reflection on the Children’s Literature Class. Two questions were addressed to examine (1) Students’ perception of writing Haiku as a learning reflection and (2) challenges in writing Haiku as a learning reflection. Descriptive case A descriptive case study was used as the research methodology, while 49 students taking children's literature class participated. In data collection, this study used open-ended questionnaires given to all participants, while semi-structured interviews were delivered to 11 representative students. Students’ Haiku also were used as additional data. In addition, the data were analyzed thematically, using the framework of Braun and Clark (2006) and students’ Haiku were analyzed through document analysis. The findings show that students find that writing haiku as a learning reflection is fun and interesting. It also promotes their creativity in writing. However, since Haiku is fixed verse poetry, it does not cover students’ ideas of expressing their experience of learning freely and effectively. Eventually, Haiku still supports creativity, not effectiveness.