Straussian Grounded Theory Research Articles

Assessing determinants of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) adherence among a sample of rural Midwestern men who have sex with men (MSM)

ABSTRACT Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) efficacy in preventing HIV among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) is dependent upon adherence. Little is known about the PrEP adherence experiences among MSM who live in rural areas of the US. This qualitative study was informed by a modified version of Straussian Grounded Theory. Thirty-four 34 rural Midwestern MSM participated in telephone interviews that assessed their PrEP adherence factors. Overall, participants adhered to the PrEP regimen, ranging from missing none to a couple of doses per month. Participants had high self-efficacy (competence) and self-reliance (autonomy) in taking PrEP daily. Participants incorporated PrEP into their already existing routines. Participants were motivated to adhere to prevent HIV acquisition and be financially responsible. All participants mentioned their PrEP provider discussed the importance of adherence with PrEP’s effectiveness, but future patient-provider PrEP adherence communication varied among participants. Future PrEP adherence interventions should address counseling strategies that leverage these constructs to support pill taking. Future research should explore patient-provider conversations surrounding PrEP adherence to inform provider- and patient-level interventions.

The experiences of individuals re-engaging in sexual relationships following a bone marrow transplant: A grounded theory study.

Sexual health is often neglected following a bone marrow transplant. The purpose of this study was to develop an in-depth explanation of the process that patients undergo when re-engaging in sexual relationships following a bone marrow transplant. A Straussian Grounded Theory methodology was employed. Ten bone marrow transplant patients (seven men, three women), participated in a semi-structured interview between October 2018 and April 2019. A theoretical model of the process of re-engaging in a sexual relationship following a bone marrow transplant evolved over time. Four categories emerged from the data: identifying importance, taking responsibility, seeking resources, and navigating the partnered-relationship. Gender-specific details permeated all of these categories. These occurred in a non-linear process of 'seeking a new normal' and could apply at any time point during the treatment trajectory. The model offers an explanation of the process participants went through during their illness and identifies ways that participants navigated change. Having intimate conversations often helped in targeting sexual recovery and affected the ease of transition in dealing with the transition to a 'new normal'.

How can private hospitals be used as a solution to provide outflow surge capacity to public hospitals during mass casualty incidents

INTRODUCTION: Private hospitals are not utilised as a part of a solution in Ireland in the event of Mass Casualty Incidents (MCI) in Ireland. While disaster planning is evident in each hospital and there is also a national plan in place, no plan details the difficulties public hospitals are facing on a daily basis with overcrowding in both Emergency Departments (ED) and throughout the hospital. The aim of this study is to look at how private hospitals may be used as part of the greater solution in providing Outflow Surge Capacity (OSC) to the public hospitals, and: are private hospitals able to deliver outflow surge capacity in times of great need. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study was conducted from October 2018 – May 2019 in a selection of public and private hospitals in the greater Dublin (Ireland) region. Ethics approval was obtained and purposive sampling was employed. Semi-structured interviews following a Straussian Grounded Theory (SGT) design were conducted following the recruitment of 16 high-level key stakeholders in 4 hospitals of interest representing both public and private sectors. No demographic data was collected, ensuring anonymity. Data was analysed manually using grounded theory principles, which involved open, axial and selective coding. RESULTS: All participants were found to be open to utilising private hospitals as OSC. Private hospitals were recognised by public hospitals as having the ability, skills and expertise to assist public hospitals with OSC. High awareness of the need for additional space in acute hospitals was evident. All participants showed concern for current overcrowding hospital wide nationally. CONCLUSIONS: Public hospitals identified a number of approaches to utilise private hospitals as OSC. Private hospitals showed readiness and agreement to provide OSC, however, willingness was not assessed due to the number of private hospitals included in the study Further research is required to ascertain Government willingness to participate and establish financial accountability should this finding be introduced.

