Browsing by Subject "qualitative research"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    African-American and Latina Women Seeking Public Health Services: Cultural Beliefs regarding Pregnancy, including Medication-taking Behavior
    (University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy, 2011) Sanchez, Luz Dalia; Rowles, Joie; Dube, David
    Objective: to describe cultural beliefs and medication-taking-behavior about pregnancy in African-American and Latina women. Design: qualitative study using phenomenological methodology; face-to-face, semi structured interviews and focus group. Thematic analysis was done to obtain themes consistent with the research objective. Setting: Maricopa County, Arizona, Department of Public-health Programs, November 2008 through April 2009. Participants: women seeking public-health services in the greater Phoenix, Arizona. Results: fifteen adult women representing two ethnic groups (seven African-Americans and eight Latinas) participated. Themes derived from the interview data included: “The Dilemma: To Become or Not to Become Pregnant;” “The Ideal Stress-free World: Support System;” “Changing Worlds: Wanting Dependency;” and “The Health care System: Disconnection from Pregnancy to Postpartum.” Conclusions: based on the cultural themes: 1. pregnancies were not planned; 2. healthy life-style changes were not likely to occur during pregnancy; 3. basic facts about the biology of sexual intercourse and pregnancy were not understood, and there was no usage of any preconceptional or prenatal medications; and 4. professional health care was not desired or considered necessary (except during delivery). These cultural beliefs can contribute to negative birth outcomes, and need to be considered by pharmacists and other health-care providers. The information gained from this study can guide the implementation of educational programs developed by pharmacists that are more sensitive to the cultural beliefs and points of view of these particular women. Such programs would thus be more likely to be favorably received and utilized.
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    Antidepressant Use Amongst College Students: Findings of a Phenomenological Study
    (University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy, 2012-07) Singh, Reshmi L.; Schommer, Jon C.; Worley, Marcia M.; Peden-McAlpine, Cynthia
    Background: Depression among college students is an escalating problem and could have serious consequences such as suicide. There has been an increase in use of antidepressants on college campuses in United States. However, an in depth understanding of this phenomenon from the college student’s perspective is lacking in the literature. Objective: This study examined college students’ experiences and treatment decision making during their depression treatment. Methods: A longitudinal, phenomenological research methodology was completed. The participants were nine students who were taking antidepressants for diagnosis of depression. Recruitment was done via brochures placed at University bulletin boards, and a mental health clinic. Three audio taped, unstructured interviews were conducted with each participant over four months. The central question asked was: What has the experience of treating depression been for you? Analysis of text was done using Van Manen’s lifeworld existentials of lived body, lived time, lived relation and lived space as the organizing framework. Results: Thirteen themes were identified within the four lifeworlds. The results showed that lived relation with providers was important for college students’ decision to both initiate and continue antidepressant use. Students’ role was defined in conjunction with provider’s role by them as wanting to be a ‘player’ in their treatment decisions and needing to be ‘acknowledged’ as such by their providers. Conclusions: Overall, the underlying essential theme
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    Doing, Being, and Belonging: A Photo Elicitation on the Meaning of Well-being of Adults with Intellectual Disabilities
    (2019-01) Lahti Anderson, Lynda
    Adults with Intellectual and developmental disabilities disproportionately experience poverty, social isolation, and may have more co-occurring chronic health conditions than the general population. Interventions aimed at improving health outcomes for people with IDD typically focus on physical activity, with few considering other causes of poorer health outcomes. Few interventions address health from a holistic perspective. This study adds a better understanding of what is important to adults with IDD think about wellness. Understanding the day to day experiences of people with IDD can improve interventions and supports. A descriptive qualitative research approach was used to answer the research question “How do adults with IDD describe health and wellness?” Photo elicitation was used to develop narratives from ten adults with IDD to provide a qualitative description of health and wellness. Three themes emerged from this narrative: Doing, Being, and Belonging. These three themes highlight the importance of meaningful activities, positive self-identity, and social inclusion as key factors contributing to overall well-being. Recommendations for future research include the use of research techniques such as photography that promote the inclusion of people with IDD in research. Photo narrative proved to be an effective tool for including people with IDD in this project, allowing participants to share their full experience. Further research should consider upstream factors for health disparities and should consider individual and community level investigations on how best to enhance the environments in which people with IDD live and work and how these environments affect their health.
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    Front-end Study of User Preferences to Guide the Design of One Extension Website
    (University of Minnesota Extension, 2012-10) Shimek, Sarah; Meyer, Nathan; Ernst, Julie
    Extension programs are increasingly developing online education infrastructure, including substantial investments in creating interactive websites for target audiences. Front-end assessment of user preferences is one approach that Extension staff can use to ensure usability of these websites. A model study for the University of Minnesota Extension Driven to Discover: Authentic Inquiry through Citizen Science project (D2D) utilized structured interviews to assess preferences of a purposeful sample of nine potential users for a website. the website aims to connect professional scientists and adult leaders to strengthen authentic inquiry among youth members of citizen science research teams. Through an inductive coding approach to qualitative analysis, eleven primary themes and forty-nine associated sub-themes emerged from the participant responses, and were used to categorize research results and recommendations to guide the website design. In general, participants responded favorably to the creation of a proposed website to support inquiry work with youth, and saw potential for the site to facilitate connections with scientists. They reported interest in aspects of the proposed website that would support inquiry science through resources and tools, and help establish connections with professional scientists. Several participants expressed skepticism about the social networking features of the proposed website given the barriers of time, access to internet at project sites, and the extensive networking opportunities available either in-person or through existing social networking sites. Recommendations are being used to guide specific modifications to improve the planned website design. Moreover, the study approach proved effective and efficient for project staff, and positive for interview participants.
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    Practice Change in Community Pharmacy: A Case Study of Multiple Stakeholders’ Perspectives
    (University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy, 2012-10) Elrod, Shara; Snyder, Margie E.; Hall, Deanne; McGivney, Melissa A. Somma; Smith, Randall B.
    Objective: To obtain a multi-stakeholder perspective of community pharmacy practice change. Design: Qualitative study. Setting: Community pharmacy in rural Mississippi. Participants: Fourteen key stakeholders of the patient care practice including pharmacists (n=4), support staff (n=2), collaborating providers (n=4), patients (n=3), and a payer (n=1). Intervention: Semi-structured interviews and participant-observation techniques were used. Main outcome measures: Description of the community pharmacy’s practice and business model and identification of practice change facilitators. Results: Change facilitators for this practice included: a positive reputation in the community, forming solid relationships with providers, and convenience of patient services. Communication in and outside of the practice, adequate reimbursement, and resource allocation were identified as challenges. Conclusions: This case study is a multi-stakeholder examination of community pharmacy practice change and readers are provided with a real-world example of a community pharmacy’s successful establishment of a patient care practice.
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    The professional socialization of macro practice social workers: A narrative inquiry
    (2017-12) Nienow, Mary
    The following work is a narrative study on the professional socialization of macro practice social workers. It adapts the theoretical model of professional socialization developed by Shari Miller (2010). It explores the journey of 14 macro practice social workers from their early childhood to their present day professional life in order to better understand how they came to macro practice social work, what support they received, how they understood their work in relation to the more dominant perspective within the field of working with individuals and families, and the barriers they encountered along the way.