{"title":"Collaborative Autoethnography of Cancer Patients' Dynamic Sense of Agency.","authors":"Eeva Aromaa, Päivi Eriksson, Satu Koskinen","doi":"10.1177/10497323241285959","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10497323241285959","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Through collaborative autoethnography, we studied shifts in cancer patients' sense of agency and the meaning of cancer during the diagnostic and treatment phases. This article contributes to the illness management literature by adopting sense of agency perspective that provides new understanding of retrospective interpretation of cancer patients' agency. The authors' experiences of receiving cancer diagnoses and a related, collectively written story illustrate how relational and contextual elements facilitate rapid shifts in cancer patients' sense of agency and illness management. The findings illustrate shifts in the sense of agency as a collaborative and reflexive process between cognitive, emotional, and bodily constraints and adjustments. We demonstrate how shifts in patients' sense of agency and respective changes in meanings attached to cancer were shaped by near ones, healthcare actors, and other cancer patients, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic and the fear of military conflict due to Finland neighbor Russia's war on Ukraine. Furthermore, the study illustrates how shifts in sense of agency shape and are shaped by changes in the understanding of cancer as either a secondary issue, ambiguous stranger, travel companion, or enemy.</p>","PeriodicalId":48437,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Health Research","volume":" ","pages":"793-806"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12056268/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142478026","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"\"Accepting the Poem of Destiny\": Identity Reconstruction in a Chinese Online Depression Community.","authors":"Xin Li, Kaibin Xu","doi":"10.1177/10497323241274723","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10497323241274723","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As online health communities become important platforms for people with depression to express themselves, digital narratives provide a lens for understanding their identity work. Drawing on the communication theory of identity (CTI), this article explored the members' identity reconstruction by analyzing their narratives posted in a Chinese online depression community. The four levels of identities constructed by the members include \"laggard\" and \"pioneer\" at the personal layer, \"idler\" and \"fighter\" at the enacted level, \"stress-maker\" and \"escaper\" at the relational layer, and support providers and receivers at the communal layer. These identities at different levels usually interact in the narratives, showing that identity gaps exist among the members. The study shows that the members' autobiographical accounts of depression entail multiplicities and ambivalences, denying the dominant and stigmatizing representation of it by common sense and the media as a reductionist downward and one-way experience that is valueless and offers no possibility for personal growth. The findings regarding the communal level of identity show that narratives can help the narrators to create bonds of solidarity of an experience that is often marginalized.</p>","PeriodicalId":48437,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Health Research","volume":" ","pages":"755-767"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142478021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"\"You're Just Stuck in a Hole, Really\": Mechanisms of Structural Racism Through Migrant Agricultural Worker Housing in Canada.","authors":"C Susana Caxaj, Anelyse Weiler","doi":"10.1177/10497323241285768","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10497323241285768","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Worldwide, migrant agricultural workers face poor housing conditions and related health challenges. A growing body of research has documented the substandard housing often occupied by this largely racialized population. Yet limited health research has examined mechanisms of structural racism that determine this group's poor housing and health. Drawing on interviews with 151 migrant farmworkers in Ontario and British Columbia, Canada, we documented the housing experiences faced by migrant agricultural workers and examined the role of structural racism in determining housing and health inequities. Our analysis identified four overlapping mechanisms by which migrants' housing and health were determined by structural racism: (1) scarcity, (2) segregation, (3) sacrifice, and (4) stagnation. These mechanisms both reinforced and normalized housing hardships, making it difficult for migrants to escape unsafe or inadequate housing. Our findings point to the need for immediate action to improve housing conditions for this population and to interrogate the racist design that keeps migrant workers at the margins of society.</p>","PeriodicalId":48437,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Health Research","volume":" ","pages":"807-823"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12056269/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142478024","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Self-Diagnosis of Mental Disorders: A Qualitative Study of Attitudes on Reddit.","authors":"Rosie Underhill, Lucy Foulkes","doi":"10.1177/10497323241288785","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10497323241288785","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>There is concern that a growing number of individuals, especially adolescents, are diagnosing themselves with mental disorders. However, there has been limited empirical research into this phenomenon: why it might happen, what the costs and benefits might be, and what the implications are for anyone who is experiencing distress. To address this, this study used reflexive thematic analysis to explore attitudes toward self-diagnosis of mental disorders as expressed on the discussion website Reddit. From 1195 user comments, five themes were generated: (1) <i>There is tension over who is the expert in diagnosis</i>; (2) <i>Self-diagnosis is a route to self-understanding in an inaccessible system</i>; (3) <i>Teenagers on social media are the problem</i>; (4) <i>Self-diagnosis can become self-fulfilling</i>, and (5) <i>Now no one is believed</i>. Together, these themes highlight that there is considerable anger, derision, and criticism targeted toward people who self-diagnose with mental disorders, and that this is particularly targeted toward adolescents who self-diagnose on or as a result of social media. The findings have important implications for understanding how to support and validate people, particularly adolescents, who (sometimes accurately) use diagnostic language to express how they are feeling.</p>","PeriodicalId":48437,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Health Research","volume":" ","pages":"779-792"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12056264/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142478030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christina Severinsen, Mary Breheny, Angelique Reweti, Felicity Ware