How general practitioners decide on maxims of action in response to demands from conflicting sets of norms: a grounded theory study

BackgroundThe work of general practitioners (GPs) is infused by norms from several movements, of which evidence based medicine, patient-centredness, and virtue ethics are some of the most influential. Their precepts are not clearly reconcilable, and structural factors may limit their application. In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework that explains how GPs respond, across different fields of interaction in their daily work, to the pressure exerted by divergent norms.MethodsData was generated from unstructured interviews with and observations of sixteen Swedish GPs (who have by definition more than five years of experience after license to practice) and family medicine residents (with less than five years of experience) between 2015 and 2017. Straussian Grounded Theory was used for analysis.ResultsWe found that GPs’ maxims of action can be characterised in terms of dichotomous responses to demands from four distinct sets of norms, or “voices”: the situation, the self, the system, and the profession. From the interactions between these voices emerge sixteen clusters of maxims of action. Based on the common features of the maxims in each cluster, we have developed a conceptual framework that appears to be rich enough to capture the meaning of the ethical decisions that GPs make in their daily work, yet has a high enough level of abstraction to be helpful when discussing the factors that influence those decisions.ConclusionsOur four-dimensional model of GPs’ responses to norms is a first step toward a middle-range theory of quality from GPs’ perspective. It brings out the complexity of their practice, reveals tensions that easily remain invisible in more concrete accounts of their actions, and aids the transferability of substantive theories on GPs’ ethical decision making. By explaining the nature of the ethical conflicts that they experience, we provide some clues as to why efforts to improve quality by imposing additional norms on GPs may meet with varying degrees of success.

Effects of cochlear implantation on adulthood.

To understand the benefits of cochlear implantation in adulthood under the perspective of users. Qualitative study using Symbolic Interactionism and Straussian Grounded Theory as theoretical and methodological frameworks, respectively. The project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the aforementioned Institution (Opinion no. 482,019). Sixteen adult cochlear implant (CI) users aged 28-58 years participated in the study. The data collection instrument was a semi-structured interview with questions about changes caused by CI in the social relations, communication, family system, and personal, academic and professional spheres of life of users. The category Cochlear Implant Effects on Adulthood is part of a more comprehensive theoretical study that addresses how adult CI users cope with deafness. Together with its subcategories, it shows that CI intervenes in a revolutionary way in the lives of its users, because it increases their sense of security, enables them to see life from a new perspective, rescues self-confidence and self-esteem, enables them to communicate and interact more effectively, enjoy music and other entertainment, rescue old projects, and make plans for the future; thus assisting with the process of recovering independence in adult life. Subjective impressions of the users showed that cochlear implants not only improve their auditory performance, but also bring several positive changes to their social insertion and quality of life. Therefore, this intervention is highly beneficial to deaf adults.

Toward a Typology of Changes in Primary Teachers' Awareness of Geography Based on Receiving Graduate Education

This study illuminates the effects of graduate education on primary teachers' awareness of geography. Data were collected through interviews with twenty-one teachers who held M.A. or Ph.D. degrees in geography and analyzed using Straussian-grounded theory. The participants were categorized into four types. Many teachers (type A) showed meaningful refinement in their awareness of geography, and some of them (type B and C) identified themselves as experts in primary geography. However, a few participants (type D) showed only marginal development of their geographic knowledge. These results suggest the potential for improvements to graduate education in primary geography and for primary teachers.

Cochlear implant: the family’s perspective

Objective: To understand the family’s experience of a child who uses a cochlear implant (CI). Specifically, to identify the difficulties, changes, and feelings entailed by deafness and the use of the CI; the coping strategies; and to understand the role of the family for the child with a CI.Method: Qualitative research, using Symbolic Interactionism and Straussian Grounded Theory as the theoretical and methodological frameworks, respectively. Data collection instrument: semi-structured interview. A total of 9 families (32 individuals) participated in the study. The children’s ages ranged from 6 to 11 years old (mean = 8.9 years old).Results: Their experience is described in the following categories: Having to fight for results, Coping with difficult situations, Recognizing that you are not alone, Learning to overcome, and Having one’s life restored by the implant.Conclusion: Cochlear implantation changes the direction of the child and the family’s life by restoring the child’s opportunity to hear and to obtain good results in her personal, social, and academic development. Even after implantation, the child continues to experience difficulties and requires the family’s mobilization in order to be successful. The family is the principal actor in the process of the child’s rehabilitation.

