"If only they could understand me!" Acute hospital care experiences of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Patients with dementia as co-morbidity find hospital stays challenging, because the focus is primarily on the somatic cause for the admission, with less emphasis on the needs pertaining to dementia-related support and care. This results in poorer holistic outcomes, compared to patients without dementia, and an increased cost for the healthcare sector and, society as a whole. The quest is to make hospitals a dementia-friendly context, because this is likely to lead to better patient outcomes for people with dementia generally; however, further research is required to understand where gains may be made in this regard. This study conducted participant observation research strategies to follow patient journeys with Alzheimer's disease admitted to orthopaedic wards, to learn about their experiences as patients. Longitudinal data were gathered by following patients on both day and evening shifts within a specialist orthopaedic hospital ward, commencing at patient admission and concluding at time of discharge. The data were interpreted from a phenomenological-hermeneutic perspective, inspired by Ricoeur's interpretation theory. The study revealed a communication style among nurses who failed to take into account the comprehensive needs of patients with dementia, in terms of timely information exchange and clinical relevance. Patients expressed the desire to be more fully engaged in the care decision-making, together with indicating their appreciation of the work of the health professionals who cared for them. The data revealed that the process of getting to know the patient at the beginning of every shift left little room to alleviate patients' experienced distress, caused by being in hospital. This resulted in patients who were less involved in the caring situation, or, if a patient took the initiative to act, intentions ended up being misinterpreted as disruptive behaviour. The findings have relevance for staff and ward management who are interested to strive to enhance the patient journey as a dementia-friendly hospital.

The use of humor in forensic mental health staff-patient interactions.

Humor utilized in the practice of forensic mental health nursing might seem somehow inappropriate, given the serious circumstances surrounding most forensic mental health patients. However, some recent research has pointed to the use of humor as an important component in staff interactions with forensic mental health patients. This study reviews the existing international forensic mental health research literature on humor to investigate (a) what characterizes forensic mental health staff-patient use of humor and (b) what significance humor holds within the forensic mental health setting. The search was conducted in June 2013. Scopus, CINAHL, PubMed, and PsychINFO were searched using keywords relevant to the study. Articles were categorized using a literature matrix and analyzed using thematic analysis. Twelve research articles were reviewed and included in the analysis. Three themes were identified: (a) "humor as staff skill," showing that staff found humor to be important as an interpersonal ability; (b) "humor as a relational tool" with the purpose of establishing and maintaining staff-patient interactions; and (c) "the impact of humor on patients," describing impacts on conflicts, dimensions of health, and motivation. The results of the analysis are however limited because of the dearth of published articles on the subject.

Secular, Spiritual, and Religious Existential Concerns of Women with Ovarian Cancer during Final Diagnostics and Start of Treatment.

Introduction. This paper deals with secular, spiritual, and religious existential concerns during severe illness. Materials and Methods. Qualitative research interviews were made before and after surgery with women who underwent final diagnostics, surgery, and chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. By applying a phenomenological-hermeneutic text interpretation methodology the findings were systematically identified, placed into meaning structures, interpreted, and critically discussed. Results. The analysis offered insight into the complexity of challenges and personal development over time in being a woman with ovarian cancer during her first treatment period. Although the women experienced their health to be seriously threatened, they also felt hope, will, and courage. The diagnostic procedures and treatment had comprehensive impact on their lives. However, hope and spirituality were important resources of comfort and meaning. Conclusion. Hope and courage to face life represent significant personal resources that are created not only in the interplay between body and mind but also between patients and their healthcare professionals. The women dealt with this in a dialectical manner, so that hope and despair could be present simultaneously. In this process secular, spiritual, and religious existential meaning orientations assisted the women in creating new narratives and obtain new orientations in life.

Women's perspectives on illness when being screened for cervical cancer.

BACKGROUND: In Greenland, the incidence of cervical cancer caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) is 25 per 100,000 women; 2.5 times the Danish rate. In Greenland, the disease is most frequent among women aged 30-40. Systematic screening can identify women with cervical cell changes, which if untreated may cause cervical cancer. In 2007, less than 40% of eligible women in Greenland participated in screening. OBJECTIVE: To examine Greenlandic women's perception of disease, their understanding of the connection between HPV and cervical cancer, and the knowledge that they deem necessary to decide whether to participate in cervical cancer screening. STUDY DESIGN: The methods used to perform this research were 2 focus-group interviews with 5 Danish-speaking women and 2 individual interviews with Greenlandic-speaking women. The analysis involved a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach with 3 levels of analysis: naive reading, structural analysis and critical interpretation. RESULTS: These revealed that women were unprepared for screening results showing cervical cell changes, since they had no symptoms. When diagnosed, participants believed that they had early-stage cancer, leading to feelings of vulnerability and an increased need to care for themselves. Later on, an understanding of HPV as the basis for diagnosis and the realization that disease might not be accompanied by symptoms developed. The outcome for participants was a life experience, which they used to encourage others to participate in screening and to suggest ways that information about screening and HPV might reach a wider Greenlandic population. CONCLUSION: Women living through the process of cervical disease, treatment and follow-up develop knowledge about HPV, cervical cell changes, cervical disease and their connection, which, if used to inform cervical screening programmes, will improve the quality of information about HPV, cervical cancer and screening participation. This includes that verbal and written information given at the point of screening and diagnosis needs to be complemented by visual imagery.