{"title":"Wāhi Kōrero: The Development of an Online Story-Sharing Research Platform for Health Research.","authors":"Christina Severinsen, Mary Breheny, Angelique Reweti, Felicity Ware","doi":"10.1177/10497323251337579","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10497323251337579","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Storytelling has the power to forge connections and foster empathy, providing insights into shared human experiences. In the digital age, online platforms offer opportunities to amplify historically underrepresented voices. This article introduces Wāhi Kōrero, a bespoke online story-sharing platform designed to collect stories from people whose experiences are often absent from health research. Wāhi Kōrero was developed through a collaborative approach between Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers and web designers, prioritizing ethical considerations, cultural respect, and inclusivity. Wāhi Kōrero provides a safe and welcoming space for people to share their experiences, crafted in their own words, with minimal researcher involvement. Analyzing these stories can reveal the structural inequities that shape personal experiences with health professionals. The platform's transformative impact extends to power dynamics, political discourse, and knowledge production. Wāhi Kōrero works toward a collectively determined health research agenda, elevating the voices of health service users and validating their expertise in their own lives and health. Ultimately, Wāhi Kōrero exemplifies the changing landscape of online information access, presentation, and control, paving the way for a more equitable and inclusive approach to health research and practice.</p>","PeriodicalId":48437,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Health Research","volume":" ","pages":"10497323251337579"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144188297","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The (Stigma) Power of Discourse: How GPs Perpetuate and Resist Stigmatizing Patients With a Migration Background With Mental Health Issues.","authors":"Camille Wets, Piet Bracke, Melissa Ceuterick","doi":"10.1177/10497323251342174","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10497323251342174","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mental health issues, such as depression, are prevalent in Belgium, particularly among individuals with a migration background. General practitioners (GPs) may inadvertently contribute to these disparities through unconscious biases and stereotypes. This study investigates how Belgian GPs' accounts reflect, perpetuate, or resist stigmatization toward patients with a migration background experiencing mental health issues and how these accounts are influenced by broader professional discourses. Theoretically, this paper is inspired by Imogen Tyler's reconceptualization of stigma and her further development of \"stigma power.\" We conducted a critical discourse analysis guided by the principles of Norman Fairclough, analyzing 19 interviews with Dutch-speaking GPs in Belgium. Our findings reveal two main discourses in GPs' accounts: (a) the health literacy discourse, resonating with the biomedical and biopsychosocial models, and (b) the person-centered discourse, resonating with the person-centered model. The discourses, embedded in institutional guidelines and policy regulations, function as \"stigma machines,\" perpetuating stigmatization of patients with a migration background in GPs' accounts. However, the person-centered discourse also shows potential to counteract and resist stigmatization. This study underscores the importance of addressing both GPs' professional accounts and broader professional discourses and power dynamics within the therapeutic relationship to effectively tackle ethnic disparities in mental health care. By examining how these power relations shape GPs' professional accounts, we highlight the need for critical reflection on the role of institutional discourses in either perpetuating or challenging stigmatizing practices. This approach aims to contribute to more equitable mental health care for patients with a migration background.</p>","PeriodicalId":48437,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Health Research","volume":" ","pages":"10497323251342174"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144175478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Emancipatory Learning of a Hermeneutic Phenomenology Methodology Course.","authors":"Susan Crowther, Gill Thomson","doi":"10.1177/10497323251342442","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10497323251342442","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>While various pedagogical approaches have been developed, there is little understanding of which are best for postgraduate research studies. This is particularly salient for a complex and evolving methodology such as hermeneutic phenomenology. We undertook a hermeneutic phenomenology study to capture participants' lived experiences and meanings of attending a hermeneutic phenomenology methodology course (in person and/or online). An open invitation was issued to participants who had previously attended a hermeneutic phenomenology methodology course. Participants were invited to provide a crafted narrative (using text, poems, artwork, and/or photos) and to indicate whether they would be willing to take part in a follow-up interview. Data analysis was undertaken collaboratively, and philosophical notions and wider theories were used to illuminate meanings. Thirteen participants provided data using text, poems, or photographs. Data analysis revealed four experiential qualities: \"Attuning to a learning space\" that describes the facilitators' comportment and attunement; \"Learning-with-others\" highlights the value of being-with other learners; \"Revealing new ways of knowing\" surfaced through the notions of quickening and hearkening; and finally, \"Transformation in thinking\" describes how attending the course had changed how participants perceive themselves and others as new understandings brought them to the edge of their knowing to glimpse new horizons. These four qualities coalesced into the phenomenon \"emancipatory learning.\" The study foregrounds the significance of a reflexive and immersive pedagogy that emphasizes how dialogue, participation, reflexivity, and collaboration can enable participants to attune to learning \"how to learn\" hermeneutic phenomenological research.