Female Suffering After Blunt Trauma and the Need to be Cared for and Cared About.

Using a phenomenological design, the researcher repeated a previous study of males, this time exploring the question of what is the experience of suffering voiced by female patients 6-12 months after hospitalization for blunt trauma. Eleven female volunteers were interviewed and asked questions about how they suffered, what made their suffering more or less bearable, and how they were transformed through their suffering. Like the males, female participants experienced changes in patterns resulting in perceptions of suffering. Participants reported mostly experiencing physical, emotional, and social forms of suffering, whereas fewer participants experienced economic and spiritual suffering. Experiences of suffering resulted from the threat to their sense of wholeness because of their injuries. Intrinsic and extrinsic factors made participants' suffering more or less bearable as they regained or revised their shattered wholeness. Positive attitude and motivation were significant intrinsic factors, whereas quality supportive care was the most significant extrinsic factor. Feeling cared about emotionally was as important as feeling cared for physically in helping participants better bear their suffering. Poor quality care was a significant negative extrinsic factor resulting in suffering being made more unbearable. Through their experiences of suffering and finding meaning in that suffering, participants were transformed, amending their previous state and resulting in a new state of wholeness. Knowledge gained through this phenomenological study may help nurses understand suffering and guide their care and caring to alleviate it or make it more bearable.

Hospitalized patients' and family members' preferences for real-time, transparent access to their hospital records.

OBJECTIVES: To better understand patient satisfaction and perceived engagement with traditional hospital-based communication and to elicit patient preferences for health information technologies that would lead to improved satisfaction and engagement. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a mixed-methods study involving qualitative interviews followed by a survey of hospitalized patients and their family members at a single large academic medical center. METHODS: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 41 patients and surveyed 267 patients or family members to elicit their perspectives on satisfaction with traditional hospital communication methods, information needed to more fully engage in the patients' medical care, and potential solutions for improved hospital-based communication. RESULTS: Qualitative interviews revealed patients' and family members' dissatisfaction with current hospital-based communication methods. They would prefer more information, in more flexible forms, with real-time digital access and the ability to share within their social and healthcare networks. Quantitative results from the survey supported these premises, with at least the majority of the 267 patients surveyed agreeing across each survey question. Furthermore, participants identified a "communications point person" as the individual who organizes, understands, and communicates about the patient's care, who was often a family member not available at the bedside during daily rounds. Potential solutions included improved transparency about hospital processes, creating systems that allow patients and family to help coordinate and double-check their own health-related communications, and delivering hospital-based communications through digital media. CONCLUSIONS: These study findings provide empiric evidence to hospital decision-makers regarding patient and family preferences for 21st-century hospital-based communication systems.

The Lived Experience of Suffering of Males After Blunt Trauma: A Phenomenological Study.

Using a phenomenological design, the researcher explored the question of what is the experience of suffering as voiced by male patients 7-12 months after hospitalization for blunt trauma. Seventeen male volunteers were interviewed and asked questions about how they suffered, what made their suffering more or less bearable, and how they were transformed through their suffering. Participants experienced changes in patterns resulting in a perception of suffering. Participants reported mostly experiencing physical, emotional, and social forms of suffering, whereas fewer experienced economic and spiritual suffering. Experiences of suffering resulted from the threat to their normal state or sense of wholeness because of their injuries. Intrinsic and extrinsic factors were identified, making the participants' suffering more or less bearable as they regained their lost state of normal. Positive attitude and motivation were significant intrinsic factors, whereas quality supportive care was the most significant extrinsic factor. Poor quality care was a significant negative extrinsic factor resulting in experiences of increased suffering. Through their experiences of suffering, the participants were transformed, amending their previous state of normal. Knowledge gained through this phenomenological study may be useful to nurses in guiding their care to alleviate patients' suffering and help them find meaning.