Exploring the healthcare needs and experiences of pregnant women with congenital heart disease: A qualitative study.

PROBLEM: Little is known regarding the healthcare needs and experiences of pregnant women with congenital heart disease (CHD) during pregnancy. BACKGROUND: Congenital heart diseases are the most common birth anomalies, and they embrace a wide range of defects ranging from mild to complex and life-threatening defects. Pregnancy carries many physiological and psychological changes that affect pregnant woman with CHD and need special attention and consideration. AIM: To explore the healthcare needs and experiences of Jordanian women with CHD during pregnancy. METHODS: A descriptive phenomenological design was used. Utilising purposive sampling, 15 participants were recruited. Data was collected using individualised semi-structured interviews. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi's method. FINDINGS: Three themes were identified: a) A broad spectrum of health needs during pregnancy, b) not being cared for, c) and the healthcare journey: Challenges and recommendations. Findings revealed that pregnancy in women with CHD is associated with many challenges and needs, and the lived healthcare experiences are mostly negative. DISCUSSION: This study addresses the healthcare needs and experiences of pregnant women with CHD during pregnancy. Our findings shed light on healthcare needs explored hidden aspects of the experiences of this vulnerable population and gave them the chance to make their voices heard. CONCLUSION: The study concluded that pregnant women with CHD experience hardship associated with negative challenges and personal suffering. The findings highlight the importance of the basic values and the need for a holistic approach and effective teamwork to minimise suffering among pregnant women with CHD.

Palliative care needs of Jordanian women's experience of living with stroke: a descriptive phenomenological study.

BACKGROUND: Stroke is a prevalent neurological disease that can have a profound impact on women's physical, psychosocial, and spiritual well-being. In many cases, women living with stroke may have marginalized palliative care needs that are often not adequately addressed by healthcare providers. Unfortunately, the experience of women with stroke and their specific palliative care needs have been largely overlooked in research conducted in Jordan. AIM: The purpose of this study is to examine the specific palliative care needs of women who have experienced a stroke and are currently living in Jordan. By conducting this research, we aim to identify the various physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of women with stroke and gain a better understanding of how these needs can be addressed through palliative care interventions. METHODS: This research utilized a phenomenological descriptive study approach to explore the experiences of twelve women recruited from the outpatient clinic of rehabilitation centers. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The analysis was conducted using the method of Colaizzi (1978), which involves identifying significant statements, extracting meanings, and formulating an exhaustive description of the phenomenon under study. RESULTS: The study findings uncovered three primary themes that reflect the palliative care needs of women who are currently living with stroke in Jordan, including (1) Spiritual practices, beliefs, and needs; (2) Coping with distressing symptoms; and (3) Managing the delivery of unfavorable news. DISCUSSION: This study provides valuable insights into the experiences of Jordanian women living with stroke, highlighting the far-reaching consequences of this condition on various aspects of their lives. The findings reveal that stroke has a significant impact on women's physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being, with many facing unmet palliative care needs. By illuminating these challenges, our study underscores the importance of taking a holistic approach to stroke care that addresses the multifaceted needs of women living with stroke. Healthcare providers must consider these findings and integrate palliative care interventions into treatment plans to improve the quality of life of women living with stroke in Jordan. CONCLUSION: This study provides valuable insights into the palliative care needs of women who have experienced a stroke. Our findings highlight the importance of addressing women's physical, psychosocial, and spiritual needs as part of a comprehensive approach to stroke care. We recommend integrating palliative care interventions into rehabilitation programs to improve the quality of life of women living with stroke in Jordan. By doing so, we can address the pain and complications that can arise from stroke, while also providing holistic support to address the emotional and spiritual impact of the illness. This approach has the potential to improve outcomes for women living with stroke and enhance their overall well-being.

Developing an Understanding of Adolescents' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Toward COVID-19.