</p>","PeriodicalId":48437,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Health Research","volume":" ","pages":"10497323251342442"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144162917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Views and Experiences of Drug and Alcohol Services by Individuals From Migrant, Non-English-Speaking Backgrounds and of Their Service Providers in South Western Sydney, Australia.","authors":"Arianne Reis, Kaniz Fatema, Julie Lenord, Prakash Poudel, Gilbert Whitton, Lal Rawal","doi":"10.1177/10497323251331447","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10497323251331447","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>People from migrant, non-English-speaking backgrounds face a variety of challenges when settling in Australia. Although evidence suggests that alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among this group is lower than among the general population, individuals from these communities are at increased risk of mental health issues and racial discrimination, which are known risk factors for increased use of alcohol and other drugs. This study aimed to address current gaps in the literature by using a qualitative methodology to explore the lived experiences of AOD clients who are from migrant, non-English-speaking backgrounds in terms of access to and utilization of AOD services. Eighteen AOD service users and ten service providers (i.e., health clinicians) were interviewed for the study. In this article, we present stories that, collectively, represent the group of AOD service users and their experiences of AOD services as individuals from \"culturally and linguistically diverse\" backgrounds. We complement those stories with the views provided by health professionals who work providing AOD services. We present these stories organized into three main themes: intersectionality of vulnerabilities, risky environments, and institutional stigma. The stories are interweaved with our theoretical analysis of the material collected through the interviews using a structural vulnerability lens. We conclude that using \"culture\" as a marker to determine the quality and provision of services or to somehow specialize delivery can be problematic if there is little acknowledgement of the forces that are at play to homogenize health and healthcare provision.</p>","PeriodicalId":48437,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Health Research","volume":" ","pages":"10497323251331447"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144162919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tania Maria Caballero, Kristin Bevilacqua, Sarah Polk
{"title":"Latina Immigrants' Experiences Accessing Contraceptive Services Beyond the Postpartum Period and the Role of Community and Pediatric Settings.","authors":"Tania Maria Caballero, Kristin Bevilacqua, Sarah Polk","doi":"10.1177/10497323251336577","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10497323251336577","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Many immigrants lose healthcare access postpartum including contraceptive methods and management. Community health centers (CHCs) fill gaps in preventive healthcare access for uninsured, but the transition from hospital to community settings for immigrants is complex and not well described. While parental healthcare access diminishes postpartum, infants have frequent pediatric visits during the first year of life. The pediatric office can offer a family-centered approach to care for immigrant parents with diverse cultural backgrounds and lived experiences. Our primary study goal was to describe family planning navigation experiences among recently postpartum immigrant Latine with contraceptive needs using the Levesque conceptual framework of healthcare access. Our secondary goal was to explore the perception of the pediatrician in family planning navigation. We conducted semi-structured interviews in Spanish with 19 mothers at an urban pediatric practice. Our results centered around five themes: there is no standard process of obtaining information about CHCs postpartum; the pediatrician is a trusted information source, but displacing time for child-focused needs is a concern; structural barriers impede family planning goals; lack of health insurance affects autonomy in contraceptive decision making; and CHC care is satisfactory when accessible. Postpartum Latine immigrants receive inconsistent information about CHC resources for family planning and face barriers to their contraceptive goals. Pediatricians are considered trusted sources for family planning information. Bridging gaps in contraceptive access can include up-to-date CHC resources, resource navigators, interventions in pediatric settings, and broader insurance coverage.</p>","PeriodicalId":48437,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Health Research","volume":" ","pages":"10497323251336577"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144128076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Following the (e-)Medication List From Pre-Admission to After Discharge at Norwegian Hospitals: An Actor-Network Analysis.","authors":"Henriette Lauvhaug Nybakke","doi":"10.1177/10497323251340934","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10497323251340934","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study explores the medication list as a complex and multiple object in transitions of care between primary healthcare and hospitals in Norway. Medication lists exist in various forms-digital and physical-across institutions and systems, serving diverse purposes yet often failing to align. These discrepancies contribute to medication errors, particularly during hospital admission and discharge, recognized as high-risk points in patient care. Utilizing a rapid ethnographic approach, the research involved 130 hours of participatory observations and semistructured interviews with 32 healthcare professionals across various settings. Guided by a sociological lens and informed by actor-network theory, this article tells a story about interactions, practices, and relations surrounding medication lists. The findings highlight the challenges of achieving a single, definitive medication list and advocate for a coordinated model that acknowledges the complexities and variabilities inherent in medication management. This research underscores the importance of understanding the dynamic nature of medication lists and their role as both intermediaries and mediators in Norwegian healthcare.</p>","PeriodicalId":48437,"journal":{"name":"Qualitative Health Research","volume":" ","pages":"10497323251340934"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144095752","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}