Quality of qualitative research: a grounded theory (GT) approach with special reference to straussian GT

This review was dedicated to discuss the core measures established evaluating the quality of Grounded Theory (GT) that have been highlighted by the main authors of GT with special reference to Straussian GT. Sraussian GT includes the work of Strauss and Corbin (1990 &1998); Corbin and Strauss (2008); and Charmaz (2006). Glaser alone develops the Glasarian GT approach. First, I explained the concept of evaluation of a research in relation to its quality discussing some rigorous methods of establishing quality in qualitative research. Second and finally, the specific canons and procedures established specially in the Straussian GT methodology in establishing quality were discussed. Here, the related content in the ground breaking research of Glaser and Strauss in 1967 has been first referred following the Glaser’s (1998) views in this regard before discussing the Straussian perspective on quality in GT research.

A Typological Analysis of South Korean Primary Teachers' Awareness of Primary Geography Education

This study illuminates primary teachers' awareness of geography education. Data were collected through interviews with twenty-one teachers and analyzed using Straussian-grounded theory. A total of 210 concepts were categorized into twenty-two categories. The participants were categorized into three types. Many participating teachers (type 1 and 2) were clearly aware of the core characteristics of geography, and some of them recognized themselves as primary geography specialists (type 1). However, a few teachers (type 3) seemed unaware of the value of geography. These results suggest the necessity of primary-teacher training to improve primary teachers' awareness of geography education.

Confidence-Sourcing Among Amateur Soccer Players: Interpreting Time, Place and Stimulus-Relevance

Although confidence is one of the major contemporary concerns in the psychology of sporting performance, extant study has primarily been concerned with elite and/or individual sports, and a deductive framework has been dominant. Drawing upon the core techniques of Straussian Grounded Theory, the research reported in this paper inductively analyses detailed accounts of confidence-sourcing provided by N=14 seasoned participants in amateur soccer. Results reveal a number of (sometimes eclectic) features of the ways that these individuals interpret and organise their own confidence sources, not least those relating to highly variable temporal and socio-spatial frames within which a potential confidence source might be considered “relevant” or “useful.” These findings contrast significantly with others emanating from research in the elite domain and, it is contended, have direct practical implications for both physical educators and grassroots sport coaches.

Straussian Grounded-Theory Method: An Illustration

This paper demonstrates the benefits and application of Straussian Grounded Theory method in conducting research in complex settings where parameters are poorly defined. It provides a detailed illustration on how this method can be used to build an internationalization theory. To be specific, this paper exposes readers to the behind-the-scene work to develop a theory on the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises based in transition economies. It describes each step from sampling to coding and then to theory formation, explaining the rationale each step of the way. The readers can therefore see how a theory took shape and develop from raw data to refined theoretical propositions/hypotheses.

Dynamic experimental internationalization: Strategy of SMEs from a transition economy

This paper presents a model of dynamic experimental internationalization which we developed by employing Straussian Grounded Theory to explain how and why small- and medium-sized enterprises in a transitional economy (Vietnam) internationalize. Unlike other knowledge-based internationalization models, our model proposes that the internationalization process of these firms is largely influenced by their current experience rather than past experience because of frequent shifts in the institutional environment. Moreover, this process is directed not only by organizational goals but also critically by managerial goals. As such, these firms internationalize by continuously conducting multiple experiments to find strategies that optimize their chances of meeting these goals by ensuring the best fit with their current environment and thereby also quick responses to environment changes.

Guest editorial: What's common with qualitative nursing research these days?

Guest editorial: What's common with qualitative nursing research these days?