Adolescents are more likely to engage in risky health practices related to COVID-19. Their compliance with infection control measures is a key factor to mitigate the spread of the disease. The purpose of this study was to explore the knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward COVID-19 and their correlates among Jordanian adolescents. An online cross-sectional survey was utilized. A total of 1,054 Jordanian adolescents aged 12-18 completed and returned the survey. Overall, Jordanian adolescents showed a good base of knowledge regarding COVID-19 (regardless of their demographic characteristics) and tended to hold positive attitudes toward the country's curfew and other protective measures. The majority of adolescents reported that television and social media were their main source of information on COVID-19, while few reported receiving such information from their schools. The majority reported practicing effective health protective behaviors to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which was significantly predicted by their knowledge and attitudes toward these measures. However, there was a relatively small, yet clinically significant, percentage of adolescents who showed poor knowledge on COVID-19, had negative attitudes toward protective measures, and reported being engaged in risky practices related to infection spread. Tailored efforts are needed to improve the levels of knowledge, attitudes, and practices among adolescents. Raising awareness and promoting positive attitudes are vital to change adolescents' health practices. Policy makers should ensure that school nurses are available in all schools and working to their full scope. School nurses are the eyes and ears of public health and primary care. They are essential members on pandemic preparedness, reopening and reentry planning teams, and can lead health care in schools and practice in a holistic culturally competent proactive manner to address the needs of students.

Nurses' Experiences of Grief Following Patient Death: A Qualitative Approach.

PURPOSE: To explore the lived experiences of nurses' feelings, emotions, grief reactions, and coping mechanisms following their patients' death. BACKGROUND: On a daily basis, nurses are experiencing patients' death, which exposes them to grief. Nurses' grief has not been sufficiently addressed in practice settings, although it has been a well-known threat to health and work performance. DESIGN: A qualitative design guided by a phenomenological approach was adopted. METHOD: Data were collected from a purposive sample of 21 Jordanian nurses by conducting three focus groups and analyzed using Colaizzi's framework. FINDINGS: Four themes were generated in which participants reported feelings of grief following their patients' death. Their grief emotions were reported as sadness, crying, anger, shock, denial, faith, fear, guilt, fear of the family's reaction, and powerlessness. CONCLUSIONS: The study provided evidence that nurses respond emotionally to patients' death and experience grief. Nurses are burdened by recurrent patients' deaths and try to cope and overcome their grief. This study emphasizes the importance of developing strategies to help nurses positively cope with their grief from a holistic perspective. This will reflect positively on the nurses' performance.

Spirituality in childbearing women.

Childbearing is the ideal context within which to enrich spirituality. The purpose of this study was to generate themes regarding spirituality and religiosity among culturally diverse childbearing women. A secondary analysis was performed, using existing narrative data from cross-cultural studies of childbearing women. The following themes emerged from the data: childbirth as a time to grow closer to God, the use of religious beliefs and rituals as powerful coping mechanisms, childbirth as a time to make religiosity more meaningful, the significance of a Higher Power in influencing birth outcomes, and childbirth as a spiritually transforming experience. In clinical settings, understanding the spiritual dimensions of childbirth is essential. Assessments of childbearing women may include the question, "Do you have any spiritual beliefs that will help us better care for you?"

Islamic religious leaders' knowledge and attitudes towards AIDS and their perception of people living with HIV/AIDS: a qualitative study.

PURPOSE: This qualitative descriptive study explored Muslim religious leaders' perception, knowledge and attitudes towards AIDS, AIDS prevention and their attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). METHODS: Twenty Islamic religious leaders (males and females) participated in two audio-taped focus group discussions. A content analysis approach was used to analyse the data as appropriate for descriptive qualitative inquiry. FINDINGS: The study results showed that Muslim religious leaders do not perceive AIDS as a major health problem in Jordan, and that following the Islamic values lowers the risky behaviours. The religious leaders reflected varied responses to PLWHA but they agreed that they have responsibilities towards the prevention of HIV/AIDS, and that sex education contributes to healthy behaviours, and consequently to the prevention of HIV transmission. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study provided an insight into Muslim religious leaders' perception of PLWHA and highlighted the importance of their role in the prevention of AIDS. The study recommended that health care professionals, including nurses and health policy makers, should involve religious leaders in all efforts directed at planning and setting policies aimed at the prevention of HIV/AIDS and the treatment of infected people. Nurses should be responsible for conducting HIV/AIDS prevention programs in different settings utilizing relevant religious guidelines and teachings, in addition to providing holistic care to AIDS patients with emphasis on the spiritual dimension.